A/N: Mornin' here! I've decided to upload this multi-chapter story which has been bothering me for some time now and I hope it's good enough... I am pretty much excited about it, so please give it a chance :D Oh, and I also hope the FmA fandom is still alive, it's been some time since the series had their triumphant final chapter. But good things never die, huh?

Anyway, I wait for your reviews!

Warnings: It is M rated, which means it will have a M rated plot. If you are offended by it, don't flame and keep on searching a story you'd like. It is RoyEd and everything that comes with it.

Disclaimer: I don't quite get why everyone writes a disclaimer when it's obvious the author wouldn't write fanfiction, but nevertheless - I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, I only own the OCs and the plot.

Now, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 1 – His Only Train

"No, no, no, NO!" the teen screamed under the thick layers of bed sheets. He had a nightmare. Him, the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist, Major Edward Elric, had a nightmare and was ashamed to admit that it wasn't his first or his last. He always dreamed about the same things, over and over, again and again, almost every other night. How he had lost his brother's body, his leg and his arm, how he was hated by his sweet sibling who wouldn't even harm a fly. He always reminded himself it wasn't true, his brother loved him and his soul returned to its original body. But he couldn't say the same about himself, about his arm and leg. The leg, he never got it back in the first place, but the arm... The arm was a different story altogether.

Edward managed to bring back his brother's body, giving up his alchemical powers as an equivalent toll. However, the former Colonel Mustang, newly promoted to Brigadier General for his highly-acclaimed heroic deeds, made what was believed to be impossible and retrieved his subordinate's lost skills, almost omitting his very own blindness. With an inhuman effort and not the fairest of equivalence, Roy Mustang managed to exchange a mere philosopher's stone for both his eyesight and Edward's talent.

Evidently, the young alchemist had to pay his share of the bargain somehow, and he did it gladly with his right arm, losing it once again, shortly after he had regained it. Anyway, he was already used to missing a few limbs. He wasn't able to take his leg back when he restored Al's body, so he justified it to himself that he only reassembled the automail set he once had.

He kept on asking himself who cared about his ever present handicap, and that for a good reason. Definitely not him, and dear Winry Rockbell must have been more than thankful for the extra work. He was her best customer, after all.

His brother Alphonse, on the other hand, was beyond enraged by his older brother's stupidity, but he kept it to himself. He wasn't by any means happy with what Edward did, but he respected his decision. The blond must have had some kind of reason in his dumb head, ruining all the hard work they put into restoring his original body.

Though, if Ed were to be honest with himself, he didn't exactly have a purpose.

All had started with a simple proposal from the blind dark haired alchemist, who offered his help to restore Edward's greatest talent. Mustang just couldn't help to leave a person behind, to be honest. The bargain had been simple and efficient – Roy had the red stone from Tim Marcoh and Edward had the means to open the portal to knowledge. They would pass together through the portal and with the artefact, they would get what they have lost to the Truth.

The blond accepted, knowing very well that the exchange was unfair. His abilities for people's souls, where was the equivalence in that? He expected he would have to give up something in return, it couldn't be all that easy. As long as it was just a limb that he hasn't got anyway for so many years, it was fine by him. Stupidity had to be paid, by all means, and he paid for it without looking back.

Of course, the raven haired alchemist had almost refused to retrieve his eyesight when he realized that Ed had to lose something. It was somehow amusing that Mustang overlooked the most obvious aspect of the bargain. However, Marcoh's words rang loudly in his head the whole time. He knew he was right. He needed his eyes to help his people and restore them the security they so terribly lacked. Edward eagerly agreed to aid him in his quest and asked the grinning Truth to take his right arm. Again.

Surprisingly, the shiny person that had caused him and his brother so much grief accepted the petty toll. He even agreed to change Fullmetal's flesh limb with his former automail prosthetic, which was conveniently captured by the Gate when he had changed it into living flesh. Ed had to conclude it was a good exchange. Or at least less costly, as a prosthetic limb was quite expensive for his taste, no matter how much he earned.

