Alright, I have an important message for everyone so please read this. I wouldn't normally do something like this but I'm tired of it and I just want to put this behind me. If you've read the acknowledgements for TBA then you know that I became a fanfiction writer because of a story called Different by Nayru Elric, which also sparked TBA's creation. Months ago Nayru told me that TBA was a copy of her story Different and was very upset. I messaged her and told her I was sorry she was upset but to please explain to me why she thought that, because I knew for a fact I didn't copy her. She told me some points that I completely disagreed with but I made sure about anyway, asking Taylor and my buddy Rokuchuchu (because they've read both stories) if I had somehow subconsciously copied anything of Nayru's. I was upset myself that I might have actually done it without knowing it, but they reassured me vehemenately that they were completely different. Still, Nayru stuck to her beliefs and so we just agreed to disagree and left things at that.

Now, what I'm getting at is that I've recieved a message recently about how it's going around that TBA is a direct copy of Different. I don't know who's spreading that around and I don't really care. I just want to get this out in the open so I could hopefully put this behind me. You guys know me and know how much I hate plageurists, especially since TBA has been copied twice. But I want to leave it up to you guys to decide whether I'm at fault or not. If you've heard about this before now, or even only just now, then I implore you to go read Different and come to your own conclusion. It's the only way I could think of to solve this once and for all. I promised Nayru I wouldn't do this because she was worried about getting flamed by all of my readers (which I hope you guys don't, flames are bad) but I also said that if I heard more about it like this then I would have to do this.

So there, I've said my piece. I didn't want to seem like I was ignoring it because that makes me look guilty so I wanted to get it out there. I'll let you guys decide, but whatever you think I'll stand by my innocence. And please, whatever you do don't send Nayru hate mail or anything. She's a cool chick and a great writer and I absolutely loved Different, she's just worried is all. I expect you guys to go about this maturely, as I have done. Maybe that's just my fear of confrontation talking but eh. I'm not mad at her, I just want to move on from this.

With that said and done, let's move on to what you came here for. The new chappy! Which, I might add, has the most original title ever!

Chapter 4

The chapter after three

(-Taylor-)

"Again?"

I turned to see Winry's incredulous stare. The accusing way she said the word made me embarrassed. "Yeah, it's just…" I trailed off, averting my gaze to the floor.

I could feel her eyes on me, watching me as I sat by the window. Last night I had stayed in Winry's room again, not yet ready to be alone. Winry had only just woken up and found me perched by the window for the second morning in a row.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sliding to the edge of the bed to sit closer to me.

I nervously picked at my clothing and tried to fib my way out of it, "I wanted to see the sunrise again, that's all."

"That's not all. You didn't sleep any, did you? Or the night before?" she came to the correct conclusion. With her arms crossed in front of her, she looked an intimidating sight.

I shrunk closer to the window, switching tactics, "I'm sorry, Winry. I just… I can't… I'm sorry." I feared that I had somehow made her angry and was reluctant to look her in the eyes. She must have sensed this because she uncrossed her arms and spoke more gently.

"Taylor… It's okay. I'm just worried about you. If there's something bothering you I'm here to listen. Heck, maybe I can even help," she smiled.

My eyes darted back and forth from her to my hands wringing the mess out of my pants leg. Hesitantly, I told her, "I don't think this is something you can help me with… I think… I think I'm gonna have to learn how to deal with this on my own."

Winry wasn't one for backing down. Taking my hand into her warm firm one, she asked hopefully, "Can you at least tell me what's wrong?"

I sighed, "I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Are you just nervous about today?" When she said 'today' I knew she was referring to Ed and Al's inevitable arrival. Truthfully, it did worry me. How would they react? How would I react? It was disconcerting, and yet, a more immediate issue weighed on my mind, one that I couldn't shake off and had been plaguing me since that first moment I had come to my senses.

"It's…something else," I admitted truthfully.

"Then just take your time," she reassured me.

