Hi, people! I'm back, with another installment to this wonderful story! I'm sorry it's been so long, but I've had school and such. Plus, I've put out three other stories since I last updated Fullmetal Thunder, so my time hasn't been wasted. If you want to read more FMA stuff of mine, you should read Bar Club Fun. It's really funny, unless you hate songfics like my beta does. She almost throttled me for making songfics out of her favoriote characters, but I lived, sothere will be more!

Anyway, thank you all for beiung patient, and I'll stop babbling and get on with the chapter!

BTW, I still don't own this. Too bad, really.

Chapter Ten

The morning mists rolled across the land, covering Pewter City and preceding the dawn. The sun had yet to rise, and the orange glow had just started to tinge the mountains red. The field in the back of Brock's home took on an ethereal feel, like something from another world. It is here where Edward sat on a rock and waited for dawn to come.

Not a word left his lips, not a single hair moved on his head. He simply watched the field and the mountain, waiting for the sun to come and paint the sky red like blood. Edward was deep in thought, desperately trying to think of a better way to find his brother. Going over and over the situation in his head, thinking and wondering and wishing, he was still stuck with the same plan he already had; search the country-side for him. And Ed would, too, until he had found Al or died. It was the only way.

Watching the green pines burn with the light of the coming sun, Edward rose from his place on the hill and stretched, loosening his tense muscles. Last night he had awoken from a nightmare, and had called out for Al only to have no one answer. Ever since he had been unwilling to fall asleep, to fall back into the swell of nightmares that threatened to overtake him. So he had simply laid awake, thinking as he listened to the night sounds and waited for the dawn. Having found the dawn, he was still no where closer to peace of mind than he had been in the middle of the night.

He wondered how things were doing back home. This had been the first time he really had thought about it since the day he had arrived in this strange world. He wondered how the auto-mail shop was doing. He wondered if Granny and Winry and Den had fled the country yet, trying to escape the war with Drachma. The last time he had seen them they were still dishing out auto-mail to soldiers who had lost their limbs. They probably haven't moved an inch, refusing to leave while there were people who needed their help. Thankfully when he left the war had been ending, and Furher Oliver Armstrong had been starting to put the country back together. As the person who had fought the Drachmens for the last twenty years, she had been the natural choice to lead the country. General Mustang had been steamed about it, but he had gotten over it. After all, he had moved up in the ranks and the country wasn't being run by a genocidal artificial human. Hawkeye was still with him, guarding his back when he did something stupid like risking his life to save his squad from enemy fire.

He missed them all.

Rising to his feet Ed shook out his fur, grooming it back into perfect order. Now that the sun had risen, he planned to walk around a bit before going back into the house. Setting out for an outcropping of rock in the middle of the field, Ed set off at a decent pace, the mist starting to disappear. His strides were long and confident as he looked around, checking out the scene.

He wondered if they thought he was dead. When Al had been captured, Ed had been on a military scouting mission. In truth, it was a scam used by Mustang to keep him out of the last of the fighting. Funny how things there had turned out to be more dangerous than the front lines. After Ed tore the abandoned city apart, Envy had knocked him out from behind. When he awoke it was to excruciating pain and the sight of his brother being killed before his very eyes. They probably assumed he had gone AWOL to escape the war and the country. Some days Ed wished he had.

And now he was here, in a foot tall body, with his brother missing. God, Murphy's Law was a bitch.

Ed gave a little huff, watching as his breath swirled out to join the retreating fog. The valley was clearing up, dawn burning the last wisps away. Looking out at the rolling hills, Ed wished he could do more to change his current situation. But he couldn't, and there was no use moaning about it. Turning around, Ed trudged back towards the house, making a noise of disgust in the back of his throat when he walked through the doggy-door.

In the kitchen, Brock was moving around with a dancer's grace, preparing breakfast. Over by the kitchen table, Max was fidgeting in his seat while Ash looked like he was going to kill someone if he didn't get coffee. And he meant now, god damnit. Ed, feeling the same way, sighed with longing. He could really use a cup of coffee right now, seeing as he was functioning on five hours of sleep. Wearily climbing up the back of Ash's chair, he plunked himself down on the table. Ash looked at him briefly with bleary eyes, then turned back to Brock and whined, "Does your coffee machine go any faster than this? I think I'm going to die of old age before my coffee is even close to being ready!"

