A/N: This is to address one of the reviews I received that was quiet critical of my work, which I appreciate as it will help me improve my writing skills, and to answer any questions asked. To start with I would just like to defend why I put certain things and why I think my plot would work.

Firstly, there is the reason why I think the military would let Panem hold a Hunger Games, or more accurately why I think Fuhrer King Bradley would let a Hunger Games be held. I agree that Ishval links to this, though for a different reason. Ishval was set up by the homunculi as a way to draw out people looking for the philosopher's stone. Killing kids from the country would be a good way to find people willing to try to make the stone in order to bring the dead children back. Another reason I think Bradley would let it happen is if say Amestris was going through a series of rebellions; threatening peoples' children would, in most cases, stop the parents from rebelling in fear that their child could be next. We have to remember now that the Amestrian Military, which rules the country, is as corrupt as hell and run by a homunculi who has no one's best interests at heart. And as for the Elrics being a part of the games; what better way is there to get rid of your enemy then to send them into a deadly game?

Another point that was brought up was the mood swings in some characters. That is something I am trying to work on when writing though I think in Edward's case it can be excused where his baby brother is concerned. After all Alphonse is all Edward has left and even the thought of Alphonse being in danger so soon after getting his body back would be a terrifying prospect to Edward who, if things got as bad as Alphonse's life actually being put on the line, would probably go into a state of hysterics. Alphonse's life being in danger coupled with Edward's own life being in danger would have an amplified effect of the fear Edward felt after he was attacked by Barry the Chopper; which if you remember caused Edward to cry, though this could be disregarded as Edward was only 12 at the time but I still believe that Edward would panic and react how I had him react if his baby brother and himself were in danger even as a 16 year old. Though Edward may seem it at times he is far from invincible, if the human body is put under enough stress then the person will break; in this case the stress of a baby brother being in danger, yourself being in danger, worrying about a friend being put into danger and the overall thought of the Games would be enough to make anyone brake down, including Edward.

As for the use of 'awful dialogue', that can't be helped seeing as I was only 15 when I started writing this (and I am now only 16) and haven't been writing for that long. Though I do hope that improves with time, along with my other skills such as my accidental skipping between tenses.

The most important thing I would like to say is that this is Fanfiction and so I believe a little OCCness and terrible writing can be excused; after all no one, at least not anyone I know, who writes on this site is a famous master writer who can say they have the perfect writing style. No one has the perfect writing style as everyone has a different style, my style just happens to be a work in progress at this point in time.

Oh I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed and/or read this fanfiction. I appreciate all reviews I get because they make me glad that I write and help me work towards my dream of being an author. Constructive criticism is also welcomed as it helps me grow as a writer and helps me learn what skills I have to work on, though if I disagree with any points of constructive criticism I will say so in an A/N like I did with this chapter. I only do this because I want you to understand what I was thinking when I thought up certain things, because I assure you I didn't just sit there and think randomly "It would be fun to put Edward and Alphonse in danger, let's throw them into the Hunger Games." I hope this A/N has cleared up the reasons behind my decision to have Bradley hold a Hunger Games and if at any point during this Fanfiction you have a question or just want to know the reasons behind a certain decision then please say so, I will be happy to answer any questions and explain any reasoning's.

Which brings me onto my next point actually; in answer to a resent reviewer's (at least resent to when I am writing this A/N) questions this fanfiction takes place in the first series as a sort of alternate ending where Al never got turned into the stone and Ed never confronted Dante about her plans. Ed still has his alchemy (and both his automail limbs). Also to make things simpler to write the homunculi are killed in the same way as in Brotherhood; although it takes less kills for them to stay dead so that the games don't drag on for too long. I think that answers the questions…

Once again thank you to the reviewers and the readers.

…Wow that's one hell of a long authors note… Anyway onto the chapter.

Chapter Three – Goodbyes

As the sun rose the next morning and its rays peeked through the curtains Ed shifted closer to his brother in his sleep, burying his head against Al's chest to hide from the light.

