"I always thought that fighting would be easy for me. I managed to win every single time. But this time things were different. I had nowhere to go and now was the time I had to choose between fighting my brother and living to see Winry. I loved both of them dearly but which was more important? Which was I willing to give up? Which didn't I mind losing? My answer to all of those questions was, neither. They were both equal in my heart. I wasn't going to give either of them up. And I didn't want to lose either of them. But what was I going to do if the answer was neither...?"

555

"What are you doing here?" I shouted out of pure and utter shock. I hoisted himself from the ground feeling the heat of the fire surrounding myself. Sweat slowly started to leak from my forehead as the hot force spread throughout the small room. Smoke filtered through my nose and caused me to gag.

"Onisan, I don't understand what you mean." Al said simply while shaking his head to show that he was puzzled by my, his brother's, statement. Although, it was clear that the whole thing was an act, a charade.

Al let the black cloak fall to the ground after he had removed it completely, the light material slipping off his shoulders. Now I knew for a fact that this was my brother. The boy standing infront of me was my brother. The boy that, just a few minutes ago, tried to kill me was my brother. Was everything I did up till this point all a waste of precious time? Did I work so hard just to be reunited with a murderer who clearly wanted me dead?

"Why are you here!" I demanded. What else could I possibly feel at the moment other than betrayal and hurt.

Al gripped the blood stained blade in his gloved hands. He ran his fingers over the sharp edge, cutting through the thick, black material, and to the tender skin it hid. But he paid no mind to the thick liquid that slid down his hand. He stared at the wound emotionlessly as if he were still trying to comprehend something that had not yet registered in his mind. Had he truly lost his soul? And all sense of humanity within himself? This was not the Al, I once knew. And part of me wanted to believe that this was not the Al of the present either.

"I...don't know." Al whispered. He looked back at me with pained eyes. What was he trying to tell me? "I honestly do not know..."

"What do you mean you don't know!" I was now fueled by rage. Sure, Al had done things to upset me before, we were brothers and would not have been without having arguments now and then, but this was unforgivable! Average brothers do not try to kill each other! And a surprise attack from behind! How underhanded!

Al's sad gaze turned into a joyous smile as he held up the foul smelling blade to his eye level. Smiling at it's site. But something about his eyes. Just something in them were wrong. It was another thing I could not quite point out. I just knew something was wrong about them. It was as if not all of Al was smiling.

People say that eyes are the window to ones' soul. Open and clear. If that were indeed true then Al's would show storm clouds in the distance. Great storm clouds. Those that signal the coming of a hurricane that would tear everything to shreds. But those clouds were so far in the distance that I could not see them clearly. If only I could have. If only I was able to take notice.

"Onisan, I really do not know. I don't know why I wanted the murder to take place here. I don't know why I killed all those people. I don't know why I ran into you. I don't know why I went after you. And I don't know how I missed." His voice grew dark and menacing at that moment when he mentioned me. When he mentioned missing his target.

"I honestly do not know." Again Al shook his head and gave me a cruel smile.

"You...!" I could not find the right words to suit the moment. I actually could not find any words at all.

My brother was truly evil. And I don't mean that as the kind of evil that steals your toys or hides under your bed pretending that he's a monster just to hear you scream. No. I mean the kind of evil that does not pretend that it's the monster under your bed, it is the monster under your bed. The kind of evil that doesn't want just one scream he wants all he can get out of you before he discards your dead corpse. The kind of evil that would kill the last person he has left...

"Really, Onisan, It's been fun seeing you, but now's the time to say our 'goodbye's" Al sneered as the words rolled of his tongue.

Al clenched the knife in his hand, pressure applied to his fresh wound made it spurt blood, covering the blade's handle in the gooey, dark maroon liquid. But he still did nothing. Nothing but stare at me. And to tell you the truth I was more scared that I have ever been in my entire life. The same person who was once comforting me when I was attacked by that damned Barry was now the one who was doing the attacking. It was all to much for me to understand. What could have made Al, my brother, change so much?

"It is getting quite hot in here, don't you agree?" He did not wait for my response before he began again. Not that I would have responded anyway. "I better hurry up and get rid of you before we both burn to death. But, hey, think on the bright side. At least if I slice your head of your shoulders you won't be able to feel it when I leave your body to the fire." And after he had spoken his words he smiled! He actually smiled at me! How could he!

My gaze fell to the ground and I, for a second time, began to cry. It wasn't like the tears I had shed for everyone on this train. Not like the ones I had shed for that little girl. I cried for myself. Aren't I selfish? I cried for my pitiful fate. I cried for everything unfortunate that had ever happened to me. I cried for those I had lost. Those who would never return to me. I gratefully poured out my pathetic tears, clearly knowing that doing so would not change anything.

