Well, this is my first fan fiction of Full Metal Alchemist. It was going to be about something else, but ever since I watched Words to Farwell, I just had to write something down. I'm sure by today, there will be hundred of stories about the episode. But I figured I write a one-shot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Full Metal Alchemist. I do own the computer that this story was written on. (Ok, so it's my parents. But it's in my room. That must count for something.)

Warning: Contains spoilers for Words to Farwell. If you haven't seen this episode and hate spoilers, then I warn you. TURN BACK NOW!

Summary: Ed, Al, and Winry get a letter from Gracia Hughs that will change their lives forever. How will they react to this news and what will they do about it?

Gone

"Finally, we reached a pit stop," Ed said as he stretched out his legs and arms. They had been sitting on a train for almost three days straight. They were happy that they could rest for two days before heading off again. There was only one problem.

"Oh my god! Look at all this stuff!" Winry yelled. There pit stop had to be the biggest automail city in the state. Now the boys would have to spend the whole day carrying Winry's shopping supplies.

"Winry, do we have to go through this again? We just got here," Ed said in an annoyed tone.

"Don't give me that tone!" she yelled. "You said you would take me and you better hold up to your word!" Ed had to step back at her voice. It was funny how she could be scarier than the alchemist and the hmunculi that he had to fight on a regular basis.

"Come on, Ed," his younger brother Al said. "We can stretch our legs while we walk." Ed nodded and they started walking through the stores.

"Oh, I want this and that! Please buy me this, Ed! What about this?" Ed and Al sighed at her words. They were starting to regret this idea. They spent until dusk shopping. Surprisingly, Ed and Al were the ones carrying all of Winry's stuff back to the hotel. They didn't even get any time to shop for their own supplies.

"Don't worry, Ed," Winry said with a grateful smile. "I promise we'll shop for whatever you guys want. Then we can get some supplies for our trip." Ed was quite frustrated, but he had to smile at that innocent face. Winry was so kind hearted and truthful, even if she did seem rough around the edges. That's what you get when you have a grease monkey tomboy.

It wasn't too hard to get a room, considering that they had a bodiless suit of armor following them around. They decided to go to bed early so they could get an early start tomorrow.

Winry decided to stay at the hotel room the next day while the boys went shopping for supplies and their wants. She wanted to examine everything that she had bought the day before. It was sometime around noon when she got a knock on the door. It was a man in a military uniform.

"Can I help you?" Winry asked.

"Yes, is Edward or Alphonse Elric around?"

"Sorry, but they left this morning to run some errands."

"I see. Can you give them this letter?" He handed her a letter. She quickly grabbed it and smiled. "Thank you," the soldier said as he saluted. As she closed the door behind her, Winry examined the letter. It was addressed by Mrs. Hughs. A smile came across her face as she opened the letter.

"Oh, that was nice. I bet she wants to thank me for the present I gave their daughter." When she unfolded the paper, a look of shock crossed her face.

"Well, I think that's all we need, Al," Ed said as they carried the bags of food and supplies through the streets. "What do you say we get some food and get back to the hotel?"

"Sure, Winry is probably worried," Al replied.

"I know. She's such a worrywart," he laughed as he sat down and ate his dinner.

"She does it because she knows the danger we go through."

"I know. It's nice to know that people care about us, right Al?" Ed looked over to his side and thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes and standing right in the middle of the street was Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughs smiling at him.

"Ed, are you ok?" Al asked.

"Look over there," Ed pointed. "Do you see what I see?" Al looked to where his brother pointed, but there was nothing. "What? Where did he go?"

"What's wrong?" Al asked.

"I could have sworn I saw Lieutenant Colonel Hughs," Ed said confused.

"Brother, all I see is an empty street. Plus, Lieutenant Colonel Hughs is at central safe and sound at a desk."

"Yeah, probably showing off his picture of Molly to everyone. What an idiot. Let's go back."

When they got back to their rooms, they knew something was wrong. Winry wasn't looking at the equipment that they had bought yesterday. "Where could she be?" Al asked. They went into her bedroom to find her shaking and sobbing as she stared out her window.

"Winry, what's wrong?" Ed asked. Winry turned around slowly to show them her bloodshot eyes and the letter she grasped in her hand. Ed grabbed it and began to read it out loud. It was hard to make out because of all the tear smudges, but he managed to read it nonetheless.

"Dear Edward and Alphonse,

"I regret writing this letter to you, but the state will not inform you about what has happened in the past couple of days until you return. I thought it would be in your best interest to know as soon as possible. I tremble as I try to find the words to explain. I guess there is no easy way to tell you. On the night that you left, my husband Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughs was found in a park. They couldn't find him in time. He lost too much blood from the gunshot to his chest. The report said it was homunculi." Ed paused before he read the next sentence. "We buried him today.

"I don't know how Elicia and I will get by without him. Elicia cries for her daddy at night. But I can't imagine how this will affect you. You have known my husband ever since you joined the State Alchemists. He helped you get through the difficult times and we've always had a place in our hearts for you. There will always be a place for you in my heart. I can't think of what else to say as the tears cover this piece of paper. I hope that you and Winry are safe and out of harms ways. If I were to lose you, I don't know what I would do. You are like family to us. Please, be careful and pray for my husband. With all my love and best wishes, Gracia Hughs.

Ed dropped the letter and fell to the ground sobbing. "How could I let this happen?" he asked. "I should have stayed there. I could have protected him."

"Ed," Winry sniffled. "It's not your fault. If you would have stayed, you might have been killed too. He wouldn't want that."

"She's right," Al said. "Hughs would want you to be safe and go on in life. You can't save everyone."

"We're supposed to be State Alchemists!" Ed yelled. "We're supposed to protect the people. I'm supposed to be the Alchemist of the People! If I don't save them, who will?" Winry hugged him and tried to calm him.

"Edward, I know it hurts. It hurt so much when I found out that my parents were killed. I wanted to scream and shout. I hated the world for it. But it gets better. I promise."

"It seems wherever we go, pain and destruction follow." Ed wiped away the tears as he spoke. "How are we supposed to go on?"

"We are going to find the Philosopher's Stone," Al said. "Hughs' work will be for nothing if we don't us it." Ed picked himself off the ground and looked at his brother.

"You're right. We have to go on, for Hughs. We will find the Philosopher's Stone and put an end to this misery." He managed to put on a smile for his friends. And the next day, they all left for the southern mountains to find out what the Ishbalans knew about the Philosopher's Stone. Ed and Al would not give up hope. They knew that Hughs would always be with them.

The End

Yep, that's it. A little sadness. I still can't believe they killed Hughs. He was the comic relief. He was one of my favorites. Oh well, I guess they have to kill someone once in a while. If you are reading this, that means you finished the story. Yay! Now all you have to do is push that little purple button that says Go right at the bottom there so you can review this story. Please? Well, thanks for reading anyways. I hope you liked it. Look for more stories by me. I decided to release it again because the story had some errors.

Reviewers: Thanks for reviewing. Without you guys, I probably wouldn't bother to write these stories.

Miroku's Priestess: Yeah, I cried too. I read my story over and it actually made me cry.

Shadow-monster: Thanks for correcting me. I got the names off an official website so I thought they were right. Thanks again.

Anyone I missed, I'm sorry but I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

In Loving Memory of Brigadier General Maes Hughs