Lost Memories

Disclaimer: I Don't Own FMA In Any Way.

Rating: PG—PG-13 Due To Bad Language, Angst, Blood, and Gore.

A/N: Just read, you know you want to XD

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Ed slowly stepped back from the limp body in front of him. His breathing was becoming unstable and heavy; his composure was slowly leaving him as well. His shaky legs fumbled away from the stone block and he began heading, unknowingly, towards Al and Winry. His head had tilted forward, his golden bangs shadowing his eyes from view. He brought a flesh hand up to his forehead and rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb.

It was painful; he had just killed someone. He knew he had been subject to killing since he was very young, thanks to the few memories he had received from Edward. But still, he never recalled this feeling he was getting now. The blood was sickening; the look in Edward's eyes was terrifying and saddening at once. Once the memory-keeper had stopped breathing, Ed was almost sure he was going to scream his lungs out.

He stopped walking as, suddenly, a headache was forming. He was beginning to feel lightheaded; everything felt as if it was spinning, or as if he was the one spinning. His heartbeat was beating more rapid with each passing second and his dizziness was getting worse. His breath was becoming more unsteady and each of his injuries suddenly felt ten times worse then they should feel. Even the minor cut on his cheek was blazing as if someone had just burned him there with a fire or smoldering-hot metal.

He forced his eyes to open; he was relieved to see that he was, indeed, staying still, but his head still wanted to make him think he wasn't.

What's wrong with me? He asked himself. Have I felt like this before? Every muscle in his body was ignoring everything he was telling them to do; his legs refused to move and his breath would not cease to be so heavy. Why do I feel so weak?

With all the feelings and things running through his mind, Ed didn't even hear as Edward was struggling to remove himself off the stone-spike he was pinned with. He was supposed to be dead, yes, but he was but a memory-filled form, as Ed had told him. Ed was struggling right now because Edward was taking his strength so he could move. Soon, he had completely gotten off the Godforsaken spike and he, slowly, made his way towards his other half. A rather large gap was in his center, but that was not stopping him right now; had he been a full human, it would have. But, since he was half of Ed, the memory half at that, he could still move around in such a state; even if he was moving slowly.

He began walking towards the Elric body, panting and scowling hard. Dragging his feet, he forced himself until he was standing behind his half. Winry and Al, who were shocked by the whole ordeal, just kept staring, the same thing running through both their minds:

What'll happen next?

Once Edward stood behind the other, he grabbed him by his left shoulder with his Automail and forced Ed to face him. Ed's eyes widened significantly. His low level of energy, however, prevented him to be able to ask how he was moving when the memory-holder should be dead. Edward read his mind like an open book and grinned.

"You fight well for not having your memories," he stated and then panted for breath some more. "You want your memories?" he asked as he looked up into the golden eyes of the body. "You got it." Once he said that, he fiercely pulled back his Automail in a fist. Ed's eyes widened but he couldn't move. Quickly, the punch with the metallic arm came and Ed was shot back. As he was falling back, his body began fading into the form of the memory-keeper.

His shirt and belt faded away and his hair was let loose, leaving the teen in only his pants and combat boots as he fell to the floor. The left pant leg of his pants faded away up to his knee, as if it was ripped. He had suddenly gained all the injuries of the memory as well, except for the large gap through his center. The memory-keeper grinned, as he looked down to his other. He was fading as well.

"You win," were Edward's last words before fading completely. Ed let his head fall back. It was then that he heard footsteps and nervous voices that sounded too familiar.

Al…Winry…he thought, contently but also weakly. In moments, his friend and brother were hovering at his sides. Winry immediately slipped her hand under his neck and forced him to sit up a bit.

"Brother?" Al's voice cracked edgily. "You alright?" he asked. Ed looked to his sibling's face but then looked to his friend.

"Winry…" he mumbled to her quietly. The Rockbell immediately shushed him gently.

"Save your strength," she advised softly.

"Winry…I…I," his eyebrows trembled from the pain and the effort he was putting into trying to tell her. Before he could finish, though, his eyes rolled back into his head and his eyes closed completely as he slipped into unconsciousness. All his muscles weakened; he couldn't stay awake, no matter how badly he wanted to. Winry and Al stared at him nervously. The area around them suddenly faded away from view and they were once more in front of the Rockbell home in Resembol.

The two looked up to the house before looking back to each other.

"We better get him inside," Al suggested. Winry nodded before gently placing Ed's head back on the ground. Al was the one to pick him over his shoulder and take him inside. Winry told the younger to simply lay his brother on the sofa in the living room, which was what Al did. Winry was the first to sit next to Ed on sofa and hover over him nervously.

It was then that she noticed that the older Alchemist was breathing rather heavily. She placed her index and middle finger to the side of his neck and checked his pulse. She looked up to Al anxiously.

"Al," she told him; the jumpiness was evident in her voice. The younger Elric looked down to her with an inquiring expression across his features. "He's breathing heavy," Winry explained. "And his heartbeat is kind of slow." This certainly made Al's eyes widen.

What could be wrong with his brother? Was this a side-effect from winning the battle? Were his memories doing this to him? Was it his injuries?

…Could he be dying? Al shuddered at the thought and he prayed that wasn't the problem. He looked to Winry sternly.

"It might be his injuries," he told her. "He's lost quite a bit of blood and he's still loosing some. Think you can patch him up?" he asked. Winry nodded and instructed Alphonse to bring her the medical supplies she would need. The Alchemist nodded and went off to do what he was told. A few moments later, he came back with antiseptic, cloth and two bandage rolls, just in case.

