I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any other already copyrighted material I may have missed. I'm not worth the effort.
And just a heads up, but I'm chronically editing and reediting old material. Another thing is that it often takes months to post a single chapter. I started this damned thing some time in late February of 2005 and didn't post the first chapter till 11/09/05. There are still only three chapters and the preface finished and the fic is over 190 pages long double-spaced between the paragraphs.
Right now I'm just praying no one mails me bombs for what I put certain characters through. Most people are somewhat understanding when it comes to Edward and Roy being, in plain English, dragged on their backs through the nine dimensions of Lucifer's playground.
The timeline's been FUBAR'd, might even be eligible as an AU.
This is my first real attempt at writing anything like a story. Hope it comes out right. If you have the time I would greatly appreciate it if you would badger me to your hearts content, criticism can only help.
Broken Stride
By … Fullmetal Angyl
I.e. K. L. Nelson
"Al Wait!"
But his younger brother was already at the entrance; he knew he heard a voice.
Alphonse stopped just short of the doorway that was now waist deep in flames. A burst of hot air caught him off guard and he fell back. It knocked the breath out of him, but he rolled onto his left side and scrambled back a few steps on his forearm, shielding his face from the immense heat with his right arm. He could feel the hairs burning off it.
In his thoughts, he was already cursing that which he had fought for so long to regain. DAMN THIS FLESH! Alphonse had only regained his body the day before. They hadn't told anyone yet, as they had wanted it to be a surprise. The first thing he wanted, almost as badly as being able to embrace and feel his brother's living warmth once more, was to walk up to friends that didn't know what he truly looked like and let them figure it out for themselves, to see the looks on their faces when they realized just who it was they were talking to. For the first time in his life he wished he didn't have a body of flesh; that he was still nothing more than a soul trapped in an unfeeling suit of armor. He would give up anything to save a life, even at the cost of his own.
Jumping to his feet he stared into the blaze that was once a riverside house that looked out over rural farmland on the outskirts of Aquroya, the City of Water. The city was closer than Central, so they decided to take a look around and give Alphonse a little more time to adjust before seeing the others. The hall ran straight and deep into the heart of the building. The walls were insulating it and bits of burning ash floated about as the air rippled with heat like the inside of a hot stove. He felt like he was staring down the devil's throat into hell.
(HELP, I'M TRAPPED!) The voice came from somewhere towards the back beyond what he could see, the deepest part of the building.
Then he heard someone shouting in desperation. "GET AWAY FROM THERE, THE WHOLE PLACE IS COMING DOWN!" It was one of the firefighters yelling at him.
"WATCH OUT!" He whipped his head towards the scream to see a wide section of wall come crashing down from the second story within feet of another firefighter, but two others quickly pulled him to safety. Glancing about he found that he was the only one within fifty-feet of the flames; he was the only one that could save the stranger now.
Alphonse turned to see three men struggling to hold Edward back as he tried desperately to break free. "GET BACK, YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"
He looked at his older brother and paused, knowing it might well be for the last time. Edward stopped struggling to stare at his little brother.
There he stood, with his back to the mouth of hell that threatened to swallow him whole. His form was dark against the white-hot flames in the doorway, but Edward could still see his face so clearly. He looked like the stuff of legends as his silhouette danced with the immense heat that was cast off the scattered bits of flaming debris that lay between them. Edward knew he was saying goodbye.
"I'm sorry… my brother…"
"NO AL!"
Then Alphonse turned back to the fire. "Hold On!" Drawing a deep breath and covering his face with his arms, he leapt over the flames and out of sight.
"AAALL!"
IMPORTANT – This is only the preface and takes place one month before the actual story.