"I hate the rain." The golden headed alchemist sighed, pushing his soaked blonde bangs out of his face as a mildly thick drizzle rained from the dark, clouded heavens above. The boy glanced at the large body of armor sitting besides him, the rain pattering on its steel, the small pinpoints of red rimmed light usually present gone. He blinked. "Al? You okay?"

The armor's had twitched and lifted, the lights used as eyes blinking on. "Sorry. I was just thinking." He muttered slowly in a restrained but controlled calm tone. "…you don't know how lucky you are…"

Ed looked questionably at his younger brother, drawing out a breath that hovered in the wet air in front of him for a moment before disappearing. "What do you mean?"

"To be able to feel the rain…" Al whispered, staring down at the ground, outstretching his hand to let the water pool into his palm. He clenched his fist, and the water squeezed between the hard metal.

Ed's eyes softened, shadowing with a deep, old guilt that haunted his dreams every night. "I'm sorry Al…"

"It's just…not being able to just…I just feel like nothing." The words Al spoke brought a sad pain to Ed's heart and a hard lump formed in his throat. He swallowed dryly. "J…just don't worry Al…" He smiled weakly. "We'll find a way to restore your body."

"How?" Al looked at him, the lights narrowed into a suspicious glare. "How could you possibly be sure you could change me from being this…this thing?!"

Ed stared up at him, his breath catching in his lungs. "W…what…"

"If…you…really wanted my body back…you'd make the Stone and do it! You said you knew how to!" Al yelled, turning his back to his brother, only the humid air and the falling drops of water separating them.

"You know why I can't do that…it's innocent people we'd be killing, Al!"

"I don't care! Use criminals or someone who deserves it, or something! Don't you even care about me, Brother?"

He stared dumbstruck at the armor's glimmering back, his eyes shadowed and sad. "Of course I do…"

"Then why…oh, forget it. Just leave me alone!" Al broke out into a run, water splashing at his heels, further and further away until Ed came to his senses of what was happening.

"Al!" Ed called after him, chasing him down into a dark alley, stopping as Al stopped, watching him stare at the ground, his fists clenched.

"Al, please…" Ed whispered, stepping closer. Al suddenly whipped around, lashing his fist at him. Ed gasped in surprise, falling, almost flying back as his metal fist collided with the side of his face, slamming him into a wall and sliding down it, clutching his bloodied head and groaning. And the rain was only getting harder, making diluted blood pour to the ground and flood the concrete in swirling, murky patterns.

Al glowered down at him, grabbing him by the collar and picking him up into the air.

Ed thrashed his feet around under him, unable to connect with anything, his hands around Al's, trying to pry him off. "What are you doing?!"

"You don't know what it's like! Never being able to feel, to smell, to actually live again!" Al shouted, gripping harder.

Ed winced, weakening his attempt to free himself, starting to apologize when Al slammed his back into the wall. A yell formed in his throat but he forced it down, only looking pained.

"I want to be human again, Brother…this pain…it's nothing compared to what I feel, nothing!" Al hissed out, grasping the wrist of his automail and prying it off from around his own wrist. He glared at it for a moment. "It isn't fair that you got away with only this and I……you don't deserve this!" He roared, yanking hard, ignoring Ed's agonized screams. And in what seemed to be an eternity, his arm was finally wrenched from its socket, trailing bits of machinery and wires spilling from the open ends, blue sparks angrily flashing through the air.

Ed's shrieks filled the alley, halted only when Al punched him hard into his chest, a dull thunk echoed by his sickening grunts and groans of pain.

He didn't even remember Al stopping, it seemed to feel like Al was still punching him, after thoroughly beating him, the tang of sharp metal in his mouth with blood filling his throat.

Al released him, watching him land unsteadily onto his feet. He swayed, clutching his chest and coughing, blood dribbling out of his mouth, before he finally crumpled to the ground, red water splashing around him, the wires pouring from what was left of his docking port crackling angrily.

