Chapter 1: Hang On Tight

Trains.

Roy Mustang couldn't stand the things. They were cramped, bumpy, and, among other things, they were so damn loud.

Well, maybe that last part wasn't so much the train's fault. Fullmetal was fast asleep in the seat in front of him, snoring his brains out. Roy couldn't wrap his head around it. How was a kid so puny able to produce that much noise? The sheer volume was enough to put the train engine to shame.

Fullmetal spent most of his time sleeping or eating, when he wasn't taking the time with Alphonse to research how to get their bodies back. Ed's boy was taking on nourishment for him and his brother.

One Transmutation.

That was all it took to change Edward and Alphonse's lives forever. Not to mention Roy's own life. He had taken them both in when the boys performed the ultimate taboo, human transmutation.

As much as it was an idiotic choice to make, he admired the boys' resolve. They didn't like the hand that life had dealt them, so they sought to change it. Even if it ended up costing Ed's right leg and Al's whole body. You'd think after losing his brother and his very leg that Ed would of crumpled and gave in to despair.

No. That wasn't his style.

Ed didn't care the cost, he was getting his brother back. That was the rule of alchemy after all. Equivalent exchange. And the price for getting Al back was Ed losing his right arm and Al being locked in a suit of armor, unable to feel or eat or do anything that humans with senses could do.

As far as Roy was concerned, though, the boys paid far more than they took. When they made this grave mistake they were only children. Even now they were, but only by appearance sake.

Well, Ed anyway.

As scrawny as the kid was, he sure knew his way around alchemy. All it took was a simple clap for him to transmute, whereas for others it took a drawn circle. Ed made sure he used this skill to advantage whenever he had the chance. It had saved his ass more times than one.

So, why was Roy on this heap with the kid to begin with? It was third time in a span of five days that people where being attacked by an alchemist that seemed to be invisible. But the weird thing was, the culprit seemed to attack towns that were mostly abandoned and scarce.

Roy wasn't stupid, he knew this had to be a trap of some sort, and when you're dealing with a rogue alchemist, you need to pull out all the stops you can. He'd thrown a few soldiers at the criminal, but none were ever able to find him or draw him out. So now, it was in the Colonel's hands...and Fullmetal's too. As much of a pain in the ass as it was. It was the only solution.

However, Roy doubted he and Fullmetal could handle this guy if he was practically in a coma. Edward had been sleeping the entire train ride, which now was going on close to nine hours. The whole while Roy was spending his time reading and catching up on his paperwork.

So much damn paperwork all the time.

Roy was snapped out of it when he heard Ed stir suddenly in his sleep. Was he...whimpering?Roy looked at him and went to go and nudge him with his foot, but before he could, Ed said something.

"Don't go."

Roy narrowed his eyes at this. Ed sounded so little and childlike in that moment, it threw him off guard. Moreover because he sounded...scared.

Scared and so alone.

This went on for a couple minutes. Roy knew he should have woken him, but he was curious to hear who was ailing Ed in his nightmare. Who was he begging not to go? And go where?

He went to raise his boot again to wake Ed when he heard:

"Don't go. I'm so sorry. Please, just don't go, dad."

Roy froze and his eyes grew wider. He felt himself let out a small, barely audible gasp. He couldn't believe it, Elric was dreaming about his father. As loosely as one could use the word 'father'.

All Ed ever said about the man over the years was awful. He couldn't stand the man. Cursing him at every turn. Now he was calling out to him? Why? It didn't make any sense. What bugged Roy even more was, why the hell did he care so much? Not just that he cared, he was angry, maybe even a little...

CRASH

A loud and violent force shook the train hard from side to side. This was more than enough to wake Ed from his not so peaceful slumber. He woke with a start and immediately looked over to Roy to see what the hell the problem was.

"Hang on tight, Fullmetal!" Roy called to him and he forced his own body to be as steady as possible.

Ed looked around anxiously. "What the hell did I sleep through!?" he yelled, wobbling around roughly. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner you worthless Colonel bastard!?"

Roy let out a frustrated growl. "Just shut your mouth and hang on, damn it!"

Roy wasn't sure if the train was going to derail at this point and kill, not to mention him and Elric, but all the passengers on board.

"There has to be a way to stop this damn thing!" Ed called out, looking quickly in all directions.

