Hey guys! This isn't my first fanfiction, but it's my first FMA fanfic. So bear with me. Also, I'm not sure I want to continue this. If I get enough reviews and a beta I would love to try for it, but the updates wouldn't be too close together. I'm dealing with lots of tournaments and homework so I won't have a lot of time. Still, if you guys would like me to, I'd definitely give it a shot! So review and tell me what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I don't FMA but I would really love to!

Fire. It was around him, on him, in him. It burned inside him, from his head to his feet-even his automail seemed as if it would melt from the searing heat that was coming from inside the wires and schematics of the metal limbs. It was getting pretty hard to breathe, too. Each shaky breath brought in mouthfuls of burning smoke into his protesting lungs.

He dreamed he was standing outside his old house. It was exactly as he remembered it. Edward ran his flesh hand over the front door, feeling the smooth green beneath his slender fingers, and hesitantly moved them towards the doorknob. Dread filled him, but he still managed to open it. He took one step inside and stopped, unable to make himself go farther.

The inside was the same as it was when he was ten years old and ready to bring his mother back. He had just gotten home from training and he and Al had made the wise decision to transmute their mother. Ed didn't let the thought go any farther. He didn't want to think about his mistake, no matter how selfish that idea sounded. He just couldn't deal with it right now.

He felt like he was going to be sick. Looking at the old farm house, he was ready to leave. He didn't want to reminisce. He wanted to wake up and find himself back at the dorms. He wanted to be free of his burden. Guiltily, he turned those thoughts away, too. He turned to leave.

And he found himself in a predicament. The door was shut. He wiggled the knob and found it locked. A torch was thrown into the house, shattering the window, and suddenly everything was on fire. His house was being burned down, but this time, he was inside of it. So he sat back and let it happen. He didn't know what was happening, but suddenly, he was too tired to care. He just wanted to sleep.

So that's what happened. He fell asleep in his burning house. His lungs filled up with smoke and the fire licked at his skin, but he let it all happen. He just couldn't muster up the strength to save himself. Wasn't that equivalent exchange? His mistake, his burden, his consequences? The only regret he had was that he couldn't gather the strength to find Al and get his body back for him. He was already too far back.

I'm sorry, Al...

Awareness gradually settled in his body, and he realized that he was not in his burning house, but sagging against something. He could also tell he was propped up in a chair. The top half of his torso was sagging awkwardly forward, partially crushing his burning lungs with his hunched position. Still, he made no attempt to try and reposition, too preoccupied with the intense heat he felt radiating from every pore.

What had happened to him? Had he finally gone overboard on one of his rants? Had Mustang torched him for going too far with his insubordination? Was that why every nerve in his body protested from being fried and burned by the fire coming from within him? He wasn't sure if that was the reason, but it was definitely a threat Mustang had made on more occasions than he care to remember. Although this would be the first time his superior had ever carried out that terrifying threat. But he guessed that didn't actually mean anything since there was a first time for everything.

A sense of foreboding shivered across Edward's pain-filled body, bringing with it a sort of chill that settled deep in his bones, just below the raging fire in his veins. He needed to figure this all out, he knew, but one terrifying thought crept to the forefront of his unfocused mind. Where was Al?

Ed's eyes snapped open and his already labored breathing increased. He couldn't seem to get enough oxygen, but he couldn't gather enough focus to push himself away from the restraints so he could open up his lungs. All he could think about was Al, and he was immediately sent into a panicked frenzy.

He wasn't able to free his flesh hand, and his automail arm wasn't even responding, but he still wiggled against his restraints tirelessly, the rope biting into his soft wrist, most likely drawing blood. He didn't even register the new pain coming from his hand, too intent on finding his brother.

"Al?" His voice was pathetically weak and hoarse. The sound of his own voice made him flinch but he didn't dwell on the matter too long. With unfocused golden eyes, Ed cast his sight frantically around the room in the hope that he might catch a glimpse of the metal suit of armor that housed his little brother's soul. Nothing else registered with his cloudy, unfocused gaze.

"AL?!" He was truly starting to panic now. His breaths picked up speed and became shallower. He couldn't remember if he had already searched the room for his little brother or not, so he checked another three times, just to make sure. Fear took over him when he realized that Alphonse was nowhere in sight.

"Fullmetal?"

Edward's breathing hitched and his blurred sight moved to where a figure sat in front of him. Ed had to scrunch his eyes and squint at the figure to try and make out who it was. He didn't dare hope that this human shaped figure was his brother. He could focus enough to know that would definitely send him over the edge.

From what he could make out in the dim lighting of the drafty, windowless room, the figure was a man tied to a chair. That was pretty much it.

"Breathe, Fullmetal. Don't forget to breathe."

Had he been holding his breath? And why was he almost ready to disobey this gentle voice that told him to breathe so he wouldn't suffocate. Why did this voice make him want to defy everything it said. Nevertheless, Edward exhaled forcefully before greedily sucking in oxygen and repeating the process, his lungs burning all the while. He took another look at the man, his vision no longer tunneled after he had sucked in enough air to clear it a bit. He managed to make out the man's eyes and suddenly, everything made complete sense while it made absolutely none. They were a terrifyingly familiar onyx. The ones that had always smirked at him and teased him, looked at him in concern and in anger. Right now, those held an emotion Ed would have never believed they could.

"Edward!" The voice snapped sharply, the figure attempting to pull himself towards the boy. By now, Ed was completely hyperventilating. He wanted Al. He needed Al. He needed his little brother, and that thought made him feel guilty, like he shouldn't want to be with his brother. But that didn't make any sense. He needed to make sure his little brother was still safe. Because if those eyes hadn't lied to him, then he knew he was done for. If those eyes were genuine, he had everything to be afraid of.

Because Colonel Roy Mustang was terrified.