Tears cannot rewrite your past. They can't bring back the dead. They can't make everything better again. They can't save you from the things you fear. And they can't stop you from making further mistakes!

"Why are you crying, Onisan?" I heard Al pause for a second. Was something caught in his throat? "You don't need to cry. Everything will be okay. I promise." He cooed but he did not speak smoothly. His words were forced and I wanted to see why. But I would never look up. No. Not to see him like that.

"Mother always said that sometimes it's okay to cry, Al. Don't you remember? She told us that everyone cries, but it takes a strong soul to cry with all their heart. Once in a while you need to release all of that frustration, doubt, sorrow, hurt, everything painful within you. Only when you do that are you able to step forward. And I need to get rid of that now! All of it!" As I kept speaking the tears got heavier. The river started to overflow it's bank. But I didn't care. No. Not at all.

"I...Please...Just let me kill you. I need to kill you." Those words my brother spoke made me rise. You would think they would break me? No. Never. I had released all my frustration, doubt, sorrow, and hurt in the form of those tears. In exchange I could now take my step forward. It was, after all, equivalent exchange.

"I'm sorry. I can't die. Not yet. I still have people that need me. I can't go off and join mum and Hughes just yet." And then it was my turn to smile. A genuine smile strait from my heart where, a few moments ago those sad tears came from. It's funny how the heart can feel so many different emotions. Alchemy can't even begin to compete with it.

"No, Onisan. There is no one left. I know there isn't. I was all you had left." Al spoke confidently as he took a step forward, approaching me. I stood my ground. I wasn't about to flee in the middle of a stand off between my i younger /i brother and I.

I wiped the drying tears from my face, but this time instead of smiling I smirked.

"Have you forgotten? Well, I couldn't blame you, it has been a while since I've seen you. But I still have her."

"Onisan! You never told me you had a girlfriend!" Al teased. He sounded like his old self. I kept my distance though. I knew he still wanted me dead and I wasn't about to fall for that lame trick.

"No. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't deserve her or any girl as a matter of fact. I don't deserve to be loved." My voice sounded more solemn than I thought it would have. Why would it matter if I were loved? I don't need it. It would only get that person in trouble anyway. Saves them the pain, I guess.

"Then who?" Al looked absolutely puzzled. But why was he so interested in my love life. He was about to kill me anyway. So why would it matter?

"Winry. I still have Winry. So you see, I can't die. I won't die!"

"I see.", was all he said. I expected more. Much more.

Al's eyes darkened. It only made me wonder more about him. He kept shifting between different personalities, which in this case, was odd.

I now had to question everything. It was for my safety because like I mentioned before, I live on the edge of a knife. One false step and I slice myself in two.

"Well then, goodbye, brother."

The entire room burst into flames and streaks of orange and yellow pierced the darkness of night. I felt the heat creep up on me and then quickly dissipate. How lucky I was to be out of that wretched room unharmed. But, how was Al? Was he okay? Would I ever see him again? Or was he...dead?

I chuckled to myself. "You didn't say 'goodbye', Al. We didn't have enough time, I suppose." My heart sunk. "But atleast if I were to truly regret this someday, I would know that I said it."

I said 'goodbye'.

I stood on the roof of the train. With it going more than fifty miles per hour, I had to hang on for dear life or else I would be hurled off. I don't think that is something I would be likely to come out of unharmed.

The cool wind whipped around my face lightly blowing my hair. It was such a beautiful night but there was no way I could be happy. There was no way I could be relaxed. There was no way I could forget. And there was no way I could rewrite the past. That just goes to show how inferior humans are. Sometimes it seems as though we have no power at all.

"Onisan!" I heard someone shout from the opposing side of the car.

I squinted into the darkness to see Al smiling back at me. It wasn't that I needed to see him in order to know he was there. The only one who addressed me as 'Onisan' was him.

A part of me felt relieved when I saw him. That meant he wasn't dead, gone... But the other half of me was scared. For I knew that seeing him would mean there was going to be a fight. And I knew that fighting against Al was impossible on my part. I couldn't fight to the death with him. I couldn't kill my brother!

"Hey, Al." I called out in a voice far from excited.

Would it have been better it he just died in there?...No. I can't think that way. How could I possibly even begin to imagine it that way?

"Onisan, I cannot continue to play this game with you. I need to finish you off." He paused. "Goodbye."

With that said he burst forward with lightning speed, blade in hand, fingers still bleeding just like my heart. I saw him nearing me and the whole act seemed to be played in slow motion. But even if I knew he was coming, I couldn't bring myself to move. I just had no idea what to do and it scared me so much that I was paralyzed for the moment. I knew I needed to fight. I knew I needed to stay alive. But those words I had just spoken about living were much more easier to speak than to act out.