"Calm down, Ash," Brock said, grabbing toast from the toaster while flipping eggs at the same time. After many years of traveling with Ash, he had learned to ignore him in the mornings. Ash was a sloooow waker, and until the sun was shining bright in the sky he wasn't much use for anything except taking up space and whining. "Breakfast is almost ready, and your coffee should be done in five seconds."

"Yay," Ash said with little to no energy, resting his head down on the table.

"Be grateful," Ed grumbled from where he was seated. "I can't even drink coffee anymore."

"Edward," Ash said sincerely, turning his head on the table to look in his direction, "I have no idea how you survive."

Max snorted with laughter, hair still a little rumpled from sleep. He was dressed in his regular clothes and looked like he got up this early every day of the year. Ash, however, was still in the clothes he had worn yesterday and looked like sleep had not come easily, if it had come at all. "I'm sure he manages somehow," he said brightly, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"How can you be this chipper this early in the morning?" Ed asked, looking at the clock. "It's six-thirty. I'm never up this early, unless I'm training. The it's get up at five or die." He and Ash exchanged a look of shared commiseration, remembering all the early morning training sessions they had endured.

"I always get up this early," said Max. "I just got used to it, I guess."

"By the way, Ed, where did you go last night? I didn't see you when I got up," said Ash a little fuzzily. Ed looked at him, knowing that Ash had probably been up until three, and had noticed that he had not returned to the room.

"I slept outside," he said with a shrug, wiping a bit of dirt off his face. "I just didn't feel like sleeping indoors." In actuality, he had been too tired to make it up the stairs on his now stubby legs. Plus, he felt that Ash could do with some time away from a person who constantly reminded him of a past tragedy.

"Breakfast is ready!" Brock declared, just as the timer for the coffee pot went off. Immediately, Ash showed more energy than he had in the past five minutes, jumping up in a burst of speed to dash for the coffee pot. Brock, who was carrying a platter of eggs and bacon, neatly evaded him and set it down on the table. Ash, pouring the black liquid gold straight into his cup, quickly took a sip. He winced as it burned his tongue a little, but sighed with happiness as the warmth flowed through him. Walking sedately back to the table, he and Max began to heap their plates with food, while Ed looked on enviously. Brock, having prepared Ed's meal before starting breakfast, set down a bowl of berries in front of him. Ed brightened up at the prospect of eating something other than Pokefood, and began chowing down with gusto. Brock, smiling a little at all the ravenous eaters before him, sat down and began to help himself to what little food there was left.

"This-is-so-good!" Ash exclaimed between bites. Swallowing, he said in a state of rapture, "It's been so long since I've had your cooking. I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like!"

"Brilliant as usual, Brock," said Max, and Brock smiled at the compliments.

"I can make seconds if we need to," he said, eating at a more sedate pace than Ash and Max. "It's nice to cook for a lot of people again."

"Hey Brock, what are these?" Ed asked, holding up a Pokeberry. "They taste soooo good! Plus, they don't all taste the same. The blue ones taste like blueberries, but the red ones taste more like pecans." Brock proceeded to explain what Berries were, and Ed took in this new piece of information as the others finished their breakfasts. It was a nice atmosphere, filled with comrades and untouched by dark thoughts. Afterwards, when they had finished their meals and were now drinking their coffees, Ed decided to get down to business.

"Okay, so I'm going into town today. I'll ask around and see if anyone had seen something strange. If I hear any rumors, then I'll follow and do some extra digging. If not I can just keep going until I've covered the entire town. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated," Ed said calmly, finishing off the last of his berries. Looking around, he gazed at the faces staring at him from around the table. They might not know it, but this was as close to asking for help as he ever got. If he wanted to get Alphonse back, he was going to need all the help he could get.

"It's not like I have anything better to do," said Ash casually, stretching from his seat. Belying his relaxed stance, Ed saw the emotions beneath the surface of his face. Devoid of a path or any sort of purpose, Ed's quest was quickly becoming Ash's own. He badly needed a goal, and when provided with a mission he had taken it without question. Ed felt an odd sort of relief, knowing there was someone else who shared the same goal that he did. He took comfort in the fact that his quest could help Ash regain some of what he had lost.

