New story! Like a breath of fresh air really...hope you enjoy! This is a play on the episode of Scar's first attack on Edward and Alphonse btw

Metal was everywhere, it seemed endless as the glint of the cold pieces bellowed through the air and landed with a loud clank. That was Al's body, and yet, as Ed lay there in a daze he could not understand how that was Als body that had just been blown to bits by Scar, whom was now walking towards him. A large piece of Alphonses head piece fell in front of him, and yet Ed could not seem to put two and two together, the taste of his own blood was flooding his senses more than anything so he focused on that- if only to stay in the moment. He felt a lingering presence as he heard a gunshot, "Havoc?"

"Come on chief, can you stand?" Havoc made quick work at checking Ed's vitals and quickly lugged the stunned teen out of arms reach from Scar.

"Al…Al….he did something to him- I saw pieces." Ed tried desperately to put his own words together, he knew something obviously was not right but the large bruise now developing on the back of his head made it impossible for any rational thought to be thought of.

Havoc nervously scratched the back of his head as he looked over and saw the left over chunks of Al, "Ed…I…"

"Is he ok?" Hughes interrupted as he and Roy walked up to the dazed teen.

"Al….Al…was blown up- disassembled by alchemy…Al…symbol…the mark. The mark! Shit! He has to have his mark!" Ed tried to get up and run but ended up tripping over his own feet in the process, resulting in the teen falling to his knees. He tried three more times until he had enough momentum to get to the alley way the fight was in and land right in front of the mess. "Al…AL!" Panic filled Eds mind as he desperately went through pieces of metal to find the metal scrap with the blood rune on it. Sure enough, there it was, as Ed clapped with a hopeful ring and set his hands on the metal, Al came back together smoothly.

"B-brother…who was that? Are you ok?! I told you to run brother! Why didn't you?" Al's glowing red eyes stared, concerned as Ed's eyes began to well up with tears.

"He almost got you Al, h-he…scar, its just like Nina, he blew you up. H-he disassembled you and could have easily killed your soul right then and there." Ed hugged Al, knowing his brother could not feel it but hoping the sentiment would mean enough, it certainly did to him atleast.

"Brother, its ok, we have both had some close calls! That's just part of it…more importantly, are you ok? You seem dizzy…"

Ed's face then got red, "no Alphonse, it's not right! I took this Godforsaken job, I took this responsibility, I made this mistake, you don't need to suffer because of that."

A brisk 'ahem' was heard, the two young brothers looked up from where they were sitting against the buildings wall to find Mustang looking down at them, his facial expression was unreadable. "Sorry to break up this…touching moment, but would you two please follow us? We need to get out of the streets, Scar could be anywhere under the city now and I rather him not try anything else today."

"Of course Colonel, come on brother- Ed!" Alphonse called out desperately as he watched his brother quickly run out of the alleyway and into the maze of houses ahead. As he made a move to follow, Mustang stopped him, "If you can convince him to go to the hospital, do it. If not, just watch him and make him drink plenty of water."

Seeing the suit of armor nod slightly then run off, Hughes got a chill down his spine. "Roy what in the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Mustang smiled as Hughes neared him, "there just kids- dogs of the military now, but even so…just children."

Meanwhile…

"Brother! There you are, I was hoping you would come back here." Al closed the dorm rooms door as he came and sat beside the rooms only bed, Ed was slumped over and leaning heavily against the head board, Al covered him with the nearest blanket and sighed. "the colonel said you should go to the hospital…but I know you aren't going to do that and so did he- so I have to make sure you drink plenty and get some rest."

"I'm sorry Al."

"Ed, I told you its ok, what is there to be sorry about?"

"This." A slight ring resonated throughout the barren hallways of the military dorms as Alphonse's torso, arms and legs all disconnected from their rightful joints. "B-brother! What-"

"You can't get hurt and risk your life anymore Al…they can bring me back from near death- but if that one tiny spot gets hit on your armor? It's all over Alphonse, and I'm not letting this situation ever happen again. I'm going to find the stone and restore you faster than ever. I promise."

Alphonse felt a sense of dread rush over him as his older brother carefully placed every part of him behind the military issued bed, no one ever came to the military dorms except newbies, he would never be found at this rate. Edward knew that all too well he assumed.

"Everything will be ok Al." Edward made a move towards the door, "I think I have a lead, I'm going to follow it Al, and hopefully when I get back I will have the answer."

"Brother please- rest atleast! Brother!" Alphonse called desperately, he was unable to move, unable to help- all he could do was scream but as he heard the dorm rooms door close he realized he was helpless.

Edward never looked back as he stomped down the hallway and towards the military's library, he had no leads, but to leave Al in that state with no hope- it was hard enough. He wouldn't go back until he had atleast something to go off of, only then could he face Al. And so Ed stayed in the library, from dusk to dawn delving deeper into the lost secrets of the stone but to no avail, he was not getting anywhere. His head was also pounding at this point, to the point where the words on the pages infront of him mashed together making reading further impossible.

"I can't get Al back to normal this way…someone else has got to know about this! But who? …Scar might…that tattoo on his arm and all that crazy talk he was spitting- hes got to know something. All I have to do is get in a general area he's in and he will come right to me…I need to be prepared because getting beat up is not an option, I have to beat him to get answers."

"Time to take a field trip." Ed smirked as he threw his red coat on, packing a few books with him. His vision suddenly shifted as he neared the door causing him to drop some of the heavier books he was carrying. Thankfully few people were in the library as they all gave Ed questioning glares. Ed quickly exited the building and slumped on a massive pillar directly in front of the libraries exit, the morning sun was starting to cast a soft glow to the dimming city lights and walkways. He knew he had a concussion, everything was spinning, he had them enough to know the symptoms were clear and possibly as severe as they ever had been.

"Oh well." Ed muttered, his health was now last priority as he tried to walk without swaying. His heart and soul were on fire despite his shitty physical situation, an obsessed glaze seemed to create a fine film on his tired golden eyes. It was the look of a desperate man running towards their last hope, all the years of searching and failing to find the answer finally had caught up with Ed. He needed to end this once and for all, for Al.

Annddd cue obsessive manic Fullmetal! Oh the messes that are sure to ensue! Read and Review please! It helps me make better stories this way!