A cool, early morning breeze blew through the quiet town as the soldiers rushed through the streets. The smell of rain was fresh in the air and the soldiers boots made squishing sounds as they splashed through the puddles and forced their way through the thick mud. It had been raining nonstop all week and it seemed somehow ominous that it had finally stopped now.

Colonel Roy Mustang gritted his teeth in apprehension and called out to his team to hurry. The sun was already starting to set and he couldn't shake the nagging fear that they might be too late.

They kept running at full speed until the "abandoned" warehouse came into view not too far away. They were almost there. The townspeople all thought that the building was abandoned but Roy new that it was far from it. A group of scientists working for the Homunculi had been secretly using it to conduct their experiments to create philosopher stones. As far as he knew, they had only been able to create incomplete philosopher stones that would eventually become useless after being used a number of times. They had yet to create a perfect one, but the fact that the town seemed so empty worried Roy. Shouldn't there be some people coming out of their homes to find out what soldiers were doing in their small, peaceful town? Populace in the West tended to be very sparse and so the military had few posts in this area when compared to Central. But then again, he might just be jumping to conclusions.

Mustang winced as he recalled the events that had led up to this evening.

/flash back/

It was 2:45 am when Mustang heard a nock at his door. His mind was still muddled from sleep so it didn't register how hard and insistent the nocking was enough to make him concerned. He was mostly just irritated at being woken up when he would have to wake up early for work in the morning. Roy even considered completely incinerating whoever it was, but then thought better of it. He yawned, heading groggily toward the door and turning the nob to see who was bothering him at this late hour.

It was Edward.

For a moment he wasn't sure what to say. The blond had never visited his house in the past, he wasn't even sure if Ed knew where he lived. Yet here he was, standing on Mustang's doorstep in the middle of the night. That's when he noticed Ed was bleeding and his automail arm was missing. It wasn't just a little blood ether. It didn't look life threatening though, nothing the kid hadn't survived before. He was also panting heavily and there was perspiration on his forehead. It could have been from running however long the distance was to Mustang's house, or from his wounds, he wasn't sure. Whatever the case, Roy wanted to know what in the world had happened and what he was doing here.

"Ed? What's going on? Why are you here..." Roy lifted his arm to his face in an attempt to rub the sleep from his eyes before directing his gaze back toward the boy. "I thought I sent you to investigate some small towns and cities in the west; what are you doing back so soon? And how'd you get yourself hurt?" His voice was even and calm but a look of uncertainty and worry was clearly expressed on his features.

Mustang had sent Ed on his newest mission only a few days ago. It surprised him that he was back so soon. Maybe he had just done a half assed job and come back early? Roy wouldn't put it past the runt, but then, why would he come right to his superior officer's door? It was almost as if he was begging for lecture or punishment. No, that couldn't be it, and that also wouldn't explain his injuries, even though they didn't look too serious.

"I know! But we were... they came outta no where... It happened so fast and I-" He coughed and a bit of blood began to drip in a steady stream from his mouth.

"Ed? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Roy was starting to get panicked now, maybe his wounds were worse then he thought. He wasn't able to see much under the blood-soaked, tattered remains of his coat and shirt.

"No way! I'm fine! We don't have time for that anyway! I gotta save Al!" Ed protested with the beginnings of hysteria rising in his voice.

"Calm down Ed, and tell me what happened." Roy did his best to keep his voice calm but he was actually getting really worried. This mission was supposed to be completely safe with no chance of conflict. It was just an investigation mission. And the fact that Ed had gotten so badly injured when Mustang was so sure he was safe unsettled him.

"No time... gotta save..." It seemed as if the boy could no longer keep his thoughts together and his eyes were staring at nothing. Mustang wondered if he had forgotten who he was talking to and where he was entirely. "He's my little brother... need to protect... Al..." Ed suddenly fell forward and mustang caught him, staggering backward slightly.

Roy sighed. "Looks like he passed out on me." It was probably from blood loss. The boy did look awfully pale. "And I'm no closer to understanding what happened then I was when I first opened the door." Picking up Ed's limp body bridal style, he headed toward his bathroom to fetch his first aid kit.

XxXxXxXxX

Ed knew he was dreaming, but it was just so vivid. That was probably just because of how recently it happened though. He remembered the sound of many footsteps, the quiet whispering of the scientists, and most of all, Al's screams. Surprisingly, it hadn't taken them long to figure out that he was just a soul bonded to a suit of armor. They then began poking and prodding at his blood seal which was met with Al's screams. The worst part of it was, they sounded like screams of pain, and Al shouldn't be able to feel anything at all without his body.

Ed had tried and tried to free them both, but both of Al's legs and his left arm had been completely torn off and ripped to shreds to prevent him from escaping. As for Ed, all they had to do was tie him up and remove his automail arm and he was helpless, especially since he was so banged up from trying to fight them all off at once when they were first captured. He couldn't do much at all without his arm, including alchemy.

