Okay. Okay. This chapter has so many feelings. Holy shit. I need to go be stoic for like a week.

Sorry if this is a little confusing or disjointed, it seemed that way while I was reading it... But anyway, enjoy I suppose.

Chapter Four- Strength

Edward was the first to wake up in the sterile white hospital room at around eight o'clock that night. His head was pounding, and a dull pain radiated through his chest with each breath. Riza was across the room, sleeping peacefully, it appeared.

"Where's Al?" Edward murmured to himself.

"He and Roy are still in surgery." Reid said as the BAU team entered the room. Edward jolted slightly in surprise.

"We'll give you a few minutes to come up with an explanation." Morgan said bluntly. Edward's brow furrowed.

"Huh? An explanation for what?" He asked, sitting up and watching the team reproachfully.

"Let's see... Your metal limbs, the weird tattoo on Riza's back, the tattoos on your and Alphonse's hands, the twelve weapons we found on Riza, the fact that you told the families of the victims that your last name was Elric and not Hohenhiem... Oh, and the fight you just got in." Rossi said. Edward grew paler with each item, his eyes filling with panic.

"Um... Well..." His face hardened stubbornly. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Actually, you do." Prentiss said. "Riza's firearms are not registered in any database, so she could go to prison for having them."

"And," JJ. added, looking hurt. "We want to know why you have lied to us." Edward turned to look at the window, frowning.

"You would not believe anything I said, even if I told you." He grumbled, inwardly sighing. "Trust me. It's not a simple explanation."

"Lay it on us." Rossi said, leaning against the wall.

'Where to even begin...' Edward sighed. "You have to promise not to interrupt." After getting nods of consent, he began. "Well, I guess it all started back in our world. You see, we're not from here. We live in a place called Amestris..."

...

At about precisely 11:12 pm on September 31, the middle-aged man walked up to the little light yellow house on the quiet suburban street and walked through the front door as if he belonged there.

"Forgetting to lock your door while there is a murderer running loose? Not advisable." The man murmured as he walked into the basement. Four children were fast asleep on air mattresses, oblivious to their death looming over them. The man strangled each of them, and then laid them out side by side before going upstairs again, and then venturing to the top floor. It was easy enough to strangle the wife and carry her down to the basement, and then easier still to force the husband down after her and strangle him as well.

As usual, he set to work, draining them of blood and painting the room red with it. Then he set to work on the eyes. The father, the mother, the oldest girl, the middle boy, the youngest girl... And then the poor friend who had picked the wrong day to sleep over. He gently, almost lovingly opened her eyes, but upon seeing them, he roared in rage.

The girl's eyes were brown. A dull, murky brown that enraged the man to no end. He threw aside the careful tools that he had used on the other eyes and took out his knife.

"You are not what Amy wants." He growled. He crudely cut out the girl's eyes and put them away so he would not have to see them. "Disgusting."

...

"So..." Prentiss said, sucking in a breath. "You come from a different world almost one hundred years in the past where Alchemy is the dominant scientific study?" Edward nodded.

"You, Roy and Riza all work for the military there?" JJ. added. Another nod.

"There are non-human beings called Homunculi who are named after the Seven Deadly Sins, two of which are now in our world?" Reid continued. Edward took a deep breath through his nose and nodded again.

"And you were brought here by two God-like beings known as Truth and Axiom?" Rossi finished. Edward nodded, gritting his teeth. His eyes had not left the window since he had begun his explanation, but he had a distant look in his eyes, as though he saw something the agents did not outside of the window. Something they could not even begin to imagine.

"I believe that the important points of Ed's account." Riza spoke up from the other side of the room. Unbeknownst to the other occupants of the room, she had woken up just after Edward and had been listening to them the entire time.

"What about your limbs?" Morgan asked. Edward's entire body froze.

"I am not talking about it." He growled, his voice leaving no room for argument. The room fell soberly silent. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and a doctor poked his head in.

"Alphonse Hohenhiem and Roy Mustang have been released from surgery. They are in the next room." The doctor said before disappearing. Edward slipped out of bed, holding his left side and walking to the door.

"You have a few broken ribs, you should not be moving so soon." JJ. said. Edward waved her off.