We sat there for a few minutes. While I collected my thoughts together I watched the sun ascend into the sky, brilliant and blazing. I soaked in the dull heat in an effort to gain strength. The rays were smiling on me, so why couldn't I smile back? Why couldn't I just be happy to be back? What was wrong with me?

"I'm scared," I admitted, my voice breaking. Winry's hand tightened around mine, encouraging me to keep going. "What if… when I go to sleep… I never wake up? What if the darkness comes back for me? But… I'm scared that the damage has already been done." I gazed up into Winry's blue irises and I desperately asked, "What if I lost a piece of myself to it? Sometimes I think that I can still feel it crawling over my skin and I'm scared that it's inside me, waiting to take me back. There's something wrong; I can feel it."

"Taylor," she calmed me, holding me by the shoulders, "No one expects you to be exactly the same after what you've been through. It's okay to be scared and confused. You've earned every right to cry and you don't have to be strong. You've got friends here for you and we'll protect you no matter what. It'll take time to heal but things will get better for you. I promise."

I sniffled and wiped at my eyes, "And I can't thank you enough for that but… I'm not sure that, even if I had all the time in the world, I'll be able to be the girl I once was."

We sat in silence for a few moments, Winry pondering something and me thinking about something I said. I had felt it before but had never put it into words until now: that feeling of wrongness. Somewhere deep inside of me I knew without a doubt that something was terribly wrong. I just didn't know how I knew or what it was. But I had a horrible feeling that I would find out. Soon.

"Would it help if you had a reminder?"

"What?" I asked, pulled out from my thoughts so suddenly I had no idea what she was talking about.

She grinned, "I'll just have to show you then." Winry grabbed my hand and enthusiastically dragged me out of the room. As she led me down the hall and into the guest room I wondered if she had lost her mind.

"What are we doing in here?" I questioned the determined mechanic as she let me go to rummage through a desk.

"I know he keeps it in here somewhere…aha!" she cried, turning to me with a pleased expression. "Look what I found~," Winry sang and retrieved an object from the desk drawer. At first I thought it was one of her tools and I wondered why it was so important for me to see it. Then I really looked at it. The silver metal shone just as brightly as the day it was created and I gazed in awe at its beauty.

"That's…" I tried but couldn't finish. My hand reached out towards it, hovering in the air.

"Your flute, right?" she asked with a happy smile. As she handed it to me her brows furrowed, "Well, that's what Al called it anyway. I, uh, accidentally found it one day when I was, um…cleaning! Yeah, I was cleaning."

I barely registered her words, though somewhere in the back of my mind I knew she wasn't being entirely truthful. My attention was solely for the instrument in my hands. Its surface was just as smooth as I remembered and my hands ran down the length of the flute again and again. Memories flooded back to me, little things I had forgotten; memories from both here and from back home. My lips tugged up when I remembered holding a flute for the first time and how the band director told me I was holding it like a chicken leg.

I looked up to Winry, her face set in an amused expression as she watched me. "How…What is this doing here?"

Leaning back against the desk, she explained, "Al was recovering in the hospital after…" You died and he regained his body, were the words she didn't say. "Anyway, the day Al was discharged Miss Izumi sent Ed and Al's stuff back to them, including your bag. They brought it here and I assume your bag's still somewhere around here but I found that accidentally."

I raised an eyebrow, "You were looking for something to tinker with, right?"

Her jaw dropped, "H-how did you know that?!"

A small closed-lipped smile played on my lips as I went back to admiring the flute, "I guess I just know you, Winry." As I stared at the instrument a question entered my mind, "Why would they keep this?"

"For the same reason that Ed became so angry when he found me holding it, about to take it apart. Al said it was because he didn't want to lose any more of you." I nearly choked on a stab of emotion and this time I didn't need the sun to feel warm. I hung onto every word Winry told me as she went on, "I apologized to Edward later that day and he actually confided in me. He said he missed the music and regretted never telling you how beautiful it sounded."

