This is my first crack at an Anime FanFic so I hope you enjoy.

Obviously I don't own FMA, though who doesn't wish they did, hmm? All the characters, places and settings belong to their rightful creator.

Eventually this story will be a Roy/Ed with Winry/OC and Al/OC but since this is just the prologue, I haven't rated it as any of those things. Ratings and warnings will be changed appropriately as the story progresses. This is also going to be something of an alternate universe fic with spoilers for the series and movie popping up randomly everywhere. I've taken some bits and pieces from everything and woven them together to create my own little skewed timeline, but heck...that's what fiction is for right? So now we explore beyond the published realm of anime and manga wherever our hearts may take us.

Reviews are welcomed, wanted and near begged for. Let me know what you think be it good or bad. After all, a writer can never grow creatively without some encouragement and support.

Without further ado, here's the story...

The Phoenix and His Demons
Prologue

It was well past midnight according to the silver pocket watch he'd just snapped shut and tucked back into his pocket. The moon was absent, making it a lovely night for stargazing; unfortunately staring out the window of a speeding train on your way to the middle of nowhere wasn't the optimal method of observing the twinkling lights in the sky. Sure he knew that they weren't made of anything special, just giant spheres of gasses, rocks and chemical and physical reactions constantly producing light and heat, but that didn't matter to the young man. To him, the stars were divine celestial beings. They granted wishes and they inspired hope. That and they always made him smile. The young blonde gave a soft sigh as exhaustion finally won over and his eyes slipped closed. Now the dreams would come, dreams of his past when two young boys played in the grass and gazed up at the stars while the cool breeze sang them to sleep. Memories were such wonderful things and no matter how far away from home he was, they always brought a smile to his face.

This night however, something was different; something was wrong. The comforting dreams didn't come to wrap him in peaceful reverie, instead he tossed and thrashed on the hard wooden bench as images of pain and torment wracked his mind. Blood, screams and tears wormed their way into his mind and refused to vacate, leaving the boy drenched in his own sweat as he struggled to escape the onslaught of nightmares. A harsh jolt and an ache in his side ripped him from the visions. He'd fallen off the bench, hitting the floor hard. Wild eyes darted around as he panted for air that refused to sate his lungs' need for oxygen. All color drained from his visage as realization suddenly dawned on him, "I-I…I…remember." It was a strained whisper that broke the spell of silence the night had cast. For six years he'd struggled to remember what had transpired during the five years that was missing from his life, and now in one fell swoop everything came rushing back. Alphonse Elric crawled back onto the bench and did the only thing that seemed to make any sense; he pulled his knees up to his chest and cried. They were tears of sorrow for the pain he remembered and tears of joy for somewhere deep inside, he knew this was no simple coincidence. He'd lost his memories the night his brother disappeared, he could only hope their sudden invasion had brought Edward home.

His legs ached, his arm ached and most of all his head ached. Damn it, why did it have to be such a long walk to get to the Rockbell's? Resembool. He spoke the name to himself as he trudged along, mumbling and groaning about anything he could think of. Even at twenty-two, he still had his immature moments and that included being tired, achy and starving. "Lights! They're still up. Finally I can get something to eat and a bath and a bed. Oh how I've missed a real bed." It would sink in about the time he started knocking on the door that rest would be the last thing he got when Winry realized who dared venture there so late. He ran the rest of the way to the door, dropping the small bag he'd been carrying with him for seemingly ages and pounded on the door with his left hand.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. This damned well better be important for you to be waking me up at this time of night or so help me…" She left the threat opened ended and he could hear the door being unlocked. When it finally swung open revealing a lovely young lady with blonde hair in a loose shirt and pajama bottoms he just smiled rather sheepishly.

She couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't dare believe her eyes. Standing in their doorway was a ghost. A ghost that had grown a few inches and probably stood somewhere in the vicinity of about five foot seven inches now, but a ghost none the less. His long blonde hair was braided down his back and he still dressed in all black though a dark brown one that didn't look like anything she'd seen before had replaced the trademark red coat. That boyish smirk and golden eyes twinkling with mischief finally pulled her back to reality and she spoke the only word that dared pass her lips. "E-Ed-ward?" and that was all she said before she fainted.