"Where...where am i?" Ed looked around, but saw nothing but darkness. How did he get into such a dark place?
He held up his hands, and stumbled forward. He couldn't feel anything with his groping hands, flying in all directions, desperate to touch, to feel something.
Ed was becoming a bit afraid now. Not of the darkness, but of how familiar this place was...
"Al? Al!!" Edward cried... but no answer.
He should have known.
Except that the fact that Al's prescence made everything ok, so he couldn't stop himself from crying his name.
"edwardedwardedwardedwardEDWARD!!
Ed whipped his head left, right, around, trying to find the source of the voices that kept saying his name.
"Who's there!?" he tried, but the voices just kept whispering his name...louder...louder...
"edward" Ed twisted his body around in surprise as a voice suddenly whispered right into his ear.
He then gasped, and stepped backwards in surprise, as a light, shone before him. It looked small, but Ed couldn't tell if it was far away, or close.It started to get brighter, and bigger, Ed squinted his eyes and held his hand in front of his eyes as the light became blinding.
Ed opened his eyes, blinked a few times and started in surprise. All around him...it was nothing but a yellow wasteland.
Then, Ed heard a loud rumbling sound, getting louder and louder and louder.
Then, it stopped. Ed then had the sensation one has when they feel they are being watched.
Ed turned around, and froze, his eyes wide...at the sight of the gate, towering over him.
"No..." he whispered.
Ed stumbled back a step, from the one thing that he truly feared the most. Enough to have his mind constantly tortured with horrible nightmares...
Then, he heard a deafening creaking sound, as the monstrous iron doors slowly opened.
The doors opened to reveal hundreds of tiny, purple-slitted eyes staring at him.
Ed felt as if his heart had just stopped. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move...
Then, suddenly several little black hands extended out of the gate and headed straight for Ed.
Ed suddenly tried to turn and run, but the little hands were upon him before he could get even halfway around.
They wrapped around his arms, legs and waist, and started to pull him towards the gate.
Ed's eyes opened wide, then he started to struggle, desperately trying to escape his restraints.
But, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get away.
"NOO!! DON'T! PLEASE!!...NOOOOOO!!" He screamed, begging them not to take him. He struggled desperately, getting one arm free, but more hands just covered it again.
They pulled him closer...and closer...
"NNOOOO!!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.
"AAAAALLLLLLLL!!" Ed screamed...but Alphonse could not help him here.
Then, Ed was once again, engulfed into darkness.
And the gate, slowly closed it's doors.
Ed stood still, bent over slightly, hands in fists and his eyes closed. It was pitch black again, and there where no sounds coming from any direction.
"damn it..." Ed said quietly, furious that this got to him so easily...
He wished Al were here. When he was there, Ed was strong. He was like his foundation, nothing could break through to him around Al. It was almost ironic how everyone else's perspective of them was.
Edward was the strong, hot-headed, stubborn one of the two, one who didn't take any shit from anybody.
Alphonse was kind, patient and gentle, always able to see the good in others.
However, the truth was... Edward was nothing without his little brother.
If Al wasn't around him for a certain amount of time, he felt, off. Lonely.
Edward, no, the Fullmetal Alchemist was like a rock. He could do anything, say anything...but underneath all that, he was a rock. A rock, hanging right on the edge of a cliff.
Just one little push...
"Brother..."
Ed jerked his head up, eyes wide, body tense.
It couldn't be...
..."brother..."
Al?
"Al?" Ed tried, his voice hollow and weak.
No answer.
"Al??" Ed tried again, moving forward slightly, hope rising in his heart at the speed of light.
"Right here, brother."
Ed turned around, and immediately jerked his hand up in front of his eyes as a blinding light filled his vision.
Then, it dissipated, and Ed blinked a few times at the ground then looked up. He gasped, his body frozen.
"Al...phonse?"
There he was, his little brother in the flesh, but, he was different than Ed expected.
It was Alphonse, but it was the one that had been with them the night they tried to bring their mom back, when he was only nine.
In reality, Al was 14 right now...
"Hi brother" the little Alphonse said, smiling up to his big brother.
Ed couldn't believe his eyes.
"Al?" He said. Al smiles.
Ed drops to his knees, now looking Al directly in the eye.
"How did...when-"
But Ed was cut off when the little Alphonse suddenly embraced him in a hug.
Ed blinked, then smiled and pulled the little bitty Al into a hug.
"He's so small..." Ed thought.
"I miss you brother." The little Al murmured.
Ed closed his eyes, tears running down his face, and hugged Al tighter.
Ed flinched when he felt something warm and thick ran down his left arm.
He glanced down, and was surprised to see fresh blood running down his arm.
Then, he realized that his little brother felt very cold...
"Al?" Ed pulled back a little to look at him, and froze in terror.
"AAAGGGGHHHH!!" Al's dead eyes stared back at him, but seeing nothing. Fresh blood started to flow from his slightly open mouth.
Ed suddenly fell onto his left side, taking the little Al with him.
Ed opened his eyes again, only to be met by the sight of his little brothers dead eyes.
Ed quickly scrambled backwards, struggling to breathe, a fresh flow of tears began to spill from his eyes.
Ed glanced down at himself, and cried out at the sight of his little brothers blood all over him.
Ed hugged his body, bending over, trembling violently. He felt sick, and dizzy...
"Heh, just like you huh? never able to live with anything that was your fault"
Ed's eyes went wide, and he slowly looked up...and saw himself, standing over Alphonse, his automail blade covered in fresh blood.
"No..."
Ed looked up at himself, confused and afraid.