I had no words. Sharp emotions constricted inside of me and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If they had kept my stuff… didn't that mean they wanted to remember me? That they still cared enough to where they would hate to forget? It sounded too good to be true and since I didn't know how to respond I simply stood there, gripping the flute tightly.

Winry glanced down at the flute, eyes shining, "Do you think you could play it for me?"

"Play it?" I repeated numbly.

"Yeah! I've never heard you play before. I'd love to hear you now. And, if anything, this should help you out, right?"

I cocked my head to the side, not fully convinced but reluctant to argue, "I suppose… I'm not sure if I'm good anymore… I think I've forgotten how to play."

"You won't know until you try," she replied perkily.

"Hm," was my brilliant response. I held the flute closer to myself, wondering how to start. Deciding that the ready position wasn't a bad place to begin, I turned the flute around to where the mouthpiece side was on my left and I brought it level with my chin. I blinked in amazement as my fingers settled without conscious thought on the right keys, save for the thumb that securely supported the long structure. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing. But things weren't as easy as that. The songs themselves were vague in my memories, making the fingerings for them an even greater mystery.

Scales, I told myself. Just start with scales and warm up to it. So I did. I brought the mouthpiece to my chin, the oval hole settling under the curve of my bottom lip. Taking a deep breath, I blew into it.

…

"…was it supposed to make sound?" Winry asked after I accomplished nothing but silence.

"Yes," I sighed, my arms drooping. I should have known it would be difficult. I mean, I couldn't even produce a note on it! It was like I was back to square one in learning music.

Seeing my defeated posture, Winry put her hands on her hips and huffed, "Don't give up after one try! If you do you'll never remember how to play. You do want to play it again, right?"

"Yes…badly," I nodded. Music was an old love of mine, always with me through the ups and downs. Just holding my flute had always brought me a sense of security. Although frustrated with my loss of ability to play, I felt the safest I had since waking up. And maybe Winry was right. Maybe this would help me remember and overcome my fear and insecurities. It was worth a shot.

"Good!" she beamed. "Let's go downstairs for breakfast and afterwards you can give it another shot."

(-Ed-)

His eyes displayed no emotion as he eyed his opponent warily. Edward chewed his lip thoughtfully as he mentally filtered through his options. There weren't many, to his dismay.

"Well?" Al challenged.

Ed narrowed his eyes and grunted, "Discarding two." He tossed aside a couple of cards and drew two more. He nearly smiled when he saw the jack…and he actually frowned when he found a two instead of the ten he had hoped for.

"Not what you were hoping for?" Al grinned from across the small table between their train seats. He had hit the nail on the head, reading Ed like an open book.

Edward scowled, "I fold." There was no point in continuing this round when all he had to show for it was a ruined straight, so he tossed the cards aside. "What'd you have anyway?"

Al's grin widened as he humored his brother and turned his cards around. There in his hands were all four tens.

Ed's eye twitched at the tens that mocked him, "There you are, ya little bastard."

"Brother, don't be a sore loser," Alphonse practically purred as he raked in his winnings.

Ed didn't reply, choosing to sulk and look out the window at the passing scenery. He would have won…had Al not forced him to remove his coat and jacket to prevent him from cheating. Grumbling to himself, Ed grabbed said jacket and coat and shrugged them back on as he stood.

Al raised an eyebrow and gave the barest hint of a smirk, "Done already?"

"We're almost to Resembool anyway," Ed explained, not commenting on the fact that he was on a losing streak.

"Whatever you say, Ed," his little brother shook his head, obviously seeing right through him.

His frown deepened and, in his blunt manner, announced, "I gotta take a leak." Then he stormed off in the direction of the bathroom. He didn't enter the small room though, passing it in favor of exiting the car through the back door.

Ed breathed in the fresh air, slumping lazily over the guard rail and fixing his gaze at the tracks flowing underneath the train so fast they blurred. He was so transfixed on them that it took a minute for him to realize that the tracks were becoming less blurred, a sign of the train slowing down.

"There already," Ed sighed, anticipating what lay in store for him and Al when they got to the Rockbell's house. Knowing Winry, there would be wrenches involved…lost of them.