"Ed lay on your own half…" Al muttered trying to push Ed's sleeping form to the other side of the bed which only resulted in Ed shuffling closer to him.

"Warm…" The older Elric mumbled, his voice muffled by the fabric of Al's clothes. Finally Al succeeded in pushing Ed away from himself and to the other half of the bed. Having lost the warmth of his brother Ed rolled over to try and find another source of heat he could cuddle up to but fell off the bed instead and landed on the hard wooden floor with a bang.

"Ouch." Ed said as he sat up and rubbed his head where it had made contact with the ground. Al shifted in the bed so he was leaning over the edge to look at his brother, a badly concealed smile gracing his lips.

"Maybe next time you should try climbing out of bed normally, it might hurt less." The younger boy said, unable to keep the giggle out of his voice. Edward sent a glare at his little brother.

"Oh shut it." He said, picking himself up off the floor. Al couldn't help but laugh at how ruffled his older brother looked as he watched Edward attempt to unknot his hair using only his fingers. Ed opened his mouth to snap as Alphonse when a knock at the door stopped him. Closing his mouth with a snap Ed walked over to the door and pulled it open violently enough that it hit the wall and swung back to hit his foot.

"Ow." Ed shouted as the door crushed his right foot.

"Finally you've gotten what you deserved for all the times you've abused my office door, Fullmetal." Mustang said with a smirk from the door way, watching as Ed stood on one leg whilst holding his hurt foot.

"Fuck off Mustang; I'm not in the mood to deal with your stupidity today." Ed said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well good morning to you too, Fullmetal, glad to see you're back to your normal perky self." Mustang replied, shifting to lean against the doorframe.

"If you don't have anything intelligent to say, Colonel Bastard, then just piss off." Ed said, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Now, now, Edward, is that really the way to speak to your commanding officer?" Mustang said his usual smirk in place. With a huff Ed turned on his heels and walked over to the bed. He flopped down onto it and narrowly avoided landing on Al, who quickly moved out of the way. Mustang's eyes scanned over the appearance of the two boys, taking in their matted hair and rumpled clothes. "Couldn't you reach the mirror to brush your hair, Fullmetal?" the Colonel said, smirking more.

"I'm not short!" Ed shouted loudly, his teeth gritted together and his hands clinched into tight fists. "Of course you're not, Fullmetal, you're just vertically challenged." He said while laughing.

"What are you doing here, Bastard?" Ed said, his arms and legs crossed and his mouth set in scowl.

"I came to give you this." Mustang said, holding up a large bag, "it's full of things you'll need while you stay here." He placed the bag down in front of the bed and watched as the two boys looked through its contents, throwing most of it onto the floor. Mustang couldn't help but grin as Ed turned his nose up at the number of frilly dresses and skirts the bag contained. A scowl formed on Ed's face as he pulled a pink hairbrush out of the bag, holding it at arm's length as if it might bite him. With his scowl still in place Ed started to brush his hair, wincing every time the brush snagged on a knot. Mustang walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, turning Ed to the side he pulled the brush from the slightly shocked metal grasp.

"Let me do it." He said with a small smile. Slowly he started to brush through the long golden locks, taking care to be as gentle as possible. Reluctantly Ed let his eyes slip shut, a content smile gracing his lips as the brush softly slid through his hair. Al propped himself up on his elbows to watch, his ankles crossed in the air.

"You're good at that." Al commented, a smile curling his lips as he watched his brother at ease with the Colonel brushing his hair.

"I suppose I am." Mustang replied, his hands still gently working on Ed's hair.

"Probably because of all your lady friends." Ed said his voice no more than a murmur, his golden eyes half lidded. A small chuckle escaped Mustang.

"You're probably right." He said his voice light with humour. Even after all the knots where out of Ed's hair Mustang continued to run the brush through the silken strands.

