I got this idea from a discontinued Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction that was called "My Brother's Thief".

I really like this story ("Phoenix"), and that is why I'm passing it along. I hope that you like it as well.

This first chapter is kind of sad, and I feel that Al is a little OOC, but, in this case, I think that he should be.

Also, I used part of this idea in "A Different Side of Fullmetal."

Prologue/Chapter 1: Fire

Alphonse Elric, 11 years old, walked home from school with his friend, Winry Rockbell, 12 years old.

Winry was the same age as Al's brother, Edward. Edward didn't walk with them today, because he was "sick from school" today. Al knew that Ed was feigning illness, but their mother let Ed stay home anyway.

It was a warm March day, and the two preteens were glad that they didn't need to wear their jackets.

They had almost made it to Winry's house when Al noticed something unusual. "Winry, do you see that?" He pointed out to something in the distance.

Winry looked to where Al was pointing. "Smoke? Why is there smoke?"

Then, it donned on Al, and he took off running. Winry ran after him. "Al, what is it?"

Al answered without turning back, "I think that smoke is coming from my house."

When the two kids got to Al's house, they learned that Al's assumption was correct. The Elric house was on fire, and looked as though it had been burning for a while now. The house was almost unrecognizable now as the flames licked the walls.

Al, in disbelief, stared as the fire destroyed his home. "No," he whispered. Crying, he dropped to his knees. "Mom, Dad, Brother," he whispered.

Winry walked over and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Al."

Al looked up, tears glistening in his eyes. "Winry, run to your house and get your parents to call the fire company. We can't just let this fire continue to burn."

"Okay, but don't go anywhere."

"Where would I go? I have nowhere to go…anymore," Al replied.

Winry's heart broke for her friend. She ran back to her house, praying that that they weren't too late.

Al sat there on his knees as he watched his house burn. How could this happen? How could I be a normal boy one moment and an orphan the next?

Al stood up. No, I don't have to live like that. He quickly located the front door. Not caring about the flames anymore, Al walked toward the door and his imminent death. "Alphonse!" He heard voices call his name, but he did not stop. He walked closer and closer to the beckoning door until two strong pairs of arms rooted him to the spot. "No, let me go!" Alphonse yelled.

"Alphonse Elric, stop!" said the male.

"Alphonse, please listen to us, okay?"

Al stopped fighting and looked up into the kind faces of Winry's parents.

"What if your parents and brother survived the fire?" asked Sara Rockbell, Winry's mother, in a kind voice. "They'd be sad if you died."

Al let Winry's parents lead him over to where Winry stood. "Stay here with Winry. The firefighters will be here soon. We'll handle everything."

Al stood beside Winry, and for once, neither had anything to say to the other. Winry didn't want to say the wrong thing and Al just didn't feel like talking to anybody.

They heard sirens in the distance, and a couple seconds later, two fire trucks pulled up in front of the burning house. The trucks stopped and the firefighters jumped out.

Following behind the fire trucks was one black car. The car stopped and two doors opened. Two adults, one man and one woman, both dressed in military uniforms, stepped out, shut the doors and walked over.

They walked over to Winry's parents. Pulling out their IDs, they proceeded to introduce themselves.

"Roy Mustang, Colonel," stated the black-haired male, who looked to be the superior of the two.

The female stepped up beside her superior. "Riza Hawkeye, Lieutenant."

Winry's dad stepped forward. "I'm Corey Rockbell and this is my wife Sara." Then, he gestured to the kids. "The girl is my daughter, Winry, and the boy is her friend, Alphonse Elric."

"Mr. Rockbell, do you know anything about this fire like how it got started or when it started?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel; I don't know anything about it, but the kids saw it first. They might know something."

Colonel Mustang kept a straight face as he told Corey, "Call them over here."

Winry's dad turned to the kids. "Winry, Alphonse, come over here please."

The kids jumped up and Winry led the way over to her parents. When they stood by Winry's parents, they noticed the two soldiers. The kids had never seen a soldier up close before so they grew nervous.

