The Unfinished Past

Chapter One

Ah yes. Another Fullmetal submision. But I don't think you guys mind. Or at least I hope you don't mind. Anyway, smae old crap. I don't own Fullmet Alchemist or it's characters. But the ones I make up I do. So enjoy.

He slowly blinked his eyes open. His golden orbs trying to adjust. It took him several moments to remember what had happened and when he did he sat up quickly. His head spinning from the action. He put his hand to his head in an attempt to steady himself. As he looked around he found that he was in a field on the very edge of a set of thick woods. But at the momenat where he was didn't interest him. It was the whereabouts of his little brother that worried him.

"Al? Al? Where are you?" He asked frantically.

"Up here!" He looked up to find his brother tangled in the branches of a large oak.

"You okay Al?" He said as he stood up.

"Yea. But I can't get loose."

He snickered and laughed a little at his brothers expense.

"It's not funny Ed! Get me down!"

"It is a little." Al just glared at him. "Okay okay. I'm coming." he said with a little laugh as he walked towards the tree. It was funny. He slowly climbed the tree till he got to the branch his brother was currently slumped over. "I swear Al. I'm usually the one who gets stuck in these predicaments."

"I don't really care right now. Just get me loose please? I can't move my arms." Ed smirked again and moved to where Al's coat was caught up on the branches and began to work on getting him freed. It was after that both brothers were distracted by a large explosion. Dust was thrown many feet in the air and they could hear men screaming.

"What the hell?" Ed questioned as many men in blue clustered the area.

"Hey! You two! Get down from there! Can't you see it's dangerous here?"

They looked down to see a very angry Amestrian soldier. But it was when all their eyes met that it slipped from anger to an expression of surprise.

"Edward? Alphonse?"

"Havoc?" They said in unison.

"You...you're back?"

"Yea. But what's going on here? We just left one war behind. Didn't expect to walk into another!" Ed had to yell the last sentence as another explosion rang out.

"It's Drachma! They attacked us!"

"What? Why?"

"Haven't really figured that out yet! Now get down here you two! I'll take you to safety!"

"Okay!" Ed released the last bit of clotheing that was holding Al to the branch and they quickly began to climb down.

They followed Havoc quickly through the dense woods till they came to a clearing where a military command cemter had been set up. Havoc took them to a large tent in the center that must have been the operations tent and quickly ushered them inside. Everyone looked up as they entered.

"Look who I found."

"Edward? Alphonse?" It was Hawkeye. She bore the same expression Havoc had only moments before. As did the others when they saw who it was.

"When did you two get back? And how?" Fuery asked as he stood up.

"When? I'm not really sure because we were knocked out for a while. How? Is a long complicated story that you really don't have time for right now."

"That's true. It's just sad that you had to come back in the midst of this." Hawkeye said with a long sigh.

"Can we do anything to help?" Al asked.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Of course. We'll do anything to help." Ed said as he stepped forward.

"Alright then. Why don't you take them with you Havoc?"

"Yes sir." He said as he saluted Hawkeye.

He took them out of the tent and headed to the other end of camp. "What rank are you guys now?" Al asked out of curiosity.

"Hawkeye is a Lt. Colonel now. Ranked up fast in this war. I'm a captain."

"That's cool."

"Yea. I guess."

"So where's colonel bastard?" Ed asked in a sarcastic tone. Havoc stopped and just stood there. "Havoc? Is everything all right?" Ed questioned cautiously.

"Roy's in the hospital. He almost drank himself to death a few days ago. He's been discharged from the military."

"What?" Al asked in disbelief. Ed just stood there. Too shocked to move.

"He's not in a good state right now. He's on suicide watch. And the Lt. Colonel hasen't been herself since that night. She's the one who found him."

"God. I guess he's still really messed up from what he did in the past. I can see where he's coming from. With what I've done." Ed said as he looked to the ground.

There was an akward silence that seemed to go on for a lifetime. Till Al spoke. "So...did you rank up before the war?" Not really a good question at the moment but it would break the akward silence.

"Na. Only been this rank for a month. Still not used to it."

"So, should we keep moving?" Ed asked with his signiture grin. Anyone who didn't know him would think that little bit of gloom had passed. But his friends knew better. He was covering his pain like he always did.

Havoc, shaking his head, just waved his hand in a motion that said 'follow me.' But if they could see the look he had on his face they would ask him why he looked so scared. A soldier of his rank would never show fear even if they were scared. Truth was it wasn't the war itself that scared him. It would be the next very uncomfortable moments to come.

At last they reached his squad and they all laughed and waved to him. He waved back as he pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth.

"We have some newcommers! Make um' feel at home would ya?" The smiles faded to expressions os shock.

"Aren't they the Elric brothers?" One soldier asked as he pointed. Another soldier in the back jumped slightly at the question.

'It couldn't be.' The soldier thought. The soldier then stood up to look. It was indeed them. Ed was scratching his head nervously as he warded off question after question. At last the soldier built up the nerves needed and walked over.

All questions ceased as the soldier approached. And Ed and Al could feel their hearts skip a beat. There, standing before them in a military uniform, was their childhood friend. Winry. She said nothing and really showed no expression as she looked at them.