The train slowed to a stop faster than expected and Ed heaved one more sigh. He removed himself from the rail and looked to his left to see the train station. Instead of the structure he was used to seeing he found rolling hills instead.

"What?" he asked himself, going to the edge of the train car to peek around it. Farther down the tracks stood the familiar train station. Then why were they stopping out here?

Confused, Ed swung open the door and reentered the train. He found his brother already standing and peering out the windows in bewilderment, as did the few other passengers.

"Brother," Al looked up when Ed approached. "The train's stopped too soon."

"Gee, I hadn't noticed," Ed replied sarcastically. "Let's go find out why."

The brothers left the car and progressed towards the engine room. A couple of attendants were running around just as confused as the passengers, making both Elrics glance at each other. With the same thought in mind, they strode to the door of the control room. Before Ed could even touch the doorknob the door slammed open and he was knocked backwards, nearly taking Al down in the process.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed in alarm as they both looked to see what had hit Ed.

A dark silhouette stood in the doorway. From Ed's position he could see a fraction of the control room past the figure's legs. A man lay passed out inside, presumably the conductor of the train. As Ed sat up on his elbows his gaze wandered up the figure's form and was shocked to see he recognized the man.

"It ends here, Fullmetal Alchemist," he proclaimed in his deep, threatening voice. With no time for Ed to retort, the man charged forward with an outstretched arm. In the blink of an eye Ed processed the situation and reacted almost automatically. His left leg snapped forward, hitting his attacker in the chest and, utilizing all of his strength, he used the man's momentum to flip him over and behind him.

Ed flipped himself into a standing position, Al coming to flank him. Facing their enemy, Ed snapped, "You don't ever give up, do you Scar? And here I was beginning to think you had taken a vacation."

Scar lifted himself off the floor with ease and met Ed's glare, "I was biding my time until you were away from the rest of the military. Out here, there is no one to come to your aid, Edward Elric."

"Tch, as if I need their help to take you down. I'm not as weak as I was when we first met." It was true. Over the months since then Ed had gotten stronger in both body and mind, allowing him the confidence he blatantly exhibited now. "I assume you're the one who stopped the train early?"

Scar made no reply, his blood red eyes darting back and forth between Ed and Al as if contemplating their next move.

"Al, do me a favor and take all the workers and go get the passengers off the train. This could get messy."

"Are you sure?" Al asked, his fighting stance faltering.

"Yeah. I can hold him off until you get back," he replied, his eyes never leaving the dangerous Ishvalan. Now, Ed wasn't stupid. Although he was stronger he knew he couldn't defeat Scar on his own. He didn't need the military's help though, just his brother's. When he had first been assigned the task of hunting down Scar, Ed was hesitant about letting Al come with him. He wasn't keen on putting his brother in that kind of danger. But Al had refused to let Ed go in it alone, saying that just because he had his body back didn't mean Ed had to be overprotective. To be honest, Ed was partially thankful. Many people only thought about him being the prodigy, the great Fullmetal Alchemist, but Al was just as special and was undeniably the better fighter between them. Always had been, always would be.

Al swiftly came to his decision, putting his faith in Edward, "Alright. Just be careful." He rounded up the workers and was out of there.

"That was awfully nice of you to wait," Ed commented.

"There's less people in my way now," Scar said logically.

And then the fighting commenced.

(-Taylor-)

I sat on the porch steps, enjoying the afternoon sun and how its light glinted off of my flute. It was an achievement in and of itself that I was able to sit out here alone. Well, I wasn't really alone. Den was laying beside me and the front door was wide open where I could see Winry and Pinako working just inside. Winry had said that she could sit out here with me but I reluctantly declined. What I was trying to do was build some backbone and not be so dependent…but it wasn't working very well. About ten times already I had went to run back inside, stopping myself at the last second after reminding myself dozens of times that Den was with me and I could see Winry. The fear was steadily creeping up on me; I could feel it. It wouldn't surprise me if I gave up altogether in the next few minutes. For now though, I tried to distract myself with my flute.

