A/N: Hello everyone-

I wasn't expecting the response to the story I got. Like, I didn't expect views on the first day let alone the Follows and Favorites from you guys!!

I'm gonna try to do a bit better, and I got a bit of tips from my older sister (who is skilled in the fanfic arts) and a few others, so I'll see what I can do!!

-Comment Responses-

@Id9916 Hello my first review ;-; thanks for reading the first chapter! I'm glad you liked it! I saw a LOT of my spelling and grammatical errors throughout the story. I try to fix them as I go, and if you see any specifics TELL ME PLZ ;-;

@ALCHEMYxFREAK Thank you~! I'm so thrilled that you enjoy it, but this is only the beginning, so expect more :3

I hope you enjoy~!

~•~0~•~

-Present Day-

Edward: 15

Alphonse: 14

Edward sits in silence on the steps of an old, abandoned building on the city sidewalk. It wasn't scary or anything since it was out in the open anyway. He looks up at the gray, overcast sky that visibly dared to shower rain at any given moment. It was getting dark, but that was the best thing about being out at all. It felt like freedom, though he knew he was far from it as long as he lived with him. Even if he wanted to leave he couldn't just ditch Al. He had so many problems. He saw things that weren't there, but Edward couldn't rule them out as nonexistent. He couldn't call Al a liar. Diagnosis didn't make Alphonse a liar or any more insane than he was before the accident happened.

He sighs and digs through his backpack for the Marlboro pack he "borrowed" from the convenient store that was in the more rural areas of the city. They didn't live in a very safe area already. It was jam-packed with prostitution, crimes and lots and lots of drugs. It was unfortunately pretty easy to get caught up in it too since his best friend Ling had so many outlets. He managed to get away with it too, so everything was basically fine. Sometimes he wished he'd get caught just so he could see the look of betrayal of his so called fathers face. He couldn't do that to Al though, so he tried his best to hide it. He couldn't care less what happened to him. He died years ago.

"Empty." He thinks as he tosses the empty packet out of the backpack. It was late, and he was out of cigarettes already. He had two options at this point. Either be safe and go home pissed, or risk getting mouthed off more and have cigarettes. It was a win lose both situations, but it was tricky. Life was full of trials and tribulations and this was the test he was given??

Home it was. He was exhausted anyway, and he didn't feel like hearing extra dumb shit from his dad about being in the big, bad world with all the big, bad people. Little did he know. He stands up and stretches which conveniently causes his ports to ache more. "Thank you bad weather." He picks up his backpack and starts heading back to his personal jail. The only thing good about it was Al. Everything else could burn if it wanted.

Thirty painful, aching minutes later he arrives at their apartment. It was equally as old as the abandoned building accept it was actually creepy since it had the weirdest people in town residing in it. Even the goddamn apartment clerk was sketchy, but at the end of the day they were probably sketchy too. He walks inside and makes a note not to make eye contact with anyone, because apparently that always meant he was begging to socialize. He presses the elevator button, waits and walks inside. It smelled like dog shit, but the clerk did happen to have a dog who'd just roam the hotel every day.

The smellevator reaches the third floor and he pulls out his key to unlock their apartment door since knocking was out of the question. He slowly opens the door and peaks inside to see if Hohenheim or Alphonse were downstairs. He had bad experiences walking in late, so it was always better safe than sorry. He steps in and shuts the door behind him quietly. "Finally-" A voice says from behind him causing him to freeze. He turns around to the kitchen. Why didn't he check the most obvious area? "Oh! Al, what's up?" He says nervously receiving a irritated glare from Al. "You know dad and I were really worried about you, right?"

"Sorry. Wasn't trying to." He says apathetically while sliding his red converse off. "Where did you go? Dad's looking for you." He asks suspiciously. He was so damn nosy sometimes, but he understood why though. He'd be scared if Al was out past their said curfew too. "Don't worry about it, buddy. I'm fine, so just call Hohenheim or whatever." He opens the empty fridge knowing full well there was nothing in it. Habits were hard to break.

Alphonse heavy sighs, picks up the home phone and calls Hohenheim. Edward could hear the frustration coming through the phone. Al hangs up and gives Ed another irritated glare. "It's 'Dad' by the way," He corrected. "You should be more nice to him." Edward ignored the smart remark and leaves the kitchen to sit on the living room couch. He knew going into his room to hide wouldn't stop Hohenheim from bothering him. Alphonse walks into the living room and flops onto the couch. "You're in trouble~" He provokes in a sing-song voice. Ed rolls his eyes and noogies Al. "Shaddup you little shit."

He laughes a little, then leans on Edwards shoulder.

