This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic! Please bear with my language mistakes because English is not my native language :D This story will be in two, long chapters :) This fanfics events occur after the fifth laboratory, another version of the events...maybe "a little" ruder than the original :D Hope you like it and I will release the second ( and final ) chapter as soon as possible! ( I think I will release it during this week, maybe even tomorrow if I have the motivation to write this! :D )

Edward thinking

...

"This is getting complicated" Barry the Chopper sighed when Maria Ross and Denny Brosh pointed their weapons at him. It seemed like he had no means to escape even though he had been close to finishing Alphonse Elric off. The situation was upside-down. They stared at each other and nobody made a move to solve the situation.

Then the ground started to shake and there was a loud crash when the fifth laboratory started to collapse.

"Ah...!" Alphonse Elric voiced out when he didn't realise what was going on. Everyone tried to keep their balance on the shaky footing. Maria Ross and Denny Brosh, who were ordered to protect Elric brothers, started to back off.

"What are you doing?! Get out of there, quickly!" Maria Ross shouted at the younger Elric.

"But...Nii-san is still inside!" Alphonse realised.

"What did you say?!" Maria Ross panicked.

"Well, you now what this means..." Barry the Chopper started,"...we should escape quickly!" He took his chance to get away but it didn't stay unnoticed for a long time.

"Hey!" Denny Brosh shouted at Barry the Chopper and apparently tried to order him to stop.

"You should run away too!" The former criminal adviced.

"Wait!" Brosh ordered and ran after the criminal who had disobeyed his orders. Sounds of the building collapsing surrounded them everywhere and Maria Ross tried to get at least one of the brothers out of the mess alive.

"Nii-san! Nii-san!" All shouted even though he probably knew his brother could not possibly hear him over all the din.

"Come on! You have to get away!" Maria Ross said when he tried to pull Alphonse Elric further from the building.

"But..." Alphonse hesitated because he didn't want to abandon his brother. Even the slightlest chance of him being alive would be enough for him to push trough the collapsing building.

There was a loud explosion and dust covered the air so that for a few seconds, they could see nothing. Then they saw an unfamiliar character coming out of the dust. Carrying something on his shoulder. First they took a careful look of the strange man with long hair but then they recogniced the person he was carrying.

"I brought you something!" The stranger said cheerfully and landed on his knees to put Edward Elric on the ground.

"Nii-san!" Alphonse worried and didn't hesitate to get closer to the stranger who had brought his brother out of the former laboratory.

"He isn't in a immediate danger of dying but he has lost a volume of blood so take him quickly to the hospital" The stranger adviced while he stood up, "Keep a better care of him so that he won't do anything crazy! He is an important person, after all!"

Alphonse and Maria looked down at unconcious Fullmetal Alchemist,"Who are you?" Alphonse asked but was interrupted when sergeant Brosh rushed to the scene.

"Lieteunant Ross! Hurry up!" He ordered and gasped when he saw Edward.

"Sergeant, help me out!" Maria Ross hurried.

"He is all bloodied!" Brosh slightly panicked and pointed at the older Elric.

"We can talk later!" Maria Ross stated and turned to face the stranger,"You should get out of here...! He is not here...?" She wondered when he couldn't see the saviour of Edward Elric.

Soon after they got outside the barrier surrounding the fifth laboratory, the whole building collapsed with a loud crash.

...

Edward woke up the next day at the hospital. His wounds hadn't been so bad as they had first thought but he still needed some rest before he could continue his "work" as a state alchemist. He was dissapointed to find out that the laboratory had been totally destroyed and cursed before the piercing pain in his stomach forced him to calm down. He also got to accept the preach from lieteunant Ross and sergeant Brosh who were dissapointed at the brothers when they didn't listen to adults and trust their decisions.

Edward also noticed something was bothering Al. Of course he would notice if something was wrong with him since he had known his brother as long as he had lived. There was an odd silence between them whenever it was just the two of them and neither of them spoke much. Ed wanted to ask what was wrong but he could not bring up the courage to do so. He hesitated, he hesitated way too much. They were brothers, for god's sake!

Maybe it's better not to ask...I might be imagining things...Maybe it's something he doesn't want to talk about...at least not yet...

"Nii-san?" Alphonse spoke out suddenly and Ed turned to face him.

"What is it?" Ed asked carefully.

"It's..." Alphonse hesitated for a while,"...it's nothing..."

"Al, if you have something to say, please tell me..."

"Really, there is nothing - - " Al tried to reassure his brother but Ed knew him too well.

