This story is different than the original. In this story, Ed doesn't get transported to the other side of the gate. Instead, they find another way of getting their bodies restored. Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I wish I did. This is my first fic. I hope you guys like it. Please review, and tell me what you think (seriously, if you think that it is the most horrible thing you have ever read in your entire life, don't be afraid to say so, cause that way, I'll know that I have to improve my stories a lot. I really hope that isn't the case, though.). I apologize in advace for any blurry parts, or spelling/grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

Night had fallen upon Resembool, and darkness had engulfed the small village. Nothing looked to be out of the ordinary on this particular night. But, in fact, something was unnatural was indeed happening. In a small house, the Pinako Automail workshop, where two beings were to be spending the night as guests, something beyond any child's imagination would take place.

One of the two beings staying in that particular house happened to be the young prodigy that went by the name 'Fullmetal Alchemist'. Although he had become a State Alchemist at the ripe, young age of only twelve, through the years he had travelled and gained much wisdom and experience. He was no longer considered a child. He had evolved into, and was now considered to be a wise, young man.

"Joy to suffering, victory to battle, life to the dead, for that is what the blood-red stone grants. Men honour it with the name 'Philosopher's Stone.' Al, do you know what I hold in my hands?" the young man spoke.

"Yes, brother, I do. You have found it-the Philosopher's Stone!" the noise came from the suit of armour that was standing beside the short teen. It was standing so still, transfixed by the sight in front of him, that, if you didn't know any better, you would think it to be just an ordinary suit of armor. But this particular suit of armor was anything but ordinary.

"No, Al. We found it-you and I. We've come this far, we've given up so much, and we're finally getting our reward." The blood-red stone in his hands began to glow an eerie red, and provided a source of light to the otherwise darkened room. "Tonight will be the night that we finally restore our bodies."

If a suit of armor could smile, this one would be. They both stared at the wondrous stone, and reflected on the misery they evoked in order to obtain this rare object. Though it saddened them both to the core of their souls, they couldn't turn back. They didn't have time to regret past doings. What has been done, has been done, and cannot be undone.

In order to create this stone, hundreds of lives had to be sacrificed. In the country of Creta, the nation that borders Amestris to the west, an uprising had began on Amestris's military. Edward Elric, aka the Fullmetal Alchemist, was called out to perform military duties in that country, and he had been forced to leave his younger brother, Alphonse, behind.

The uprising had been organized by hundreds of thousands of Cretan militants and also, many villagers who resided in Creta. Many had been killed or captured, and Ed had been forced to take lives. The ones who were captured were sentenced to execution. Fuhrer Bradley had decided to use the Cretans who had been sentenced to death to create the Philosopher's Stone, something he had wanted to obtain since the day he became Fuhrer.

Ed was unfortunately, one of the alchemists chosen to perform the alchemy that would create the stone. There was no choice in the matter of whether or not to perform the alchemy. It was either you do the alchemy, or you get charged with treason, and are sentenced to execution.

Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, was also one of the chosen alchemists, and since he did not trust the Fuhrer one bit with the stone, and since they didn't have a choice whether to make it or not, he came up with a plan. He arranged it so that once the stone was made, Edward would take it, and the other alchemists chosen to create the stone would help Ed escape with it. Edward would then hide with it, restore his body, along with his brother's, and then destroy the stone, for the stone could do much evil in the world, if it were to fall into the wrong hands.

Roy had helped him escape, and had avoided being punished for it by the Fuhrer by going into hiding himself.

The screams of the men, women and children who died to make the stone were still ringing in Ed's ears. The blood that splattered the walls, the sight of souls being ripped out of their bodies-it was the most horrific scene that anyone could imagine.

Ed and Al were currently hiding in the dark basement of their close friends' home with the sacred stone. The military still believed that he was in Creta, for Ed was able to escape across the border unnoticed, and then return to his brother, who was waiting for him in Resembool, without gaining any attention.

Obtaining the stone came at a price, though, a price beyond just the murdering of so many lives. It was a price that chilled Al to the core. The Fuhrer had ordered Edward Elric to be brought to him, dead or alive. But they had to restore their bodies. If they didn't, all their hard work would have been in vain.

