Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Can't Go Home

--------------------------------------

About a mile off I heard Smokey the blood hound bay. I hoped that he hadn't found Alphonse. The dog might tear my little brother apart. Then I grinned. Al could easily take on that pup.

Heading off towards the baying, I jogged along a deer trail to save my skin from a complete beating. The branches and thorns of the forest had ripped my flesh arm up and I was worried of poison. Brushing away my petty worries, I veered off of the deer trail to keep up with the howling. The dog was moving, fast. I now had to sprint just to keep the sound in my ear.

I considered augmenting my automail into a lighter metal to make it easier to carry. I decided against it, just in case more surprise homunculi lay waiting. Envy had taken me unawares. I had seen him die on the other side of the gate, and had killed some of the other homunculi personally. So, to see him alive and well shocked and scared me.

The dog moved slower now and I could tell that I was gaining on him. I began to see dog prints followed by clumsy bot prints. Not needing to listen to the annoying bark anymore, I chose to concentrate on the chirping birds. It made my task less disheartening.

I had made good time. Up ahead, I thought I could make out tiny dog and human shapes. But the forest was dense, so I was cautious. Envy had really startled me...

Now I could definitely make out Phil Dunmohr, the tracker, and his blood hound, Smokey. The man was hastily shoving a cigarette into his mouth and reaching a lighter while darting after the high-strung hound. He wasn't very successful; he dropped his lighter and when he bent over to pick it up, the cigarette popped out of his mouth. He grumbled and picked both up, replacing the cigarette into his mouth and clicked the lighter. Lighting the cigarette, he returned the lighter in his breast pocked and cursed when he looked up and saw his dog had not stopped and waited for him.

All the while, I hid behind a tree, spying on him. I didn't want him to stop tracking Al; it was my only chance to find him. Waiting until Dunmohr had continued after his dog, I carried on following him, only to have something grab my right ankle. I tried to spin, but tripped instead and landed hard on my side.

Pain shot through my broken rib as I hit the ground. I turned frantically to see what had grabbed me to see Al, thin, bruised, with cuts all over. He whimpered, "Brother... it hurts..."

He released my ankle and I faced him, wrapping my arms protectively around him. He shivered and I felt his body was cold as ice. I rocked him back and forth like a baby, telling him that everything was going to be okay. Al managed a soft smile up at me. I smiled back. Then I noticed something. An odd shaped scar on his ankle. Looking closer, I realized that it wan an orobourus tattoo. Homunculus.

I changed my arm into a blade and held it to the homunculus's neck. He looked up at me with amusement. I growled, "You will die this time, Envy. I don't know how you survived that tree, but I'm sure being decapitated will kill you."

The Al-like Envy cocked his head. "Brother? Are... are you going to kill me? But... why?"

The homunculus was exactly like Al. His acting, his form. I hesitated, my blade shaking. Images of Al and I together passed before my mind. A tear fell off of my cheek.

"Too bad, Chibi. Lost your chance," the Al-like Envy scoffed.

I felt a sharp prick in my side and saw that Envy had stabbed my with a syringe. He administered it; I was in too much shock to feel the pain, much less stop Envy. He pulled the syringe back out and I felt my body get cold and numb. My vision became fuzzy and my arms became weak. I lowered them. Just before I lost consciousness, Envy changed to his normal form and whispered into my ear, "So close, Chibi, yet so far."

--------------------------------------------

Please review. More to come.

Thank-you for all of the reviews! I do appreciate it! -