I DON'T OWN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST NOR DO I OWN ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!

Good, now that that's settled I hope you all enjoy my story ^_^

Constructive criticism is always welcome, no flames please :/

Gloved hands shakily pushed against the rough concrete floor in an attempt to hoist himself to his feet, a failed attempt. Blood spilled from the wound surrounding the large steel pipe impaling his stomach. The pain was unbearable, but more so was the train of thoughts running through his mind, 'will I ever see her smile again? Ever be able to hear her laugh? Al… will I be able to keep my promise to my little brother?'

Trying again he pulled himself to his knees, barely holding himself up long enough to break the long stretch of steel behind him using alchemy. He fell limply on his side, pain and anguish written clearly in all his features "I can't…." he whispered "I can't let her cry over something like this…"

Her smiling face appeared in his mind, her long blonde hair held back securely by a green bandana, oil smudged on her face and the excitement of finishing her latest project shining in her beautiful blue eyes. Scanning the room with his golden eyes he came across two other men, chimeras; a gorilla and a lion, trapped beneath a pile of rubble. 'They must have been caught in the mine when it collapsed' he thought, searching the room further 'Kimblee's not here'. Keeping his eyes locked with the men, he stiffly clapped his hands together sparking his alchemy to free them.

"Hey...you alive Fullmetal?" Mr Gorilla, as Ed had decided to call him, called. "Why did you save us? You're in much worse condition" said his partner.

"Don't get the wrong idea" Edward winced "I need someone to pull this thing out of my abdomen". The chimeras looked at him as though he was insane, but all he cared about was getting back to them…getting back to her. "If we pull it, you'll bleed out" the lion man voiced his concerns, motioning to the piping.

"As soon as you pull it out I'll seal the wound with alchemy" He reassured them. 'I am not dying here!'

After a bit more convincing, the men hesitantly agreed. Mr Gorilla sat Edward upright, whilst the lion firmly gripped the steel. Edward mentally braced himself, he knew that sealing his wound would shorten his life somewhat, but it didn't matter. He would make the decision one hundred times over if it meant spending one more day with her, with Winry.

The pain as the steel was slowly removed hurt more than anyone could imagine, Ed's body convulsed and his throat was raw from the screams he was choking out. He focused on using his life force in the same way as a philosopher's stone. 'That's right' he thought 'right now I'm nothing more than a philosopher's stone made out of one soul!'

He remembered the feeling of passing through the gate, of using souls to return from gluttony's stomach, the fake portal of truth. The steel came loose and he immediately performed the medical alchemy to link together all the damaged tissue and to stop the bleeding. Then he felt it, hope, he wouldn't be dying today.

"We should get you to a doctor!" the lion man exclaimed. "No" Ed replied as he got to his feet and began slowly making his way down the open mine "I don't have time for that…Kimblee got away…also, everyone…everyone's in danger". His vision began to blur, he wasn't going to reach his friends, his family in time. He would leave his trust in his brother to protect Winry. He could feel her earrings, a gift to his childhood friend- his love, the small pieces of jewellery permeating the searing cold through the pocket of his now tattered red cloak. He had promised to return the jewellery the next time they met, a promise he intended to keep.

Focused on his goal he continued to stagger towards the tunnels that lead away from the debris. After a few more steps the fatigue caught up and his legs, both flesh and automail betrayed him, giving way to the rest of him to crumple to the floor.

His vision grew clouded, he could hear the rush of his blood and the pounding of his heart..his fullmetal heart, a heart that belonged only to one, to her . One last word escaped his mouth before everything went black. One word, "Winry…."

AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks everyone for reading and a big thank you to Conspiracy101 for bugging me for months to start writing again. I hope to write more fics in the near future….

Ja Ne fellow fic- readers

~ScarletRain~