"Alphonse!" Edward hissed and looked at his younger brother seriously,"You can't hide things from your brother!"

Alphonse gulped - or he would have if he had a body of a normal human, not a suit of armor. He clenched his fist.

"You...you are hiding something from me, aren't you?" Al inquired quietly and didn't meet his brother's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Ed wondered nervously. He didn't like the tone Alphonse was talking to him.

"You said it...You had something you didn't dare to say to me..." Alphonse noted but he had terribly misunderstood it.

"Look, Al, it's - - " Ed tried to say something wise but Alphonse interrupted him.

"Were you trying to tell me...that I am just a mere - - a mere created soul with fake memories!?" Alphonse blurted out and Ed felt utterly stunned for a while.

"Why would you think that?" Ed asked and tried to stay calm.

"Just answer the question!" Alphonse shouted and Ed stirred.

"Of course you aren't!" Ed tried to reassure Alphonse.

"How can I know you are speaking the truth?! Living in a suit of armor, what am I supposed to believe?!"

Ed looked horrified and couldn't believe they were really having a conversation like this.

"Al, please, just listen to me, I want to - -" Ed tried to speak again but was yet again interrupted.

"Why should I listen to you?! How do you think I - -" Alphonse raged but it was Ed's turn to interrupt him.

"FINE!" Ed hissed and Alphonse fell silent,"If you can't trust me, there is nothing I can do..."

Ed stood up carefully, gritting his teeth when the pain shot trough his stomach but didn't mind it. He just wanted to get out of the room. He felt sick. Sick enough to throw up.

...

Ed finally, after an hour or so, returned back to his room at the hospital and wasn't surprised when he couldn't see Alphonse there. Somehow he felt relieved, somehow he didn't. The way they had separated felt utterly wrong.

"If you are looking for Alphonse, he said that he would visit Rockbells", lieteunant Ross informed.

"I see...thank you for the information..." Ed sighed and layed down.

"I am sorry if I ask something personal but...did you fight?"

Ed blinked before he understood the guestion.

"Well...yeah...sort of...but I think it will be fine..." Ed said hopefully," Al just needs some space to think some things over..."

Maria Ross didn't know what to say so she excused herself.

I don't know what to do...

Then he realised he should call Winry because he couldn't move his automail arm. He should have done it sooner because it probably took some time for her to arrive at hospital. Well, he couldn't help it since his mind had been so occupied with Al's sudden change of mood.

Ed took the wheel chair and went to the closest phone. He waited for Winry to pick up.

"Rockbell's automail service,"she picked up with her usual tone.

"Hey, Winry, it's me, Ed," Ed greeted.

"Oh, Ed! It has been so long since your last call!" Winry cheered but got serious all of a sudden,"Did something happen?"

"Wha...Why did you suspect something happened?" Ed asked even though he knew she was right.

"Well, you usually won't call if you don't have anything important to say and you sound somehow...different...are you both idiots fine?"

Ed hesitated for a while because he didn't know what to start with.

"We are both fine...We just got into a fight and Al is coming over to your place..." Ed explained.

"Hold on...You just let him leave like that?!" Winry wondered and sounded somehow angry.

"Well...yeah...I had no other choice!" Ed tried to defend himself but couldn't tell her that he couldn't have possibly traveled at his current state.

"YOU ARE BOTH IDIOTS!" Winry shouted and shut the phone violently.

Ed sighed deeply and closed the phone.

"Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?" Sergeant Brosh asked when he came to help the infamous Fullmetal alchemist to get back to his room.

"Whose girlfriend?!" Ed shouted and reopened his wound.

...

It took some time for Al to travel to Rockbells. He didn't know why he had decided to go there but it seemed like the most normal solution. Well, they had said he and his brother were always welcome there and he didn't hesitate to take their offer in a situation like this. He finally arrived, after few days of travel and lots of waiting for delayed trains.

Meanwhile Colonel Mustang visited Fullmetal Alchemist in his hospital room. Edward was ready to leave from the hospital and get a few days of rest but Colonel had some information for him which could be useful and he didn't want to waste it.

"They say there is someone who knows something about the philosopher's stone in this city", Mustang informed,"It's merely a gossip but it might be worth checking."

Ed thought about it for a second. He had mentally given up on the idea of using philosopher's stone when he and Alphonse had found out the fact they were created of living humans. But he could use some extra knowledge and maybe there would be something useful.

"You might be right...I will check the place immediately!" Ed said and stood up quickly.

"Hold your horses!" Mustang ordered and grinned slightly,"Do you even know where to look for him?"