"Quite a nice fellow, Truth. It must have a sadistic pleasure seeing me again that he's returned my automail," were Edward's first words after he set foot on the ground in his new body. Or former. It was only a matter of perspective.

Mustang looked like a little child who got a candy from his mother. He muttered a silent "Thank you" to the smaller alchemist, who nodded an even quieter "You're welcome". After that, they returned to their normal selves.

Almost normal selves.

As for now, Edward was panting hard, resting his head on his pillow. The sheets were twisted around his body. The small bed felt too big for him, like the mattress was sucking him into it. He looked around the room, trying to regain his composure.

After the short visit to the Gate, Ed recovered his national alchemist license and that meant he could sleep in the military dorms or hotels. So there he was, nearly choking himself in horror from a vivid nightmare. Apparently, his mind still could not comprehend that his beloved little brother, Alphonse, had returned from the Gate in his original body. He still could not wipe off the memories of that horrible night in which he lost half of his limbs and his brother's body.

Nor could he turn back to sleep.

XXXXX

On the other side of Central City, Roy Mustang stared at his drink like it was the most interesting thing in the whole damned world. Maybe it was, and if not, it was far more interesting than him. Or so his inebriated mind told him at the moment.

He was troubled, he could not sleep, but that was not new to him. He thought of many things, but one of them was that he could not understand that Fullmetal gave up his arm willingly. At first it sounded like a perfectly good idea, but then remorse washed over him and soon after, restlessness.

He just blamed himself senselessly, just as he blamed himself for Hughes' death, the huge number of victims in the Ishbalan War of Extermination, Havoc's former paralysis. He who started walking again on his own two feet after being helped by Roy's red stone. He realised it was a good deed on his part, so he had to return and revise the endless list to make himself miserable with, consisting in things he had done.

He churned his brain over and over to find other blames. A random dog's barking, his faraway neighbour's lack of cuisine skills and the fast consumption of soap in his house were the only new things that came up to him.

He frowned. What was the world's problem that he enjoyed a long shower after an even longer day at work? For all he knew, nothing could be better than ten showers a day. Perhaps eleven would do the trick. But that definitely wasn't the point to why he had first developed and then deepened his insomnia.

Sleep eluded him constantly. It was one of the main reasons why he was alone in his living room, still dressed in military uniform, toasting with the air and talking with his shadow like a madman. He chuckled humourlessly. With that sort of attitude, he would become insane before having the chance to consider taking over the military! He rested his head on the backrest and looked up, determined to stop those useless accusations that made him so uneasy. He searched the ceiling with his eyes and found a spot on it. That was a major issue, he mused, and decided to focus on it.

After pondering for an hour what to do with the spot, he absently started to clean the surface. Mildly pleased with his work, he finished his tenth drink that night, or something close to the number. He looked out one of the windows and realised the sun was timidly rising. He escalated the stairs to the room he spent a lot of his spare time when he was alone at home - the bathroom. Because the bathroom had a shower and he needed to get ready for work.

He might have become quite a hygiene freak, but to hell with it, he thought. After seeing such a mess in the Ishbalan war, he had a very good reason to shower so frequently, like he had some kind of plague. After all, he needed to look presentable no matter the weather and his troubled past. And talking about the weather – that day, it was almost sure it would rain.

Bloody rain, it made the Flame useless.

XXXXX

A loud hornet echoed from outside the Brigadier General's house, reverberating through the walls. The raven alchemist stumbled on the stairs and cursed the heavens for the many corners of his house. He exited the quiet mansion with a look that spoke of the most bored man's determination and walked to the waiting car, content he didn't have to drive in his state.

Just like she did every morning, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye opened the car's door for him with a death glare than screamed about extra paperwork. Roy wondered why he had to do so much paperwork. There was paperwork to do even for opening the goddamn window, for crying out loud!

"Good morning, Sir," she said plainly, sitting behind the wheel. The male officer muttered a "Mornin', Lieutenant," and threw himself on the dead man's seat.

The name suited him just fine, he realised. He shrugged and closed the car door.

