Path of Hardship

Chapter One-Home Again

Resembool, Amestris -1439 hours

"Hey Winry! We're here!" Ed yelled as he ran down the dirt road towards the large yellow house.

"Brother, wait!" Al was farther behind, struggling to keep up. "You know I can't run that fast!" The steel armor clanked with each hurried step.

"Hurry up, then!" exclaimed Ed. "We were supposed to be here three hours ago!"

Al had finally managed to catch up. "It' not my fault we missed the train. You were the one who made the commotion at the station."

"Grrahhgh! But those kids called me short! I'm not a half-pint shrimp who can be stepped on by an ant! I can never get a break, can I?" His brother replied angrily. Here we go again, Al thought to himself. He was used to his frequent overreactions.

"Ed, relax. They were little kids. I'm sure they didn't mean it. You really need to let that go."

"BUT I'M NOT A SHRIMP!"

Al sighed. "We're finally here. Let's just have a good time."

"You're late!"

As Ed approached the house, he heard a strange whirring sound heading his way.

"Brother!" Al shouted.

By now, he had instinctively learned to duck when he heard that peculiar noise. The silver wrench hit the ground behind him with a loud "clank".

"Stop doing that!" He yelled to Winry, who was leaning on the upper deck, peering down below.

"How more inconsiderate can you get, Ed? I had a lunch prepared for you and everything! You never cease to amaze me. Why can't you ever be on time?"

"Just give it a rest already…" Ed said under his breath.

"Are you two going to stand here and argue all day or will you come inside and have something to eat?" said Pinako, who was standing in the doorway.

"Hi Auntie!" Al ran up to the house to greet her. Den shot out from inside, barking happily. He circled and sat down beside him. "Hi Den!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his head.

"Sorry Auntie," Ed replied as he followed his brother into the house.

Pinako pulled up a chair at the table. Ed, Al, and Winry did the same.

"So boys, what have you been up to? It's been awhile since you last came to visit." She asked.

Winry stood up and leaned across the table. Her eyes were perfectly level with Ed's. A cold stare grew on her face.

"Let's hope you didn't come to get your automail fixed again." She looked directly at Ed. "Because I can only make so many. If you've broken it again…" She trailed off as she pulled a shiny new wrench from her pocket.

"No! That's not it at all!" Ed exclaimed. The color drained from his face. "Honest! It works fine!"

Al jumped in to save his brother. "He's telling the truth, Winry! He managed not to get into too much trouble with anyone this time."

Winry eased back into her chair. "Oh…that's good. Hehe, I guess you're learning your lesson, Ed."

Ed sighed. "Whatever. I have something I need to ask you. The reason I've come is because I need your help. There's these things, see, called Homunculi. They're artificial humans who are after the Philosopher's Stone like we are. We're run into them a few times before…they're dangerous. They'll take a life like it's nothing..without even a second thought. They even murdered an old woman, Dante…the one who taught our own Teacher."

Ed began to explain his experience at Lab Five, being careful not to leave out a single detail. "They made us their pawns. All this time they left a trail for us to follow. They were trying to have us create a Stone for them. The thing is, to do so, you need mass numbers of human lives. They were forcing me to use criminals from the prison nearby. They took Al hostage and.." he paused, on the verge of tears. He continued though, despite how obviously hard it was for him to talk about it. "..and they nearly killed him," he said, recalling when Lust had touched Al's blood seal. "He was in trouble, yet I did nothing…nothing! I froze up completely, like an idiot."

The tears began to well in his eyes. "I could have done it. I should have. I was prepared to use those prisoners to return me and Al to normal, but I just couldn't take their lives. It's stupid, I know…to care about a bunch of stupid convicts when your own brother is suffering and his life's at stake." It wasn't like him to cry out of the blue, but the never-ending stress he and his brother faced for weeks on end had gradually taken it's toll. Their liver were always spiraling-it seemed like nearly every day they witnessed death, corruption, or some other unjust act.

"Brother, I've said this before. You know you never could have done it. You and me both know how valuable a human life is. We'll find another way..a better way, to get our bodies back," Al said, consoling him. "I wouldn't have wanted you to kill them. We wouldn't have been able to live with that."

Ed looked over to Winry and Pinako. He managed to regain his composure, and asked him their favor.

"My question is, we were wondering if we could hide out here for awhile..to cover up our tracks before we move on. I don't want to repeat that day ever again."

"It's getting harder and harder to evade them. They'll do whatever it takes to get to the Philosopher's Stone. Besides that, we've managed to create a large list of other enemies.." Al added.

Their words were received with wide stares. The brothers really didn't expect Winry or Aunt Pinako to understand. They didn't even understand half of it themselves.

Ed decided he ought to get to the point. "Could we just..stay with you for a week or two before we go out again? We want to distance ourselves from the Homunculi. Our lives might be at stake."

Finally, Pinako spoke. She got up suddenly and shot them a look similar to Winry's from before. It was a fiery stare filled with worry and anger. "That's enough! Every single day, I worry about you boys. Haven't you been through enough to call this whole thing off? You've seen all kinds of tragedy and danger. Don't you think that it's time to just go back to the way things were? Haven't you learned your lesson by now?"

Ed and Al looked at each other. It wasn't exactly the reaction they were hoping for, but that's not to say they weren't half expecting it. "Auntie, we have to do this. I've said it before..we have to get our bodies back. Then we can go back to our old lives. You know I'll do what it takes to do that. That's why I became a dog of the military. Of course we'll run into some danger. But it's all worth it."

"Yeah!" chimed Al, jumping up from his chair. "Don't worry, Auntie, we'll be okay. I just..want to have my body back. And I want Ed to have his arm and leg. I want to feel human again. You can understand why we're doing this, can't you?"

Pinako knew she was defending a lost cause. With a sigh, she gave up on a rebuttal. "You two are stubborn, all right. But you're strong. I suppose you'll be able to manage as you have been before. If you think this is what you have to do, then I won't stop you. You two can stay here. What do you think, Winry?"

Winry had purposely not involved herself in the conversation. They never care what I think, anyway. All I do is worry about them, but they just shut me out. And why, all of a sudden, have they decided to come to us and tell this long, elaborate story? They never tell me anything! Still…I feel so bad for them. It's not too often you see Ed cry like that. I know how strong he is. It must be so hard..

"..Winry?"

She abruptly awoke from her train of thought. "What..? Oh! Sure, you can stay. Your automail probably needs some tune-ups anyway."

"Thanks!" The brothers were filled with relief. For once, they had a definite place to stay and a hot meal ready for them. Ed and Al had always considered this their second home. Aunt Pinako had basically taken them in. Basically, she and Winry were the only family they had.