The instrument hadn't left my grasp since Winry gave it to me. It was like a security blanket for me, so much so that I probably wouldn't be able to sit out here like this without it. All day I had been reacquainting myself with the flute. My first accomplishment was when I finally produced a note and by the time noon came around my many poor attempts paid off. I played a b flat scale! Albeit, it was cringe worthy, but a recognizable scale nonetheless! I had yet to move on to actual songs though, just fiddling around with notes and the same scale to get used to it again. It was pleasantly therapeutic.

When my arms tired from holding my flute up for so long, I lowered the instrument into my lap with a sigh. Den whined with a flick of his tail and gave me a puppy-dog look. I scratched his head and he closed his eyes in appreciation.

"I think Ed's gonna have to wait a bit longer to hear my music," I told the canine, remembering Winry's words from earlier.

The peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by a loud boom in the distance. As Den jumped up to bark at the noise I dropped my flute and scrambled to my feet to rush inside, scared out of my wits.

"Winry!" I screamed, nearly running into her. She must have heard the noise and came to investigate.

"What in the world was that?" she asked, looking outside.

I tugged on her sleeve and pointed, "It came from over there."

Both of us watched as another boom sounded and bright light flashed from what could only be a small explosion.

"That's close to the train station," Winry murmured.

"I guess that means those boys have arrived. Always so troublesome…" Pinako commented.

Winry snapped her gaze to the elderly woman, "You really think so?"

Pinako shrugged her tiny shoulders, "Who else could it be?"

Winry and I locked eyes, hers slightly angered and mine wide with trepidation. She dashed over the porch and forwent the steps by hopping over them. She probably would have kept going if she hadn't noticed that I was glued to where I stood.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked me hurriedly.

I gulped. I'd be lying if I said I was keen on going towards the sounds of explosions. But if Ed and Al were there….

Swallowing down my fear, I nodded jerkily and followed after her. Rather than taking off in the direction of the station, Winry ran around to the side of the house.

"Winry, what are you…?" I trailed off as I saw her bring out something that looked like a home made motorized scooter. For some reason, it looked familiar.

"We'll get there faster on this. Besides, I don't think you could make it there in your condition."

That made me pout, despite knowing that it was the truth. If I had trouble running before then I would be downright pathetic now. I conceded and hopped on the back of the scooter behind Winry.

"Winry…you do know how to drive this thing, right?" I asked her nervously.

"It shouldn't be too hard. I did make it myself you know," she said confidently.

Wait, did that mean she had never test driven it yet? Oh God, we're gonna die, I thought as I held on to Winry for dear life and closed my eyes.

"Here we go!" she shouted and we took off.

I had to bite back a scream. The next few minutes would be painfully seared into my memories. It was like some horrible roller coaster ride, one without any safety restraints.

Just think about bunnies, think about bunnies, think about bunnies, I told myself over and over. But no amount of distracting thoughts about bunnies would help. I felt every bump, every twist, and every turn. I swore up and down that next time I would take my chances with running.

"There it is!"

I risked opening my eyes to see what Winry was talking about. I saw the train station directly ahead, however, there was no train. Instead, the train was stopped farther down the tracks. I could see people running away from the burning structure, people I assumed were passengers from the train. I wondered if there had been some sort of engine malfunction and they had to stop the train before they entered the station.

"Hold on! I'm gonna take us closer!" Winry warned me and sped towards the train.

When we neared the fleeing people I shouted to her, "Do you see them?"

After a second Winry called back, "No! They might still be on the train though!"

"Of course they are," I rolled my eyes. They just I had to be on the burning train.

We had passed all of the people and were encroaching upon the train when Winry lost control of the scooter. The front wheel spun and I suddenly found myself airborne. In the next second I was thumping across the ground, grunting in pain as my frail body rolled across rocks, sticks, and grass alike. When I finally stopped, I laid there trying to process what had just happened.

"Taylor!" I heard Winry's shout before I saw her hovering over me. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping me off the ground.