Ash really didn't know why he was feeling this way. Before, Ed had just been a nuisance, an annoying travel companion who he decided to put up with on a whim. He hadn't known or cared to know the reason behind his travel. But now, things were different. Ed was a real person to him, though he was still no less aggravating. His journey had become a solid thing that Ash could understand; a quest to save a loved one. It was something he had never had the chance to do. Ed had the chance he hadn't had; the chance to save what was dearest to him in this world. And if Ash could save someone else from the pain he was feeling, he would do it in a heartbeat. He understood Ed on a level that no one else could, because they had both lost the one important person they had in the world. But Ed had that chance for a happy ending, while Ash didn't.

Ash was going to have to do something different; he was going to have to redefine his reason for living. Realizing this to be true, Ash shivered. That thought scared him to no end. It seemed like such an impossible and long task, he couldn't even see where the end would be. But he had no other choice. He had already made the decision to not give up on living, and if he wanted to live this is what he was going to have to do.

Max, seeing Ash was zoned out, deep in his own thoughts, chimed in. "I'll help you out Ed. How could I not?" he asked, smiling at the small body sitting so seriously on the table.

"And I can go too, after all someone needs to keep an eye on those two," Brock said jokingly, tilting his head towards the two boys sitting around the kitchen table. Both scowled, pouting.

"I don't need you to look after me!" said Max, all indignant. "After all, now I have Ralts to help me if I get into any trouble."

"Hey, that right, you got your Pokémon!" said Ash, brightening up considerably. "Let me see 'em, Max!"

"Okay," Max said easily, reaching down towards his belt to grab two miniaturized Pokeballs. Clicking the button so they expanded to their full size, he tossed them into the air. A beam of red light flew from each of them, causing Ed to jump in alarm. Growing in size, the two red beams of light disappeared as two Pokémon took their places. The Pokeballs were neatly caught by Max, who had obviously been practicing to get it right. Leaning over the edge of the table, he saw two small creatures as bizarre as himself. One looked like a raccoon, with spiky fur and a bandit mask over its eyes. The other was odd, there was no other way to describe it. It had a red horn of sorts coming out of the top of its head, was a pale green color, and looked vaguely like celery.

"Okay, what the hell?" asked Ed, cocking his head slightly to the side as he looked at the green-celery thing. It cocked its head back, looking suitably intrigued. "Do these things get any more annoying?"

"Play?" asked the celery-thing, eyes looking sad and lonely. Edward groaned, face-palming. Great, Ed thought, rolling his eyes. It wants to play with me. Flipping fantastic.

"Yes, play!" said the raccoon thing, bouncing up and down enthusiastically. Edward backed on to the table so fast you almost didn't see him move.

"You keep those things away from me!" Ed screeched, putting his hands over his ears as the small Pokémon began to babble to each other in Havares, making a racket.

"They aren't doing anything bad!" Max exclaimed, hugging the two Pokémon close. "Zigzagoon and Ralts are just babies, that's all! They haven't really begun to develop yet!"

"What are they saying?" asked Brock, curious. He had always wanted to be able to understand Pokespeech. Ed began to say something, but Ash simply put up a finger, telling him to wait. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and his brow was furrowed.

"From what I can understand, they're saying simple things like 'food' and 'play', right Ed?" Ash asked, not entirely sure. Ed nodded his yellow head, looking annoyed.

"It's a lot like baby babble, really. Not a lot of coherency from these two," he said gesturing at the two Pokémon who were now tussling together on the floor. Max gave an affectionate sigh before sending them back to their Pokeballs. The kid looked over the moon happy every time he saw his Pokémon, Ed realized. Maybe he had underestimated how strong the bond between trainer and Pokémon was.

"That's impressive, Ash," said Brock, leaning back in his chair. "Where did you learn that?"

"From a friend," Ash said evasively, and Ed could pick up the stricken look on his face. He must be re-experiencing some sort of memory. Wanting to draw the conversation away from Ash, Ed turned to the others and said hastily, "So, you want to head out? The sooner we start the sooner we'll finish."

"Sounds good to me," replied Max, who slid off his chair and raced to get his shoes on. After he left, a still hazy Ash got up and also walked out of the kitchen. Ed and Brock exchanged a glance, but said nothing.

