Yeah, a fairly quick update. Don't get used to it, because it won't happen much.

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As Ed was adjusting to his new life with the Fuhrer, Al was adjusting to a new life of his own. He had been sent to live with Roy for reasons unknown to them both, and they were using this opportunity to plan a resistance of some sort. War was brewing up north and it was only a matter of time before a large-scale conflict broke out. Al hoped greatly that Olivier would be able to prevent it, but he couldn't put that much faith in it. Roy agreed with him, but neither would be able to do anything as long as the homunculi were watching them. All they could do was plan a way to get Ed away from Wrath.

During their previous travels, Ed and Al had met a small group of terrorists who had disbanded with 'aid' from the brothers. Of course, they would have been arrested if it hadn't been for the two, so the group owed Ed and Al a favor. Al decided that it would be the perfect time to get paid back.

He arranged a meeting with them in a park and went out one day to meet them with Roy. As they walked through the city, Al noticed someone familiar following them. As they arrived at the meeting place, Al turned around to face the man.

"You're here," he said.

"I am. What happened to your armor?"

"It's gone. For good."

"I see. So, what can we do for you?"

They walked through the park to a hidden area in the trees before Al spoke. "If I remember correctly, your group specializes in kidnappings, right?"

"That's right. Who are you after?"

"My brother."

"Him? Why isn't he with you?"

"It's a long story."

"I get it. So where is he?"

Al let out a sigh before explaining the general situation. When he finished, the man scratched his head. "From the Fuhrer himself, eh? That's going to be tough."

"Can you do it?"

"Yeah, we can do it, but only if we go for the Fuhrer's kid too."

"Selim? Why?"

"Because it makes more sense to kidnap him, doesn't it? And if we get them together, it'll just be that much easier."

Al nodded. "Okay, that works. We'll just let him go back later."

"That might not be the best idea, but if that's what you want to do, go right ahead. Right," the man said as he stood up. "Do we have a time limit?"

"The sooner the better," said Roy.

"Yeah, okay. We'll keep you updated."

"Thanks," Al said.

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Ed and Selim sat in the backseat of a car on the way to Central library. Ed had finally gotten used to hiding his true identity, and was chatting amicably with Selim as they drove through the city until the car suddenly stopped. Ed looked up at the front and immediately pushed Selim to the floor of the car and ducked, just as the windshield shattered from the impact of gunshots.

"Are you okay?" he asked Selim as he looked up at the front of the car. The driver and the other person in the front had been knocked unconscious, and the two were on their own.

Selim nodded, but Ed could tell he was terrified. Poor kid's probably never been in a situation like this before, Ed thought as he tried to assess the situation. Several men were walking up to the car, each armed with several guns. Ed struggled to come up with a plan, but anything he could do would risk revealing that he indeed remembered everything.

"What's going on?" Selim asked.

"I… I think they're coming after you."

Selim didn't seem surprised, but he was still scared. Ed decided it was time to act. He looked around and brought his hands together. "Okay, when I say now, go through that door and run as fast as you can. They won't shoot you because you're a valuable life to them, but if you let them catch you, it'll be hard to get you back, got it?"

Selim nodded and positioned himself to run through the door. Ed looked at the men again and placed his hands on the floor of the car. "Now!"

The metal flew up and blocked the windows, and the two boys ran from the car down the street. Ed didn't notice a problem until it was too late. He stopped and grabbed Selim's arm, just as the street in front of them went up in a massive fiery explosion. Both boys were thrown back.

Ed got to his feet first and pulled Selim upright. He looked around and noted that they were almost completely surrounded by armed men, none of which worked for the military.

"Just surrender and we'll go easy on you," one of them said. Something told Ed this person was lying, and he decided to go with that instinct. He brought his hands together and placed them on the ground as some soldiers came running, creating a wall that effectively imprisoned the terrorists.

Before the soldiers got to the two boys, Ed felt the ground move beneath his feet, and saw that he had brought them both onto a well-hidden net. "Ah, shit…" In moments the two were trapped.

Another explosion went off, sending a chunk of the car flying in their direction. Ed brought his hands together again and held his right arm out in front of him, forgetting momentarily that he no longer had automail. The metal hit his hand with more force than Ed had expected, and he could barely transmute it before his arm crumpled from the impact. He let out a cry of pain and fell back, cradling his arm.

