This does not follow any plot or part of the manga. At this point, Ed is about 17 and Al is human for my purposes. There are no homunculi. Scar is also dead, killed by Ed.

WARNING- RATED M- Suicide, extreme swearing, graphic violence

Disclaimer- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Hiromu Arakawa, the best manga artist ever, does. I hope she can forgive me for torturing her characters so horribly.

Ramul fell to his knees. How could Scar be dead? His cousin, the most ferocious fighter he'd ever known, dead. Scar had even been equipped with alchemic powers. It wasn't possible. Then Ramul heard who had killed him. Edward Elric. The Fullmetal Alchemist.

He would pay. Edward would be forced to suffer as Scar must have suffered. How he was suffering now without his cousin. Without Scar, Ramul was alone in the world. There were always the other Ishbalans, but it just wasn't the same.

A look of pure hatred stole into his eyes as he stood slowly. His mind was consumed with one thought- avenge Scar, his only family. He returned to his tent, quickly grabbing a dagger from his bag. With that, he sat out towards Central without a second glance back at the slums. He wouldn't return unless he got revenge or he was killed too.

x-x-x-x

Edward and Alphonse trudged through the streets of Central. It had rained for the past days and just recently abated for a few brief hours. The clouds still drifted overhead, threatening with more rain every minute. The early-evening sun tried to break through but to no avail. The wind whistled desolately through the deserted streets, chilling the brothers.

Ed shoved his hands further into the pockets of his pants and burrowed his neck down further into the collar of his shirt. His red cape snapped in the wind behind him and his blonde, unruly hair blew this way and that. Next to him, his younger brother Al walked. He had his coat closed tightly and his hands were in the pockets.

They reached headquarters and were let in after Ed showed his pocket watch. They stalked upstairs to Colonel Roy Mustang's office. Without knocking, Ed walked in and sat on the couch. Al followed and politely bowed to his higher-up. "Good evening, Colonel." He took a seat next to his brother.

Roy turned from the window and nodded to Al and Ed. "Hello, boys. I take it your mission was successful?" He gave a slight glare to Ed's booted feet, which were covered in mud and propped on the coffee table.

Ed shrugged. "It was easy. The alchemist was right where you said he would be. We just surprised him and gave him the good Elric brother sneak attack." He winked at Al, who just smiled. Ed then threw a pocket watch towards Roy, who caught it. He opened it and saw an inscription on the inside of the man's name. "Proof, in case you didn't believe me."

Roy nodded and set it on his desk among the piles of paperwork. He took a seat at his chair and leaned forward, fixing the two boys in his gaze. Ed had his eyes closed and was half asleep. Al was waiting patiently for Roy's orders. Roy smiled. "Why don't you two stay with Havoc tonight? He said it was okay. He'll actually be leaving on an assignment tomorrow so if you two could behave, he'd let you stay there until he returns."

Ed smirked and opened his eyes. "Havoc, huh? I guess it's better than staying with you." He stood and stretched, motioning to his little brother. "Let's go, Al." He nodded to Roy and walked out. Al bowed again and nodded as he left. They trudged through the streets once more, but it was only a few blocks to Havoc's apartment.

Havoc let them in after they knocked and showed them to the living room. "Well, you two look tired. How about we eat some dinner and then off to bed? I have one bed and 2 couches…" He shrugged and the brothers smirked.

"We can just turn the couches into bed easily. You can keep your bed. It's no problem," Al said. He stood and headed to the kitchen. "I'll help you make dinner." Havoc smiled his thanks and headed to the kitchen. Ed remained on the couch, waiting patiently.

In about 20 minutes, Ed was called into the kitchen. He was greeted by the sight and smell of rolls and chicken soup. Al smiled. "It's the best I could do on short notice."

Havoc laughed. "It's better than I do most of the time!" He motioned for the brothers to sit down and eat. During dinner, they laughed and talked about everything. Afterwards, Havoc cleaned up. "You two sleep. I'll be gone tomorrow, so just don't burn the place down, alright?"

After quickly transmuting the couches into suitable beds, the brothers laid down. They quickly fell into a deep sleep as the moon peeked out from behind a cloud, illuminating the streets of Central. The only sign of life was a single figure, holding a glinting knife.