"Are you ready?" Ed asked, nervously. What if the transmutation goes wrong? What if I don't do it right? My little brother is trusting that I will make everything better. That I will make all the evil go away. What if I fail him? These were the thoughts going through Ed's head once he seen his younger brother nod, hesitantly. Why is he hesitant? Is he scared, like I am?

Al caught onto his brother's thoughts, and placed an armoured hand on top of his brother's flesh one. Most people wouldn't consider that a comforting sign, but Ed wasn't most people. He immediately felt comforted, and ready to perform the task at hand.

They sat beside each other on the floor, with the stone in front of them. Ed had drawn a transmutation circle on the ground, not because he needed it, but because he felt better doing it this way.

"Here it goes, Al", Ed exclaimed, putting on a brave face. Ed and Al, both on their hands and knees now, turned to each other, and nodded. It was almost like the night when they had tried to resurrect their mother. It brought back painful memories, but they had convinced themselves, since their bodies had been lost, that the day they restored their bodies would be the day that would bring back all the happiness that had been sucked out of their world.

"Yup", Al replied, as he crawled into the middle of the circle. They had fed on false hope, and strived to do the impossible. Well, the day had finally come, and these boys were making the impossible, possible.

Ed slowly clapped his hands together and placed them upon the stone, which was now on the floor next to Alphonse. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The stone began to emit a light so bright, that Alphonse had to turn his eyes away. Suddenly, Al felt the feeling of cold, strong wind blow through him, and around him, lashing at him violently, and trying to blow him away.

He couldn't see anything. He could hear someone calling him from far away. He could hear screams and cries of pain. He could hear sobbing, and laughing, all at once. Then, it was silent. All there was was darkness. Then he felt someone shaking him, and calling his name. He tried to move, and was unsuccessful.

"Al!" He heard the voice clearly now. It was coming from his older brother. He fought to make some noise that would give his brother some sign that he could hear him. "Oh, God Al, please be okay!" Ed sat staring at his limp younger brother's recovered body. It lay, motionless, on the damp ground.

"Bro..." Al managed to sputter out. Edward was practically crying tears of joy as he sat and watched Al wake up in his real body. Al opened his eyes, slowly, and brought his now flesh hands up in front of his eyes so that he could get a good look at them. Ed wrapped his red cloak around Al's naked body.

Alphonse sat up slowly, with his older brother supporting him, and ran his pointer finger along the creases of the ground. "It feels so smooth", he whispered. Ed couldn't help but smile at that.

Suddenly, Al reached toward his brother and ran his fingers down his face, then down his own face. He touched Ed's automail, his hair, and interlocked their hands together with his recovered sense of touch. He then embraced his brother, and squeezed him tight, basking in his warmth. Ed relaxed into his grip, and ruffled his hair.

When Al released him, he spoke, "It's your turn, brother."

But as soon as those words came out of his mouth, they heard a large clatter from the floor above them. They heard Winry scream, and Pinako yell something. Ed slipped the stone into his pants pocket, and then nudged Al and hissed, "Hide! I think it's the military!" Al's eyes went wide, and Ed helped him stand up to walk to the designated hiding spot that Pinako told them to go, if such a need should arise. It was a room that was hidden behind a door less wall. Ed would create an entrance into it, and then demolish it once they were inside.

It was hard for Al to take steps in his human form, but he tried as hard as he could. He faltered with each step, but Ed was there to hold him up and give him brotherly support. Then, Al fell, and Ed failed to catch him. He landed with a thud on the ground and cried out in pain. He hadn't experienced pain for years, and he didn't remember how much it hurt.

"Brother, leave me and hide yourself. They're after you, not me. Please brother, don't get caught! Who knows what the Fuhrer will do to you once he had you!" Al cried out.

"No way in hell am I abandoning you, Al", Ed replied without hesitation, and worked on trying to get his brother back on his feet again. They were so close to the room that they were to hide in.

The basement door slammed open and dozens of military personnel stormed down the stairs, holding tight to their guns, ready to fire if necessary. "Right where we'd thought he'd be", the troops' commander spat. "We knew Edward Elric would just go crawling back home, where he would believe he was safe. Well, when you're here you're far from safe! This house was the very first place we thought to look."

Ed glared and clapped his hands, poised to do alchemy, when suddenly, Al ran into him, and pushed him down with all the strength he could muster. It wasn't much, but it caught Ed off guard, and he fell into the pile of boxes that were beside him, with his little brother toppled over him.

