Don't Forget

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The silhouette hissed to the young boy in front of him.

The boy chuckled humorlessly, "I have nothing to lose. Just give me what I need to find them."

The silhouette grinned sadistically, "You'll get what you need when you go back to your real time."

The boy nodded, standing up from his bow, "Thank you."

"Ah, ah, ah," It said. "I need a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes. In your real time, there is a man who is playing god. I need him to be dealt with, as well as his subordinates."

"And why should I do this?"

"I'll give you what you want and more."

"I'm listening."

"I'll give you a sword able to penetrate any surface known to man and the most powerful gun. I'll give you super strength, speed, agility, and dexterity, the power to control wind, and regenerative abilities. How does that sound?"

"And all I have to do is defeat this man?"

"Exactly. The only thing is, when this mission is done, you cannot live anymore."

"What about my mission?"

"Don't worry," The silhouette reassured as it started to fade away. "You'll find them on the mission. And remember, everything comes at a price."

The boy woke with a gasp and pulsing pain in his left shoulder. Glancing at his left side, he noticed his left arm missing with blood pooling around him. He grunted, turning on his side, "My name," He said with a heavy tongue, "Rory. My name is Rory." He then glanced the transmutation circle, remembering what had happened, "I'm sorry, Leo. I'm so sorry." Human transmutation was never supposed to be done, but when his guardian had died 2 years ago, it was the only thing he could think of.

He stood, stopping abruptly when he felt his wound healing. The arm was still gone but the bleeding stopped. He nodded heavily, his body shaking, "Right, I have a mission. Nice powers, though." He shuffled his heavy legs to the exit where he found a bag full of clothes and necessities. He also found a holster with a large magnum, and a sword right next to it. He raised his eye brows, impressed, "That thing sure knows how to get things done."

He picked up all the things, which was a difficult task with one arm. He threw the back pack and sword over his back and tried to put the holster on, which was even more difficult since he needed to put it over both arms. He then glanced at the note attached to the sword. He grabbed it carefully, reading its contents. "Resembool. I wonder what's there. Talk about vague," He said as the note only contained an address. "Guess my adventure starts there."

He got there way quicker than he expected thanks to his super speed. He grinned in awe before knocking on the door to the house he was supposed to go to. When the door opened, a short, old woman opened the door. The frown on her face as she looked him over seemed permanently stuck there. He was glad he put the gun and sword into the back pack, away from an innocent's eyes.

She blinked at him behind her glasses, her gaze faltering as she took in his features. She then glanced at his missing limb and her face softened a bit, "You here for automail?"

Rory blinked before nodding hesitantly, "Yes, I suppose so. Do you make automail?"

"Sure do," The woman brought a long stick with a cigarette end to her mouth. "Best in this business."

Rory grinned widely, "I came to the right place then."

The woman smirked, stepping aside and letting him in the house, "I'm Pinako Rockbell. My granddaughter Winry will be helping. She's an automail mechanic as well."

He nodded, "That's great. Where do I sit?"

"Over there," Pinako pointed at the couch. "I'll get Winry."

Rory sat down as Pinako walked out of the living room. He sighed heavily, hoping the automail wouldn't take as long as it was rumored to be. He had a mission to do.

"Hello." He glanced up at the new, lighter voice and froze. "I'm Winry. You're here for automail?" She was a beautiful blonde. Her eyes caught his attention though. It was like they were a liquid blue while his were an intense dark blue. His throat suddenly tightened and his heart seized before he managed a nod.

Winry smiled lightly, gesturing him to follow her. "It should take about a few months before you have full control over your automail. I hope that's okay."

Rory inwardly sighed in relief, 'That's more than okay. Thank you for doing this. I don't know how I can repay you. I don't have any money."

Pinako chuckled, "How about you stick around and help out around the house? We need a little more company in these parts of the woods."

"Yeah," Winry nodded a bit sadly as she and her grandmother set everything up. "Especially since Ed and Alphonse are out and about."

"What are they doing?" Rory asked curiously. "If you don't mind me asking."

Winry smiled, "They're trying to get their life back together. Ed joined the military as a state alchemist so he could get more information."