It seemed like a stand still. I had nowhere to go and now was the time I had to choose between fighting my brother and living to see Winry. I loved both of them dearly but which was more important? Which was I willing to give up? Which didn't I mind losing? My answer to all of those questions was, neither. There were both equal in my heart. I wasn't going to give either of them up. And I didn't want to lose either of them.

I wasn't going to die and I wasn't going to fight.

I was going to run.

It normally wasn't my preference to run from a battle, but I had an excuse this time. And surely, alchemy could help me get out of this one. It always seemed to help me win over difficult situations.

My initial idea was to hold him off for a few minutes. Whenever I would par an attack I would make my way closer to the other cart. From there I would run, run like my life depended on it, which it sort of did. When I would reach the car maybe I could find a way to stun Al or something of the sort. Just a way to keep him unconscious while I make my escape. I know I said I would do this without fighting and I'm not fighting. Well, technically I'm not. I'm only defending myself really. And besides, there is only so much you can do with out hurting the person when they're trying to hurt you.

"Fight fire with fire." I whispered as I dodged Al's first attempt to behead me.

"Stay still." He muttered, thrusting his blade forward a second time. This time it grazed my shoulder.

"No can do." I smiled while blocking more swipes of his blade.

He was beginning to get more violent and I was having a had time keeping up. Every time he swiped that blade, it would get closer and closer to my neck. He was serious about wanting to get rid of me.

Now was about the time I should have transmuted my own blade. It would have been a smart thing to do. Even if I had a weapon it didn't mean I had to fight with it, just block.

I ran my left hand over my auto-mail, wanting it to transform. It wouldn't. I tried desperately to transmute it, but it still would remain the same! What was the problem? Just then realization hit me. The man who collected my ticket! It was him! He did this! It had to be him! This had to be the explanation for the shock I experienced before. Just what exactly did he do? And now, what was I going to do!

I kept dodging Al's strikes, but it was getting rather difficult. In time he would have me pinned to the ground with the knife at my neck. He always did win the fights. But I never imagined a death match.

I was indeed right. He had tripped me when I wasn't looking. And because of the unsteadiness of the train's rooftop, I couldn't regain my balance. So I hit the ground with a "thud!"

Al held the knife to my neck. I could feel the coldness of it's steel blade. But he didn't take action. Why wasn't he killing me now! That's what he wanted right?

He violently grabbed my hand. He still had the blade at my neck so I did nothing. I did not flinch or try to move away. I just stood there.

I side-glanced a look at his hand where he was gripping me. His fingers were still bleeding and the crimson liquid stained my white gloves. I wondered what exactly he was doing.

Al ground his bloodied fingers into my palm. This was rather...curious. Was he trying to stop the circulation in my hand or something? But then I knew why he was doing that. He wasn't planning to behead me from the beginning. Sure, that's what he told me, but it was undoubtedly a lie.

Al was going to slit my wrist and then slowly and painfully chop off my fingers.

What a loving, caring, brother I have. I thought to myself sarcastically.

I guess he didn't want to give me a quick death.

He brought the knife from my neck to my wrist. My suspicions were then proved correct. But I wasn't ready to die. Not just yet.

I knocked the knife out of Al's hand and watched as it flew off the train into the darkness. Though I was surprised the sun didn't begin to rise yet.

Al stood there staring me down. Neither of us made a single move. We seemed frozen in time.

"I thought I told you that I needed to get rid of you." Al whispered venomously.

"And I thought I told you that I would not die." I shot back.

Al again gripped my hand. What the hell was he trying to prove!

He then turned to stare me in the eyes and gave me a pained look that soon turned into an evil smirk. It was strange how he could be so nice then want to kill me. I really needed some answers.

"Promise me that you won't forget me, Onisan, because I will be back to kill you. And next time I will succeed. I have to succeed." Al finished as the train neared a cliff. If you were to jump it would probably take you hours to hit solid ground. And that's just what Al did. He turned his back to the cliff and slowly leaned backward till gravity over took him.

"Al!" I screamed. I was letting him leave again. But perhaps, this time it would be better if he did leave. Maybe it was for the best.

I did not want to watch him fall. Half of me hoped he would find someway to survive but I didn't want to see what would happen if he didn't. So I turned away and instead I looked at where Al had been gripping my hand just a few minutes ago. I imagined seeing a bloody mess stained onto my gloves. But I didn't. What I did see made me gasp.

In bloody lettering the word read, "HELP".

A/N:

Okay, did you like it? Did the ending make you gasp? lol I sure hope so! I'm aiming to make this story very unexpected, with lots of twists and turns. So wait for the next chapter. There will me more clues for you... If you can point them out.

-Sky