"Winry?" Ed asked. Clearly upset. "What the hell are you doing here?" His voice raised an octave and now he sounded angry.

"So. You two finally decided to come back huh? Didn't think you would." Her tone was cold and it chilled the two to their bones. This wasn't the Winry they had grown up with.

"What's happened to you?"

"What's happened to me? Do you really care? It's not like you ever did before. So what the hell are you doing here anyway? It's not like you're going to stay."

"They're helping us out." Havoc said very cautiously. He out ranked her but he had been on the other end of her wrath before despite that. He wasn't looking forward to another confrontation. She just glanced at him before turning her attention back to the two Elric brothers.

"So. You two only show up when there's a fight going on? You're still the same."

"What? It's wrong to help people?"

The burning fire was in her eyes and he knew now that he had crossed the line.

"I know you two love to help people! And there's nothing wrong with that! But it's like you completely forgot about me and granny! Your family! You two were all I would have left once granny was gone! And you know what? She died three months ago! And there was no one there! Not the ones I wanted to be there anyway! I just cried alone!"

She turned away from him. Not wanting to look at him anymore incase it made her cry. She'd gotten rid of her weaknesses long ago. She wasn't going to give in now.

"I had to go back Winry. I had to stop that bomb. It came from our world you know."

"And you can't solve every problem! Let me guess. It was you versus an entire army right?"

He just nodded.

"And you thought with those odds you could win right?"

He turned his eyes away from her.

"Just like I thought. So knowing that. Why did you still leave us?"

"I had to try."

"You'll never change. What you do is very admirable. But all you're doing is rushing to your death. Or is it that you won't be satisfied till you're dead?"

He didn't answer her. The more she spoke the more he realized he had been rushing to a goal he couldn't accomplish. His brother was back in the flesh. Shouldn't he just be happy with that?

"I'm sorry Winry."

"It's too late for that. You did what you felt you needed to do. And I know I'm being selfish thinking the way I do. But sometimes it just looked like you didn't care about us anymore. So now I've excepted things as they are and moved on. You'll both do the same thing you've been doing all these years. So for my own sanity I have to leave you where you are now. In my past."

Ed shot his gaze back to her. His face gowing redder with anger as each second passed. "So now you'll just forget about us? Just throw us to the side because we had to do something that needed to be done? You are selfish! Just a selfish bitch because you couldn't get your way! I screwed up and had to fix things! Was that wrong for me to do? To get my brother back to the way he was?"

"If you weren't so much of a screwup that wouldn't have happened in the first place!"

"What did you say?"

"You know it's true. And if I am such a selfish bitch that couldn't get my way, then I would have let you wallow in you're pain and not have lifted a finger to help you! But don't you think you would have done the same if I left for all those years and didn't call or write? To visit once in a while just because I wanted to? You made me feel like I meant nothing to you! All I wanted was to know if I still meant something to you! Not just your damn mechanic!"

"That's enough!" Al pushed his way in between them. "Stop it! What the hell happened to you two? Brother had his reasons that I think he should talk to you about for not coming home! You two shouldn't throw your friendship away over this shit!"

"I don't know Al. All I've done is cause her pain. Maybe it is better if I stay in her past."

"What?"

"All right! Stop it!" All three turned in surprise. Havoc had just yelled at them. That's the first any of them had heard him yell like that. "We have a war going on here! We don't have time for your squables! You two need to learn to get along for the time being!"

"Yes sir!" Winry said as she stiffened up.

"Yea. Alright."

"What was that Ed? You have been stricken from military records. Which does make you a civilian now. But since you have so elequently decided to volunteer, you're back in. And you're not a major anymore! So when you address me you say sir and yes sir! Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Ed was almost shocked by the change in Havoc's mannerisms. It was like he was a different person. In fact everyone he had known before he left had changed immensly. He felt like a stranger in his own home.

"We've gotta get going." Havoc continued. "Lets get you two some weapons. With these guys alchemy won't be enough. They just keep coming."

The boys both nodded and followed Havoc to obtain their rifles. They were also handed sidearms and extra ammo. Along with other supplies they carried in their packs. Next Havoc gave them helmets to strap on and then he started the breifing.

Ed and Al listened intently. Not failing to notice Winry was standing up there with him. After Havoc finished speaking Winry took over. She was going over positions of the enemy on the map. Pointing to each area and and showing where they should move and attack from. Al leaned over to whisper in his brothers ear. "You know Ed. If we didn't know her like we do you'd think she was in the military fo a long time."

"Yea. I know. I'm not sure I like this new Winry."

"Hey! You two! Pay attention!" Winry yelled as she pointed at them. "People die if they don't pay attention!"

"Yes sir!" Al said as he straightened up. Ed just stared at her. Looking almost defiant. After a moment she continued.

Despite Ed's appearence, he was unsettled inside. Winry was so different and he felt like he hadn't known her at all. In truth the only reason he'd come back was her. Maybe he should have stayed back on earth. Because it didn't look like she wanted him around anymore. He snapped out of his revere as the others got up and they began to group up in preperation for the attack.

A/N

Well I hope you enjoyed. I'm really trying to work hard on this one. The plot is gonna get kind of complicated so I hope you don't get lost. Or for that matter I hope I don't get myself lost. Well, pleas review.