"An alchemist?" Rory smiled widely. "I'm an alchemist too. That's kinda how I lost my arm."

The statement froze Winry and Pinako. "Oh no, boy," The elder Rockbell breathed shakily. "You didn't do human transmutation."

Rory held his shoulder, nodding his head in shame, "My guardian, Leo, died 2 years ago. I-" He swallowed thickly, his eyes stinging with unshed tears, "I didn't want to be alone. My parents gave me up when I was born, and all I had was Leo. I just wanted to bring him back."

"Ed and Al did that too," Winry said quietly, her eyes full of tears as well. "They lost their mother and their father was never there. They didn't want to be alone either. Ed lost an arm and a leg and Al lost his entire body. He's just a soul in a suit of armor now."

Rory nodded sadly before he felt his eyes shut, the events of the day seeming to catch up with him. Soon, he was unconscious, ready for the procedure.

As predicted, it only took a few months for Rory to get full control of his automail. He soon became a resident at the Rockbell house as he helped around the house and slept in the living room.

He and Pinako got along greatly. The two able to play a game of wits with each other at the dinner table every night. She appreciated having him around, lugging around the heavy packages they got with ease, and going to and from the market quickly. She rewarded him with food and compliments. She was the only motherly figure he had in his life at the moment.

Winry was a whole other story. He and Winry were inseparable. She and he stayed up late at nights and talked of their dreams, their goals, and how they wished life would be. She talked about her parents before they were shipped off to Ishval and died in the war. He talked about his adventures with Leo before he died of a fatal disease. She knew most of his secrets, and he knew most of hers. That was how his feelings for her grew. The only problem, she harbored a crush on Edward Elric, her childhood friend.

Now, he carried another package that had been dropped off at the mail office. Really, it wasn't much of a hassle since he had super strength. These new powers came in handy. He blinked at the three figures standing in front of the Rockbell resident. He cleared his throat as he came up slowly. "Hi," He greeted once they turned around. "Can I help you?"

"We don't need any help from you," The short blond on sneered, his red coat hanging limply on his right side.

"Brother," The suit of broken armor scolded, and suddenly Rory understood what was happening.

He nodded to himself, "You're the Elric brothers. I've heard so much about you."

Ed, he presumed, blushed slightly and bristled, "I see word gets around."

Rory furrowed his brow, "Yeah, it does. I've heard of you from Pinako and Winry. They speak very highly of you."

Ed seemed to straighten up at the statement, "Well, why wouldn't she? We are her childhood friends." He then narrowed his gold eyes at the taller boy in front of him, "What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Rory frowned at the rude tone. Al, he presumed, was shifting uncomfortably. "I'm sorry if I did something to offend you. I didn't mean to. Can you tell me what I did to make you so short with me?" He grimaced when the s word left his mouth. Winry told him not to use those words around Edward.

It was like an explosion. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT YOU CAN ON STEP HIM AND NOT EVEN NOTICE?!" Rory grimaced at the screaming. "That does it," Ed growled, throwing a punch with his only arm.

It was no contest even if he had two arms. With his super agility, and his training of martial arts with Leo, he grabbed Ed's wrist quickly, tightening his grip to bring him to his knees. He was able to do it with one hand as the other still had the box for Winry and Pinako. "Sorry," He grunted, keeping his grip, "Again, I didn't mean to offend you."

The door opened, drawing their attention, "What's going on out here?" Winry asked worriedly as she and Pinako stepped out onto the scene.

Pinako chuckled, "My, my. Looks like someone outmatched you, Ed."

Rory smiled apologetically, letting go of the alchemist's hand, "Sorry. I don't know what happened. My fault."

"Right," Ed hissed, shaking his hand out. "Who is this guy anyways, Winry?"

"His name is Rory," Winry replied, frowning at the other blond. "He's been staying with us."

"Whatever," Ed grunted, standing. He glared at Rory before his eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, I see. You're just an ass like your dad, huh?"

Rory jolted at the shorter boy's words, "W-what?"

"Edward!" Winry shouted warningly.

Ed, startled, looked to her and saw her discreetly shaking her head. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Sorry. I guess I mistook you for someone else I don't like."

Rory swallowed dryly, shaking his head and putting on a smile, "It's fine."