A/N: Well I'm back with Chapter 3! Forgive me if my next update is a little slower than this. I've been having a hard time getting stuff written down lately. I've got tons of ideas for the middle of the fic, but I have to break through the beginning first, which is proving harder than I thought it would be. I think that after next chapter, it will be easier to get these chapters out and I might end up updating sooner! And I'm also trying not to be influenced by the movie, since I read spoilers for it. O.o But I like how I plan to go about things, so I don't think it will...anyways, on to the fic!

Disclaimer: nope, still don't own it...BUT! I did finally get the poster, only I'm in a different state than it is...sulksOh well, I'll be back for it soon...

Chapter 3: Feelings of Resentment

Alphonse Elric sighed, the side of his face resting on his fist as he stared out the train window. Lost in thought, he partly watched the countryside flying by and partly watched his own barely visible reflection. His dark brown eyes were sad and his long hair blew around slightly from the wind streaming through the barely opened window. He absentmindedly played with the zipper on his black coat, unzipping it slightly before zipping it back up again, and stayed in this dreamy state until he heard a voice say, "We should arrive in Rush Valley in another hour."

Al jumped as the sharp voice of his Sensei brought him back to his senses. He looked over at her and nodded his head slightly. "Thanks," he said dully, returning his attention to the window. He heard her sigh and leave to go back to her seat. He'd been like this for a while, since his last birthday about three months ago to be exact. He had turned 13. He should have turned 17. It was something that had been eating at his nerves ever since then. Not that he wasn't grateful to still live, in fact he would never be able to express his gratitude, but as soon as he found his older brother, Al intended to yell at him and give him a good punch to the head! He smirked at the thought, but it didn't stay for long.

He knew what his brother had done, what he'd risked to get him back. And this whole time, Al had felt guilty. Everytime someone mentioned Ed's name and everytime Al asked about all those missing years, he could see the sadness behind everyone else's eyes. And everytime he got upset and moody and locked himself in his room because of the new age difference between Winry and himself or the frustration of not knowing people who seemed to know him, he would feel guilty later for cursing this life his brother had returned to him at the risk of his own existence. He tried to keep in these feelings of resentment, but they oftentimes grew to be more than he could handle. He was too confused with everything that had happened. As far as he knew, one day he and his brother had just gotten back from their training with their Sensei, and the next his brother was thought by many to be dead and his best friend had grown up without him, changing the once one year age difference to five years. He saw the pain in her eyes whenever he mentioned his brother, and everytime he looked away, guilt weighing on his shoulders and threatening to crush him for being the thing that had taken Ed from her. Even if she never hinted at it, even if she always hugged him and welcomed him back gleefully, he was sure that she blamed him. How could she not? He seemed to be the only one Ed had cared about...

Trying not to fall victim to this guilt once more, he shoved a gloved hand into the pocket of his long, red, hooded jacket--or, more accurately, Ed's long, red, hooded jacket (he had apparantly left it behind when he last left the Rockbell house, and Al had found it in his closet)--and he pulled out a photograph. The only picture he had showing himself as an empty suit of armor. Beside the armor stood a boy with braided blond hair and gold eyes. He wore black pants, gloves, and a black shirt and coat, as well as a serious expression on his face. It had taken Al a while to recognize the boy when he first looked at the picture, but it was obvious enough who he was. It had taken Al a lot of searching to find even this much of those lost years, this one picture. And it had cost him a lot of pain and hard work too. Al grinned at the memory...

---flashback

He had to hurry. Sensei would be back any minute. Al started to sweat as he thought about what might happen if he got caught. He groaned. He'd spent the past two months he had been back to training studying his teacher's habits so that he could do this. No one would tell him anything about his brother, so Al had taken it upon himself to find things out. So far when he had been at Winry's, he had found a red jacket with their teacher's symbol on the back that had belonged to his brother. And earlier when he talked to Mr. Mason, all he could find out was that he and Ed had stayed with Izumi for a time. Surely she had something from that time they had spent there?

He rummaged frantically through his teacher's desk, hoping that these would not be the last few minutes of his entirely too short life. She might be a caring person overall, but her punishments were harsh and she hadlittle, if any,tolerance for breaking her rules...looking through her things without permission for instance...He had noticed her looking at something a few times before, but whenever he came up to her, she shut it away in one of her drawers. That was why he suspected something possibly having to do with his older brother was scattered about somewhere in this desk. He was shaking as he moved aside pieces of paper and other objects and his heart beat rapidly in his chest. He opened another drawer. Photographs littered the bottom of it. Maybe, just maybe...he searched through the pictures. Some of them were from last time he had been in training, when his brother was there too. 'So maybe she got a picture of us when we were here before,' he prayed desperately in his head. She had always treated them like they were her sons when they were around...outside of training, that is.

