Hiya all you lovely peoples! I'm here again, ecstatic to be starting a new chapter. I really am excited about Thomas and Benjamin, my new characters. Especially Ben. (Not to pick favorites or anything…) But the thing about Ben's disorder (Not being able to feel pain) is that it really does exist. Really! I was watching Oprah one time, and there was this little girl on it that couldn't feel pain. She had to wear swimming goggles all the time because she kept poking her eye, and her parents were worried that she would make herself blind. So I made little Ben like her, except he's a boy instead. (Obviously)

As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist.

On wit' da show!

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Chapter Two – Hail Storm

"How did you do that?" Ed asked Thomas when he walked over to Ben again.

"Practice," Thomas answered simply as he handed the gloves back to Ben. "I worked on making fire people for a year, just doing a little bit every day. And I still improve a little bit after every show."

"Do you think Colonel Mustang could do that?" Al asked his brother. Ed shrugged, unsure of Roy's talents now that he had seen Thomas perform.

"Please," Thomas laughed at Al's question. "Do you think that Roy Mustang would ever be concerned about beauty and details enough to make a person out of fire? For some people, alchemy is being able to snap your fingers and make stuff blow up, but for others, alchemy is a new kind of art form," Thomas told them. Ed could clearly tell that Thomas considered himself to be in the artist group. "It takes real guts and creativity to make something out of what most people would consider nothing."

"You're right," Al said suddenly. "When you were up there, it was like… magic," he said, unsure of a better word. "Even though I knew it was really alchemy. You just had so much passion and enthusiasm that I just got lost in the moment. You were really at home up on that stage."

"Thanks," Thomas said with a genuine smile. "I really do enjoy doing that. And I have other tricks too, but when fire people take a lot of energy, so I have to balance it out and do less tricks."

"It's nice to have a passion so early in life," Al said cheerfully. "You'll probably be able to get your show famous before you get old and be able to make a lot of money."

"Yeah," Thomas smiled. "But right now, every sen I make is going into a fund to help Ben." Ed glanced over at the boy. Ben was wearing his gloves again and was back to playing with the turtle Ed had made. He looked like a normal kid except for the goggles and gloves that were protecting him.

"You two seem pretty close," Ed commented, still watching Ben play. "Are you brothers?"

"Yeah," Thomas laughed, "But not biologically. We're both orphans. I found Ben on the streets one night and sort of adopted him. We haven't left each other's sides since." He paused and looked up at the sky through his sunglasses. "It looks like it might rain," he told them, noticing the dark clouds in the sky.

"Do you guys have somewhere to stay?" Winry asked worriedly.

"Nah," Thomas shook his head. "We're just going to catch a train out of here soon and start making our way back up to Central."

"Not going to stay for very long, are you?" Ed growled a little angrily, and Thomas looked back over at him.

"You're one to talk," he scoffed. "The Fullmetal Alchemist, never stays in one place for more than a week. And he gets mad at me for leaving his quaint little hometown in a hurry. You should know that some people have other things do with their life than sit around in a farm town. No offense," he added quickly to Winry.

"What? For saying we're a farm town?" she asked with a laugh. "It's what we are. It's why you left," she added to Ed. "You needed the opportunities of a big city, and we just don't have that here."

"Yeah, some people need the opportunities of a big city," Thomas smiled at Ed.

"How did you know who I was without me even telling you my name?" Ed asked suspiciously, and Thomas laughed.

"Look at yourself," he said, and Ed looked down at his clothes.

"So maybe I do stand out a little," Ed admitted, looking at the red coat, white gloves and the silver chain of his watch. Each one by itself on a kid his age might get a little suspicion, but he had all three.

"Are you kidding me?" Thomas laughed, putting a hand to the side of his face. "You're like a walking, flashing sign that says 'It's me, Edward Elric! Here I am! Come and get me!' Come on, every city I've gone to there's been at least a little talk of you, and everyone who talked about you mentioned that outfit."

"Great," Ed muttered, picking up a fold of his red jacket. "So you're saying that anybody who listens around could figure out who I am?"

"Very easily," Thomas agreed, making Ed curse under his breath. "What, are you saying you didn't know?" Thomas asked incredulously. "I thought you wanted people to notice you."

