Hey... yeah. I was kind of ordered to write this... but it's a good idea, so I don't mind!

Thank you to Number Eleven is my OC for helping me come up with this!

It's really a very simple idea... but I'm not telling you what it is. You read it.

So prepare for the

Disclaimer: Yep. The disclaimer. Now I have a question for you: do you REALLY think I own this?

. . .

Yeah. I thought not.

NOW you may read the story, my peoples!

Ed's POV

It was just another day. Just another boring, cold, dreary day in Central. I was out walking. Just going out for a walk.

What are walks for, really? Well, they're to calm down. They're to let off some steam. They're harmless, usually. They take harm away.

How could something so harmless ruin my life?

I'd had an argument with Al. It was pointless, really. He wanted me to slow down, to take a break from studying. I didn't want to. I wanted to get him back to normal fast. Al wouldn't stand for it. I needed my rest; I was resting for two people, after all.

It had escalated, and before I knew it, I was out the door. I heard Al call my name, but I didn't turn around. I just walked. Al didn't follow.

A harmless walk, so that I could calm down and apologize to him.

At least, it was harmless.

Until the man stepped out from the alley.

Suddenly, it was filled with harm.

"Edward Elric?" the man asked, his voice dark and dangerous. He had an accent, strange and deep, making his syllables harsher, angrier.

"What's it to you?" I snarled.

The man narrowed his eyes. Light eyes. Pale, almost white in the darkness, glowing with some strange intent. "You are, eh?"

I didn't deign to respond, merely glaring up at the man (why did he have to be so damn tall?)

He sighed. "Really, I should think you'd be more cooperative, what with your friends' lives being on the line."

.

.

.

What?

"I'm sorry, care to run that by me again?" I asked, taking care to hide how my jaw had clenched, how my eyes had widened. I was sure I wasn't fooling anyone; my voice came out clipped and enraged.

"You heard me," the man replied indifferently.

I could feel my fist clenching, shaking as I desperately tried not to murder the man in front of me. "What the hell do you want?"

"Simple," the man said, his eyes gleaming in the night, two pale moons glistening in the dark. "I want you to not hurt me or my compatriots. I want you to speak of this to anyone. And," he said, smirking in a horrible, dark way, "I want you to disappear. I want you to pretend to be dead."

I felt the stones beneath my feet dissolve. They had to have dissolved. I was falling. No, I wasn't, I was standing out here, in the fog, in the mist, in the dark, listening to a man who wanted me to pretend to die. I had stumbled. That was all.

"What?" I asked, not fully believing him. "But... why?"

The man sighed. "You fool. You are the Alchemist of the People, no? You represent this country's hope for a better future." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you really not know how important you are to this country?"

I was frozen. The cold had seeped inside of me. I was made of ice, and I was cracking apart.

"While my men are skilled, I doubt even all of them together are enough to take you," the man continued conversationally, his tone light. "However, we do have people stationed outside the house of Pinako and Winry Rockbell, as well as the apartment of Gracia and Elycia Hughes. If you try to attack me and my men, my messengers run off to those men, and four innocent people die. Innocent friends of yours, Mr. Alchemist."

Mr. Alchemist.

Mr. Al-che-mist.

Truth.

This isn't Truth.

It wasn't Truth, just a man who knew how to manipulate people.

An entire country's spirit... crushed. In return for four lives.

Or those lives lost... and the people's spirits saved.

But... I couldn't just let them go. Not after Mom...

The man was smiling, his lips quirked in a way that said he already knew what my answer was. He was just waiting for me to form the words.

"You bastard..." I muttered, glaring into those moon orbs with all of the force I could muster. "Fine. I'll do it. I'll pretend to be dead."

The man clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Excellent choice, Mr. Elric! Go. Find a place where no one will find you. Disguise yourself. Because if you're ever found by anyone... if anyone finds out that you're still alive..." The man drew a finger across his neck. I knew what that symbol meant. Everyone knew what that symbol meant.

There wasn't any way out of this... not now, at least.

"Okay, Mr..."

"Abiden, Mr. Elric. Asoma Abiden, from Drachma. I suppose I'm what you'd call a terrorist."

This was all wrong. Al... Al would never get that apology, the apology that I had gone out to calm down enough to give.

"Okay, I'll find a place... up near Briggs or something..." I didn't let my voice shake. I had to stay strong. There had to be a way out, there just had to be...

"Good, good. I can get you up to that area."