"That feels nice," Ed practically purred, "It's been such a long time since someone's brushed my hair like this." With a small sad smile Mustang reluctantly stopped brushing Ed's hair. As soon as the brush's teeth stopped combing through his hair Ed shifted to look at Mustang.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"There are no more knots and I need to get going." Mustang replied, placing the brush down on the bed beside him.

"Oh." Ed said, his gaze shifting to the floor.

"But I'll be back later, I promise." Mustang said quickly, laying an un-gloved hand on the teen's head. Ed shoved the hand away.

"Yeah, whatever." He said, turning so he back was to Mustang. With a slight sigh Mustang rose from the bed, pausing to ruffle each boys' hair before leaving. Outside the room he gave himself a moment to lean against the wall, his mind racing through the possibilities of the coming weeks, before heading back to his office to start on his paperwork. Inside the room Ed was staring at the pink hair brush beside him, his eyes glaring at it as if it had somehow harmed him. A shift at the other end of the bed brought Ed's focus back to the present and he slowly lifted his gaze to meet his brother's.

"We should get ready." Al said quietly, his voice no more than a whisper. Ed nodded his head. "Yeah." He replied. Slowly, as if on automatic, both boys moved around the room and its adjoined bathroom to get ready for the day. Before leaving the room to go get breakfast Ed looked at his reflection in the mirror. The person starring back at him from the mirror was wearing a long sleeved red dress with white lace edges, the dress went to nearly his ankles with long white socks covering the rest of his legs. On his hands he was wearing simple white silk gloves and his feet were comfortably inside a pair of polished black dolly shoes. A red silk ribbon was tied at the back of his hair to finish the disguise off.

"I hate this so fucking much." Ed muttered angrily, turning to face his little brother. Al rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly; his cheeks a light shade of pink at seeing his brother dressed in so much lace, silk and frills. Ed's golden eyes swept over his little brother, checking he was properly dressed. A pout formed on his lips when he saw the type of clothes Mustang had gotten his brother. Al was stood wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans; a plain white T-shirt was only just visible under a dark blue zip up jacket. Navy blue tennis shoes with white soles and laces adorned Al's feet, and a simple gold chain necklace was around his neck. Ed let out a snort.

"I guess the bastard does have some sense with clothes… though I'm still killing him for the dresses, skirts, padded bras and ribbons." He said, folding his arms over his slightly protruding chest. Al let out a nervous laugh, uncomfortable with talking about bras.

"Let's go, Al." He said, putting his hand on the door handle.

"Ok, brother." Al replied, taking a step to follow.

As Ed pulled open the door he spoke, "You can't keep calling me brother, Al, I'm Trisha right now. If someone hears you calling me brother or Edward my cover will be blown."

"Sorry, I forgot. I won't do it again, I promise br-sister…" Al replied following as his older brother left the room. Ed led Al down the hall and to the canteen that had been set out for them. Walking in Edward's golden eyes immediately scanned the area, taking in the positions of everything and everyone in the room. He walked with confidence over to the end of the food line, Al sticking close to his side. Picking up two trays Edward passed one to his little brother. Ed led the way to a deserted table in the corner of the room after they had each chosen something to eat. They sat in silence nibbling on their food, neither having the appetite to enjoy what they were eating. After eating half the content of his tray Ed began pushing the food around with a fork, his golden eyes skimming over the faces in the room. With a clatter he dropped his fork and rose to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as it was pushed back.

"C'mon, Al, let's go somewhere less depressing." He said, picking up his tray in one hand. Al nodded in agreement with his brother and picked up his own tray before following the elder Elric to the bin to deposit the rest of their barely touched meal. Edward gave one last long look around the room before heading back to his room, his little brother close behind. Ed flopped down on the bed as soon as he entered the room, his golden hair fanning out around his head.

"I hate this." He said, folding his arms over his eyes to hide them from view. Al closed the door gently before positioning himself on the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on the floor by his feet.

"Same." He agreed quietly.

A knock broke the silence that had filled the room, rousing Ed from his light nap.

"Al, get the door." He muttered sleepily when the knocking persisted. Al hummed in answer as he slipped off the bed.

