Brothers

By Fiore-the-Dragoness

Hello peoples of Earth and beyond! I know I really should be working on FMA Kitties Invade My Life, but I've run into a rather rough spot in my writing process…yeah, it's horrible. Anyhow! I thought I'd try something a little different. Drumroll please!

*Drums roll for a few seconds, and cymbals crash*

A one-shot! Yay! This will be my first, so let's just see what happens, shall we? Oh! This is set after *spoiler alert* Ed and Al finally realize just WHAT goes into a Philosopher's stone. This an Ed-centric fic. Where's Al? I dunno, walking around? :D Now, let's get this show on the road! XD

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Edit: And…done. Updated on 6/9/13

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, though if I did, Hughes would NOT have died. Ling wouldn't have become all Greed-y either.

Song used (based upon): Brothers

Sung by: Vic Mignogna

*Note: If you haven't heard this song, I highly suggest that you find it! Listen to it! It's great!

Ed sat on the edge of the messy un-made bed in the dorm room, thinking deeply. Ed sighed suddenly, falling onto his back. How had they gotten into this mess, anyway? Oh, right, via my stupidity… Oh Al...Poor Alphonse... He had such a long and joyful life ahead of him, and now, it was gone because of him…Al would never forgive him because of his transgressions. Ed's mind wandered. He shuddered involuntarily as he thought of that dreadful night. He had been so stupid! If only their Mother hadn't succumbed to illness, of only his father had been at home and not gone…If only he had just heeded the laws for performing alchemy! Things would've ended up so much more different than now if he had just moved on. Al had died that night because of his stupidity!

Their mother… She had died so young. When she had left for Heaven, he would have happily traded places with her in an instant. They had only wanted to see her smile again. What was so wrong with that? Why had it gone so horribly, mind bogglingly wrong? Their innocent and pure intentions that fateful night had turned into something neither of them would forget, ever. When he had told Al of his plans, he had jumped on the train to doom headlong. It was all his fault. Why? What had they ever done to deserve this kind of an outcome?

When Al had been swept away…he had immediately jumped into action. He wanted…no, needed his brother. How ironic that the suit that had lived in their Father's study, the very one that he had always kept around because it 'might yet be needed,' was the one he had used to seal Al. An anchor for his soul, the armor served as a link to this world. Ed silently berated himself again. Why did I ever think of pulling my own brother into all this!

If only he had listened to the laws! Ed thought again. If he had only realized the possible outcomes of a Human Transmutation…instead, he had gotten caught up in the moment, in the dream (or was it a fantasy?) that he might see his, no, their, Mom again. If he could only reverse time…perhaps then, he might have stopped himself…

Now that the object of their quest, the Stone, had been found, they had realized it was unobtainable. People! Actual people had been slaughtered and used to create this despicable gemstone. It reminded him of something out of a twisted fairy tale. At this thought, Ed laughed harshly. A fairy tale...if only… How could he possibly get his brother to realize that he was sorry for what he had done, for what he had made them lose on account of that horrid night that still haunted his dreams to this very day?

Then he had remembered what he had said to Rose on that day in Liore: 'You have two good legs! Get up and use them! Move on! There's nothing you can do to change the past.' Yes, he would let this go, for now. See where his one good leg would take him. His automail arm and leg, and Alphonse's current state, would serve as a reminder, a lesson, to be remembered. He would keep moving forward. Ed's stomach growled. He smiled a little, pushed off the lingering feelings of sadness, and moved towards the door to find his brother and some food, while he was at it…

Whew! I'm glad that's over! That was tumbling around in my mind for the past week and a half, nut I only just now got around to typing it. By the way, did Ed meet Rose in Lior? I couldn't remember…so I just stuck in what I thought was the correct place. The quote "keep moving forward" came from the movie Meet the Robinsons which I thought fit the mood perfectly, so there it is! :D So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Okay? I think it's pretty good for a darker scene, of which variety I'm not good at writing about. Please tell me what you think of this in your reviews! ^w^