A.N: PLEASE READ, OR AT LEAST READ THE BOLDENED STUFF. Hello! I'm terribly sorry I haven't written any stories for a while. I was on hiatus with some trips, projects, tests, homework, (insert all other things you guys dont want to bother reading). All in all, this is a kind of new story I'm working on. If you guys had a chance at reading my one-shot entitled 'Find Me' (which I deleted), then you'll get somewhat of a taste of where I'll be going with this. Of course, it won't be exactly the same, I'll be adding much more things to it. Also, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS MAY END UP BEING A MORE MATURE-AUDIENCE THEMED STORY. I don't really intend on keeping this G rated, but I wont promise making it M rated either. I may or may not go that far. With all these things in mind, I do hope you enjoy the first chapter of many to come. (:


Thoughts whirred and whizzed inside Edward's mind. At first, he thought it was still just the sounds of mechanics, sawing away at glimmering sheet metal, sanded to the final inklings of its strength. Only Truth knew how many times he'd come across those sounds throughout his life. Edward surprisingly found himself longing for the annoyance, anything to keep his mind occupied. To put it simply, it was endless. An endless pit, filthy with the past. But nothing could have been filthier than his intentions those few years ago. It was unjust, cruel even. He had planned to leave her. How dared she leave him first? After all those years of looking forward to the future, reassuring his younger brother that she wouldn't, in fact, be needed after he retrieves their bodies, Edward didn't once dare stroll by the thought of her leaving first. And to think that all he could do was clutch her bloody body and cry in her chest, his screams muffled in the fabrics of her shirt as memories of what had happened just moments ago flew through his mind.

"No way am I going back, Brother! I'm coming with you! I finally have you back, I-..."

His face had looked so determined and joyful, as always. Even as a faceless suit of armour, his brother's emotions radiated like a thousand burning suns. So, why? Why did it crumble? Better yet, why did Edward hesitate before looking behind him? Surely, an unfortunate event was inevitable in the conditions at the time, but it happened so quickly, the amber eyed boy found himself generously pleading for time to 'calm down a little'. It barely took a quick glimpse at her shocked face before the zeppelin buckled. What was there to be done? Two boys couldn't alter the past.

Two boys who couldn't even save a little girl.

"Brother. Ed. Edward. Hey. Short-stuff."

Edward's mind immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing the crude remark. Unsurprisingly, he found himself shooting a disgusted scowl at his younger brother, his nails digging deep into the wooden bar table before him. There was barely anyone else left at that time of night. He could just make out a drunken middle aged man slumped against the back door, if he wasn't mistaken. The bartender wiped the beer glasses clean, his small beady eyes glancing at the 24 year old from time to time. Beside him, Alphonse stood, his face stern with the slightest hint of concern. What the hell is he looking at?

"Yeah, what?"

"You haven't touched your ale. And stop tracing your fingers over the brim, will you? The sound is annoying, and you'll break the glass! Plus, you still haven't payed."

Alphonse was given a quick reply with a flick of his brother's wrist, which surprisingly annoyed him more than he'd think.

"My pocket money is your pocket money... Besides I didn't even drink it yet." The wooden stool he'd been sitting on dragged across the floorboards, causing a more atrocious sound than that of the alcohol glass. Alphonse glanced at the bartender beside him, who looked just about ready to sock his brother in the face mercilessly. Alphonse chuckled nervously, and hushed a silent apology, attempting hard not to perform the favour himself.

"Hurry up, Alphonse. I'll be waiting in the car."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The younger brother sighed, glancing at the single spot he'd been wiping for ages a final time. It was nerve wracking, really, how blunt and rude his brother was sometimes. And in front of his burly, 6'2 bartending boss at that!

"Yer brother still stuck on old time's ass?"

"Uh, well, I'd imagine... Look, Spencer, I'm real sorry about Edward. He's still, uh, in progress, so to speak."

Spencer's eyes remained glued to the glass in his hands, but his silent snorts could be faintly heard. Alphonse wasn't sure how to reply at this point, and frankly found himself trapped in a rather awkward silence. With a bow of his head, he bid the man a quick farewell before dashing out of the bar to meet with his brother. He was glad Edward hadn't drunk any of his alcohol for the mere fact that Alphonse was far too exhausted to drive.