"Ed?" The sound of his name had Edward bolt upright in bed, his hair and clothes in disarray.

"Winry?" Ed asked in disbelief, his golden eyes locked on the blonde female stood in the doorway. Winry crossed the room hurriedly, throwing her arms around Ed tightly. Ed fell backwards due to the force, pulling his mechanic on top of him. He lay still, stunned by the appearance of the tearful girl. Al stood beside the bed, just as shocked as his brother.

"Winry, what are you doing here?" he questioned. Winry pushed herself into a sitting position, her legs either side of Edward's waist. With a weak smile she wiped her eyes.

"I'm here to visit, stupid." She said. Ed propped himself up on his elbows, a golden eyebrow arched.

"To visit or say goodbye?" He asked, earning gasps from both Winry and his brother. Winry slammed a wrench down on his head, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.

"Don't you dare act like you won't come back!" She shouted. Ed reached up towards her, catching a falling tear on his thumb.

"Don't cry, Win, you're stronger than that." He said softly.

"You will try to come back, won't you?" Winry asked, rubbing her eyes. Ed didn't answer for a while, causing Winry to lower her hands slowly.

"Edward, you will try to come back, won't you?" She asked again. A knock on the door cut off Ed's response.

"Time's up." A voice called through the door. The three teens all glanced at the door before Winry turned back to Ed.

"Tell me you'll try to come back, Ed." She said, her eyes tearing up again. Ed gave her a crooked smile, pulling her into a hug. Gently Ed moved them so they were both standing.

"Alphonse will come back." He breathed into her ear. Pulling out of the hug Winry stared at him with wide eyes.

"What about you, Ed? You'll try to come back too, right?" She asked desperately. Ed's smile turned sad as he gave a shake of his head, guiding Winry to the door.

"Why not, Edward? Why won't you try?" She asked frantically tears cascading down her cheeks as she turned to face him, stopping him from kicking her out.

"My brother is worth everything, Winry." Ed replied, trying to get past her to open the door.

"Even your life?" Winry questioned her hands on her hips. Ed paused in his movements and bowed his head, his hair covering his eyes.

"Yes, Winry, especially my life." He said quietly. His words shocked Winry giving Ed the chance to push her gently out of the room. Ed rested his forehead against the reclosed door, letting the cool wood soothe him.

"You're being too quiet, Al," He muttered, "What's wrong?"

"I want you to win, Brother," Al said, "then Winry won't cry anymore." Ed shook his head, pushing off the door to turn and face his little brother.

"That's not true, Al, and you know it. Even if I win she'll still cry." He said his head still bowed as he moved to sit on the floor against the bed.

"She'll cry for less time if you win." Al told him, moving to sit beside him. Ed brought his knees close, pressing his face to them.

"I don't want to have this conversation anymore, Al, so drop it." He said, his knees muffling his words.

"Ok, Brother." Al said. The door opened after someone gently knocked on it and in stepped Hawkeye.

"Hello, boys." She said softly, shutting the door behind her. Al smiled softly up at her.

"Hello." He replied. Ed gave a grunt in response.

"How are you two doing?" Hawkeye asked, not moving from her place near the door.

"It could be worse I suppose." Ed said lifting his head away from his knees but keeping it bowed. Al nodded in agreement before looking at the floor.

"We made Winry cry," He admitted quietly, "We promised her we wouldn't make her cry again unless it was with happiness." Ed made a sound of agreement, his head low. Hawkeye moved to kneel in front of them, laying a hand on each of their heads.

"It's not a bad thing to cry every once in a while," She said reassuringly, "you can't be strong all the time; you're only human."

"Yeah… only human… we can't even save a little girl…" Ed said, his voice cracking in the middle.

"You've gotten a lot stronger since then, Edward." Hawkeye said, running her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner.

"What if I'm still not strong enough?" He asked, looking up at her with liquid eyes.

"I don't know, Edward, I really don't." She replied honestly. Ed hung his head in defeat, tears dripping from his eyes to the floor. Al sniffled beside him. Hawkeye kissed them each on the top of the head before rising to her feet.