"Y-yeah, just n-no more scooter rides for me," I answered shakily.

She gave a small nervous chuckle, "I guess it needs more work, huh?" She looked over at the scooter lying sideways nearby, the machine giving out little puffs of smoke.

"Definitely," I agreed as I leaned heavily on her to give my legs time to stop wobbling. I scanned the area to see where we had landed and realized that we had made it to the train. The first car seemed to be okay but the third and second was smoking, their windows smashed to smithereens and parts still on fire. What the hell had happened?

"Look!" Winry gasped, pointing to the top of the train. I followed her line of gaze and for a moment couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. There were figures…dancing? No, that was stupid. They were fighting. Three of them were going at it on the roof of the train. Only when I saw blue sparks flash did I know who they were.

"It's them," I breathed, watching in a daze as both Ed and Al (yes, Al back in his body, I was surprised to find) combined their alchemy to shoot streams of metal courtesy of the train to the third person. My blurred memories snatched at the defining features of the man to solve the riddle of who he was.

"Who's that they're fighting?" Winry asked?

In a voice barely above a whisper, I answered her, "That's Scar."

Winry whipped her head around to stare at me, "Scar as in the serial killer? The one hunting down State Alchemists?"

"How'd you know?"

"Please, it's been all over the newspapers," Winry waved it away.

I frowned. Why would Scar be in the papers? Didn't he give up killing to go be with the Ishvalan tribe? Why was he here of all places?

"They're gonna get themselves killed," Winry ground out, both in anger and fear. As Scar was knocked aside by another one of the boys' attacks, Winry shouted, "Ed! Al!"

"Winry?!" Ed shouted as he recognized the voice, catching a glimpse of us before Al was shouting at him to move. Scar rushed Ed, who was too distracted to react. Al leaped in front of Ed before Scar's kick could hit him, but that made Al receive the blow instead and he was knocked over the side of the train. He tumbled to the ground near us. Al had only just begun to get up when Scar landed in front of him and dragged him up to his feet by his neck. I could practically see what would happen next and knew it would end in Al's death.

Al's gaze flicked over to where Winry and I stood and his large gray eyes froze on me, widening with shock. I couldn't hear him but I could clearly see him mouth my name in awe.

"Hey! Let 'em go!" Winry screeched, throwing a wrench at Scar. The tool thunked off of the man's head, making him pause and turn to glare at us.

Bad move, Winry, I wanted to say but my mouth felt like I had been chewing on cotton. Fright coursed through me as Scar tossed Al aside, causing him to collide into the side of the train painfully, and he marched towards us.

I'm not sure why I did it, or even how. I had been frozen with fear to the point where I couldn't breathe, but somehow, I managed to do it.

Winry took a position in front of me.

Scar went to grab her.

I pushed Winry out of the way and clapped my hands.

Then the world around me exploded into a sea of red lightening, blinding me. My entire being was licked by agonizing flames.

And then the darkness came to consume me once again.

So, I was gonna keep going but 1) it would have been to long and 2) I wouldn't be able to get it done on time. So yeah, this seemed like a good place to stop the chapter.

A huge thank you to Sense Marauder and desoldeben for this chapter. Originally, I was not going to go in this direction at all, nor did I think I was gonna include Scar in TBA: R. I was just gonna have Ed and Al come home and have a happy reunion with Taylor... but something about what Sense said got me thinking. That would be too bland to do, so I decided to change it up a lot and with a lot of planning with desoldeben I came up with this chapter and have a lot more in store for you guys.

Oh and for a little bit of reprieve from Reprieve's long updating schedule (hehe, see what I did there?) I thought I'd tell you guys that I plan to have double chappy updates for Thanksgiving and Christmas, seeing as I'll have two weeks off for both. That is to say, I plan to. Stuff might come up so it's not set in stone. I'll try my best to though. ;)

And one last thought to leave you guys with. I had a dream the other night that I turned Mustang into a penguin... It was very amusing, to say the least.