I'm so sorry that this is a day late! Well I guess it's better late and edited, then on time and not edited.

Disclaimer: Said this ten times, I do not own the series. .3.

"Yay! We're here!" Reina shouted excitedly as she pulled Al up the porch. Al took a moment to catch his breath. He was surprised at how fast a little girl could run. Maria and Ed followed soon after. Maria unlocked the door and Reina grabbed Al once again and dragged him inside. The house was clean with only a few toys scattered around. The walls were white with a few portraits hanging off of them. There was a staircase to the right and another room to the left.

"Mommy, can I show Alipoo my toy collection?" Reina asked.

"Only if he wants to," Maria replied.

Al chuckled. "It's perfectly fine with me."

Reina smiled brightly. "Okay; follow me!"

Ed laughed as Al was dragged up the stairs. 'Good luck Al,' he thought.

"Hey kid, feel free to relax while I cook dinner," Maria said.

"Do you need any help?"

"I've got it. Besides, I'd like my house to not be burned down."

"I may suck at cooking, but I wouldn't burn the place down."

"I'm not taking any chances. If you're so set on helping out, you can set the table."

"Okay."

Ed followed Maria to the kitchen. The kitchen had yellow wallpaper with blue flowers on it. There was a big brown wooden table near the windows. The curtains were light blue and embroidered with dark blue flowers. She pointed to a small brown cabinet on the wall. "Dishes are in there. Get the Xingese bowls for us but get that plastic purple bowl for Reina. Also don't give her a glass cup, get the matching plastic purple mug. God knows I can't trust her with glass objects."

"Got it." Ed walked over to the cabinet and got the things Maria had asked for. He set them on the table nice and neatly. He heard Reina talking to Al upstairs. While they were out of the way, now was the perfect time for him to ask Maria questions. "So why'd you invite us here? I thought you said others couldn't interfere."

"When did I say that?"

"When you were explaining everything to me. I asked why didn't you team up to prevent one victim from dying, and you said because you aren't allowed to interfere."

"I see; now I remember. First of all, it was Anton that answered that. Secondly, you're misunderstanding what he meant. What he meant was that we can't stop them from dying. To give you an example, let's say your brother fell off the stairs. If I reached out to try to prevent his death, the day would reset for both of us."

"I see. So what you're saying is you can't interfere with their death?"

"That's correct. We can interact with the victims, we just can't help when they are about to die."

"Hey, I have a question. How does the whole repeating day process work? I mean, if I failed at protecting Al hours before the rest of you, how come whenever I restart you guys are starting over too?"

"You simply go unconscious until we all fail and then we all repeat."

"Oh, that makes sense. I've been wondering about that."

Maria grabbed a big pot and wooden spoon. She got some potatoes and meat as well. "I hope you don't mind stew."

"Are you kidding? I'd eat it everyday if I could."

"That's good. Reina is rather fond of it too."

"That's cool." Ed sat at the table thinking while Maria cooked. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear Reina and Al coming down the stairs.

Reina dragged Al into the kitchen. "Mommy, is dinner ready yet?"

"Have a seat, it will be in a few minutes," Maria replied.

"'kay!" Reina said happily and sat down in a chair. Al sat down in the one between Ed and Reina.

"So, how was her toy collection Al?" Ed asked teasingly.

"She has tons of stuffed animals, that's for sure," Al answered.

Reina stared at Ed for a moment. "Alipoo, what's your little brothers name?"

"Hey! I'm the older one!" Ed shouted rising from his chair.

"Kid, sit down; you're at a dinner table," Maria said without even looking up from her cooking. Ed sighed and sat down, crossing his arms.

Al laughed nervously. "Oh, his name is Edward."

"Call me Ed."

Reina tapped her chin. "Hmm, that name is no good. I'm going to call you Edbear!"

"I get a nickname too? Whoop-de-doo," Ed said sarcastically.

Al nudged him. "Brother, be nice."

A few minutes passed by. Reina talked to them about a kid at the daycare that annoyed her.

"She's really talkative," Ed thought. 'I remember when we first met, she was hiding behind Maria. I guess that was just because I was scaring her by arguing with her mom. I'm glad she doesn't remember that. If she did, she might be shy around me.'

Finally Maria was done cooking. She filled everyone's bowls with stew and sat down. They all said thanks to her. Reina bowed her head in prayer. Ed rolled his eyes and started eating.