Roy noticed this. He kneeled down so that he could be face-to-face with the kids. With a kind smile, Roy spoke to them, "It's okay, you don't have to be nervous. I just want to know if you two know anything about the fire."

Winry spoke up first. "We didn't even know about it until after school today. Did you notice anything weird this morning, Al?"

Al shook his head.

Roy looked over at the boy. The Colonel noticed the young boy's tear-stained face. "Is this your house?" Roy asked, calmly. At Al's nod, Roy turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Rockbell. "You may leave now. We've almost gotten the fire put out. Once that's finished, we'll search for survivors. I'll contact you later with our results."

Mr. Rockbell nodded. "Very well then." He shook Roy's hand. "Thank you Colonel." He turned to the kids. "Winry, Alphonse, we're leaving."

Winry and Al followed Winry's parents to the Rockbell house. After they got home and were settled in, Winry's mother turned to the kids. "I'm going to make dinner. Winry, can you show Alphonse to the room where he will be sleeping?"

"Sure, Mom," Winry replied. The girl turned to her friend. "Come on, Al," she commanded to him.

Al followed, without a word, as Winry led him to the guest bedroom. "This will be your bedroom if you have to stay here, Al," Winry explained to her friend.

Al, still not saying anything, sat down on the bed. It was obvious that he wanted to cry, but every time he tried, he remembered what his brother used to say. "Boys never cry, Al. No matter what happens," Ed had told Al one afternoon when the younger had skinned his knee. That had happened five years ago.

Sometime while Al was reminiscing that moment, Winry had come over and placed a hand on Al's shoulder. Al felt the weight on his shoulder and his muscles stiffened, a gasp escaping from his lips.

"It's okay to cry, Al. You won't look weak, I promise. Believe me, you'll feel better if you just let your emotions show." Winry, knowing how much of an influence Edward had on his younger brother, understood why Alphonse refused to cry. "I'll come back to get you when dinner's ready."

After Winry left, Al buried his head in the pillow on the bed and cried.

Dinner that night was silent. None of the Rockbells wanted to risk upsetting Al anymore and Al was practically mute from the shock.

The first noise at dinner was the ringing of the phone. Corey Rockbell, stood up and walked over to the phone. After looking at the caller ID, he picked up. "Rockbell house."

After a pause, he said, "Yes, this is."

Another pause. "Oh, I see. Thank you."

Mr. Rockbell hung up and walked back over to the dinner table.

Mrs. Rockbell understood from her husband's behavior and she could almost guess what had been said on the phone conversation.

Together, the adults made a silent decision. They knew what the Colonel's search had found. Silently, they decided to keep quiet about it, but young Winry broke the decision.

"Was that the Colonel? What'd he say? Did they find Al parents and brother?" Winry blurted out without thinking.

"I don't think that we should…"

"No," Al interrupted, "please say it. I'd rather die knowing than live not knowing."

Mr. Rockbell exhaled. "As you wish, Alphonse." He paused to make sure that Alphonse wouldn't change his mind. The boy's facial features didn't change, so Mr. Rockbell continued, "Yes that was the Colonel." Another pause. "It's too late. The fire has been deemed to have no survivors. I'm so sorry, Alphonse."

Al, who was only half finished with his dinner, picked up his fork and used it to push his food around on his plate. "Thanks for telling me. I appreciate knowing." Al spoke monotonously.

The room was silent. The only sound was the sound of Al's fork scraping along his plate. Eventually, the boy grew tired of this. He pushed his chair back and he stood up. "I'm sorry, but I'm really not hungry anymore," Al, in his monotone voice, told the family. "I'm going to bed."

Al left the dining room without clearing his plate from the table. He went to the bedroom that Winry had showed him to earlier. Once there, he plopped down on the bed.

After staying that way for a minute or so, the boy turned over and stared up at the ceiling. From the bed, he could see out of the nearby window. The sun was setting and the normally blue sky had taken on a red-orange hue. The color of the fire, Al told himself. The red-orange sky was also full of haze. Probably from all the smoke, Al thought.

As Al stared at the sky, he asked himself a question that he'd wondered about a few hours ago. How could I be a normal boy one moment and an orphan the next?