"'Not anymore?' What the hell do you mean by 'not anymore'?! You made him fake his death?!" Winry exploded. Her eyes flashed in fury. She had thought he was dead, and this made it seem like he hadn't really been dead. "And you let us believe that he was really gone?! Did you fool Al too?!" Winry stormed up to the man and slapped him hard. "There's something seriously wrong with you!" There were tears in her eyes, and hatred.

Roy took the slap without even attempting to protect himself. She deserved that satisfaction. In her head, she thought Roy had let her believe that one of her best friends was dead when he really wasn't. He couldn't let her believe that, though. She had to know what really happened. But the slap was deserved of course. He had gotten Fullmetal killed.

"No," Roy said simply. He would have gone on to explain if he hadn't been interrupted.

"'No'! What do you mean by 'no'?!"

Hawkeye spoke before Roy could. She wasn't answering the question though. "Miss Rockbell, please lower your voice for the safety of the Elrics, yourself, and everyone else in this room."

"What do you mean by that? Are they in danger?!" Winry exclaimed. "Is that why...?"

"Yes, we are all in danger."

There was an awkward silence, only broken by the quiet ticking and tocking of the clock on the wall.

"Where are the boys?" Pinako cut into the silence. Her arms were crossed over her chest. It somehow made the midget of a woman seem terrifying. That and the threatening aura that surrounded her. "And I certainly want an explanation. You can't just say that and expect us not to be curious about whatever is going on. This definitely warrants a good explanation." There was almost a threat in her voice.

She had never liked him. That had been made very clear from day one. She wasn't fond of the military, and it wasn't helping Roy's case that he had practically swooped in and taken her grandsons away from her. One of them had even been killed. And both were constantly put in dangerous, life threatening situations.

Roy nodded. "I was planning to explain." He sighed and massaged his temples, hoping to satisfy his brewing headache. He didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to remember. "Edward was dead... I didn't lie. I- it wasn't faked. He preformed human transmutation again and went through that gate."

Pinako glared at him. It wasn't much better admitting that he had gotten Edward killed. It was true but admitting it twice made it a lot harder.

"B- bu- but Ed would never! And how could he have done that if he was 'dead'?" Winry glared at him. "So how dare you accuse him of that!"

"Miss Rockbell, I'm not accusing him. He told me himself." Roy had been worried about this. They knew Edward would never do that because he had learned from his past mistake, but he had been driven to return. It had been for Alphonse if he was correct. He had wanted to come back for his brother, but he didn't remember him. Edward had lost his purpose for life. Or he had lost his memories of his purpose in life.

Winry looked shocked. "He did? But he and Al learned from it when they did... A- Al... He would have only done it for Al. He didn't want to leave him..." Her face changed as she held in tears. She looked like she was thinking about how much pain the boys went through. He knew she already had before as well. He had heard her muttering over the phone when both Rockbells were told of Edward's death. They had all lost someone important to them.

Roy flinched. He had to tell them about Edward's memories. "He can't remember his brother. That was something he gave as a passage fee." He was waiting for the shouts. Winry had every right. Everything she knew was falling apart, rebuilding itself partially, and falling apart again.

Pinako looked surprised. Her eyebrows rose. "He gave up his memories of Alphonse? Why I'm the world would Edward do that, Colonel?"

"I don't know. I don't think he really thought about the effect that would have on him. Or he didn't have the time to think it through." Roy sighed. He wasn't in any way a good pick to be explaining this. He didn't understand it all any more than the others. Alphonse was likely the one who would know best. He had experience with the gate and the exchanges. Well, he had a partial understanding of the gate.

Alphonse stared at Edward, trying not to make it too obvious.

There was a shallow sigh from Edward and he turned around, glancing over at Alphonse. "I can practically feel your eyes -or whatever the hell those things are- drilling into my back.

"Oh, sorry, Broth... You don't like that, do you? I understand. I'm not really your brother in your head." Alphonse turned his head down. He was embarrassed in a way. It was like being caught staring at a stranger. But this time that "stranger" was Edward.

"Yeah, it's a bit odd. I would prefer it if you didn't call me that," Edward said in a demanding way that told him it wasn't a suggestion when he said that.

"You don't have to talk like that to me, Broth- I mean- Edward. I understand," Alphonse said as he looked down at the floor in embarrassment again.

"It's not as uncomfortable to talk to you if I do it this way."

Alphonse was actually very hurt by that even though he knew he shouldn't blame Edward for it. He understood the "Brother" thing. Edward didn't see him that way, but to make it clear that he was uncomfortable with Alphonse hurt a lot.

"Oh... I- I think I'll give you some space then..." Alphonse moved to stand and leave the room. Edward spoke and he froze.

"That's not really going to help. You're going to come back soon after and try to get to your brother. I'll make this clear for you now. If I was your brother before, I'm not him now. Your brother died when he got shot." Edward's face was cold. It wasn't suppose to be like that towards Alphonse. Maybe they weren't going to be brothers again, but, in that moment, Alphonse was scared that Edward might actually hate him at least a little.

"I- I- I... Why would you say that?"

"Because I don't want you to try to fix me. My memories aren't fake. If anything, they're flawed. You just aren't there." Edward looked into Alphonse's soulfire eyes. Alphonse wanted to cry out. He didn't see any recognition in Edward's eyes. But there was that longing in there.

"Ed..." Alphonse started, trailing off. He didn't begin again.

"Against my better judgment... I'm choosing to believe you, though. Even though all of my instincts are telling me that trusting this person I don't know is stupid, I'm doing it. I'm trusting you. I don't like it, but I am trusting you." Edward stared into Alphonse's eyes again. There was a fierce anger in his eyes. One that would have surprised Alphonse before. "And if I ever find out that you lied- If I find out that any of you have lied to me- you will regret it."

This wasn't how Alphonse had imagined earning Edward's trust again would be like. He wanted to cry. Edward wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be the best big brother ever. Here he was acting like a threat.

He just wanted his big brother back.

Edward honestly didn't know how to feel about all of this. He was playing a game with everyone because he wasn't strong enough to handle this.

He was pretending to be mean because he felt like everyone was using his death as an excuse to lie and tell him he forgot his brother.

It wasn't right. Not at all. If Alphonse really was his brother, and he wanted him to be because he seemed so understanding and hurt by all of this, then he was the worst big brother in history. It was easier to distance himself and not hurt them both. He wouldn't be able to hold it together for long if he tried to be someone he wasn't.

He made his face cold and uncaring. This was better for everyone.

"Sir, yes, I'm still working on it," He answered into the transmitter.

The man froze. He listened to the raspy male voice in his ear. "You want me to meet up with the General?"

There was a confirmation from the raspy-voiced man.

He nodded, despite the fact that the man on the other end of the line couldn't see him. "You want me to officially thank him for his help in the attack? Or do you want me shoot him in the back of the head?"

He heard the swift reply and nodded again out of habit. "Got it, Sir. And, yes, I'm still working on target number two. He managed to evade my shots at the Fullmetal kid's funeral. I have yet to get him alone since then. I will get him soon, though. You can count on me, Sir." He hung up the pay phone with a dry sigh. Glancing around the area for anyone who might end up being a problem, he walked to his car, climbing in, and starting it.

A/N: Okay, so this has actually been done for longer than the last but the didn't seem to be in agreement, and I totally forgot this was even written.