There was a long silence."Something wrong?" Ed asks playing it off cool, but in reality it was hard not worrying about Al 24/7 after the shit they'd been through. They had to leave Al in an institution due to all the things he heard or saw. They ended up losing trust after that, and worked hard to regain it. The accident didn't only fuck Al up. It fucked him up too. "No, yeah! I'm fine. Just glad you're here."

"...I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry about that." He insures patting Al's head. The apartment door opens and Hohenheim walks in with a aggravated expression. Edward was cool since he had already prepared himself to where shits weren't given at the moment. "Edward, you have to stop staying out so late. I've told you countless times about ho-"

"About how dangerous the world is. Yeah, I heard you, old man." He says scrolling through television channels. "Clearly you haven't heard it enough or you'd try to behave more." Hohenheim walks over to the Box TV and unplugs it. "What the hell?!" Edward groans and sits up pushing Al off of him. "I listened to what you had to say, so what the hell else do you want??"

"Firstly, I'd extremely appreciate it if you would tone it down. Can you do that?" Edward clenches his teeth to hold back the smart remarks that were begging to be exposed. He glares impatiently, but shuts up anyway. "I'll go start my homework." Alphonse slides his way to their bedroom to avoid the intense conversation. "Ed, I'm worried about you. I know things are hard for you, but I'm just worried." Hohenheim says sincerely. It unfortunately wasn't sincere enough for Edward though. "I don't need you to worry about me. I'm fine, and I'd be a lot better if you stopped nagging me all the time."

"That's my job as a father; to worry about you."

"Pfft- Nice try, but you fucked that up already." Hohenheim didn't know what to say. It wasn't a lie after all. It wasn't like he didn't deserve that, but just because it was his fault didn't mean it was his intentions. "I know that, and I'm sorry. I took the blame already, but it's just too hard to please you isn't...it?" He rubs his head vigorously. Edward pauses. "Your drunk, aren't you?" Hohenheim sighs. Was he expecting hm to be perfect? He had so many bills, and all the crap he had at work was draining. Not to mention the things he was trying to forget. Alcohol was necessary at that point. He was beyond addiction. He was obsessed.

Edward shakes his head. "Just go to sleep before you do something you regret. Goodnight." He was done. He just couldn't handle being around him for too long. How does he expect to be a good father if he's drowning himself in alcohol every day? It was difficult, and it was embarrassing. Once, he got so drunk he had to literally drag him home from a public bar. It was humiliating. Al also happened to be unstable on that particular day, so it just iced the cake.

He walks into the bedroom. Al was just staring. Not at anything in particular, well, that he could see. It happened so much that he almost expected it. He walks over to his bed and flips on it. He opens his phone and heads to Contacts. He only had a few contacts, but they were all important. Alphonse, Ling, Bastard and Winry.

It had been a while since they saw eachother after they moved to the city. Hohenheim just couldn't handle the pain of being there, and they packed everything up and left.

He never lost contact with her though. They were like siblings, and he didn't like the idea of cutting her off. It's not like it was serious. Just necessary.

That's a great word for it. Necessary.

He stares at the contact. It gave him anxiety just looking at it, and he didn't know why. He takes a deep breath and hits the button. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He was hoping she'd pick up as much as he didn't. It felt like hours and he considered hanging up when the hold stops.

"Hello..?"

"H-Hey! Whats up?" He stutters while brushes his hair back.

"Ed! Hey, I was actually just helping granny with a couple of customers here and there, ya know? The usual. Haha! What about you? Haven't talked to you in a bit."

"Me? Meh, I've been doing boring shit, ya know? The usual." He says sarcastically. "Wouldn't expect any less from you, nerd. So- how's Al?" She had heard all about Al's state of mind, but she hardly knew it in person. They'd FaceTime sometimes, but when it came to meeting him she hadn't. Even after they got home from the whole situation he was bedridden. He wouldn't get out of bed, he wouldn't eat and he wouldn't socialize. She never got to hang over like the old times, so it was rough.

"Yeah, he's doing better. He's been going to therapy less, and he's been taking his pills more seriously." He says hoping it'd sound uplifting enough. "That's great! I haven't talked to him in a bit either. Is he around?" Edward looks behind him and Al was just staring. It was always like that, but he wasn't bad. "Uh, no he's asleep." He lies.

"Well shit. Hahaha! Well, granny is screaming at me from the other room and it's getting really annoying." She says.

"Awh, so soon??" He jokes

"Poor little you is gonna have to be lonely. See ya dude."

"Yeah, I'll see you Winry. Bye." He hangs up and drops his arms to his sides. He always loved talking to her, but she never had time. Not really at least. He looks at the time, and it was already 2:00 AM. He had a problem with staying awake. He gets up and walks over to Al's bed. "Hey, buddy lets get some sleep, ok?" He says placing a pair of Alphonse's pajamas beside him.