XXXXX

Three hours passed since the tired officer got to his office and nothing interesting occurred, besides mounts of paperwork efficiently passed to him by the blond female Lieutenant. It was decided – he would die of paperwork overdose. He chuckled, the sound hurting his ears.

The deafening silence was abruptly interrupted by the trademark affray of the oldest of the Elric brothers, who turned the door backwards and banged it on the wall. "What do you want this time, bastard?"

The older man lifted his inky eyes from the utterly idiotic report he was frying his remaining nerves with and crooked his best smile. "Fullmetal, I see you have yet to learn how to enter your commanding officer's office," he retorted smirking to his lame jest and returned his eyes nonchalantly to the annoying paper.

"Whatever! Why did you call me on my day off? I had my brother visiting, but it seems that your half-assed face is far more important!" the blond exploded in frustration, motioning wildly.

'Hooray,' Roy cheered in his mind. Not just his pounding headache, he also needed the Edwardian hurricane over him. He sighed and replied calmly, "I do not have the faintest idea why you were called at headquarters today, Fullmetal." He lifted his shoulders to emphasize his lack of knowledge on the matter without shifting his eyes up to the raging alchemist. He knew how he looked, he didn't need to see him to imagine the face he was making.

"Like you ever have any idea of what's going on! You mean I came for nothing? Seriously?" he grunted, his voice devoid of any hope. The door opened behind him and Riza entered with her usual stern face, adorned by a small comforting smile.

"Hello, Edward, I was the one who sent for you. Apparently, your registration for a day off was declined by the Personnel Office, since we have a lot of work to do. I am terribly sorry and I promise tomorrow you will be completely free to do whatever you want." She finished her explanation by handing Roy another fresh row of paperwork.

"Bloody thing, why is there so much paperwork?" he snarled, but the woman casually replied, "Sir, I believe you are aware that Lieutenant Colonel Granderburg is on inspection to the West. That means you have to look over his daily reports." She turned to the standing alchemist who was tapping with the sole of his boot. "Edward, here is your task for the day. Finish it quickly and go home. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. I will talk to the Personnel staff."

The younger man took the yellow dossier and cast a glance at its contents. He had to look over some files from the archives. Well, he pretty much enjoyed doing it since he had access to a bunch of new leads for his currently inexistent goal. Perhaps he could find a new one!

He shook his head disapprovingly. Edward could think anything about himself not having any aims, when in fact, he had already found a new goal to accomplish. That was to help the always smirking officer from behind the old mahogany desk get to the top of the military chain. Though, to be frank, he didn't have the faintest idea why he chose to do it, when he could have embraced a comfortable life in the countryside.

He comically thought that he wanted to wipe off his debt. The debt of mere 520 cenz he had borrowed from Roy a few years before and promised to give them back when he had fulfilled his goal of becoming the Fuhrer. But he knew it was a load of bollocks. That was not the real reason. If there was one to begin with.

Nevertheless, he chose this new path. He wanted the best for the people of Amestris, so the military was the one to be aided first, the very core. Grumman, the new Fuhrer, changed most of its administration personnel, sending his best men in each region. The only region who kept its configuration was the North, where the 'Northern Wall of Briggs', also known as Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong, remained in her frozen chair. Brigadier General Roy Mustang was requested to take care of Central Region, the heart of the country, so that he could ease his access to state command when Grumman retired. The proposal raised quite the uproar, but no one had a word against the presidential decree.

The still young officer was troubled by the very same questions as his blond subordinate. Roy's side of the story started when he set foot in the newly renovated headquarters. Along with his old pawns, a new pawn bowed to his mightiness. It was Edward Elric. The little walking atomic bomb joined his side without complaints. With no gain in mind. Damn him if that was a daily occurrence.

Quite sincerely, the effervescent blond didn't know what to do with his life. He couldn't just rot in some city without any action at hand. It seemed that the pale faced Mustang was his only available train to a life with some thrill in it.

So they started rolling together to the unknown that awaited them both.

A/N: TADAAA first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll upload soon (I have some of the next chapters almost done). Review please!