He moved a few more photographs out of the way and he froze. There was a photo with several people in it. Izumi and her husband, Sig. Mr. Mason was in there too! Beneath Izumi was...Winry? Why was she there? And next to her was a short boy with blond hair. Ed...the only reason Al reckognized his brother was from the red jacket he wore. It was the same one that had been left at the Rockbell's! He looked in the background and saw a figure he hadn't noticed before. A giant suit of armor. Him.

Al began to search some more and had soon found more pictures with him and his brother, having forgotton that he had only a limited amounttime to sneak around from his excitement and surprise. He picked up one of only him and his brother. Ed had a determined look on his face as the suit of armor stared straight ahead, unable to show emotion. But this little 'reunion' with his old self was short-lived, as the door behind him slammed open against the wall with tremendous force. He jumped and turned around to face a very angered Sensei. The look on her face was pure anger as she yelled at him, asking him why he was going through her desk without permission. He felt himself go white as he shook from fear of dying for this and looked up at her, still clutching the picture in his hands.

"S-Sensei!" he managed to sqeak, waiting for his punishment. He saw it coming as she took a few steps closer, raising her fist as she did so. She started to swing it as she looked down at him. Al closed his eyes and held his breath, raising up his arms to sheild his face from her blow. 'This is it,' he thought to himself as he awaited the darkness of being unconcious. 'I'll never get to find Brother now! I've blown it!' It seemed like forever that he stood like that, fearing the oncoming pain, and he could have sworn that he ran out of breath. But he soonfelt something, and he started screaming and running in circles, apolagizing over and overand promising never to do it again. So tensed andready for the punch, he didn't even realize that she had only taken the photo from his hands. Well, at least he didn't realize it until he tripped over her foot. He crashed to the ground, but when he opened his eyes and saw that he was alive, he let out a sigh of relief as tears of happiness streamed down his face! Two words ringing in his head. 'I'm alive!'

"Get up, Al!" her harsh tone spoke, and his smile turned to a frown, tears still streaming and thewords 'I'm alive' being replaced with 'I spoke too soon!' He jumped up almost instantly and looked at her. He was surprised when he sawthe soft look on her face as she lookedat the picture he had been holding and the other pictures he had pulled out and scattered on the top of her desk. She just gathered them all up, throwing them back into her desk before she walked past him and out of the room, rubbing his head as she left. It was a movewhich stunned him even more, and he followed her.

---end flashback

And that had to be the closest Al ever got to getting out of a punishment. He never recieved that punch, and she never spoke of it again, but he still payed dearly. Alphonse shivered as he thought of all the extra chores and training he had to do for the next month after that accident. Those bruises and injuries well made up for that puch. But he recieved the picture for his 11th birthday that occured no too long afterwards, and that was well worth getting caught, even if she never said mentioned much about the picture...

But now Al was finished with training, so he was going to Rush Valley where Winry was studying and working on automail with her instructor. He had decided to pay her a visit before he went on to central to see if he could get any information on his brother and what he had done. He hadn't seen Winry in almost a year. Dominique had no problem keeping her busy, and for his birthday she had sent his gift along with a letter and a thousand apologies and happy birthdays. Izumi had decided to come along and talk with Winry about Wrath's automail. Al had only seen Wrath a few times, and in his opinion, he was a strange kid. What his relationship with Izumi was, Al had no clue, but the young boy always ran off without a word. And apparantly he had stopped by Winry's for a few repairs, so Izumi needed talk about payment.

Hold on a second...he was visiting Winry! He looked down at what he was wearing as he shoved the photo back into his pocket and frowned at his stupidity, smacking himself in the forhead. She looked sad enough when he just mentioned Ed, and that's when he was dressed normally! But now, he was dressed as Ed. The only difference was the hair color, the eye color, and the bangs to some extent. Why didn't he think of that before he decided to go around like this? Being dressed like him might make things worse than they already were! And Al didn't like to see her sad...

But then again, maybe she'd say something about Edward. After all, that's why he was dressed like his older brother anyways...information. Maybe by showing his determination to find Edward, he could get someone to tell him about those four years. That was the plan anyways.

So how was it? I finally understand how the muses work...and how they make sudden new ideas pop up in your head...COOl!. Now for my 'weird andrandom attempt to get reviews' of the day! Yeah, I'm a dork, I know...

Fanfictions are like elevators. They have their ups and downs but no matter what, you just can't help but to press the buttons. hint hint ;) I know that there's more people reading this fic, and reviews will be recieved with open arms!

Moonglitter2: Well here you go, and I hope that you like it!

Crisis Halo: I'm so glad you like it! hugsThanks for the encouragement, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of it!