Part of this chapter comes from the series; I couldn't help but use it. When I saw the episode and what happened I couldn't stop laughing! I will most likely post three chapters tomorrow after I get home from my nighttime karate class, since the three kind of run together and I didn't want to do an novel-length chapter.

Hope you like!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Back at the Rockbell house, Lieutenant Ross sat outside on the front porch with a very attractive middle-aged blond man with glasses. They conversed and ignored any and everything happening around them.

"Long ago, I saw the wings of a big eagle that were as deep a black as your hair," he said to the blushing woman. "I didn't think I would ever see such a beautiful sight again."

Ross's blush became a deeper crimson as she looked towards the ground, "Oh, my…this is too much of a compliment."

Across the road from the house Mustang and his entourage huddled behind a stone wall to watch the scene unfold before them. "One compliment and she's all over him…" cried Broche, as he took his hat in his mouth and began pulling on it in frustration.

"To think I wondered what was going on," muttered Hawkeye silently at the man's emotional outburst.

"But…who is that person with her?" Al questioned as he looked down for Edward, "Hey, brother…" He noticed Edward was not below him as he was just moments before. "Brother?" He looked up to see his brother running full-speed towards the house.

The man reached up and stroked Ross's hair gently before turning around at an angry Edward, "What the heck are you doing flirting!" Edward jumped over the railing and punched the man in the face as hard as he could with his automail hand. The force of the punch set him flying over the other side of the railing and into the grass; a large gash now jutted across his cheek.

"Edward!…" uttered a surprised-looking Lieutenant Ross.

"So you come back after more than ten years and I get to see THAT! You damn old man!" Edward yelled loudly, placing both hands on the railing in case he needed to beat his father some more.

Alphonse couldn't believe his ears, "Father?" he whispered quietly to himself. "Yes, he's just like in the pictures we had," he continued, remembering his dwindling childhood memories. He quickly threw the cover he was hiding under off of his head and began to run towards the Rockbell house. "It's him, it's really him!"

Al slowed down, as he got closer to the house. He realized since he was now a suit of armor, his father may not even recognize him at all. He finally reached his father and stood by the fallen man, "Um…You might not be able to tell because of my appearance, but I am…"

The man smiled at his child's manners, "Alphonse…You sure got tall!"
The younger brother was surprised at his father's reactions; he was already preparing for the worst outcome, "You…recognize me?"

His father laughed lightly, and turned his head to look at his eldest son still standing on the porch, "Edward. Do you still hate milk?"

Edward screamed in anger as he came over the railing and sank his foot into his father's body, "WHO'S A SUPER SMALL BRAT YOU CAN'T SEE AND THAT DOESN'T GROW UP!"

Lieutenant Hawkeye held her forehead as she watched the scene unfold, "But he didn't say that much…"

Later that evening, as everyone was inside eating dinner, Edward's father sat outside with the Rockbell family dog, Den. He stroked the older dog's fur as he listened to the conversations that were being held inside.

"There, that should do it!" Pinako said as she put the final stitches into Fury's and Havoc's wounds. She soaked a cotton ball in alcohol and brought it closer to the Lieutenant's hand.

"Oh, Pinako, do you really have to use that stuff? It stings so much!" he said as he backed away into a wall. The older woman kept approaching, ignoring the soldier's complaints.

"Quit being a baby! All I need is for this thing to get infected…then what I will do to you will really hurt!" She looked over to see Fury laughing at his wounded companion, "Don't worry, my lad. You're next!" She saw the soldier visibly sink in his chair, hoping not to be seen. While Havoc's attention was on his friend, Pinako took her opportunity and quickly placed the soaked cotton ball on the man's wounds. A loud yelp could be heard throughout the house as tears ran down Havoc's face.

"Quit your complaining. Winry never bawled…" the older woman stopped speaking for a moment, which caught the attention of Edward; he had never known for her to not talk. A moment passed, and she shook whatever she was feeling aside and continued, "That girl never bawled as much as you do, that's for sure." Edward looked around the room and saw that everyone was looking at himself and Al.

"What…Why is everyone looking at me? If it's about Winry, you can talk about her. I'm okay with it now…" he said to the group.

"Colonel," Lieutenant Hawkeye whispered to Mustang where no one would hear her. He looked over to where she sat and understood what she suggested with just the one word. He nodded and waited for a few more minutes for a new conversation to start. Finally he looked to her and nodded again, signaling her that it was time.

"Edward, Alphonse…Please come with me to discuss what is next on our agenda."

Ed looked up from his seat to the standing Colonel and rolled his eyes. He hated it when he became formal like this in front of everyone. It made him seem all the more like a kid. He and Al stood up and followed Mustang and Hawkeye outside. Instead of talking on the porch like he had expected, the two kept walking into the dark night, towards the direction of the river.

"Um, Colonel? What's going on? Why are we going all the way out here?" question Al as he noticed they were walking away from the house. The Colonel looked over in the younger brother's direction and tried to fake a smile, but was unconvincing. The group reached the river in a period of a few minutes, and they all stood there to stare at the stars for what seemed like forever.

"I do have to admit Edward, I'm jealous…" commented Mustang after they stood to watch the blanket of stars over the sky.

Edward looked around to his younger brother, who didn't look like he knew what the Colonel was talking about either, "Why, Colonel?"