"I can't yet. Faceless won't let me." He says in a low tone. "Al, listen, I won't let him 'take you away' again, ok?" He says as if he was talking to a five year old. He might as well had been. "He'll take me to The Gate! I don't wanna go back! Please!" He begs gripping Edward's arm tightly. "He'll get you to-"

"Al, it's ok. It's ok. He can't get you if I'm here. He definitely can't get me. He's just trying to scare you, that's all." He explains while handing Al his Pjs. "Go get in your pajamas and go to bed. It's really late." Alphonse looks at the ground for a second, then walks to the bathroom with his clothes. Edward puts on a white t-shirt and some black baggy pants with two white stripes on each side. He gets back into bed and lays his back against the headboard. The days had been passing by so quickly. Maybe he was just tired too much, because they were long too.

Alphonse leaves the bathroom in his pastel blue two piece pajamas with white stripes and clouds. There were little golden stars on it too, and the buttons where also golden stars. His favorite Pjs.

Edward smiles at Al, and motions him to go to bed. He hesitates at first, but end's up getting into his bed and laying down. All he could think about was the void. The bright void that was somewhere but nowhere at all, but there was a large gate in the nowhere. Faceless lived there. He'd let the hands get him, and it'd hurt for so long. He couldn't go to sleep, and sometimes he'd steal Hohenheim's energy drinks and mix them with coffee and sugar. He was afraid that if he fell asleep he'd get taken again.

It first appeared after the accident and he thought he was a friend until he took him away. He would be in unbearable pain, but he'd forget once he woke up. All he knew was that it'd hurt. When he thought about it he couldn't really remember much past when he was almost killed. Faceless wiped all his memories and told him to start over. When Hohenheim told Al that their mom was dead, he just knew Faceless killed her. If Faceless could kill his mom, they could kill him too. Why was he spared though? He just didn't know.

~•~•0•~•~

Hohenheim opens a beer bottle. His fifth to be precise. He chugged it down like it was water, but it hardly quenched his needs. He just wanted to be ok. He just wanted to be a good father, and Edward was right. He failed. He failed so hard. Thinking Trisha must have been ashamed of him only persuaded him more to drink. It helped him forget how horrible of a person he was, and how horribly he ruined his children's childhood. He chuckles and chugs down more. "I'm sorry Trish, but I want to forget. I want to forget you. Everything."

He sighs and stares out the window. He missed the green, grassy hills. He missed the blue, cloudy skies. He missed the rivers and creeks that'd last forever, and the roosters that woke him from his peaceful slumber, and the fresh air. He wanted to go home, but he couldn't go back now. He was too far in, and he'd only be a liar if he did. He'd just hurt himself more, and he didn't know how much more pain was bearable. Life was getting the best of him. He felt he aged twenty years every day, and it was so mentally draining. He needed a beer every once in a while. He lays on the couch and looks at the spinning ceiling fan. It spun round and round in circles but it never went anywhere. It sounded very familiar. Very, very familiar. "I just- I don't know what to do..."

"Shh, it's ok dear. You already know the answer." Trisha's soft voice assures.

"But I don't. I don't know what I'm going to do, and all I do is ruin everything. I killed you, and you must hate me for that. It's well deserved regardless." He says melancholically. "You clearly have so much to learn. I could never hate you, and you could never kill me." She laughs. "But, I wasn't paying attention to the road. I killed you, and physically and mentally disabled our children!"

"You always think of others, don't you? You've been that way since the day I met you. Do you remember that day?"

"How could I forget? You were stunning." He smiles at the memories. Their first dance all the way to their first child. "He was my little angel. My little monkey man." She laughs. "Yes, the light of our life. He was so happy as an infant, but he got so angry as he grew."

"You used to blame it on his height, right?" Hohenheim laughs at the memory. "Ah, Yes! I remember! He'd get so infuriated by that, but it was adorable. Alphonse was the premature one. I expect him to be the short one, but he's growing taller every day."

"Isn't he? He's got an amazing growing pace, but he can't seem to reach puberty." He laughs, and continue going over all the memories that they had in the past. All the stupid things they did and didn't do. It was the most fun he'd had all day. "Trisha, I just want you to know that in reality, I don't want to forget everything. I don't want to forget you."

"Push forward. Remember what you have to do." Her voice fades into nonexistence. "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Trisha! I need you! I need your help!" He says with tears in his eyes. It was always like this. She'd come and go, but she was always with him. And somehow that was ok. Somehow he could handle that, because she didn't go anywhere. He just forgot her. He wanted to try harder for his children, and she wanted that too.