Winry took the supplies and placed them to her side. She looked down to Ed and wondered where she would start. She decided his face was her best bet. And so, she grabbed the medicine and, carefully, began.

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Later that day, Winry was almost finished; she was now bandaging the Elric's flesh arm. It had a few cuts and nicks on the upper part and wrist. How they got there, she didn't know but she knew she had to cover them. She was rather nerve-wrecked, though; Ed had made this somewhat difficult. Whenever Winry put some antiseptic on his more major injuries, the blonde Alchemist would flinch and grit his teeth tight; his nostrils would flare and his rate of breathing would increase for a few moments until, apparently, the pain subsided and he'd calm down once more.

The Automail tech had just finished bandaging her friend's upper part of his arm. Now, she let his arm rest on her lap as she grabbed the antiseptic for the wounds on his wrist. She blushed slightly; although the blonde was unconscious, this was the closest she had gotten to having him touch her in any way. She picked up his arm once more and she, gently, applied the medicine on the cuts he had. She saw his fingers twitch slightly and she heard him groan unpleasantly but quietly.

Once the antiseptic was applied, she grabbed a cotton cloth and placed it over the major part of the injury. Afterwards, she got the bandage and began wrapping it, tightly, around his wrist until it was only a few inches away from his elbow, so that it covered all the cuts. She carefully placed his arm over his stomach and looked to his face; he looked at peace but also helpless. Cautiously, she reached over and checked his pulse by his neck once more. She noted that his heartbeat had gotten better but it was still somewhat sluggish.

Al walked out from the kitchen suddenly; he had been on the phone with the town's doctor earlier and explained what had happened, leaving out the crazy parts and saying that his brother had gotten into a major brawl. What he had told Winry before was true; Ed had lost too much blood, not enough to die but enough to slow down his heart rate and speed up his breathing. He immediately walked up to Winry to see how his elder brother was doing.

"How is he?" he asked apprehensively. Winry sighed quietly.

"He's breathing normally and his heartbeat has gotten better but it's still kind of slow," she explained as she was collecting the medical supplies to place it on the table in front of the sofa. Al shrugged sadly.

"Poor Brother," he said quietly. Winry, too, shrugged and looked up to the younger.

"I'm worried, Al," she told him. Al looked down to her and gave her a sad look.

"So am I, Win….so am I…" he mumbled dejectedly. Winry leaned forward on her knees and rubbed her forehead with her hands. She wished this torment would just end soon, just so she could see if Ed was OK and if the brawl was worth it; if he had won back what he was intentionally fighting for. Would she be able to see her old friend again? Or would she be met with the hostile, amnesic Edward?

And what about Alphonse? Would he have his brother back? His only blood-related family and one of his role-models? Or would he have to find a new hero to admire? She supposed all they could do now was…

Wait.

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It had soon gotten significantly late and Ed showed no signs of awaking. Al took his brother to the elder's room and laid him on the bed. Winry was the last one to leave the room. Before leaving, she stared at his barely-moving body momentarily before quietly sighing and shutting off the lights, letting the teen rest and, hopefully, wake up soon. That was all she could do, after all.

Al had gone to his own room to try and rest himself. It was probably a useless attempt, he knew this, but he might as well try. Luckily, he was able to fall asleep after much tossing and turning in his bed. The bed was comfy, the thoughts of his elder brother, however, were upsetting. Nevertheless, his body gave in and practically melted into the soft bed.

Winry, on the other hand, was not so lucky. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not sleep. She was grateful Al could sleep, that way he wouldn't stay up the whole night worrying over his brother. But she was annoyed at the fact that she could not rest because of the blonde Alchemist. She was so worried about him; every possible wrong thing that could've happened ran through her mind that night and it would not allow sleep to come to her.

She finally gave up at around eleven forty-something. She stood out of bed and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She walked over to the door to the far end of her room and stepped onto the balcony, closing her door behind her. She walked forward so that she was in front of the balcony's small fence. She leaned her elbows down on it and simply looked out into town; she figured that if sleep would not come, she might as well enjoy the beauty of the night.

At around midnight, Winry had not bothered to return inside. But, there was shifting within the Rockbell home. In Edward's room, the elder Elric was beginning to crack open his eyes. His hands were twitching as he was trying to get a feel for movement. His eyes were ignoring all general orders of opening until, finally, he forced them open and blinked until they no longer stung and no longer felt so heavy.

He groaned lowly and forced himself to sit up. Looking around at his surroundings, he realized he was in his bedroom in the Rockbell home. He swung his combat-boot covered feet over and onto the floor. He looked down at himself; he was shirtless, his brown belt was missing and his left pant leg seemed ripped up to his knee, revealing his Automail leg. He could also feel that his hair was loose about his shoulders. He remembered everything from earlier that day; the spar with Al, the mysterious young man, the brawl in The Gate's world.

But that wasn't all he remembered; he remembered his past, and how he had acted when he had returned with no memories. He remembered that Al was in his flesh body and…Winry. It was then that he stood up and carefully, and quietly, walked out into the hallway. His injuries, although bandaged, made him fumble slightly. But he wouldn't let that stop him.

Not now.

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A/N: Please R&R, constructive criticism, no flames ;) thanks! Tried to get this one up as soon as I could; sorry for the slight delay, again.