Alright, I'm back.! For all of you who have been waiting for the next chapter of 'Love for a Broken Warrior', I'm sorry! I have had the biggest writer's block and creativity loss in all of time, and I'm just now starting to get back into the swing of things again. So, please forgive me for skimping on my duties, but I think you will like this new one (not that I have quit on the other). And like I always try to ask, if you don't like it, don't read it! I have been lucky enough to not have been flamed, but I will be damned if I get anyone complaining about it! You aren't forced to read it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Ed would not have been seperated from his brother at the end of the anime and they would have all lived a happy life trying to kill Mustang (not really, I like Mustang. He's cool!).
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"Al, AL!! Where are you?!"

Nothing but silence and Ed's own echoes reached his ears. Tears formed at those golden yellow eyes, hope finally lost to this newest development. "Always every time, I just destroy something else. Now I've lost Al… Not this time!"
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A few moments later, symbols showed on his arms, legs, and forehead. Even if the outlook was bleak and he might not have his brother back, he would do everything he could to try. "I'm not going to forget my promise to you, Al. I'll get your body back, even if it means giving mine up for you." He starts to bring his hands to his body to complete the alchemic transfer, until…

"Brother…?"

Ed stops at the word. "Al?" He turns around, only to find Al behind him. He was naked, but he was in the flesh. He looked almost exactly like he did all those years before, except now he looked… older. "Am I dreaming…?" Ed asked himself. Al's silver-grey eyes looked at him, and sadness filled them. "Brother…am I…back?"

"AL!!!!" Edward ran full on to his brother on the floor, and tackled him to the floor. "You're alive!!! You're alive!!!" Ed cried into him. He cried for so long on his brother, as did Al. They both cried like children for that stretch of time, in each other's arms. After a time that seemed like hours, they pulled apart. Ed looked his brother up and down, almost as if to make sure he was really there. "How did you get back? You just… vanished and I thought for sure you were…"

Al looked at him for a bit and said, "At first, all there was… was darkness. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. But I was scared, and I thought that I was dead. And then, I was here, watching you…" His eyes seemed to draw Ed in, and then he realized he hadn't seen Al's eyes for such a long time. It was almost…almost like he was…

Al's shivering body brought him back to reality. "Oh, you must be freezing. Here, take my coat." He proffered his red overcoat to the younger teen, and the other obliged. "Now, let's go home, shall we?"

"Home… Yes, let's go home. Winry and Pinako must be worried sick."
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Resembool never looked so warm as it did when they came over that last hill. After their stop in Central, which lasted for about a week with everyone checking out Al and his new body (and getting clothes to put on him), but it was well worth the time spent. Colonel Mustang, or brigadier general, whatever the hell they were calling him now, insisted that they stay. Maybe it was for the fact that he was confined to his bed, (Hawkeye wouldn't let him so much as use the bathroom without an escort) and they kept him company a good bit of the time. But finally, after all the teary goodbyes and promises that they would come back, they finally got on their way back home. The train ride wasn't as bad as they thought it would be, and the food was pretty good (a first in all of history, thank you very much). And when they got off at the station, they were surprised by BOTH Pinako and Winry. Winry didn't say anything as she stood behind the elderly old bat (Ed would never say that to her face) like she couldn't be seen.

"Well," Pinako said, "I see that you two have definitely changed since we last saw you, and it looks like you won't need our automail anymore, Edward. And Al," she stopped at his name to look him up and down, "well, we'll have to get you some of your own clothing now, won't we?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, m'am." Al's face flushed at the mention of clothing. "Brigadier General Mustang made sure I had everything I needed, and he's sending some extras that he had made for me over here, so I'll be fine."

Pinako frowned at the name of the man who had only a few years before walked into her home unannounced and dared to loop Ed into the military. But regardless of what her face said, she replied, "Well, maybe that man isn't so useless after all, hm?"

Both Ed and Al smiled at that, glad to know the old woman's sense of humor hadn't dimmed while they were gone. "So," Ed started, "what's for dinner?"
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After unpacking, waiting an hour, and eating, Al felt like everything was finally complete. "It was almost like a dream, all those years wandering the world, looking for the Philosopher's Stone. It feels good to be back after so long." It did indeed feel like a dream, some of the memories a little hazier than others. But for the moment, he was content where he was. Last week's incident, if it could be called that, still seemed fresh in his mind. "I was so happy to see Brother. But the way he looked at me…it almost seemed… like a hunger. I can still feel that stare on me, like a hungry fox waiting for a meal. I almost liked…wait, what am I thinking?" His thoughts had also been on that for the past week. That golden eyed gaze still came to mind whenever he least expected it. It was weird, to say the least. That and he always had the strangest dreams, dreams that made him wake up with… well, best not to think about it. He was in a body, and that alone was enough to throw anyone off for a bit. "That's all it is, I'm just getting used to everything again. Brother would never think like that." Somehow, though, that thought made him a bit sad.
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"Hey, Al! What are you doing over there?" Ed ran to his brother, sitting on the stone fence near the Rockbell house. Al, jumped at the name, and turned to Ed with a sad face. Ed frowned and said, "Hey, what's the matter?" Ed hardly got that out before Al pummeled into him and knocked him flat on his back, knocking the air out of him. "Al…cough, cough Al… what's the matter?" His brother looked up at him, and he saw clear liquid filled his eyes. "Brother," Al yelled, "tell me you won't leave me! I was so scared when I was alone, I didn't know where I was! I didn't know if I would ever see you again! Please tell me you won't leave me again! PLEASE!!!"

"Al, calm down! Shhh, I'm not going anywhere!" Ed held his brother's head close, trying to calm down his brother's shaking form. "Who said I was going anywhere, huh? After all it took to get this far, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." They sat there for a bit, Al crying into Ed's shoulder, and Ed doing his best to hold back tears of his own. What could the boy have gone through while he was in the darkness? Only God knows, and he wasn't going to just ignore him. "I only hope that whatever it is, it fades with time."

After they were both through with their little moment, they stayed outside for a bit and talked on the last few years. When they came to Lior, and fought against the fake prophet Cornello and his equally fake Philosopher's Stone, all the way to their showdown with Scar in Central. It seemed to help clear up some of the fog that filled Al's mind. After an hour or so of talking about the past, the boys heard Winry's shout at them. "Well," Ed said, "there's the beast bellowing. Time to go in with a whip, eh?"

Al laughed at that, and started with Ed toward the house. It felt good to have a home again.
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Well, there you have it, and I haven't violated anything sacred yet! I can't guarantee anything in the future, mind you, but for now, you are safe! Please read and review! I love to hear feedback from fans!