"I'll be fine. I have to make sure Al is okay." He said. The agents had not even noticed that Riza had gotten up to follow him. They walked stiffly into the next room. Roy was sitting up, being hooked up to an IV by a pretty nurse, while Alphonse was across the room, his eyes closed but his breathing too quick to be asleep. Edward walked over at his brother and slowly sat in the chair beside the bed. "Hey Al." He whispered. Alphonse's eyes flickered open.

"Hi brother." He croaked. The nurse who had been with Roy hurried over and pressed a button on the bed that gently shifted Alphonse into a sitting position and then offered him a bottle of water. "Tha... Thank you." Alphonse coughed, sipping the water gingerly. Edward heaved a sigh.

"What am I going to do with you, Al? You just love to worry me, don't you?" He murmured. Alphonse gave him a wary look that was probably meant to be a glare, but fell flat.

"You're one to talk. You're such a hypocrite." Alphonse pouted. Edward chuckled despite himself.

"Yeah, I guess so." He agreed.

Meanwhile, across the room, Roy and Riza were having one of their typical conversations:

"I am glad you are alright, Colonel." Riza said as she sat on the chair beside Roy's bed. Roy nodded.

"I'm glad you are alright as well." He said. Riza nodded. "By the way... That hospital garb does nothing for you, Lieutenant." He quipped. Riza's eye twitched.

"Thank you, Sir." She hissed, her voice tight. Roy smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He had obviously been expecting a slap for the comment. "You should consider thinking before you speak, Colonel."

"Interesting notion." Roy mused, tapping his chin. Riza rolled her eyes, but an amused smile tugged at her lips all the same. At that moment, the BAU agents walked in and settled around the room. Edward sighed, knowing they wanted more answers.

"So they aren't actually related to you?" Reid asked, jerking his head toward Roy band Riza, who chose to stay silent, wondering what the Elrics would say. The brothers nodded.

"No. Like we told you last time we were here, we have no relatives." Edward said, looking at the wall.

"Besides our father." Alphonse added. Edward turned his head to glare at the ground, avoiding looking at anyone.

"Don't talk about him." He growled flatly. Alphonse pursed his lips, but did not comment. He knew better than that.

"To be honest, we all forgot about that. It never even crossed my mind that they were not related to you." Rossi said, frowning.

"I guess we were just so absorbed in the case, that we didn't have the time or energy to question anything." JJ. sighed. "Besides... There was always something otherworldly about you two."

"It's understandable. It is a very difficult case." Alphonse said kindly.

"And your last name? Was that a lie too?" Prentiss asked. The brothers looked at each other, uneasily.

"Well, yes..." Alphonse began.

"And no." Edward finished. The BAU agents' eye brows raised.

"Continue." Morgan stated firmly.

"Hohenhiem is our dad's last name. We usually go by our mom's maiden name, Elric." Alphonse explained. His voice dropped. "Ed doesn't like to be reminded of dad."

"Well, I think that's all we need to know now." Morgan said, saving Edward from having to say anything. "The doctors want to keep you all overnight. We'll send over a car tomorrow to take you to the station. Sound good?"

The Amestrians nodded. "Fine." Roy agreed. The BAU team slowly filed out the door. Reid, the last one to go, paused before going out.

"Good night." He said quietly. Then he was gone.

...

Only a few hours after his third murder at 2:48 am on October 1, the middle-aged man walked into the old bungalow with a comfortable, confident air. The door was locked, but there was a key in the knot-hole of the small willow tree in the front garden.

The man walked past the stairs to the basement, the kitchen and the living room, until he came to the back of the home, where three bedrooms branched off of the hallway. He walked into the middle bedroom and stopped on the left side of the bed. He put some duct tape over the wife's mouth so that she would not make any noise before strangling her. Once she was unconscious, he lifted her up and carried her to the basement. He soon returned to the master bedroom.

"Get up." The man demanded, quietly so as not to wake the children. Not yet. The husband jolted up, looking first to the empty space on the bed beside him, and then to the man pointing a gun at his head.

"Where is Trisha?" The husband demanded. The man cocked the gun, scowling.

