The day before

"Al? Al! Piece of crap," I said, hitting my automail arm on the radio. It gave a satisfactory clank sound before it started working again. I picked up the transmitter, pressing the button on the side.

"Brother?" I heard the radio crackle out.

"Yeah, Al. I can hear you now," I said, smiling to myself. "I had to beat up the machine to get it to work, though."

"Remember to turn the machine off when you are done. The button is all the way at the top. Sure you can reach it?"

I looked at the radio machine next to me, and the button, which reached, just about my waist.

I drew in a deep breath, and pushed the button on the transmitter. "ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!" I shouted into the radio, earning a few looks from the soldiers.

All I could then hear were Al's childish giggles over the radio. He always got more brave when there was distance between us.

I put my elbow on top of the radio, and rested my chin in my palm. I decided to let that one go. I brought the transmitter to my mouth.

"So, how's it going there?"

He stayed quiet for a moment. He was probably shocked by how mildly – if it can be called that – I had reacted.

"We are doing all right here. You?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but then something hard hit the back of my head. The pain soared through my body. All I could hear was "brother, brother" coming from the radio before I fell into a silent darkness.

After what seemed like eternity, my head begun to throb. The throbbing kept getting stronger and stronger before my senses started returning to me. A revolting smell penetrated my nose. I slowly opened my eyes, bringing my hand over my nose.

My eyes widened when I saw a soldier – who had been standing just a few yards away from me – lying in front of me, dead. I sat up quickly, shocked by the scene around me – all of the soldiers, the whole squad, dead. I stood up.

Everything was silent, and eerie. I gathered that the attacker, or attackers, had left.

Suddenly, something hit my back, sending me to the ground. After that, I heard a loud clanging penetrating the silence that was before. After a second, I realized that the attacker was hitting my automail leg; possibly to break it.

"Fuck," I whispered, moving my leg quickly out of the way and jumping into a standing position. I transmuted my automail arm into a blade, as I had done many times before, and turned around, prepared to kill me attacker.

I was shocked with what I saw.

A small girl stood before me, tears in her eyes. A small girl with blonde hair, who reminded me so much of Winry when we were younger. I suddenly felt like a monster.

However, I immediately was suspicious and looked at her left leg; searching for Envy's Ouroboros tattoo. She didn't have one.

I kneeled down, so I was at her eye level. Hesitatingly, I placed my left hand – my flesh hand – on her shoulder. It seemed to ease her discomfort, slightly much to my relief. However, she didn't pay much attention to me; her eyes were fixated on the dead soldiers. I tried to hide the scene of murder with my body, and when I did so she looked at me.

"Are you lost?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"You should go home," I told her, squeezing her shoulder gently.

She shook her head again.

I looked at her in a confused manner. "Why not?"

She answered in six words, in a voice that sounded so much like my Winry's.

"Because I have to kill you," she said.

Right then, I saw the Ouroboros tattoo. It had been on her forehead, hidden by her blonde hair.

She was strong. She moved fast. I could feel her injuring my whole body, but I couldn't move; I couldn't bring myself to hurt her, to hurt…Winry. When she had beaten my body enough, she started attacking my automail. Right at that moment, something came to my realisation; I had to protect these automail. They were the only thing keeping my connected to the real Winry.

I started blocking her attacks to the best of my ability. However, I could feel my power draining, and I knew I didn't have too much strength left. I tried to think that this wasn't Winry, but it was hard.

I started attempting hitting her, but, as I already stated, she was fast. For a second, she lost her concentration when her blow to my automail didn't break it, and I hit her in the chest. She fell to the ground, and I pinned her down.

"I'm sorry, Winry," I whispered, a few tears streaking from my eyes. I knew this wasn't Winry, and that my eyes were deceiving me, but it felt like…it felt like I was killing the girl I loved.

I raised my automail blade, ready to strike it through her. A few inches from her, she began to transform, just like Envy. In a few moments, she had become Winry. Not the small girl, but Winry.

"Edward, please don't do this. Please," she said, sounding exactly like my Winry. I saw the tears forming in her eyes, and they soon fell down her cheeks.

I froze. In my moment of hesitation, a smirk crossed her face right before she hit me on my chest, which sent me on my back. Right after this, she began to administer more blows on my body – harder than before.

Hitting young Winry had been hard enough. Hitting Winry…I would rather kill myself.

I knew my body was losing blood. I knew I couldn't survive for long. I knew I would die here, I would die now.

However, then she said something that made me realize that I can't die here.

"Humans…so pathetic," she said, something exactly a Homunculus would say.

This simple sentence, these three words, were what made me realize that I had to live. My Winry was in Risembool; she wasn't here. And I would not die before I told her how I felt about her.

Much to the Homunculus' surprise, I began to move. Fast. I was even surprised myself; it must have been love. Love, love for Winry that was keeping me alive.

I struck her in her stomach, then her face. It wasn't enough, though. She kept hitting me harder, and trying to strike my automail leg and arm.

I clapped my hands together, creating walls of the earth around her. She was surprised, yet again; this was the first time I was using alchemy in this fight. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before; I must've been too distracted by Winry, and the Homunculus.

She was knocked down to the floor by the walls, but jumped back up quickly. She ran swiftly past me, and then she was right in front of me. Confused by her actions, I didn't know how to react. She grabbed onto my automail arm, and grasped it with all her strength; the metal slowly came apart. She then pulled my arm out of its socket, disconnecting the nerves.

I let out a scream, falling to my knees. She used this to her advantage, and began hitting my body again. I stood up quickly, enraged. She backed off a few yards, prepared for my next attack.

All I could feel was my anger; my anger for this Homunculus. She had destroyed something that was given to me by the girl I love; something that was so precious to me. I ran quickly to her, and pinned her into a tree. I pushed against her with all the strength I had in me; much to my surprise, she couldn't budge.

She wasn't a Homunculus.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking into her eyes.

"Wha-? Edward, it's Winry," she tried, more tears streaking down her eyes.

"No, you're not! No. You. Are. Not," I said, slowly. "Who are you?!" I screamed into her face.

That disgusting smirk was on her face again. "I might as well tell you. I am a Homunculus."

"No, you aren't. If you were a Homunculus I wouldn't be able to pin you to a fucking tree," I said, anger in my voice.

"I am. But I am not like the other Homunculi; if you haven't noticed, I am not a sin," she said, talking to me as if I was a child. "Our father decided to get rid of another emotion completely useless to him; love. Such a pathetic emotion, really."

I grasped her tighter. "It is not pathetic."

"Oh, but it is. Whoever sees me sees the person they love most. You see Winry Rockbell. You saw her as a young child because that is when you started loving her," she said, then started giggling.

"What is so funny?" I asked sternly.

She started laughing now. "You know, all of those soldiers I killed; they were killed by the person they love the most. By their wife, child, anyone…it is so humorous, really."

I couldn't take this anymore – especially not when she looked like Winry.

"None of the soldiers even attacked me –" she started, but was cut off when I plunged my hand into her forehead. She let out a piercing scream.

The Philosopher's Stone; I had to get it. If she weren't like the other Homunculi, she wouldn't survive without it being in her given body.

Suddenly, I felt a strong power that was now flowing through me. It was the stone. I wrapped my two fingers around it, and pulled it quickly out of her. Her body immediately dispersed, and the stone into dust in my hand. I fell to my knees, more tears flowing from my eyes.

It felt like I had just killed my love.

I had to go to her. I had to see Winry, right now.