"Hopefully this won't take too long," remarked Brock, also getting up to put on his boots. Ed, hopping off the table into a rolling tumble, picked himself up and followed him out.

"It's just one dinky little town," said Ed to Brock, looking confident. "This shouldn't be too hard. We'll be back in time for lunch, right?"

Wrong, Edward. Dead wrong.

When Ed finally managed to pull himself back into the house, it was far past sunset and his feet were killing him. Dragging himself through the pet door, not even stopping to think about how undignified that was, he stumbled through the kitchen and into the living room. There, the three other men were all sprawled in various positions of exhaustion. Pulling himself up onto the chair with one last burst of energy, Edward collapsed in a boneless heap, ears flopping to his head while his tail hung over the edge like a yellow streamer.

After several minutes of panting, Ed managed to gasp out, "Holy shit! I didn't realized how much longer it takes to get around when your one foot tall!" It had taken Ed much more time than usual to get from place to place. Sometimes, he tended to forget the restrictions of his new body and overreach his limits. It was frustrating, but no more frustrating than learning how to eat french fries with an automail hand. It had taken him weeks to get that right.

"It's no picnic when your normal sized, either," Ash groaned from his place on the couch. He had sprawled across the length of the three-seat couch and just lay there, looking like he couldn't move a muscle if his life depended on it.

"At least we covered the whole town in one day," said Max tiredly from the floor. He was leaned against Ed's chair, like he had gone for it and then quit halfway. "That way, we won't have to do this again tomorrow."

"You really don't realize how big Pewter actually is until you walk all over it," remarked Brock from his place in the other chair, spiky brown hair even messier than usual. "Did anyone even find anything?" From their respective places, three heads shook.

Ed heaved a sigh. He had been hoping to hear something, but he didn't even hear a hint of anything unusual. "I guess that means we're moving on to the next town in the morning," he said, not looking at anyone. Suddenly, a heavy silence blanketed the room, smothering the occupants with its heavy weight. None of them could look at each other, for they all didn't know what to say.

"You know…you could come with us," Ash said hesitantly, putting the suggestion out there. He looked over at Ed, expecting some sort of outraged outburst. From what he gathered, Ed didn't like people he didn't know so he had expected him to say something. But he didn't, and that was a mark of how fond he had grown of the both of them in the past few days. Ed glanced over at Ash from the corner of his eyes, and gave Ash a miniscule nod. Taking that as acceptance, Ash turned to Brock, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Max, sensing a pivotal moment, tugged on Brock's sleeve and said winningly, "Please Brock?" Brock, looking at Max's sad little puppy dog eyes, couldn't find the strength in his heart to say no. Besides, it would be a good learning experience for Max to do some more traveling.

"All right," he conceded, smiling when Max pumped his fist. "But," he said, and Max's face fell as he realized the inevitable conditions were coming, "Only if your parents say its okay."

"Okay, I'll go call them now," said Max enthusiastically, finding a reserve of untapped energy as he dashed to the communications system. Brock smiled at Ash, who smiled back hesitantly.

"It'll be like old times," said Brock quietly, smiling faintly while looking down at his hands.

"Yeah," said Ash softly, and Ed could guess what was going through his head. It wouldn't be like old times because there'd be a hole in Ash's life where someone special should be. He knew, because he felt it too. He had never before started a journey without Al by his side. He could almost see the gap in his life where his brother should be, like the vastness of a wintery plain. Ed dropped his gaze to his paws, reminded again of how things were different now. Not just for him, but for everyone.

"Just like old times," Ed echoed in a whisper, feeling all the empty spaces around him. Ash, absorbed in his pain, said nothing. Brock, however, was lucid and noticed how both of them had gone quiet and still. Pausing, he almost sensed the gaps in the air the two of them were currently feeling. But, unburdened by pain, he simply turned the other way and wondered when Max would be done with the link. When he came bouncing back, declaring that he had received permission to come the frost that had covered the room lifted. Only the faint chill of hollow spaces lingered behind them as they said their goodnights and sought their beds.

Again, Ed slept alone under the cover of the night sky. And again, when he violently woke there was no one around to hear his screams. But change was coming around the corner, and Ed clung to the last of his solitude tightly as he waited for the dawn to come once more.

Review, review, review! Remeber, if the reviews reach one hundred I'll write a bonus story! And because I really want to write it...well, you get the picture