Edward hissed and admitted his defeat,"Okay okay, I got it! Where can I find this person?"

"Not so fast! You are still on a sick-leave so you should rest and not run around the city!" Mustang noted,"I will come with you. This case catched my interest too...Expecially the person who we might be looking for..."

"Who might we be looking for?" Ed's immediate guestion was but Mustang didn't seem like telling him.

"I can explain the details on our way there..." Mustang promised and they got out of the hospital and went to Mustang's car where his leuteunant Riza Hawkeye was waiting.

"I told you he wouldn't miss the chance!" Mustang stated.

"Oi joi, Colonel, you didn't have a bet of whether I would come or not?"

"Nothing of sort of! I am not as childish as you seem to think of me!" Mustang laughed nervously and gave Riza a look which told her to keep her mouth shut up about their bet. She only sighed deeply and asked them to sit down to their seats so that she could start driving to their destination.

"Okay, so where are we going?" Edward asked when they were talking privately in the car where nobody else could hear them.

"We are going to one company's warehouse. They produce most of the weapons for military so their company is important to us and there are few people from the military to keeping watch." Mustang explained and kept silent for a while.

"...And...? There must be some reason why we are going there?" Ed wondered.

"Sharp as usual, aren't we?" Mustang joked,"Well, the gossips about the philosopher's stone lead to one community of criminals and it seems like they have got some sort of connection's to that company's owner. They might have some nasty side-business for example and I want to check it out as soon as possible."

"Okay but why it has to be just that exact warehouse? If it's a big company there should be many other places to look for?"

"Let's say there are most of the dangerous stuff. Not many people know about it. There are some gunpowder and explosives too." Mustang said,"Of course there is a chance there is nothing at all in there but it could be a good place to start."

Ed fell silent for a while and stared out of the window. He thought about his fight with Alphonse and wondered how he was doing but didn't dare to contact him.

...

"Welcome home!" Pinako Rockbell greeted as usual when Alphonse arrived at their place.

"I am back," Alphonse said and felt somehow ashamed to be there. He didn't even know why. He would have blushed if he had a normal human body.

"How was your journey?" Pinako inquired. She got clearly some work to do but she always had some time to talk with Elric brothers.

"It took a little longer than usual because there were lot of delays in the train schedules", Alphonse informed. He didn't want to admit that he had wished for Ed to be there because the journey had been really boring.

"Well, good that you got here safely...Usually Ed always manages to cause you guys some sort of trouble..." Pinako sighed and Alphonse couldn't help a small chuckle escaping his mouth,"But I have got work to do, you are free to use the guest room as usual..."

"Thank you," Alphonse said and went upstairs. He didn't reach the guest room, however, because Winry hit him with a hammer and pulled him to her room.

"WHAT DO YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Winry shouted at the bottom of her lungs.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Alphonse shouted back even though he couldn't feel the pain of hammer hitting his head.

Winry stared at Alphonse for a while and sighed deeply.

"Really, you baka Elric-brothers..." Sometimes she felt like a big sister of the brothers,"What did you fight about this time? I hope it wasn't which of you could marry me and you rushed here to propose me?"

Alphonse would have blinked and then he shook his hands.

"No, no, no, nothing of sort of!" Alphonse reassured,"It was just that..." Alphonse couldn't continue his sentence and fell silent.

"Well?" Winry tried to cheer him to continue.

"I...don't know actually..." Alphonse said and sighed.

"Tell me everything...I guess this is not one of your ordinary quarrels, is it?" Winry inquired and Alphonse nodded slightly.

"It..." Alphonse started but didn't actually know where to start from,"We went to one place we shouldn't have went...but there could have been some important information for us so we went even though we were prohibitet. I know what you think!" Alphonse sighed when he saw the look on Winry's face,"There was one guy whose soul was attached to a suit of armour like mine and he...made me doubt myself...whether I really exist...if I am just a created soul with created memories..." He could have gotten angry while explaining if it had been somebody else, but Winry was someone he could not possibly argue with.

Winry was guiet for a while and then she sighed deeply.

"So is it all? Is this why Ed was mad at you?" Winry doubtet that Ed would get angry at Alphonse just because of that.

"I...don't know what made him so mad at me..." Alphonse wondered,"I just wondered if this doubt of mine being a mere created soul was the thing he had wanted to tell me..."

"Hold on!" Winry hissed suddenly,"What thing he wanted to tell you?"

"Ah?" Alphonse wondered the sudden guestion," Well, I don't know...just a while ago he got really serious all of a sudden and it seemed like he wanted to say something to me or ask something from me but I can't say for sure..."