The scientists that were holding them captive untied Ed for some reason, a reason he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, and one of the men began leading him into another room and away from his brother. Ed would die before he'd leave his little brother while he was in so much danger, so quickly, almost impulsively, he ducked under the hold of the man's arm and kicked out with his automail foot, sending the man in a shocked fall flat on his face. Ed was so focused on not leaving his brother that he hadn't really thought about what he would do next. Al was still immobile, so soon enough they'd just grab Ed and tie him back up wouldn't they?

Al had something else in mind entirely.

He almost didn't know how to respond when he heard his little brother scream at him to run, get out while he still could, leave him behind. He had refused of course, how could Al even suggest such a thing? But Al was completely set on this plan and would not waver in his resolve.

Finally, seeing such fierce emotion in his little brother's soul-fire eyes, regardless of him being an emotionless suit of armor, Ed had given in. He knew that the both of them staying in that place without any means of escape wouldn't help anyone, but Ed had promised Al that he would go find help and be back soon. He promised his little brother that he would save him, that he would protect him at all costs. There was no doubt about the look of complete and utter trust in his brother's unblinking stare as Ed's determined eyes met with them, before he reluctantly turned around, and ran.

XxXxXxXxX

When Ed opened his eyes he was staring strait ahead at an unfamiliar beige wall. He looked around, confused and groggy from sleep, trying to figure out where he was. He looked out a window to his left to see it was still raining outside and causing everything to seem especially dark and gloomy. He was in a bed, but this wasn't his bed, and this room wasn't the dorm him and Al shared. He tried sitting up, but fell back down with a grunt of pain. His chest felt like it was on fire.

"Morning sleepy head," came a familiar voice to his right. He looked up to see Mustang standing over him.

"Mustang..? What are you doing here? Wait... where is here?" Ed asked, still confused.

"I should be asking you what you're doing here. Well I tried to at least, before you passed out on me last night." That's when Ed remembered what had happened. And most of all, the importance of him saving Al.

"Wait! Al! I need to save Al!" Ed said, trying to get up again without much success.

"Before I let you do anything, I need to know what happened," Mustang said evenly.

"Oh... right... okay. It was only a day after we arrived at one of the towns you wanted us to investigate. We didn't think there was any danger... I let my guard down... and then we were ambushed." Ed explained to Mustang about everything that happened. While he was talking, he noticed that his shirt was gone, his chest was bandaged, and there was a bandage covering the scar over his right eye that had opened up during the struggle. Had Mustang done that?

"I understand," Roy said after a moment of contemplation. A small hint of worry shone through his façade.

Ed tried again to get up, this time managing to prop himself up against the headboard with a small wince. It was difficult with one arm, bitterly reminding him of how he had lost his metal appendage. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go save him!" he shouted impatiently when Mustang stayed silent for too long.

"Ed... you're in no condition to fight. Plus, you can't even preform alchemy without your arm."

"Then lets go get my arm! It should still be there!"

"No Fullmetal. You are to stay here and recover until I can get some backup. If there are as many people there as you said, it would be dangerous for only the two of us to go, even if you were in top condition. And that's an order," Mustang said sternly.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I CAN'T JUST SIT HER AND WAIT WHILE MY BROTHER IS IN DANGER! I PROMISED HIM I'D BE BACK WITH HELP! YOU CAN'T JUST TELL ME NOT TO HELP HIM YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!" Ed screamed back, his voice getting louder and louder.

"And what good will it do if you both get torn to shreds? Your brother told you to run for a reason! To keep you safe! And until we have backup and you're recovered we won't be able to help him! Get that through your thick skull!" Mustang replied, only barely containing his anger. The kid was really trying his patience. He was actually quite worried and nervous on the inside, but as a man not so adept at showing his inner feelings, he replaced those feelings with anger.

"I DON'T CARE! AL'S LIFE IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THEN MINE! IF I HAVE TO GIVE UP MY LIFE TO SAVE HIM THEN THAT'S FINE BY ME!"

"EDWARD ELRIC," Roy shouted while bringing his fist down hard on the bedside table. "I gave you an order. I'm your superior officer and you will listen to me," he said in a stern but low and slow paced voice that scared Ed more then all the screaming in the world could. At times like this Ed remembered why everyone else under his command always did as they were told and followed his orders without question. He could be quite scary when he wanted to be, but it wasn't a side of him Ed was used to seeing. "You're being completely selfish. You're not thinking clearly. Even if you wanted to help Al you couldn't. For once in your life, why don't you just do as your told? It's usually your fault the two of you get into these types of situations in the first place!" As soon as the words were out of Roy's mouth he instantly regretted them. But unfortunately, what was said could not be unsaid.

Roy lifted his fist from the bedside table, noting with a bit of regret the dent he had made in it, and turned toward the door. He looked behind him for a moment. The look on Ed's face... was that betrayal he saw in those gold eyes? And he could have sworn he saw a hint of guilt. He couldn't be sure though, it was gone in a moment when Ed hung his head down and his golden bangs covered his face. That look was just so... broken. But that couldn't be, it just seemed so wrong. It was so... not like Ed. The kid had always been so strong, probably the strongest person Roy had ever met. He was normally so obnoxious, brash, childish, and egotistical. That look just seemed so out of place on his features. It almost... frightened Roy.

Trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, Roy left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.