He managed to come to his senses and transmute the net that held them, and they dropped to the ground. Just then, another explosion went off, this time sending shrapnel in the boys' direction. Ed tried to shield Selim, but he had very little luck. Selim fell to the ground.

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Roy watched from a nearby building as the two boys were rendered helpless and decided that he needed to step in before things got out of hand. He ran outside, grabbed Ed by the arm, and pushed him to walk as he picked up the unconscious Selim. A quick check showed that Selim was seriously injured, and Roy decided that this unwelcome turn of events was possibly the worst situation he had been in since Ed and Al had regained their bodies.

He brought the two to his car, which was parked nearby, and drove through the city. Ed managed to get some meaningful words out as Roy drove. "What's going on?"

"We were trying to get you away from the Fuhrer, but evidently another terrorist group had been planning the same thing, only in a more violent way."

"Why did you have to drag him into it?" Ed asked, gesturing to Selim.

"It was the only way we could do it. We were going to let him go as soon as we got you, but then everything went to hell. There wasn't any violence involved in our plan either, other than knocking out the bodyguards."

Ed groaned and looked at his arm. "Doesn't seem like this arm's having much luck."

"Relax, Fullmetal. We're almost to a hospital."

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After Ed had been treated and been deemed fit to leave the hospital, Roy found himself sitting next to the young alchemist in the waiting room. Selim was still being treated, and soldiers were milling about the hospital. After a while, Ed fell asleep, unknowingly resting his head against the Colonel's shoulder. Roy shifted his arm and let Ed sleep.

He spent a while answering questions about the attack. He unconsciously ran his fingers through Ed's hair as he answered the usual questions: Who planned this? Were you involved? Could you see any of their faces? How many were there? What kind of weapons did they use?

After a while, they left him alone, and Roy sat in the room, alone with Ed and the receptionist. He pulled off his jacket and covered Ed with it, being careful not to upset Ed's broken limb. There was dead silence in the room as Roy waited to hear about Selim. He began to drift off, but then a voice brought him back to reality.

"You're too soft," said Bradley, looking down at Roy and Ed. "You could easily have taken both of them and treated them in secret, leaving the rest of us under the impression that the two had died in one of the multiple explosions that killed several soldiers. My son would have had a higher chance of dying, but you would have had this one. Instead you chose to take them here. Not only have you revealed your plans, but you've revealed that this boy has regained his memory."

Roy glared at Wrath. "Do you really think I could have done that?"

"Of course not. Like I said, you're too soft. Now go home. We'll discuss this matter further tomorrow."

Roy gently moved away from Ed and left the room without a backward glance. He was composed on the outside, but he was fuming on the inside. Everything they had planned had gone wrong.

It wasn't until he had gotten halfway home that he realized he had forgotten his jacket.

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Ed woke up just as Roy was leaving. He watched as the Colonel walked through the hospital doors and closed his eyes again. He wondered briefly why Roy wasn't wearing his jacket before remembering everything that had happened. He sat up and looked around. He was alone in the waiting room.

Ed noticed the jacket Roy had forgotten was draped around his shoulders. Ed pulled it closer and tried to think. Just then, Bradley came walking up to Ed with a smile on his face. Despite himself, Ed felt relief.

"Are you doing all right?" Bradley asked. Ed nodded. Bradley smiled again. "That's good. I have to thank you for protecting my son. Thanks to you, he'll be just fine."

"That's good…"

All of a sudden, Bradley's face turned serious. "However, there is something I would like to know."

"What is it?"

"Have you regained any of your memories?"

Before he could stop himself, Ed found himself blurting out an affirmative. "Yes."

Bradley blinked. Evidently he hadn't been expecting that answer. Ed decided to continue. "I remember everything up to when I turned thirteen."

"Thirteen, eh? That would be about two years of your memory, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you remember nothing after that?"

"No, not really." Ed was surprised at how easily he could lie.

"I see. Now then, I appreciate your concern for Selim, but you really shouldn't be staying here. I'll have someone give you a ride home."

"Um…"

"What is it?"

"I was wondering… could I see my brother?"

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. I… just want to see his face again."

