Protect Me

Written by: Luna

Chapter 5 – Pain and Joy

Disclaimer – I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, yet any new characters that I have created to fit the story are mine, and part of Protect Me. Thank you!

It was completely dark. Suddenly, Al was surrounded by flashes of red. The bright light was almost blinding. Then the next thing he knew and felt was pain. Pain so great it was almost unbearable. He could think of nothing to do but scream. Maybe if he screamed loud enough the pain would stop, but it didn't seem to stop for a very long time.

Alphonse was still screaming by the time Ed and Winry ran into his room.

Edward went straight over to the thrashing Al and put his hand on his shoulder. He realized that Al was having another nightmare and so started shaking him, calling his name, trying to wake him up.

Winry stood by the bed, beside Ed, with one hand up to her mouth, the other around her stomach. She hated seeing her friend like this and she didn't know what to do. Ed was the only one who could reach him.

Al's eyes shot open, tears falling down his cheeks, as he stared at his brother.

"Al, it's okay. Don't be afraid." Ed pleaded.

The younger brother raised his hand shakily and grasped Ed's. His face was pale and showed his fear and anguish.

"Brother…I remember what happened that night." His eyes brimmed with tears and he squeezed Ed's hand a little harder. "…When I got my body back."

Edward looked over towards Winry with pleading eyes and she took the hint, leaving the two alone. Of course she couldn't help feeling a little cast aside and left out, but she knew that it would be much easier on them if they didn't have an audience. She was sure she would be told if she needed to be.

Once Winry had shut the door, Ed looked back over to Al who was staring up at the ceiling. He didn't want to push anything out of him, so he stayed very patient until he was ready to talk for himself.

"It was horrible, brother. How did I survive it?"

Ed took the chair next to the table and sat down beside the bed, speaking softly. "It's okay. You're safe here and I'm with you. Take your time and just let me know what happened."

Several minutes passed before Al finally began to tell what had occured when Ed transmuted his body.

He spoke quietly, almost as if he were in a trance, keeping his gaze on the ceiling above. "I remember laying there and then everything became very bright. I closed my eyes against it and then I heard that noise." His eyes twitched. "It was the same awful noise I heard when we tried to transmute Mom.

Ed's eyes flinched at the memory.

Al paused and fought back tears. "I saw those black faces again, just like before. They were laughing at me as if hoping I would die. Then, all I remember is pain. I could feel my body being pulled and stretched and I felt like I was being torn apart. The steel from the armor was torn away and cut through me as my body was joined to my soul. I never thought it would have been so excruciating and I couldn't think of anything but the pain."

The room grew quiet for a little while.

"But I guess that's equivalent exchange, right? The stone plus the torture in exchange for my body. The stone must not have been enough for them." Al said as he gave a weak, bitter smile.

"Alphonse, I'm so sorry." Ed said as he turned his gaze to the side and closed his eyes tight, blinking out the tears he held for his brother. "This has all been my fault from the start. I never meant to cause you pain, but that's all I've done, isn't it? What kind of brother am I?"

Al turned his head to look over at Ed, his eyes sad. "Brother…I have never blamed you. This isn't your fault. We both decided to do this together, remember?"

Edward opened his eyes and turned to face Al, showing his shocked expression. "How? How can you not blame me for this? How can you not hate me?"

Al smiled and answered his simple question. "I love you, brother, no matter what. I could never hate you."

Another tear slid down Edwards's cheek as he took his brother into a hug. "I love you too, Al, and I will always protect you. I promise."

One year later…

Winry ran out of the house to the front yard and spun around in her new pink sundress. "Come on, you guys!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.

It was a beautiful spring day and the perfect weather to be outside.

Ed's voice could be heard from within the house. "We're coming, Winry, just give us a second!" He laughed as he came out the front door and jumped over the steps, landing gracefully on the grass below.

Alphonse was right behind him, running outside as he pulled his over shirt up onto his shoulder. He held a picnic basket with a blanket folded on top of it in his free hand. A wide grin showed on his face. "Brother, you're such a show-off!" He laughed as he tossed the folded blanket for Ed to carry.