"Because you cannot find something this spectacular and beautiful within the city. All of the lights and smoke seem to drive the stars away from our region…" he replied, still looking up towards the sky.

"That's nice and all, Colonel, but what did we come out here for, a stargazing session? Are we supposed to map out our futures using the stars or something?" the elder brother joked and continued to laugh until he saw the sad expression showing on the Lieutenant's face.

"Edward…You do realize how many people were in the city of Lior when the crimson light engulfed it, am I right?" Mustang questioned his younger alchemist counterpart. Edward's face became heavy, and he lowered his head at the thought of all the deaths of those soldiers. Those soldiers now existed within the philosopher's stone; they existed within his brother's body. He could not imagine such a death falling upon anyone.

Mustang looked down to see Edward's reaction since he didn't hear a response. It pained him to do so, but he continued on. "I sent another alchemist into the city before you; Archer didn't know anything about my plans, but refused to back down unless you chose to."

"That sounds like Colonel Archer, sir," interjected Al. "He didn't seem like he would back down easily from a decision. Have you heard anything from this alchemist? Has he reported back at all?"

Silence surrounded the group as the wind gently blew by. Mustang reached into his pocket and retrieved something small, but kept it enclosed within his hand. "No, Alphonse, she hasn't reported back to us yet." Instantly he saw the look change on Edward's face as he realized what was said. The teenager looked up to him, his eyes silently pleaded with the Colonel to please tell him that he was joking; that this couldn't be true. Edward looked around frantically, and suddenly was about to take off before he heard a calming voice near him, "Edward. Please don't do that…"

Edward whirled around to see Lieutenant Hawkeye staring at him, tears brimming to the edges of her eyes. She refused to cry in front of the boys, knowing it would make the situation even worse.

"But, Colonel…" whispered Alphonse, tormented at the news of his dear friend, "Are you sure? I mean, have you checked the area thoroughly? She's gotta be there somewhere!"

Mustang walked up to Edward and kneeled down in front of him. He grabbed the teen's hand, and slowly let the tiny pendant fall into it. "We did find this while we were searching for survivors, though there has been no news on her. My men are still searching day and night for any more survivors, and word is to be brought directly to me if she is found."

Edward stared, as time seemed to slow down. The pendant seemed to hang in midair, slowly descending into his open palm. The words from the back of the snake shined brightly in the moonlight. The weight of the pendant seemed to weigh him down. He had never expected to receive the pendant back, least of all like this! Closing his hand over the pendant, Edward felt the cool metal pressing into his skin. He looked around at the people with him. He didn't want to see any of them at the moment, not even his brother. He had to get away from them all. Without notice, Edward turned and ran full speed away from the group.

"Edward! Come back!" Mustang was preparing to put his glove on to halt the boy, before he felt a large metal hand cover his arm. He looked up to see Alphonse shaking his head slightly, "Don't worry. He's not going to go back to Lior. He's heading back to the house. Look…" Al pointed in the direction Edward ran, and sure enough a small light could be seen in the distance from the outside lanterns.

"And so he said to me…'what, are you trying to cheat me or somethi—" Second Lieutenant Breda was interrupted from his story when the front door flew open, and a short blond streak ran through the room and up the stairs. "What the hell was that?"

Pinako looked down as grief weighed heavily on her heart, "I couldn't see clearly, but I believe it was Edward. Just leave him alone for now. He needs his own time to mourn."

Edward didn't stop as he ran through the front door and up the stairs to Winry's room. Only when he had closed the door behind him was he finally able to collapse to his knees. He balled his hands into fists and slammed them into the floorboards numerous times; tears streamed down his face and sprinkled the floor. He couldn't believe what the Colonel told him. She couldn't have been in Lior at that time. There's no way!

But the metal pressing into his hand told him otherwise. He slowly opened his hand and stared at the tiny pendant that shined within. It looked the same as the day he made it; she obviously took great care in cleaning and polishing it, much like he did with the one she had given him. Tears continued to flow down the teenager's cheeks as he clenched his hand and held it close to his heart. Deep down, he knew there was no way someone would have survived the crimson light if they had been in the middle of the city. Even Archer, who had just been on the outskirts and was barely touched by it, lost almost half of his body in the event.

Edward finally willed himself to stand up, though it took his body a few moments to cooperate. He walked around her room, looking at all the now painful reminders of their childhood together. He picked up a picture off of her nightstand, and sat down on the bed to look at it. Wiping his eyes to see clearly, he was then able to see it was a picture of him, Al, and Winry leaning on a fence. They were maybe only seven or eight years old at the time. Smiling slightly, Edward noticed that each child looked happy and safe, though just a few short years later he knew that all would change.

Edward lay back in her bed, and held the picture in front of him. Just for some reason, he couldn't believe she was gone; it just didn't feel right…He didn't want to believe it. Maybe if he didn't believe it, then it wouldn't be true. The teenager slowly reached into his pocket to retrieve the picture Winry left for him in Central. He carefully unfolded it, and sat up, cradling the pictures in his lap. He stared at the pictures for what seemed like hours, studying each detail as if he would never see them again.

Silence blanketed the room for hours as Edward sat on Winry's bed. He was hoping she would come home and yell at him for being in her room; hell, he would even be happy for once to be hit with her wrench. Tears would no longer spring to his eyes at the thought of her demise; they seemed to have dried up, though his heart continued to weep.