Winry tensed suddenly and she got serious. It seemed like she could start crying any moment.

"Winry...?" Alphonse asked carefully before Winry hit him with her fist.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT HE WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT?!" Winry shouted angrily. Her fist was twitching with pain but she didn't mind.

"Winry! Your hand is bleeding! What did you think you were - -" Alphonse worried but Winry interrupted him, repeating the guestion.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT HE WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT?!"

It was clear for Alphonse that she was really angry but he didn't know why.

"What is going on here?" Pinako asked when she came in and wondered the scene she had seen.

...

"Here we are!" Mustang informed when they stopped. They had been driving for what felt like an hour and finally arrived to a big warehouse area which was surrounded by a high barrier.

"...It's not only big company but apparently it's mere warehouse is humangous!" Edward realised.

"Word 'humangous' and ' big' doesn't fit in your vocabulary?" Mustang teased.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AS SMALL AS A BUG?!" Edward shouted.

"He said nothing of sort of..." Riza tried to step in but it was of no use when two childish person's were fighting. Expecially when they were men.

They went to the front gate and introduced themselves to the gate guards who doubted Edward had any business there but they had to believe when he had the silver watch of state alchemist and he was in a company of Colonel Mustang. They got inside the barrier but they didn't notice when the guards nodded at each other and one of them went to make a pohe call.

"Boss, I think we have a problem. Colonel Mustang and Fullmetal Alchemist are sniffing around."

...

Pinako stood there, stunned at the scene in front of her.

"What's going on here?" She repeated the guestion and got a teary look from Winry.

"He...he...doesn't know..." Winry sobbed," He...doesn't know about the thing that...Ed wanted to ask from him...And now he has hurt Ed..."

Pinako couldn't understand so Alphonse got to explain the situation again. After the explanation she sighed deeply and looked at Alphonse seriously.

"You really don't have any idea of what he REALLY wanted to ask you or tell you?" Pinako inquired and Alphonse nodded. She sighed deeply again. Winry was crying and she would only shout at Alphonse so Pinako decided to tell All instead of Winry.

"Listen up!" Pinako ordered strightly and took a deep breath,"When Ed lost his arm and leg when you were trying to bring your mother back and we were operating him, he said something to us. Yes, he was feverish and in a great deal of pain but his thoughts were really genuine", She took another deep breath to calm herself down,"He wanted to know whether you hated him or not due to what he had done to you..."

The realisation hit Alphonse hard. He had been a real idiot! Why had he believed the words of a criminal, words of a madman?! Edward was not the kind of person to lie about these kinds of things!

"I need to get back to the central!" Alphonse said,"I need to get back to the central hospital as soon as possible!"

"Hold your horses!" Pinako said,"Do you know when the next train is going to leave?" Alphonse stopped to think for a while.

"Tomorrow morning, I guess?"

"Then you have to wait. It's no use hurrying things too much." Pinako noted and Alphonse sighed.

"I guess you are right..." Alphonse admitted and turned to face shocked Winry.

"Hold on...Central hospital? You don't mean Ed is injured?!" Winry almost yelled and Alphonse could do nothing else than nod.

...

Colonel Mustang, lieteunant Hawkeye and state alchemist Edward Elric went inside the main warehouse. Just the mere size of it made Edward open and shut his mouth like a fish but they had no time to wonder around it.

They saw that there was stairs leading deep inside the ground and they decided to go down. There was a sign telling "Only certificated people here" but they didn't care about it. The first floor had looked like a normal storage...well, a normal storage were they kept some explosives and guns, that's it.

"What's witht this underground place?" Edward wondered.

"Maybe it has been meant for testing weapons or something?" Riza suggested.

"That could be the case..." Mustang admitted but something, maybe his instinct, told him there was some other reason. They wouldn't hide just a mere test-ground so deep underground.

"You think something is wrong?" Edward asked when Colonel fell silent for a while.

"Maybe...I can't tell why, but it feels like there is more to it...Let's be careful" Mustang adviced and nodded and both of them.

Meanwhile in the upper floor of the warehouse there were few guards who had gotten their assingment from their boss. They had seen the trio finding the passage to the underground space and going inside even thought there had been a warning.

The man at the other side of the line had said the exact words:"Destroy all the evidence even if it would cost us one warehouse and lives of few human but remember it was only an misfortune accident."

...

Author's note:

Well? Did I do well? :D I hope to finish this up quickly! :) And I hope I haven't proceeded too fast :) Reviews,favorites,follows, pm to support my work, onegai? :3