"If you have any ideas, Fullmetal, I'm all ears!" Roy snapped back. He wasn't sure what to do. He had ignition gloves in his pocket, but even if he could reach and grab them, he wasn't sure it would do anything. All he'd succeed in would be bouncing around the car like a ping pong ball.

Outside the window, Roy saw sparks beginning to come out of the tracks. They were going too fast. Derailing seemed like a fate they couldn't avoid. On top of that, he felt they were tipping over.

Edward hopped onto his seat carefully.

"What in God's name are you doing!?" Roy yelled.

"I'm going to try something!" Ed shouted back.

Roy let out an angry breath. "Stop, you idiot! If you let go you're going to go flying!" As he opened his mouth to make another protest, a shadow flew past their window. It was to fast to make out who or what it was or to note any specific details, but something was definitely out there. The only thing he could see of it was it seemed to be...grinning. All Roy could muster at this was a small...

"What the...?" he said to himself.

The next sound he heard was Fullmetal snapping him out of his daze.

"Anything's better than sitting on our asses doing nothing!" he heard Ed yell to his previous statement. With that, Ed let out a mischievous and confident chuckle and let go.

Ed went flying mid-air throughout the car. As he flew, he quickly clapped his hands together. In this moment he had only enough time to safely stop one thing: himself or the train. Ed, of course, chose the ladder.

From the grassy knoll that ran adjacent to the train tracks, sprouted a large dirt and moss covered hand, that grabbed the speeding hunk of metal in an attempt to stop it. But if Ed had stopped the train dead in it's tracks, all the cars would crash into one another, killing everyone involved. So Ed guided the hand to run with the train a small ways, so it could stop at a safe speed.

Before he could tell if he was successful, he felt his back slam hard into something and the bastard screaming his name. After that?

Darkness.

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"...Fullmetal!" Ed heard a faint, yet familiar voice calling out to him. Who was it? All he could see was blackness all around. Wait, that's what it was. His eyes were closed.

"Come on, Fullmetal, you have to open your eyes, all right?" The voice said, sounding more rushed and anxious this time.

Ed fought to get his golden eyes open. When he did, everything hit him all at once. Mustang's voice, the derailing train, the sharp pain radiating all down his back. Before any sound could escape his lips, Ed heard Mustang again—that was who kept calling out to him. He sounded concerned. Ed never liked when he sounded that way. It never meant anything good.

"Come on, partner." Mustang said, "We need to get you out of here."

Partner? What was he a first-grader?

Before Ed could yell at him for his remark, he tried to push himself into a sitting position. A pained grunt came out of him before he was right back down again. He felt Mustang grab his automail to hoist him up. He immediately pulled his arm away. He didn't need Mustang's help. He didn't need anyone's.

"No..." Ed croaked out. "I can do this myself."

That was Ed for you. Stubborn as all hell at the worst of moments. When he tried to sit up once more, he got the same result.

At this point, Mustang had had enough. We went to grab Ed's arm again, only to have him, once more, pull away. There wasn't time for this.

"Goddammit, Fullmetal!" he yelled, taking Ed's face in his hands. "Look around you! We don't have enough time for your pride bullshit!"

Ed actually did as he was told and took a look around at their predicament. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The train had gone off the rails completely and now he and Mustang were dangling from the car that was hanging off the side of a mountain, ready to plummet to the ground at the slightest disturbance.

Ed's eyes grew wide and he let out a shudder of horror. Not just at the danger he and Mustang were facing, but the other passengers. All those passengers...!

"Th-the trian..." Ed let out in a whimper. "I-I couldn't-" he began but he didn't finish the sentence. He couldn't finish it. Then it would be real. He then felt Mustang shaking his shoulders.

"Fullmetal, if you don't snap the hell out of it, we're both going to die." he warned the teen.

Ed shook his head furiously side to side. "No! I don't deserve to escape! I couldn't save all these people! Why should they die and I get to live!?" he cried.

Mustang let out a hard sigh and slapped Edward hard across his face, his head turning from the impact. "One more remark like that and I'll kill you myself, you idiot!" he warned him. "I'm not getting off of this rig without you, so cry later and let's go!"

Ed glared up at the Colonel. He was right. But he would hurl himself off of this cliff before he'd ever admit it. So he took his superior's hand.

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Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you'd like! This story is going to be a quite a ride so get ready!