"What is this!? What's going on?? How could that...be me??"
The other Ed smirked down at him, and stepped over the little Alphonse and started towards his other self.
Ed quickly tried to back away, suddenly terrified of his own image.
"Uh-uh-uh! Where do you think you're going Edward?" He suddenly crouched down in front of Ed, grabbing his collar, forcing Ed to look at him.
Ed stared into his eyes in disbelief. This person looked like...no...was him, but his eyes were...
The smirking Edward brought up his automail hand and touched Ed's cheek, almost in a caress. He smiled as Ed flinched and whimpered as his little brother's blood touched him again.
"Do you really think, that you can run from me?" He said in an icy whisper, staring hard into Ed's eyes, with a smile that made Ed shiver at the sudden resemblance of himself and Envy...
Then, Edward let go of his weaker self, and clapped his hands together, using alchemy to return his blade into it's original form as part of his arm.
He looked back at Ed, and grinned. Ed tried to escape his grip, but was suddenly shoved hard onto his back, knocking the breathe out of him.
Edward pinned his arms down, and started to laugh. A laugh that could send chills down anyone's spine, with almost a touch of insanity in it.
He looked back down at Ed. "Oh Edward... you are so weak!!" He said, putting emphasise on the word "weak" by kneeing Ed hard in the stomach with his automail leg.
Ed choked on a cry, not able to utter a sound from the constriction of his lungs, instead letting out a long groan of pain as the pressure subsided. He could taste the bitter metallic taste of blood on his tongue, as he opened his eyes again to look straight into the eyes of his other self.
"Those eyes..." He thought weakly. Golden eyes, almost glowing, but not warm and calm. Instead, hatred, disgust and insanity filled them to the brink of overflowing.
" The eyes of a killer...could that really be what everyone else see's when they look at me?"
" You seemed surprised at me killing him. Why did that shock you so? It was your fault that happened. Your fault, he's dead."
"No..." Ed said weakly, pulling against his other selfs's grip on his wrists.
"No? well then how do you explain this?" He said, holding up his automail arm, still covered in blood.
Ed turned his head away, but his other self forced him to turn it back.
" I killed him, meaning you killed him." Edward says, pressing his forehead against his other selfs' head.
"No...I didn't kill him, I.."
""You what? Hm? Tried to bring your mother back? What a pathetic excuse!! You just can't listen to anyone else but yourself. Noone else is right but you."
Edward stood up over Ed, looking down at him in disgust.
"He's...he's right..." Ed thought sadly, feeling so weak and helpless.
Against himself.
Edward then raised his foot and kicked Ed hard in his stomach.
"Aaagghhh!!...nngghhh..." Ed cried out, and clenched his teeth. His body ached all over, but he just couldn't fight it...
This other Ed, and then himself... two representatives of the never ending battle within his heart and mind...The battle which haunted him every moment of his life, never giving him even a moment's peace...
A battle that would never stop until he returned his little brother to normal...
"You'll never escape me Ed. You can never escape what you are!! A killer! Only out for himself!!" The other Ed said, his eyes and grin wide, making him look even more insane.
He raised his foot again and-
"Aaahh!" Ed bolted upright with a scream, drenched in sweat and heaving.
"Brother?"
Ed jerked his head to his right, to see the red slittled eyes, helmet and finally body of the armor which was occupied with his little brother's soul.
"Al?" Ed said, his voice cracking.
"It's me brother." The armor answered in that familiar high pitched voice Ed knew so well.
"Wha- what happened?" Ed asked looking around, realizing he was in the hotel room, in his bed.
In his bed...
"You... had another nightmare brother."
"Ed looked back at Alphonse."Nightmare?"
The armor nodded. "I heard you thrashing around, crying my name in your sleep."
Ed could hear the worry in his little brother's voice. Apparently this had been one of his worse nightmare's.
He brought up his legs, and rested his elbows on his knees, trying to calm down and breathe.
"It was just a nightmare...a nightmare..." He thought.
"Thanks Al, I'm alright now." He said, smiling tiredly up at his brother.
Al stared at him, into his eyes, then his slitted eyes narrowed into what Ed knew well as a scowl.
"You're lying." He stated.
Ed opened his mouth to retort, but decided he didn't feel like arguing and denying what he knew was true.
Which also let Al know that he really was upset this time.
Ed stareddown at his automail arm, remembering Al's blood covering it...
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of that thought. It was too painful to think about.
Then, he saw himself in his head, with that same smile...
"I killed him, meaning you killed him..."
Ed tensed, shutting his eyes tight, trying to escape that voice...
"Brother?"
Ed opened his eyes, then looked back up at Al. There was a hint of worry in Al's voice as he spoke.
Ed swallowed, then smiled at Al.
"Nothing Al, I'm okay, really." He said in a stronger voice.
Al nodded. "O-ok then." He stood up, and turned to head back to his own bed.
Ed watched him go, noting the loud noise of the metal armor as he moved.
"Al?" He said before he could stop himself.
"Yes?" Al replied, turning back around to look at him.
Ed looked at him, his jaw set. "I-I promise Al, I will get your body back, no matter what."
Al stared at him for a moment, then he gave off a content sigh to let his brother know as best he could what that meant to him.
"I know brother...thank you." He turned around again, and headed back towards his bed.
Ed smiled again, then turned on his side and lay back down, facing away from his brother.
He closed his eyes, feeling new determination rise in his heart.
"I will return him to normal... i will fix this...i won't be like you." He thought fiercly, as an image of his other self and Envy came into his mind, before he drifted once again, into sleep.