"I do," Ed admitted. "But not that much."

"Consider that the next time you go shopping for clothes," Thomas laughed. Suddenly something fell from the sky, making Thomas hold a hand to his head and look up.

"Oh great," Winry muttered softly, looking at the ground where the object had fallen. "Hail." Other people around them were also starting to notice, and were starting to panic loudly as more hail started falling to the ground.

"How far away is your house?" Thomas shouted, holding Ben protectively at his side. Ben had one arm over his head, and the other protectively clutching at his turtle.

"Not too far," Winry shouted back. "I think we can make it!"

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Ed shouted, and then turned and started running. Other people in the crowd had the same idea and were all running for the exit. After an instant moment of consideration, the other four Ed had left behind quickly followed after him.

The five of them ran through the grass to Winry's house, holding their hands over their heads. The hail was starting to get heavier, hitting them more often than before.

"Hey Ed," Thomas shouted over the roar of hail balls hitting the ground, "Hail is just ice, right?"

"Yeah," Ed shouted back, his coat whipping behind him as he ran. "Why?"

"Good. I was just checking. I have an idea," Thomas shouted back. He then turned to the small boy by his side. "Ben, give me your gloves!"

"But-"

"No buts, just give them to me!" Thomas shouted. Ben obediently lowered his arms quickly so he could pull off the gloves, handed them to Thomas, and then went back to protecting his head. He couldn't feel the pain of the hail striking his head, but he had learned that just because he couldn't feel different types of pain didn't mean it couldn't hurt him. Thomas quickly turned the gloves inside out, revealing the transmutation circles, and pulled them on his own hands.

None of the others could hear the snap over the hail, but they all knew it had happened when a large oval of fire started floating above them, melting any hail balls that came in contact with it. All of them except Thomas slowed to a stop and stared upwards.

"Don't stop running, I can't keep it up for long!" Thomas quickly shouted, and the others immediately resumed their original pace. Right before the flames had a chance to start destroying the Rockbell home, Thomas dropped the fire umbrella, and the five rushed inside.

"Hail? Since when do we get hail in Resembool?" Winry panted as she leaned up against the door.

"Hey Granny," Ed suddenly panted, distracting Winry out of her thoughts.

"So you two finally drag yourselves back here for the Harvest Festival and we have hail for the first time in years?" Granny said with a twinkle in her eye. "I suppose you're claiming that it's just a coincidence?"

"Nice to see you too," Ed replied, his eyes also twinkling with laughter, but his face not showing any signs of amusement.

"Guess we're not leaving on the train tonight, huh Ben?" Thomas said as he ruffled the younger boy's hair and listened to the hail dropping heavily against the ceiling.

"You might not be leaving by train for a long time," Ed told them, and Thomas looked over curiously. "Those hailstones were big. I'd say at least a half an inch diameter. Hailstones that big don't just leave bruises, they destroy buildings too. There's going to be a lot of work tomorrow." Thomas sighed, and the Ed suddenly looked over at Al. "Which reminds me – how are you doing, Al? A little beat up?"

"A little," Al said, looking down at his arms. Several large round dents were scattered randomly around the metal plates.

"Well, I guess that can't be helped," Ed sighed. "I'll fix you up tomorrow morning, okay? I'm really tired right now. Where do you want us, Win?" he asked with a slight yawn.

"How about you two take the room at the end of the hall, and Ben and Thomas can have the one next to it," Winry suggested after a moment of consideration.

"Okay," Ed said, now openly yawning and stretching out his arms. "You better get a good night's sleep," he told Thomas. "Anybody who knows alchemy is going to have to help out a lot tomorrow with the repair." And on that note, Ed walked off to the room he and Al would be staying in for a week.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

Ed was surprised to find the next morning that he had woken up without Al saying anything to him. He glanced out the window, and was greeted by a soft orange glow. Sunrise. He had woken up at sunrise without Al's help. He slowly sat up, and the bed creaked loudly beneath him.

"Brother? Are you awake?" Al asked, glancing up at the sound.

"Yeah," Ed said quickly. "I'm just going to go down and get a little breakfast," he explained. Al seemed to accept this for an answer and kept still as Ed got dressed. He knew that Ed didn't like it when he started acting like a mother hen.