He gets off the couch and walks upstairs into his bedroom. He kicked off his shoes, and didn't bother putting pajamas on. It'd be a long day tomorrow. Mondays sucked. He closes his eyes, and drifts off to sleep immediately. Looks like the beer did the job.

-FlashBack-

4:57 PM

It had been about seven or eight hours since the vehicle accident and Hohenheim still couldn't wrap his head around the situation. Not only had he been sitting in the hospital waiting room with bruises and cuts, but he had absolutely no information on Edward or Alphonse's conditions. It had been seven damn hours and they didn't even give him updates. Were they alive? Were they dead? When could he see them? It was all just too much, and both of his children were sitting in the ICU while he was left with bruises and cuts tops. If there was truly a God, was this his punishment for all of the years he abandoned his family? Was he getting what he deserved? He lost his wife and now he might lose his boys too.

"Trisha..."

He felt like she was sitting right next to him, but she wasn't. She was dead. His brain just wouldn't process that as a fact. In fact, after the whole situation he hadn't cried or anything once. It made him question his own sense of sympathy. 'Do I care about her..? Did I care about her?' He thinks to himself. It was all just too much to handle, and that hangover; it wouldn't stop.

He presses his face into his hands. Why did he have to live? Why couldn't he have taken her place?? It's not like he was a good father, and he wasn't good with children period, but she was everything to those boys, and he killed her. He killed his wife. He had gotten many questionable stares from other patients and families, but they didn't just lose their family in a matter of hours. They didn't ruin everything in one damn day. The day he was going to fix it, he destroyed it. Ironic.

"Excuse me, Mr...Elric?" A voice says breaking him from his exhausted state, and into a completely lucid one. He gets up from his seat and hastily walks over to the Doctor. "My sons, are they ok?? I haven't heard anything from anyone in hours! Are they alive?! I have to see them immediatel-"

"Woah now, lets just try to relax, ok?" Relax? His children are literally on their death bed and he was expected to 'relax'? "Ahem, so I'm assuming that you are in fact Mr. Elric. I'm Dr. Marco, and I'm the one currently caring for your boys." He says adjusting his stethoscope and flipping through hospital files on his clipboard. "My boys, are they alive? Can I see them?!" He asks desperately. He could care less about who the doctor was. He just wanted to see his children. "Well, Alphonse is- he's alive, but I'm afraid he's in a complicated condition."

" A complicated condition? I don't follow. What 'complications'??" His heart beats funny at the sentence. Marco coughs, and adjusts his glasses to properly see Al's file."I'm afraid he's gone into a coma. The impact of the rod was extremely intense. So intense in fact that it's a miracle he made it out alive. Unfortunately though, he has serious brain damage, and there's about a 45% chance he'll wake up. Even if he does happen to wake up, he'll be suffering some other mental complications due to the brain damage. Permanent complications." He finishes.

Hohenheim stares at him completely lost for words. He wasn't getting the answers he deserved. It was all so much information and he just couldn't process it all. "Right, ok, Edward..? How is he? Please, I need to know." He says massaging his aching temples. "He's in stable condition, but I'm afraid he lost some limbs. His right arm was lost in the actual accident, but his left leg was in such severe condition because of it that we had to preform emergency procedures, or to be frank 'amputate'. I sincerely apologi-"

"Can I just see them, please." He cuts him off in an irritated manner. He wasn't listening to this. He couldn't. "Um,Yes you may, but we need to finish the tests on Alphonse before you can see him. If you don't mind, let's visit Edward first." He explains, and Hohenheim nods in agreement.

He leads him into the ICU Ed was located at, and knocks before opening the door to the room. "Edward..? Hello again. It's Dr. Marco, and I've brought your father to see you, ok?" He says not expecting any response. "I'll leave you two alone." With a smile, he leaves the room.

It was quiet besides the beeping of the heart monitor. Hohenheim stares at Edward who was hooked up to countless machines. There was a large bandage going around his shoulder and torso, and another one wrapped around his leg, or now stump. His head was significantly bruised. His stomach twists at the gruesome sight, but he pulls a chair up beside the bed.

"God- what happened to you??" He says reaching over and stroking Edward's hair out of his face. He was pale, and his eyes were completely void of life as if he were already dead. At this point he was hardly far from it. He just stared into nothing. "I'm so, so sorry. I did all of this. I'm to blame, and I-" His voice breaks as he envisions the accident constantly repeat in his head all over again. "I just-I don't know what to do..." He says looking up to Edward and their eyes meet. Edward glumly stares into his fathers woebegone eyes, and says but three singular words.

"Just save us."