A/N: I've been working on this for a REALLY LONG time. XD The problem was getting it up. I got to the halfway point and realized I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of it. Overall, I'm satisfied. As you may know, this is the continuation of my first Edward angst, 'He'd Want Me To Live' In order to fully grasp this one, you HAVE to read the other. It's REALLY angsty, I'll warn you all now. Hope you like it. Please read and review!

-C

"Alphonse!" Edward screamed. This couldn't be happening. They'd followed the rules. They'd gotten the compounds. What went wrong? What did they do? The black tentacles were wrapped tightly around the younger boy, pulling him into the infinite darkness, Alphonse screamed as he reached out, trying desperately to catch hold of his brother. Try as he might, he couldn't. The Truth wouldn't let him go.

"Brother! Help me!" he shouted back.

Suddenly, Edward was back home, in the basement of the house he lived in as a boy. He screamed out in pain and fear. His leg was bleeding everywhere.

"No! Give him back!"

The basement door flung open, hitting the wall with a loud crash. Edward's eyes snapped up to the figure. The person stepped down the stairs calmly, as if what happened was part of a mundane existence. He kneeled in front of the younger Edward, who only looked on in disbelief. Standing before him was an older version of his brother. The one that was just taken by The Truth. He looked horrible. Thin and shaken.

"Al?" Ed questioned.

"Why didn't you save me brother?" he asked. Ed's eyes widened. He felt a ripping pain in his shoulder, as if his limb had been taken off. He was on the brink of insanity. Just one more thing would push him over the edge. Edward wanted to give up. He wanted this horrible thing to end.

Edward's eyes snapped open, and he sat up, heaving. He took deep breaths, as if he'd been starved of air for eternity. Unconsciously, his left hand lifted, reaching over to touch his auto-mail right arm. Just a dream, he told himself. His breathing slowly returned to normal.

The room was bright. Edward looked onto the table next to his bed. 10:24 in the morning. Edward sat there, staring down at the sheets. He lifted his hands, staring at them for a moment. It looked as though he was going to clap them together, perhaps use alchemy for something. He stopped though, letting out a sigh, putting them down. It was useless.

Edward got up and stepped out of his room, into the hallway. He went into the bathroom and washed his face. Practically blind from the water, he fumbled for a moment, grabbing the first towel he could off of the rack. He pressed the soft cloth against his face, but paused. It smelt like Roy. This wasn't Ed's towel. He quickly changed, being ever avid about keeping their things separated.

He'd been living with Roy since the accident happened. He'd been discharged from the military for being utterly useless to them. He could no longer do alchemy and was deemed not well enough to live on his own. He would have gone back to Resembool, but one look in Winry's eyes would have sent him over the edge. He'd sent them a letter to tell what happened. He couldn't imagine what they would say to him.

Edward looked at himself in the mirror. He was thinner than he was six months ago. His features had become slightly less defined, and the color if his skin seemed to dull down with each passing day. It was his eyes that bothered him now. They were dull and unwilling. They lost their color and sparkle, and were now just orbs. Nothing special about them. That was one thing he was thankful for though. Al's eyes had always been a little darker than his own. If he had to stare into Al's eyes everyday, Edward would likely make himself go blind. He broke away, and stepped out to the living room, taking a seat on the far side of the couch, overlooking the window.

There were a few kids outside, each of them running and playing... Just like he and Al used to play, all the time. Back in Resembool.

"Are you sure, Brother? I mean, last time..." Alphonse was nervous. It WAS his body after all. He looked down at his older brother, eyes gleaming as they always had.

"I've got it all down, Al. The sacrifice. Everything. We're getting your body back!" He gave the armor a bright, wide grin, looking down to his work, a giant circle.

"But... What if something goes wrong?" the younger interjected.

Edward shook his head. He wouldn't let that happen. Not again. Never again.

"It won't. I promise. You're getting you body back, just like it should be... Just like it should have been." The boy gave a little smile. "All we have to do is wait for the perfect moment!"

Edward snapped back to reality. ... Al tried to warm him. Tried to talk him out of it, and he never listened... just like before. His eyes stung suddenly. He felt like he wanted to cry. Wanted to ball his eyes out, but couldn't. He couldn't let any tears fall.

"Ready, Al?"

The younger nodded, stepping into the middle of the circle. Everything happened too fast. The light, the screaming... Edward realized it as soon as he put his palms to the circle

He had killed his little brother.

"NO! Give him BACK!" he screamed.

"Give it back!" The little girl outside whined to the little boy next to her, keeping the ball just out of reach. Edward's glance never left them. His body started to shake. He was trembling, but couldn't move. Couldn't fight against it. He could NEVER fight against it. Why couldn't it stop? Why did he have to push for Al's body? It was his fault. Everything was his--

"Brother?"

Edward froze. No. Not this again. Not this again... He slowly picked his head up, and there, staring at him, was Alphonse, covered in blood, looking so pale, and thin, it made Edward sick.

"N-no. No... No..." The elder boy whined, closing his eyes tight, trying to back away as the astral Alphonse stepped towards him.

"Brother... It hurts. Why can't you help me?"

"Stay back!" Edward shouted. His hands immediately rose to his temples, knotting in his bangs.

"Help me Brother."

Edward let out a scream. His eyes clenched shut, and his breathing became irregular, taken in with sharpness. He whined. Al wouldn't do this to him. Al would never do this to him! Why was Al doing this to him!

Roy Mustang let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't an easy time for him. His hair, normally very nice, was a bit of a mess. Too long, honestly, and his face showed that he was plain tired, as he had been for some time now. He was always working overtime to make sure he had enough to pay for everything Edward needed. The Colonel had made a promise to himself to help the boy. Get him back to normal... But it had been a fruitless effort. He stepped up the stairs to his apartment, slipped in the key, and opened the door, only to see Edward curled on the couch in a little ball, whimpering and shuddering from an invisible touch.

He stepped over, grabbing the boy by the wrists, pulling his hands down from his hair. The automail caught in some, eventually ripping it out. Roy winced slightly, although, Edward didn't seem to notice. He screamed louder. Why was something touching him now? The elder man, grabbed both of the boy's wrists in one hand, and rose the other to his chin.

"Edward... Edward! Look at me. Ed. Look at me." He spoke in a calm voice. it was the best way to get Ed to calm down. Edward did not comply. Didn't even open his eyes. Today, apparently, wouldn't be like this. Edward flinched, pulling away from the hand. He ripped his automail hand free from the other, giving Roy a good punch to the side.

"L-let me go! Leave me alone! GET OUT!"

This wasn't the first time Roy had received a punch from the boy. It had been worse, but metal on his side didn't feel nice. He doubled over for a moment, but sat back up, letting go of the boy's other wrist. Both of his hands went to Ed's jaw. He lifted his head once more.

"Edward. Look at me. You're with me. There's no one else here. No one. Just me."

Edward seemed to pause a moment before he slowly opened his eyes, focusing in on the man in front of him. Roy. Just Roy. No Al. No one else... He broke at that moment, falling forward into Roy's arms, trembling and shaking. Roy caught on quickly that he was out of his episode, and wrapped his arms around him. He held him close for several hours, protecting him from his invisible tormentor.

Just like every other day.