I was pushed into a truck that was idling nearby, and we were off.

I stared longingly at the hotel Al and I were staying at. If only I were allowed to say goodbye...

No. No. I had to stay strong.

I turned away from the building where my little brother was waiting for me and stared ahead, into my unknown future.

Al's POV

Where was Brother? He'd never stayed out this long after a fight... It was usually only for a few minutes, but he'd been gone for over an hour!

Maybe he needs more time to cool off, part of me thought.

But it wasn't even that bad a fight! the other half of me protested.

No. He'd been gone too long. I needed to find him.

But... I couldn't do it alone. Central was a big place... he could have been far, far away by now...

With next to no hesitation, I stood up, joints clanking and clattering, and hurried over to the phone. I picked it up and dialed Colonel Mustang's number.

"Hello?" the Colonel asked, sounding sleepy and grumpy. "Who is this?"

"Colonel Mustang?"

"Alphonse?" Colonel Mustang sounded surprised. "What's wrong?"

"It's Brother. He's gone!"

"Gone?!" I could hear Mustang's panic, even though he tried to hide it. He had to be wide awake now. "What do you mean by gone?"

"We... We had an argument... and he left... He usually only stays out for ten minutes or so! It's been an hour and a half at the least, almost two hours, now!"

"That's not good," Mustang muttered, seemingly to himself. "Don't worry, Alphonse. I'll contact the team. We'll start searching immediately."

"Really?" I couldn't help but be excited. They were going to help! They were going to help now! This meant we could find Brother faster!

"Of course, Al," Mustang said, sounding surprisingly gentle. "No matter how annoying Edward is, he's still our friend. We won't let something like this slide."

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much!" I gushed, knowing I sounded like a fool and not caring in the slightest. All that mattered was finding Ed.

"Don't bother thanking us."

"But you-"

"We would do it even if you didn't ask us, Al. Ed matters to people, you know."

If I could smile, I would have. "I know he does. Still, I'll feel better if I can thank you."

I could almost hear the Colonel smile through the phone. "Okay, if it makes you feel better. Just remember that we do want to find him just as much as you do, and don't you dare think otherwise."

"I understand, Colonel."

"Good. Meet us on Turner Street. That sounds like a good place to start. Be there by 12:30."

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent. Night, Alphonse."

"Goodnight, Colonel."

I hung up the phone, my limbs trembling with suppressed excitement. If anyone could find Ed, it was Mustang's team.

#$%^&*!

They couldn't find Ed.

We'd searched all over Central. It was dawn now. We'd been searching for five and a half hours straight. We'd covered every street, every alley, every crevice.

Nothing. It was like Ed had turned into smoke, or evaporated, or something. He was just... gone.

I wanted to cry, but I had no body to cry with. It wasn't fair. I needed to get these feelings of loss, of fear, or grief, out of me... but humanity's greatest cleanser, tears, wasn't available to me.

"We'll find him, Alphonse," Hawkeye said to me firmly. "We'll find him, even if it means searching all over Amestris."

I believed her. I believed all of them. They were prepared to do anything to find my brother.

That should have reassured me. Instead, all I felt was fear.

Ed wouldn't just disappear like this. Something was wrong, and I didn't want them to get hurt.

But what could I say that would deter them?

Nothing. They wanted to find Ed just as badly as I did. My bad feeling wouldn't stop them.

Something awful was going on.

I curled up into an armored ball at Turner Street, our rendezvous point, and let them search. They didn't bother me. Either they didn't notice or they were too caught up in looking in every possible place. Possibly both. Probably both.

And I just sat there and desperately wished I could cry.

Ed's POV (again)

It was five days after I'd left. Long enough for me to get settled. It was cold where I was, up in Briggs. I had made myself a name: Edric Edison. I was a shoemaker (something I accomplished easily with alchemy). I had dark orange hair, long and smooth, and had a habit of wearing dark glasses all the time. I wore neat, mature clothes and heavy outerwear; I couldn't stand the cold, it made my injuries from the war act up. However, I'd moved to Briggs for my own reasons. I was here, despite the cold, for my own reasons.

No one asked me what these reasons were. Oddly enough, Edric Edison was a whole lot taller than Edward Elric. No one really questioned my motives.

I was a cordial, mature fellow. Everyone liked me. Perhaps I was a bit intimidating, though, with my heavy limp and gruff tone (all faked). Perhaps some people kept their distance. Still, I had time.