"Finally get away from the gorilla?"

"You almost got me killed." Alphonse scowled.

"I always almost get people killed."

Alphonse bit his tongue.


"Noah, sweetheart, please stop pacing. You're making my head spin."

Noah's eyes flickered from beneath her chocolate bangs, glancing at her fiancé. "I... Forgive me. I'm simply worried. Those two boys have barely returned any of my calls, and still haven't written back. And after all Edward has been through... And Alphonse, that poor boy, he's barely of age to withstand all of this-"

"They'll make it, Noah. These are the Elrics we're talking about here. They can figure something out for themselves."

A slow sigh escaped the gypsy's lips as she plunked down beside the dark haired man. Although his face remained plastered with determination, Noah could see right through him as if he were made of glass. There was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, almost as if wishing he could take back every word he spoke.

"Believe me," he said, gently stroking her cheek. "It'll be fine. And Edward's gotten a job offer as well, hasn't he? He's a smart man, I'm sure he'd be great at it!"

"Oh, listen to yourself, Kain!" Noah cried, waving her arms above her head uncontrollably. "You know what an emotional wreck that man is! And to think, he chose a career path that includes dealing with souls just as unfortunate as his own?" Her index and middle fingers gently rubbed her temples, desperately attempting to ease the stress. Kain nervously fidgeted beside her. He couldn't help but agree with her, Edward needed help. But the pride bubbling inside that boy caused him to go as far as choosing this particular path, in order to prove those who cared for him wrong. And it was for this reason that a small part of both Kain and Noah felt as if it were their faults.

Roughly clearing his throat with a thundering 'HEM!', Kain rose from the comfy sanctuary of his sofa, and made his way towards the front door, overlooking the streets of Kent, England. The air was foggy, but the harsh winds kissed his cheeks bright red.

"I'm just going down the street to pick up the paper. I'll be back before you know it."

He didn't give her a chance to respond, as he abruptly shut the door behind him, immediately shoving his already-frozen hands into the furry pockets of his jacket. His nose nuzzled against the scarf bound tightly around his neck, as the familiar newspaper stand came into view.

"Kain Foster, well I'll be!"

A happy-looking, middle-aged man emerged from behind the newspaper stand. His face was round, and a smile of stubbles poked out from cheek to cheek. There was a rather large cigarette stuck in his mouth, but all in all, anyone could recognize this man from ten miles away.

"Mr. Markel! How do you do?"

"Quite well! The ladies feeling better, and my son came down for a visit just yesterday!"

"Oh?" Kain replied swiftly, snatching a recent issue and scanning over the front cover briefly. "And how did that go for you? Is he doing well in college?"

Mr. Markel shrugged, nodding with his jolly look slightly wavering. "Quite well. Almost graduated, with a fine girl living with him. I worry sometimes, but heck, the kids got to grow up one day! The only downfall would be that he says the area he's living in gets kinda hectic once in a while."

"Oh, that's too bad," Kain laughed nervously. "I know how much that boy likes his peace and quiet. He's living in London, correct?"

The man nodded once again, skimming over his own article for a few seconds. "Yep. Harrow. 'Parently one of his neighbour's nieces found a little lady going bonkers a few nights ago. 'Said she didn't remember nothin' from her past, some gibberish like that."

"An amnesiac?" Kain whispered.

"Probably. She apparently didn't seem to be very sane neither. Just glad they got her admitted to a safe environment!" Mr. Markel rose from the wooden crate he'd been seated on and flipped the sign reading 'OPEN', to 'CLOSED'. It was quite obvious that he was done conversing with the young man. Kain took this as his cue to leave, briefly clearing his throat with a thundering 'HEM!'

"Well, I'll be on my way now. Good seeing you, Markel."

"Yep, you too, kid."

And with that, Kain quickly speed walked away from the stand, leaving behind both his newspaper, and the brain throbbing scent of 2 packs worth of cigarette butts.