When Reina finished, she glared at Ed. "Hey, you didn't give thanks!"

Ed laughed slightly. 'Thanks for what? Giving me hell?' he thought.

"Reina, not everyone has to pray if they're not comfortable with it," Maria tried to explain.

"Really? But Daddy said that if you don't, you go to He-"

"Reina! That's far enough," Maria said strictly.

"No, no, it's fine. If she's so concerned about it I'll give thanks right now. Thank you God for making me an orphan, thank you God for the hardship Al and I have gone through, and thank you God for trap-"

Al suddenly grabbed Ed's arm. "I apologize for him; give us a moment," Al took Ed outside. "Brother, what's gotten into you? She's a little girl; she didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know, I know Al I'm sorry. I'm just fed up with things."

"Fed up with what? We fixed everything! You worked hard and now thanks to you I have my body back. With that being said, what's still bothering you?"

Ed clenched his fist. That wasn't true; the real Al was still suffering in that metal cage. "I can't tell you Al."

"But Broth-"

"I'll go apologize, okay? It was very uncalled for."

"Wait! Why can't you tell me?"

Ed ignored Al and walked back inside. With a sigh, Al followed.

When Ed got to the kitchen, Reina walked up to him, her head lowered. "I'm sorry Edbear, I didn't mean to make you sad."

Ed smiled lightly and put a hand on her shoulder. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. I was way out of line. Think you can forgive me?"

Reina looked up at him and smiled. "Mhmm!"

"Why don't we all play cards? Reina, go get the pack from the drawer," Maria said.

"'kay mommy!" Reina ran to the drawer and pulled out a pack of cards. Ed and Al sat down and the game started. Half an hour had passed, and Ed had won two games.

"Take that!" Ed said proudly as he slammed down his winning cards.

"No fair! Mommy, Edbear keeps winning!" Reina complained.

Maria sighed. "You're really good at this game kid; I'll give you that."

Al looked at Ed questioningly. He noticed a slight bulge in Ed's coat sleeve. "Brother, roll up your sleeves."

"What? Why?" Ed asked.

Al glared at him. "Just do it."

With a sigh, Ed rolled up his coat. Cards fell out of his sleeve and onto the table.

Reina pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Mommy! Edbear has been cheating!"

Ed laughed nervously. "I can explain..."

Al crossed his arms. "Oh really? Do enlighten us, Brother."

Ed gulped. "Uh, well, uh, I..."

"Kid, for now on, Keep all your sleeves rolled up. Better yet, take off your coat," Maria ordered.

Ed sighed. "Fine, fine." He slid off his coat and the game continued.

After about an hour, Reina folded her cards. "I'm bored. Can me and Alipoo go play on the swings outside?"

"If it's fine with him you can. Don't stay out for too long; its already getting dark," Maria said.

"It's perfectly fine with me," Al said.

Reina smiled. "Yay! Let's go Alipoo!" She grabbed Al's sleeve and opened the back door. Through the windows in the kitchen they could see her and Al outside.

"I really am sorry about earlier."

"It's fine, honest. She was just doing what her dad told her. By the way, where is he?"

"That two-faced son of a bitch!" In a fit of rage, Maria grabbed her glass and threw it near Ed. Startled, he jumped and fell backwards with his chair. "I'm so sorry!" Maria apologized and ran to his aid.

"I-it's fine, sorry for asking about him."

Maria examined him and saw that a piece of glass had cut his forehead. "It is not fine; you're bleeding! Come with me." Ed followed her to the other side of the kitchen. She motioned him to sit on the counter. Ed did so as she pulled out a first aid kit from the drawer. She placed some medicine on a cotton ball. "This will sting," she warned and dabbed the cut. Once she was done cleaning it, she placed a bandage on the wound. "Impressive kid, you didn't even flinch. Even adults always complain about the sting."

"Ha, well then they're a bunch of babies. I hardly even felt it."

Maria put the first aid kit back in the drawer. "I could tell from your outburst earlier that you've been through a lot. It doesn't surprise me that you'd be used to pain by now."

Ed jumped off the counter and kept his eyes glued to the floor. "Yeah, but it's nothing really." Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him into an embrace. He instantly stiffened. "Wh-what are you d-doing?"

"You looked like you could use a hug. Don't try to deny it. After all, you're still just a kid. You don't have to be Mr. Tough Guy all the time."