After getting dressed, Ed looked Al over Al carefully and then clapped his hands together. The small dents disappeared with the flash of light, making Al look exactly like he had before. Ed looked over one more time to make sure he hadn't missed anything as Al said his 'Thank you.' Ed didn't need to hear it – he knew Al always appreciated it – but it was nice to know sometimes that he was still good for something.

"Hey Al?" Ed paused before walking out the door. "What's today's date?"

"Um… September… I think it's the eleventh," Al said slowly. "Why?"

"Just curious," Ed muttered, and then walked out the door, closing it behind him. He sighed and leaned up backwards against it, letting the hard wood press against his back.

September eleventh. The day that changed Robyn's life forever. No matter what he did, he could stop being reminded of Robyn. There were times that he almost wished he couldn't remember Robyn just so that he wouldn't have to deal with the pain. He slowly walked outside, forgetting about the breakfast he had told Al he was going to get.

First he checked the Rockbell house. There were a few dents in it, but certainly nothing he couldn't handle. Ed was glad that most of the hoses in Resembool were well built and could handle a little hail. After fixing the Rockbell home, he went down to the Harvest festival to check on the damage.

There was a lot more damage to the small booths scattered around the field. Most of the canopies had ripped from being pelted with hail, and many of the booths had a few boards that had gone out of place. Almost all the different things people had brought to the fair were on the ground, broken or not clean enough to be eaten anymore. Small hail balls were still scattered on the ground, small white dots against the dirt. Ed supposed that the hail had only stopped sometime this morning.

Ed sighed and slowly clapped his hands together. He would at least fix anything that had totally broken or ripped apart, like the canopies. The townspeople could hammer in the few out of place boards easily enough.

He slowly worked his way down the field until he came to stage. A small circle of ash still ran around the stage perfectly. It looked like something in one of those sci-fi movies that would beam you up to some aliens if you stepped in them.

Ed snorted at the thought and then jumped into the circle defiantly. No aliens, of course. Nothing. Not even a slight flicker of a beam.

"Hey, Ed. You're up bright and early." Ed spun around, only to find himself facing Thomas. Great. So the aliens had decided to come to him.

"What's that?" Thomas asked, pointing to Ed's neck. Ed quickly realized that he forgot to tuck Robyn's necklace under his shirt, and he hurriedly tried to hide it.

"None of your beeswax," Ed growled. "Just help me repair this place."

"I've already done most of the houses in town," Thomas told him triumphantly. "Though I suspect you would know if I missed any better than I would."

"I bet I would," Ed snarled back, clapping hands together and applying them to a torn canopy. Thomas had already put him in a bad mood, and he wasn't going to make any attempts to hide it.

"Um… One man died last night," Thomas said slowly, and Ed spun around to face him. "He couldn't see where he was going and he fell into the river. He ended up drowning."

"Who?" Ed demanded quickly.

"Mr. Koslowski," Thomas said slowly, bowing his head. Ed was taken aback by the name. Mrs. Koslowski's husband, the woman who always made sure he got a slice of her apple pie because she knew he loved it so much. And now her husband was dead.

"We only helped ourselves last night," Thomas muttered, staring down at the small hail balls on the ground. They were still frozen solid, thanks to the cold fall morning. "I could have made that fire for everybody and we could have all gotten to safety."

"And how much energy would that have taken?" Ed snorted, making Thomas look back up. Ed turned back to fixing the booth in front of him. "It's one thing to care about people after danger has passed and the situation is safe. But it takes a bit of practice to figure out a way to care for the whole town when staying in one place could get you seriously injured."

Ed continued to fix the booth as if he hadn't said anything important, but Thomas' face lit up slightly, and he slowly started helping Ed repair the booths, a new look of respect in his eyes.

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Yay! Okay, I want to thank you all for such a quick response on chap 1! I got 23 different e-mails yesterday that all had to do with fanfic! Okay, so 2 don't count because they were alerts that I had updated, but all the rest were you guys! Reviews, PMs, favs and alerts, they all added up to 23! That was really great, you all made my day! And' posting a lot too.. I just posted chap 1 yesterday! Boy, I have lot's more time to write in the summer… XD