"I'll send the Colonel in." She said before walking out the door. Once outside she bowed her head, covering her face with her hands.

"Hawkeye? Riza, what's wrong?" Mustang asked, walking over and laying a hand on her shoulder. Hawkeye fell against him, clinging to him for support as her shoulders shook. Mustang automatically wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circle on her back.

"We might lose them, Roy. After everything that's happened we might finally lose them." She whispered brokenly. Mustang rested his cheek on top of Hawkeye's head, his eyes slid shut.

"I know." He said quietly, his voice thick with emotion.

"They're already so broken, Roy, I don't know how long they'll last in the games." Hawkeye said against his chest, her tears soaking into his uniform.

"We'll just have to try and fix them a little then," Mustang said, "at the very least we can hold the pieces together." Hawkeye pulled back to look at his face, her red rimmed eyes searching. She let her eyes slip closed after finding what she was looking for and took a steadying breath.

"They're waiting for you." She said her voice emotionless as she turned and walked away. Mustang nodded before turning to the door. Taking a calming breath he pushed the door open, a smile plastered on his face. The smile slipped slightly as he took in the sight of the young brothers. Alphonse was wrapped tightly in Edward's arms, the elder Elric's face pressed into soft dirty blond locks.

"Boys." Mustang greeted, fake cheerfulness thickly lacing the word. The forced smile fell completely from Mustang's lips when neither boy responded.

"You'll be ok." He said softly, shifting to kneel before them. Ed finally lifted his head, shooting a glare at Mustang.

"Are you trying to reassure us or yourself?" He said with a frown. A small smile curled the corners of Mustang's mouth as he looked down slightly.

"Both, I guess." He admitted. Silence followed his words, hanging in the air heavily. Mustang cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to dispel it.

"We'll all help you." He said, locking his gaze with Ed's. Edward snorted, turning his head to break the eye contact.

"We don't need your help, Colonel Bastard. I can get Al through on my own." He said. Al stayed silent, his head resting against Ed's chest. Mustang sighed, a gloved hand moved to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Why do you insist on being so stubborn all the time, Fullmetal? Why can't you just accept our help?" He asked, sending Ed a glare. Edward rose to his feet, his hands curled into tight fists at his sides. Alphonse shifted back slightly, giving his brother room to move.

"Because I don't need it! I've looked after my brother by myself up until now and I can continue to do it!" Ed shouted. Mustang climbed to his feet, glaring down at Edward.

"What about after you get yourself killed in the games? Who will look after him then? Because as you are now you don't stand a chance of surviving and as soon as you die in there so does he." Mustang retorted. Ed's eyes widened as his body started to shake. He opened his mouth multiple times to respond but just reclosed it each time with a snap. Mustang waited with a raised eyebrow. Finally Ed let his head slump forward, his shoulders slouched. Mustang smiled softly, laying a hand on Ed's shoulder.

"I'll mentor you both while Riza will be your stylist, with Winry's help. The papers have already been signed to confirm it." Mustang explained. The boys gave Mustang identical shocked looks.

"You want Winry to basically make us look pretty for when we die?" Al questioned.

"It would destroy her!" Ed shouted. Mustang held up a hand to silence the boys.

"It was her choice, boys," Mustang said, a smile slowly curled his lips; "if I remember correctly she said something about making sure that a certain little someone didn't ruin her wonderful creation."

"WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE!?" Ed shouted. Mustang let out a chuckle.

"I may have added in a small part to that." He said with a smirk.

"If you're just going to insult my height then get out Colonel Bastard, I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now." Ed said, his eyes smouldering. Mustang's dark eyes looked into the depths of Ed's as a small smile curled his lips.

"You've grown a lot since I first met you, Ed, and that… don't let it go to waste." He said before turning and leaving. Mustang sighed once the door had clicked closed behind him. Before walking away he let his unsaid words ghost over his lips; "I'm proud of you boys."