After catching the blanket, all Ed did in response to Al's accusation was put his fist on his hip and gave the victory sign with the other, flashing his trademark grin.

Winry just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Well, let's get going already."

The other two nodded and they all began to run to the river where they were planning on spending the day just relaxing and having fun They had told Pinako that they probably wouldn't be home until late.

This was just like old times, back when they were kids. They used to run together down to the river and in the fields laughing their carefree days away.

It was late morning, so they had all day to just do nothing except enjoy the sunshine.

Al was doing much better now after a year's time. He was finally able to get back on his feet after about a week and a half, just taking things slow. Now his body was just like it had used to be, so full of life and energy. It was a dream come true.

Edward, however, still possessed his automail limbs, but he had learned to accept that long ago. The Philosopher's Stone was only powerful enough to restore one of them, and for Ed, getting his brother's body back was enough for him. That was all that mattered.

They made it to the river and slowed down to a walk. Ed threw the blanket over by the nearby tree and fell down onto his back, plopping both arms out to his side, he legs bent at the knee, as he breathed heavily.

Al came up behind him and set the basket to the side in the shade of the tree. Then he went over to Ed and sat down beside him, stretching both legs straight out and supporting his weight with his arms behind him.

Winry had gone over to the river and was taking her sandals off, sitting down on the bank and kicking her feet in the cool water. She twisted around to look behind her and smiled at her two friends. "I haven't run like that in forever, I think."

Both boys grinned back and agreed.

"I could beat you both if I really wanted to, but I didn't want to leave you two in my dust." Ed boasted with his eyes closed and a smirk on his face.

"Yeah whatever, Ed. You're too short to beat anybody when it comes to distance." Winry stated, making a face, as she continued swinging her feet in the water.

Ed's face went blank for a second before he jumped up from his position and began stomping up and down over by Winry yelling that he was NOT short.

He could make such a scene sometimes.

After a few minutes of Winry and Ed arguing over his height, Ed walked back over to Al, who was still in his same position looking out over the river.

"Hey, Al, you wanna go swimming?"

Even though Ed couldn't really swim, they were by a part of the river that wasn't too deep so they could go in and not get over their heads.

Al looked up and grinned. "Yeah, sure!"

Ed laughed and began taking off his black, sleeveless shirt and denim shorts, leaving his swimming trunks on underneath.

Al got up and did the same, piling his white shirt, blue over shirt, and khaki shorts beside Ed's.

Winry laughed as the boys splashed into the water. She decided to watch them instead of getting wet, since she hadn't brought a bathing suit along anyway.

"Hey Ed, that's not fair!" Al cried after Ed had snuck up behind him in the water and dunked him under. But Al quickly retaliated, pushing Ed off balance so he was submerged by the water as well, holding him down for a couple seconds until Ed was begging to be let up.

Al's playful smirk didn't last long after Ed recovered and started chasing him in the waist-high water.

The brothers didn't come out until around one o'clock when they decided they were both getting hungry.

Winry set the food out on the blanket in the shade and sat down with her legs folded to the side. She was still bare foot and was glad she had put her hair up in a ponytail that morning since it was starting to get hot.

Edward came over and plopped down into an Indian-style position, letting out a tired sigh. "Geez, Al, you give no mercy sometimes. I'm beat just from trying not to drown out there!"

Alphonse laughed as he also came down into a sitting position, mock innocence showing on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, brother. You're just too easy."

Winry giggled as Ed sighed and reached for a sandwich.

The three teens took their time eating the delicious food Pinako had packed for them and talking about old memories as well as new ones.

At around sunset, Ed and Al put their clothes back on since they were now dried from the sun as Winry packed up the leftovers and garbage. Alphonse went over to help her as Ed shook out the blanket and folded it. After that, they started home at a leisurely pace, laughing occasionally at a joke Ed would make or something Al would bring up from the past causing Winry and him to laugh at Ed. All in all, it had been a wonderful day.

One thing that the teenagers had not been aware of was the person who had lurked over in the distant bushes, watching them with hate-filled eyes. He had been patient; waiting for the right moment, and now it was time. A voice seething with anger whispered harshly in the shadows. "You will pay, Fullmetal."