"I told you to get up. Now." He growled. The husband slowly stood, and allowed the man to force him into the basement at gun-point. When he saw his wife he turned to the gunman, half-furious and half-horrified.

"Is she dead?" He asked quietly. The gunman grinned, but he did not like the aura of danger that the husband was radiating.

"Not yet." With that he hit the husband over the head with the gun and then strangled him. Once that was done, he walked back upstairs. He entered the room of the older child first. A floorboard under his foot creaked and the child sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. When he spotted the unfamiliar man, his blue eyes widened.

"Alan!" He yelled. The man hissed in anger and plucked up the child before hurrying to the room across the hall. The younger child was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking confused. Upon seeing the gunman with his struggling older brother thrown over his shoulder, the younger child began crying. The gunman closed the door and stood in front of it, setting the older brother on the ground. Before the child could move, the man seized him around the neck and squeezed until the resistance left the child's boy. The man then set the limp body down and turned to the younger boy, who was by that time sobbing.

"Do not be sad. This is all for Amy." The man smiled at the boy before strangling him and carrying both children to the basement. He arranged the family on the floor in a line before taking out his knife. "Your eyes are so beautiful. So blue. Exactly what Amy wants to prove my love for her... Simply stunning..."

Then he set to work.

...

"Axiom... Was that...?" Truth tilted its head in confusion, completely forgetting his feud with the shadowy being in its bewilderment. Axiom nodded.

"It appears so. How odd." It commented idly. Truth frowned.

"Of all the things... I don't think they can handle this type of thing, Axiom. Not again." Truth said, quiet. Axiom shrugged, looking down.

"They don't have a choice." It said simply. Truth sighed, rubbing its face tiredly. For a God, Truth felt oddly powerless.

"I know."

...

"Do you guys actually believe them?" Morgan asked, rubbing his face tiredly. The others shrugged, seeming torn.

"It's an insane story." Prentiss said. "But I'm tempted to believe them. Edward seemed sincere."

"They could just be insane." Reid said quietly.

"Do you really believe that? Those boys are not crazy. You can tell from the look in their eyes." Rossi said, nodding to himself.

"I..." JJ. trailed off, swallowing. "I think I believe them."

"Are you serious?" Morgan demanded, astonished. Who would believe a crazy story like Edward's?

"Yeah... I don't think they want to lie to us. I think they're tired." JJ. murmured.

"Tired? Of what?" Reid asked, eyebrows raised. JJ. sighed.

"Hiding."

...

The Amestrians walked out of the hospital the next morning, looking worse for wear, but feeling well enough (all things considered). Outside of the hospital was a black Jeep being driven by a police officer. The Amestrians climbed into the vehicle and the officer turned to talk to them.

"Two more families were killed last night. Agent Morgan wants you to go check out the second crime scene." He said.

"Alright, let's go." Roy said, frowning. The officer nodded and began driving. They arrived at the bungalow. They hesitantly stepped out of the Jeep and walked toward the house. As they entered, they noticed police officers busy dusting for fingerprints, taking pictures and bagging potential evidence. They stopped at the top of the basement stairs.

"Let's get this over with." Edward sighed, walking down the stairs before he lost his nerve. The scent of blood wafted up the stairs, choking him, but he kept going. Near the bottom of the stairs, however, he stopped down in his tracks, making the other three bump into him.

"Ed, what's wr..." Alphonse trailed off, his face draining of colour.

"What's going on?" Roy murmured, slipping past Edward to peer at the bodies with morbid -and slightly horrified- curiousity.

"Mom... and Dad." Alphonse whispered. On the ground was a copy of the Elric family. Hohenhiem, Trisha... Edward and Alphonse. The murdered family looked exactly like them, several years previous. Alphonse picked his way carefully over the blood-saturated floor to crouch beside the body of the woman who looked exactly like their mother.

"Who were they?" Edward asked an officer who was photographing the bodies. The officer paused.

"Vincent, Trisha, Edmond and Alan Elric." The officer said. Alphonse, who had been staring at Trisha's face, suddenly stood and dashed up the stairs. Edward turned to watch him disappear up the stairs, but did not follow him just yet.

"How old were they? Edmond and Alan?" He asked, turning back to the officer.