Ed trembled as he stuttered for words. How was he even supposed to react to this? He thought about pushing her away, but that would be mean. He couldn't deny that the gesture was comforting, but he had to stay strong. "I d-don't need a hug, I'm f-fine."

"Oh yeah? Then how come you look like you're on the verge of tears?"

'Damn it.' Ed just then noticed that he was very close to crying. 'The hell is wrong with me? I need to stop this.' Ed sighed. "A-am not. I'm fine."

"I told you, you don't have to be Mr. Tough Guy all the time. Who are you trying to impress? We are the only two people here. Nobody is going to blame you if you want to cry. All of us do sometimes, especially being stuck in a place like this. If I were your age, I would've broken long ago."

That was it. As much as he wanted to stop trembling and hold in the tears, he couldn't stop it. He cried for everything. His mom, Al, and being stuck in the Haze. "I-it's all my fault. It's all my fault," he repeated.

Maria hugged him tighter and rubbed his back softly. "Hey, I'm sure whatever it is it's not your fault."

Ed trembled more. "I-it is. I made him do it. I-it was me."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself kid. Made who do what?"

"I-I made A-Al do h-human transmutation."

Maria froze and her eyes widened. "What?"

"W-We just w-wanted our mom back."

Marias eyes saddened. "Oh Edward, I'm sure you didn't make him do it. He probably wanted her back too."

Ed was a bit surprised she used his actual name. "A-Al lost his body. H-he still d-doesn't have it back. N-now he's all alone w-while I'm stuck here."

"I see. Don't worry, you will get out of here someday. We all will; we just have to not lose hope. Okay?"

Ed wiped his eyes. "Okay."

Maria smiled and released her grip. She walked to the drawer and got him a tissue. Ed looked down at the floor. 'I can't believe I just told her all that. What a wimp I am," he thought, very embarrassed for his behavior. He looked up when Maria walked back over with a tissue. He took it, blew his nose, and wiped his eyes.

Maria sat back down at the table and Ed did the same. "In answer to your earlier question, that scumbag got us in serious debt. He walked out when Reina was five. It wasn't much longer after that that Reina got very sick. Then when she was six, she died."

"I see. Our dad walked out on us too."

"Did he now? I'm sorry to hear t-" Suddenly, there was the boom of thunder.

"Huh, is it going to rain? I've never seen it rain here before," Ed said.

Maria shivered. "Oh no, God no."

Ed gulped nervously. "What is it?"

"This rarely happens, but, whenever all of us get close to winning, the Haze sends lighting to kill all the victims."

Ed's eyes widened. That was so unfair! He jolted up and ran towards the door. "We have to get them inside!"

Maria grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him back. "It's no use! Even if we hid them inside it would still get them! This can't be beaten; just close your eyes and plug your ears. You don't want to see this."

"Huh? Why?" Ed asked. Suddenly, there was a bright flash. Then even from a good distance, he heard the agonizing scream of a man. Maria sat down, closed her eyes, and plugged her ears. Ed wanted to do the same, but he felt paralyzed. Next flash, there was a terrifying scream from a woman. After that, another flash and a dog howling loudly. Ed could only stand in horror. Somebody had to stop this. This was madness. Another flash, and Ed plugged his ears. He could still hear the loud, tormented scream of a little girl. Reina. There was only one left.

Ed couldn't stand there and do nothing. He opened the door and ran to Al. "Alphonse!" Al looked over at Ed. Right before his eyes, he saw Al get electrocuted. He had heard Al scream many times in the past, but the one he released that time was the most horrifying out of all of them. Al fell to the ground, dead. Next to him was Reina's electrified body.

"I told you not to look," Maria said as she placed a shaky hand on his shoulder.

Ed dropped to his knees. 'No more; we've had enough," he thought. "It's too terrible. Please, stop this insanity!" He looked up when he heard the laughter of his clone. Next to his was Maria's clone. They laughed and it faded to black. When Ed woke up he shook violently. He looked over at Al's sleeping form and gripped his sheet.

'That was horrible," Ed thought as she shivered. 'I wish I had listened to Maria; that was the worst death by far. I can't believe I had to hear the other victims scream too. Enough is enough! We have to get out of here damn it!' He clenched his fist tightly. He got up out of bed and put his clothes on, now more motivated than ever. 'I'm going to do whatever it takes to get us out of here. I swear it."

Please review if you enjoy :3