Ed stared dully in front of him, completely dazed, his gold eyes clouded with pain. He listened to the rain pouring around him, the water around him growing darker as blood pumped out of him, somewhere as he couldn't tell where. He flinched, blinking the crimson water from his eyes, staring horrified at his younger brother.

Al gently pushed Ed's side with his foot, flipping him over to his back. Then he pressed his foot onto his chest, adding slight pressure that slowly increased. Ed's eyes only widened as he pressed harder, evoking a small crack, loud in the silence. Another crack followed, and another, and another. Ed tried to scream at him to stop, but his lungs were starting to flood, making it hard, Blood instead of words produced, bubbling and frothing out of his mouth in a think, steady flow.

Al paused, the hint of an evil smirk on his non-existent lips, and a murderous look in his eyes, fully intending to finish the job he had started.

"A-Al….stop…please…" Came the weak gargle from Ed's frail, broken body, slowly reaching his red-stained hand up to his brother.

Al silently grinned at him, lifting the automail he still held, the metal where it broke off twisted violently, bending and broken in ways it shouldn't, wires dangling in the air.

Ed's half closed eyes followed the movement, wincing at the next flow of blood,

Al lifted it over his head, flicking the wired end around, taunting him,

I'm sorry Al…If he could only get a chance, Ed could show him,

Al was watching every movement, waiting to strike the final blow,

If only he could end this torture and leave him alive, Ed would make the Stone,

The bright light of his eyes only showing merciless revenge,

Ed never knew how much pain Al was in. Ed would make him human again…

Al finally brought the automail down hard, smashing it into his head.

Ed cried out through the blood, a dark numbness filling his mind. His outstretched hand fell down besides him as he plummeted into unconsciousness.

-

All he could feel or know was pain as he slipped free from his black prison. His eyes slowly fluttered open. He lazily stared at the ceiling, piecing together surfacing memories of what happened. He winced at the thought.

He suddenly became aware of the voices around him, straining but still only hearing parts of the convocation.

"…bad, will he be okay?"

"…not fatal…he has a few broken ribs, and his skull has been fractured slightly…automail of course needs major repair…how'd you find him again?"

He blinked, shifting as much as his body would allow. The voices got clearer.

"I found him in an alley like that. I think he was attacked…"

"Don't worry Al, we're gonna get to the bottom of this." The concerned face of the Colonel filled his weak field of vision. "Ed…?"

"He's awake?" Al sounded surprised, rushing to his brother's hospital bed. "Brother?"

Ed looked up into Al's face, his bottom lip trembling. He bit it nervously, his eyes darting around.

"He's probably in shock." Roy told him, watching his subordinate's movements. "Ed, do you know what happened to you?"

Ed's eyes shot to Al, noticing him staring anxiously for his answer. He shook his head, small stars flashing into his vision.

"Mustang said he'll find out Brother." Al added quickly, reaching down to reassuringly push some of Ed's damp bangs out of his face. Ed winced at his touch. Al drew back, saddened. His eyes dropped to the floor. Why did he…he can't recognize me…? ….if only I was human again…

-

"These humans, it's so easy to manipulate them." The deadly sin of Envy commented, tossing the ruined, mangled automail arm to clatter on the floor at her feet.

Lust smiled. "I see the plan has worked." She drawled out, extending her fingertips to stab through the metal and dangle it amusingly into the air.

"I should've killed him. He was too shocked by me attacking him in his brother's form to even try to fight back. It would've been so easy..." Envy complained, sighing as he squeezed murky water from his mane of dark green hair.

"You know perfectly well why you couldn't. The plan was to strengthen the need to make the Stone. No doubt Fullmetal sees this….then you can kill him."

Envy smirked maliciously. Because they both knew that they were right, that Ed was thinking now, his mind buzzing with thoughts of arrays and ingredients to bring his brother back, and that Al would fully agree, knowing that time was running out.

The plan was perfect.