"Edmond was ten and Alan was nine." The officer said, beginning to take pictures again. Edward nodded and then sighed, pushing back his bangs. He stood still for a few moments, staring at the all-too-familiar bodies. He tried to avoid looking at the body of Trisha, but in the end, his gaze fell on her corpse.

She looked identical to his mother, the same soft features, pale skin and brown hair. He wondered if her voice had sounded the same. If she had hummed the same tunes as she cleaned. Did she have a job here? Did she have that same sweet smell that he had never been able to identify?

Edward walked over to the bodies and, with shaking fingers, lightly closed the eyelids of each corpse, hiding the empty socket beyond. With their eyes closed like that he could image the three males to have bright gold eyes, and the woman to have gentle brown ones. He sighed again and turned to go upstairs.

"I'm going to find Al. You can handle this, right?" He murmured. Riza nodded.

"Of course. Go ahead." She said, her eyes soft with sympathy for the brothers. Edward nodded in thanks and walked to the main floor of the home. It was easy enough to find Alphonse by the trail of bloodied footprints he left. In the end, he found his brother standing at the edge of the deck in the backyard. He stared out at the yard, silent tears falling from his eyes.

Edward stood next to him, unsure of what to say. They both stayed silent for a long time, just watching, just listening.

It was a beautiful, warm autumn day. The sun shone down on them, and a pleasantly crisp breeze whispered through the trees, catching at loose leaves and leading them in a graceful, twirling dance until they hit the ground or snagged on a fence. The sounds of life were all around them, the pounding of running and playing footsteps, the low rumble of traffic, the sweet melody of chirping birds and humming insects, and the tinkling, bell-like sound of child laughter.

"It's funny," Alphonse spoke up suddenly. Edward turned his head, gazing curiously at him. "how an entire family can be brutally murdered, and yet nothing changes. The world keeps turning, the sun keeps shining, the birds keep singing. People keep working, talking, dancing, running, laughing. Nothing changes..." Alphonse turned to look at the house over his shoulder. "And yet everything does."

There was a pregnant silence.

"They were the same age we were." Edward murmured after a few minute's pause. Alphonse gave him a curious look.

"What?" He asked, rubbing the tears from his face. Edward sighed. That morning he had been so full of life, but the events of the past half-hour seemed to have aged him significantly. He looked more like Hohenhiem than ever.

"Those boys. They were the same age as us when Mom died." He whispered, his eyes following a bird as it glided leisurely through the sky, carried by the zephyr. Alphonse looked at the ground miserably, holding back more tears. Edward heaved another sigh, feeling weighed down by the plethora of emotions that tugged at his heart. They seemed to swim around them, threatening to drown both he and Alphonse.

Then, someone came up behind them and pulled them both into a hug. It was a maternal sort of hug, the kind that chased away the nightmares and soothed child-hood fears. It was not the kind of thing they would expect of the stoic Riza Hawkeye.

"The Colonel's still inside. This can stay between us." She whispered. "I'm really sorry you two had to see that." After a moment she released the brothers and gestured for them to sit on the edge of the deck. They obliged, sitting side-by-side, and she sat on Alphonse's left, watching them with a touch of concern softening her usually hard eyes. Both Elrics were in tears by now. "Crying isn't a sign of weakness, you know... It's a sign that you have been too strong for much too long."

"That so?" Edward whispered, watching the sky. Riza nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "And I would say that if anyone knows about strength, it would be the two of you."

"We aren't strong." Alphonse murmured, his face in his hands. "We're just... human."

...

Truth looked down upon the scene with a swirl of emotions. Sympathy, guilt, regret, sadness. Why were the Elrics always the ones that the world picked on?

'Because they are strong. They are incredibly strong. Maybe too strong.' Truth thought with a sigh.

"It's a shame they don't know better." Axiom murmured, gaining Truth's attention. "Calling those boys "only human". It's a laughable notion. They never stop moving forward, whether they have legs to walk or not."

Truth could only nod. Axiom paused, making sure the other being was not going to speak before continuing.

"I daresay they are stronger than even us."

... All my feelings.

Review or whatever. I'm going to go cry in the corner.