According to Mr. Asoma Abiden, I had quite a lot of time.

I don't think it had quite sunk in yet when the news came. The Fullmetal Alchemist has gone missing. In order to throw them off the trail, we'd planted bloodied scraps of my lovely old uniform in the East. When they found that, covered in what really was my blood (I'd cut myself for that bit), they'd probably assume the worst. At least most of them would.

There were, of course, a couple of people who would, no doubt, through the proverbial wrench in the plans. Al. Mustang and his team. Teacher. Granny. Winry. If any of them came calling (especially Al, Teacher, and Winry), I'd be tempted to give myself up. That's why I had to remain under watch, at least for now.

Terrorists. Truth damn it, how the hell could I have gotten myself mixed up in a terrorist plot?

Well, according to Silvene Hartoff (my most frequent stalker), it was because of the effect I had on the people. I was just so damn important to them.

I sighed, sitting at my new table in my new house. It was comfortable, certainly, but it lacked a homey feeling. Besides, Al wasn't there, sitting on the couch, playing with the neighbor's cat, or even just standing there, silent and attention-drawing.

I was so close to figuring it out, to... a way to get Al's body back...

And now I would never...

Wait.

"Silvene? Gravor?" I called out.

Immediately my two bodyguards appeared in the doorway. Silvene, with her pale blonde hair, dark, deep eyes, slim figure, and elegantly lovely, distinctly Drachman features; and Gravor, tall, dark, gruff, with his sloping forehead and thick accent and constant scowl.

"Vhat? Vhat is it, Mr. Edison?" Gravor had taken to calling me Mr. Edison. I didn't mind. Honestly, he wasn't bad company, despite his odd habits.

"I have a favor to ask," I replied nervously, unsure of how they'd take this.

"What is ze favor, Edric?" Silvene asked, her voice light. She seemed to feel comfortable around me.

I swallowed. "When you... took me, I was trying to figure out a way to... help... my brother. He has a... condition. It's not impossible to cure, but it requires complex alchemy. I'd like to continue my research." I felt my throat go dry. This was the part I was nervous about. "And... if I ever finish it... could one of you... deliver it to him somehow?"

Silence.

"You have to pretend you killed me, of course. Send him the notes in a package or something, with a note like, "Here. A gift from your dearly departed brother. He cooperated if we promised to send this to you." Or something like that." I was rambling. "That should make them sure that I'm dead, and it'll save him. Is that okay?"

Still no answer.

Then Gravor said, "Ve'll haff to check vith boss..."

Silvene smiled. "But it should be alvright. Zat's a vairy clever idea, Edric. Zank you."

I sighed in relief. "No, thank you. As long as Al is okay, I'll be fine no matter what happens. As long as they're all okay..."

Gravor shifted uncomfortably, but Silvene just laughed lightly. "Of course, Edric. Zey will be fine, so long as you cooperate as you promised."

I stiffened. "I know."

Awkward pause. Then...

"What are your plans for this country?"

I didn't mean to say it. It just slipped out.

Still, Silvene nodded in understanding. "Zhese are your people, yes? Your homeland, your family?"

I gave a noncommittal jerk of the head.

"Well, do not worry, my friend. We will not harm zis country. We just wish to break ze Amestrian's spirits. Amestris... so young, so small... and yet you stand against ze might of Drachma and do not budge. Ze wall of Briggs... ze soldiers zere, zey taunt us. Ve vill not stand to be taunted, Edric. You understand?" When she got emotional, her accent became more pronounced.

"I understand." Of course I did; I hated being taunted, too.

"Good." Silvene smiled sweetly at me. I returned it, though mine must have seemed shakier. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Edward." I started. She'd never called me by my real name. "I'm sorry we've done zis, but I'm glad you understand ze situation."

I smiled, a bit more steady. "Of course, Silvene."

Gravor smiled, too, but his was strained. "I, too, am glad zat you undairstand, Mr. Edison. It is vairy nice to haff to guard somevon who undairstands."

I turned my smile on Gravor. Really, my bodyguards weren't that bad.

Still... they weren't Al.

That's when I made my decision. I would find a way to return to my family... eventually. No matter how long it took, I would find a way.

I had to.

End of Chapter 1

Well. That's finished. Took me long enough...

SO HOW WAS IT?!

RFF, ma peoples!

The word of the day is MALAPROPISM! Don't ask, I already forgot and I'm too lazy to look it up again.

Love ya (just lazy)! lulu