Chapter 14: Dream a Dream

Raeluvs

"Dream a dream

Where the flowers reach toward heaven

Where dawn sinks down to day

Where the clouds laugh and play"

Her eyes were soft and green, smiling with the warmth of her love in her face. Gently rocking the child in her arms, she sang a soothing lullaby, her chestnut brown locks cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall, brushing lightly against the nose of the sleeping baby that sat ever so protected in her embrace.

"Dream a dream

Of the adventures you shall share

Where happiness is simple love

And sunshine glimmers from above"

She beamed down at the child, his light, feathery brown hair gently swaying as he breathed, blue eyes drawn to a close.

"Mommy, why are you singing to it?" a quiet voice came from the corner. She looked up and smiled warmly at the sullen boy who toed pokily at the entrance to the room.

"'It', meaning your little brother?" she asked teasingly, beckoning him forward with a soft hand. The child with gleaming golden eyes approached her crossly, arms folded against his chest. She took the boy into her arms and lifted the baby into one of her hands, setting him gently within the boy's grasp. The child was taken aback; he gasped, his eyes widening as his hands gently fitted to the baby's shape in his arms.

"Mommy…" he said softly, staring in amazement down at the creature that he held, so fragile and vulnerable. A thin thread of pride twanged within him, a feeling that he didn't understand.

"This is your little brother, Edward." She said softly, her thin lips upturned in a beautiful smile. "Alphonse is your responsibility when I am not there." He looked up at her, surprised.

"Why would you be there, Mommy?" he asked, confused. Little golden eyes scrutinized her slender face, searching for an answer that she wouldn't let surface. Her eyes smiled, her gaze warm.

"One day Mommy will be far away." She whispered, cradling Edward's head in her hands. "And Alphonse will be the most important thing in the world to you, not Mommy. As his big brother, he's your responsibility. That is something that a grown up has to do. You must protect him always." He nodded emphatically, vigor plain on his face, despite his youthful features.

"I'll protect him always, Mommy." He promised. A soft, simple laugh escaped her lips. She kissed him on the forehead, holding both of her children in her arms, letting the three heartbeats combine into one.

"Dream…a

…dream"

"Brother, wake up!" the pillow landed hard across Edward's face for the third time that morning. "You're sleeping your life away and the Colonel's on the phone!" Edward clambered out of bed with a disgruntled look to his face, eyes daring Alphonse to smack him again.

"Goddamn it, Colonel, why call at such an ungodly hour?" he snapped into the phone.

"Good morning, Fullmetal. It's eleven o'clock in the morning. It's about time you got up, isn't it?" came the mocking tone of Roy Mustang.

'It's too damn early for his smart-ass attitude.' Edward thought, annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, what do you want?"

"I need you to follow up on an investigation in Aquroya." The voice came again, turning hard and businesslike, shying away from the smug tenor. Edward's ears perked up at the name of the town.

"Where the Phantom Thief, Psiren was?"

"That was a few years ago, Edward. The town has diminished greatly since the last time you were there." Aquroya was a water based city that sunk a few inches each year; Psiren had attracted tourist attention when he and Alphonse had gone years before. Edward nodded.

"Yeah, and?"

"It seems that some strange alchemy has been used to create tsunamis in the area; we don't have any leads, or motives, but I want you to go stake it out." Edward sighed loudly. Why did he always get landed with the unclassified jobs?

"Do we have any information?"

"Yeah, and we're having Sciezka send it over as soon as we can. Does that suit your demands, oh short one?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLNG SHORT!"

"That'll be all, Fullmetal. Good afternoon."

Click.

"That goddamn Colonel just loves making fun of me." Edward complained, throwing the phone back onto its latch and flopping over on his bed, toying with the pocket watch that he pulled from his pants.

"All in all, he's a good guy and you know it." Alphonse returned, tossing him his red jacket from the hat stand by the door. "So what's the assignment?" Edward relayed the message to Alphonse, pulling the jacket over his shoulder.

"It's not all bad." Alphonse said lightly, pondering it. "We may even get to see Clara!"

"Psiren's in jail, Al."

"Maybe we can visit her!"

"Sure, sure, Al, whatever you want."

"You're so downbeat, brother." Edward laughed, looking up at the towering form of his brother and smiled.

When he had come to after the transmutation, three shadowy figures hovered above him; all he could hear was the faraway echo of his name. A bandage was around his head, dried blood had seeped through the wrapping, but the wound wasn't bad. Sciezka stood nervously behind Roy and Riza, their faces concerned. He saw relief shimmer in their eyes and thin smiles pass their faces. For a moment, he was contented.

Snapping up in the narrow cot that he found himself in, he shouted for Alphonse, yelling his name over and over again, until he felt a strong, cold hand grip his shoulder.

"Brother," a thin, childlike voice breathed a word that Edward thought he would never hear again. The voice sounded hollow, and soft, but not sad. Turning slowly, pixel by pixel, Edward took in the sight of a suit of armor, six feet in height with a billowing apron, protruding chest plate and the warm glow of pale red eyes within the cavern of a helmet. Edward felt golden eyes well with tears; without shame, they spilled down his cheeks, feeling them warm at the sight before him.

"A-Alphonse…" he choked, his arms wrapping around the metal frame. "You're alive…"

"Yeah, Brother, it's okay… everything's okay." Alphonse's voice was happy, soft and reassuring. "This body… this is my body now." Edward smiled through his tears and closed his eyes. For the first time in the history of alchemy, death had been defeated.

"And then we have to go all the way back to Xenotime from Aquroya, and then BACK to Aquroya when we're done!" Edward exclaimed, chucking the phone across the room and smirking, satisfied when it crashed against the wall, splintering into pieces. Alphonse sighed rolled his eyes.

"It's going to be some trip, that's for sure." He said, somehow agreeing with Edward without actually concurring. "We can do this, Brother. Don't worry."

Edward stared up at the suit of armor before him. For the first in so long a time, no ache laid raw in his heart, no pain tore at his soul. He was ready for action once more with the one person he could depend on; he had chanced and bargained with death and had miraculously won. Out of everything that he had encountered, from the failed transmutation of their mother, to watching Nina, Hughes and Tucker disappear, or to losing Alphonse's memory, regaining his brother from death was his greatest challenge, and each moment had been worth it in the end. "I know, Al."

The faraway sound of clacking footsteps grew louder from down the hall; Sciezka was making her way with the papers. After all that had happened, life returned at last to normal.

Edward smiled up at his brother, pure happiness radiating on his face. Eyes of gold glowed vehemently, ready for a new challenge.

"I know."

A/n: And so concludes "Dream a Dream". I know the actual Dream a dream part had nothing to do with the storyline, so sue me. You all got your happy ending and you got dear precious Aru back (YAY I MISSED HIM SOOO DAMN MUCH!) I shall begin a new chapter fic as soon as I can, and maybe we can focus it with a bit more Winry involvement. To clarify I do not support Sciezka x Ed or Ed x Al. If it somehow came across this way in my story, then I am very sorry but you are mistaken.

Thank you, dear reviewers for reading this fic and I hope that it has lived up to your expectations. Please continue to read my work; I would greatly appreciate it.

Until the next adventure, sayonara.

Raeluvs