Human kind cannot obtain anything without first giving something in return,

To obtain something of equal value must be lost,

That is Alchemy's first and foremost law,

In those days we truly believed that was the world's one and only truth...


Alphonse straightened his Automail arm, and then bent it again, getting the feel for the hinges. It felt strange, but Edward had been right about him getting used to it. He looked over at his brother who was leaning on the front steps of the porch.

"You're not going to pass out from effort are you?" Al teased.

"Oh shut up." Edward grunted. "That was only once!"

"Twice brother."

"Whatever." Edward stretched his arms and walked towards Alphonse.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Edward smirked. "So, you still think you can take me on without that big hunk of metal to protect you?"

"If you still think you can fight me without fainting like a lady."

"Jerk."

Alphonse smiled and ran at Edward. Edward moved swiftly ducking underneath his fists and going for Al's stomach. The two went back and forth, ducking and twisting and trying to get at the other ones weak point. It wasn't their best spar. Between Ed's weak body and Alphonse's new automail, both boys were in terrible shape. That wasn't stopping them though. Ed was still quick as ever, much quicker than Alphonse. He ducked a punch then raised himself on one hand trying to aim his good knee into Al's face. Al turned on his feet to dodged, propelling a heavy kick into Ed's stomach.

"Oof." Ed fell backwards, rolled and came running back again.

"If you two break anything don't come crying to me." Winry shouted from inside.

Edward jumped up knocking Al's shoulders and causing him to lose his balance, he then aimed a punch at his stomach. Al switched his footing causing Ed to fall instead.

"Aghh!" Ed landed face down on the grass.

"I win!" Alphonse smiled cheerfully.

Ed responded by grabbing Al's ankles and knocking him down as well.

"I win…" Ed smiled mockingly, his voice muffled by the grass.

"Cheater…" Alphonse whined.

Ed helped him up and the two made it back to the porch steps.

"Today is a nice day…" Ed said with a contented sigh as he sank onto the steps.

"Yeah it is…" Alphonse agreed. The sun was shining and large cottony clouds were slowly drifting across the sky.

"Don't fall asleep with your stomach hanging out." Al advised, noticing Edward's eyes were starting to droop.

"Leave me alone…" Edward yawned.

Al sighed and continued to watch the clouds. "Hey Brother?" he started.

"Mm?"

"What're we going to do now that you're back?" Al asked. "Are we staying in Risembool?"

"To tell you the truth, I honestly don't know." Ed sighed as he leaned back. "I got a letter from the damn colo-"

"He's a general now Brother,"

"Yeah whatever. He says he's expecting to me to report back to central as soon as I'm done recovering."

Alphonse smiled. "He wants you to come back and be a state alchemist again?"

"Of course he does!" Edward looked thoroughly annoyed. "That smug bastard, all he wants is for me to come back and do all his paper work for him while he lounges around telling me how short I am! Lazy good for nothing colo-"

"He's a general brother."

"Whatever!"

Ed crossed his arms and brooded while Alphonse snickered quietly. Roy always liked to ridicule Ed; his leave of absence had not seemed to change that fact.

"So does that mean we're going to central?" Al asked.

Ed glanced over at Al. "Do you want to?" He replied.

Al considered that for a moment. "You know, those homunculi are still out there." Al sighed. "We never caught them back in Central."

Edward's eyes narrowed, then he nodded slowly. "We still don't know exactly what it was they were up to."

The brothers looked out across the green fields. Both of their eyes were focused on the faint outline of a dead tree, and both of them were remembering a day long ago.

"There's no home left for us now, the only direction we can move in is forward."

Ed exhaled loudly, then stood up and stretched. "Well I suppose we're going to have to stick our noses where they don't belong again."

"Because that always works for us," Alphonse joked sarcastically.

"History repeats itself." Ed smirked. "We might as well do what we're good at."

Alphonse chuckled then was quiet for a moment. He still found it hard to believe a month ago his brother wouldn't have been able to move or speak, and even harder to believe that two years ago he had been a hollow suit of armor.

"Hey brother?"

"Yeah Al?"

Alphonse looked his brother in the eye. "The burden we bear, it's equal now isn't it?"

Edward blinked. "What do you mean?"

Alphonse gripped his metal arm tightly. "Up until now, you've been bearing a lot of the burden by yourself haven't you?"

Ed looked surprised, but he let Alphonse finish.

"From now on, we won't have to give anything else up to save the other." Alphonse murmured. "We'll gain and sacrifice together, so that way neither of us has to be alone anymore."

Edward stared for a moment, looking a little lost with the new concept. Then he smiled.

"You always have to state the obvious like that don't you?"

"Hey I'm serious!" Alphonse exclaimed giving his brother a shove.

"Ha ha, I know, I know." Ed laughed. He gave his little brother a once over before sighing reluctantly. "You really are such a mother hen." Ed smirked. "I think because I'm the big brother I'm the one who has to take care of everything, but you always go and switch roles."

Alphonse went red. "You didn't need to call me a mother hen."

"Heh sorry, but you are." Ed snickered. He smiled at Al then held out his fist.

"Together, brother."

Alphonse smiled and bumped the fist with his own. "Right."

Suddenly out of no where a carving knife came flying through the air landing inches away from the brother's feet.

"AGHHH!" They both screamed.

"You two seem to have had a spar." Izumi smiled evilly. "Looks like your both feeling much better."

"Teacher! Hi!" Ed exclaimed, his voice a pitch higher than it usually was.

"Brother I'm scared!"

"Come here you little rule breaking bastards."

"We're sorry teacher!"

"Tell it to my fists."

"Aghhh!"

Somewhere else that day, inside of a dead tree, a small baby bluebird poked it's head out of it's ashy black home. It was going to try to fly.