They were hidden in the pile, and, while trying not to let the militants know exactly where they were in the pile, Ed hissed at Al, "What the hell was that for, Al?"

Then Ed heard the gunshots that were aimed where he was standing. They would have hit him if it weren't for Al. Then the guns were aiming for the pile of boxes they were in, and gunshots rang out in both of the brother's ears. Ed grabbed Al by the wrist, and dragged him out of the boxes, dodging the bullets, and then used alchemy to create a concrete barrier between the soldiers and them.

Al was so weak, and could barely stand. Just a little running had taken so much out of him. "Brother", he gasped. "Please! Go on by yourself. I'm just a burden to you, and I'm slowing you down! If you get shot and taken, it'll be my fault!"

Ed replied, "Al, how many times am I going to have to say this. Why on earth would you believe I would actually leave you behind to save myself?" They heard men yelping in pain as their bullets ricocheted off of the wall between them and the brothers, and hit the ones that who had shot the bullets.

The soldiers that weren't injured came around the left side of the barrier, shooting, and so Ed and Al dashed out the left side, trying not to get hit. They then dashed up the stairs, trying to escape to the main floor where they'd have more room to fight back. One soldier's bullet managed to enter into Ed's flesh arm, and he cried out in pain, with a surprised look on his face that scared Al more than anyone could imagine.

There wasn't time to stop, though, no matter what kind of pain Ed was dealing with. They ran upstairs and out the front door, into the front yard, with the soldiers hot on their heels. Edward couldn't be sure, but he thought he could hear the faint voice of Winry calling to him from somewhere near.

Ed ordered Al to keep running, and then he clapped his hands together, and created a pillar from the ground that smashed into many of their followers. Then Ed caught up with his exhausted brother again, and they ran on.

Gunshots flew through the air, many just missing the Elric brothers, but none hitting them. Al suddenly cried out and fell to the ground, as the continuous run was too hard on his newly acquired body. Ed stopped briefly, and scooped up his little brother, then veered right and entered into the dense forest nearby to the house.

He hid Al's unconscious body in the bushes, after making sure that he was okay. He had just collapsed because of exhaustion and overexertion, and Ed couldn't afford to keep carrying him while running. He also wanted Al to be hidden so that the military bastards who were after them wouldn't find or hurt him.

Ed then continued to run through the forest, not caring where he was going, as long as it was away from his pursuers. Suddenly, something grabbed a hold of his arm, and he flipped around to find that it was only Winry, whose face was tearstained, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"This way", she whispered to him, and she pulled him out of the forest, into the open field, where no militants could be found. They were all in the forest still. Winry then wrapped her arms around him, and held him tight, as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I was scared they had gotten you", she said, as she released him.

Then she saw the bullet in his arm and screamed. Ed clamped a hand over her mouth, and ordered her to shut up, or they'd find them.

The rustling of bushes was enough to get them both to flip around and face the noise. They saw Al's body being pulled out of the bushes by a military dog, and a gun was held to his head. Ed and Winry both gasped, and Ed tried to run to his little brother, but Winry held him back.

"Don't leave me", she cried. "I don't want you taken, too. It's you they want, and Pinako told me that I had to stop you from doing things like this Ed. I'm sorry, but I can't let you rescue him."

Ed struggled and yelled, "Let go of me, dammit!", but Winry's grip didn't loosen. They both watched in equal horror, as Al was stuffed into the back seat of a military patrol car, and the car drove off into the distance, along with several others. No military man was left here, not even the injured ones.

Tears formed in Ed's eyes when Winry finally let go of him. He felt like chasing after the cars, but knew that he wouldn't be able to catch up to them. Winry burst into tears, and sunk to her knees. "I'm sorry, Ed. I'm sorry... I'm sorry."

Ed began to sway, and then he fell to the ground. That's when his world turned an eerie shade of black, and sound was drowned out by silence...

Don't worry- Edo-kun isn't dead, if thats what you think, and neither is Al. They are both just unconcious. Someone died in this chapter, though, and you'll have to wait until the next chapter comes out (which will be soon) to find out who it was (although you can always take a guess when you leave a review). Thanks for reading, and please please please leave a review!!! ~ m00nl1ghtshad0w