"I don't see why not."

"Thank you."

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The next day dawned with clouds blocking out the sky in its entirety. Roy stood at attention in front of Wrath as he pondered his fate. Riza was nowhere to be seen, so Roy was considerably worried. However, his worries were unfounded. Just as he was about to speak, Wrath smiled.

"It seems I've overestimated you, Mustang. There is no evidence pointing at you being involved with this attempted kidnapping at all."

Roy bit his lip and tried to conceal his surprise. Wrath paused for a moment before continuing. "However, your side is still weak against us. Even though the Fullmetal Alchemist has regained his memory, it remains only a partial gain."

"A partial gain?"

"Two years. Now he is thirteen. Any hope you had of him believing your story is gone. Well, now that the matter is settled, you may go back to work. Tell Alphonse that he may visit his brother sometime soon."

Roy saluted and left the room.

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"So, he is a confirmed sacrifice again," Father muttered.

"That's how it would appear."

"How much does he remember?"

"According to him, nothing that he could use against us. The way he acted before the attempted kidnapping suggested that he remembers more than he's willing to admit, but I doubt he does."

"How can you be sure?"

"Despite all his weaknesses, the Fullmetal Alchemist isn't foolish enough to admit he does have skills that we desire. Unless, of course, he doesn't understand the situation he's in."

Father stood up and faced Wrath. "Very well. Continue to watch him and don't allow another incident like this one to happen again. He remembers what we need him to remember, so I don't see why we should allow him to remember anything else."

"Of course."

As Wrath left the room, Father walked through his underground lair to a room guarded by none other than Pride. The homunculus nodded to Father as he entered the room and observed a forlorn figure leaning against the wall.

"It's been a while, Hohenheim."

Hohenheim grunted in response. Father walked closer to him and stopped inches from his face. "I'm interested by the fact that you have children, and such talented ones at that. How on earth did you manage to accomplish that?"

Hohenheim was silent.

"You won't tell me? Very well, then, why don't you tell me about your life since I saw you last, before you ran away?"

Hohenheim was still silent.

"I see you're still as stubborn as ever." Father began to walk out of the room before turning around. He had an idea. "Perhaps I'll bring your children down here. I'm sure they'd just love to see their father for who he really is." Hohenheim opened his mouth to speak but Father had slammed the door on him.

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Ed's eyes snapped open and he salt bolt upright in his bed, breathing heavily. He looked around the room, saw that it was empty, and fell back, only to have his head land on something other than his pillow. He sat upright again and looked back. Somehow he hadn't seen his brother behind him.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al asked, his face a mask of concern.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, fine. Al, what-"

"You should lie down, brother. You look terrible."

"I'm fine, Al."

"No you're not. Your arm's broken and you're really pale."

Ed was about to argue, but he felt a twinge of pain in his arm and decided to follow his brother's advice. He lay down, and Al sat on a chair next to Ed's bed.

"What are you doing here, Al?" Ed asked.

"I came to visit. I'll be here for a day or two."

"Why are they letting you visit?"

"Because you wanted to see me. Besides, it's not like I'll be doing anything against them for a while."

"Why not?"

"Brother, Winry's…"

Ed tried to sit up, but Al pushed him down. "What? What happened to her?"

Al checked the room and spoke in a low voice. "She's in Central. She was 'offered a very good job as a mechanic for the military.' Brother, they aren't messing around any more. This is serious."

Ed looked into his brother's face for a moment. "I see."

"But anyway, how's your arm? You got over those wounds Scar gave you, right?"

"Yeah, those are healed."

"That's good. I still can't believe he did that."

"Yeah. Hey, Al, do you…" Ed trailed off and sat up as the door opened and Bradley came in.

"I see you've been recovering nicely, Edward. Now then, since you're both here, I would like to know, would you be interested in visiting your father?"

"Yes."

"No."

Ed and Al exchanged glances, having spoken at the same time. Bradley looked at them both for a while before leaving the room. "Why don't you talk about it for a while?"

"Brother," Al began. "Why don't you want to see him?"

"I don't know. I guess I just said that out of habit." Ed paused and thought back on everything that his father had forced them to go through. "Although, there's something I'm supposed to tell him."

"What do you mean?"

"A message. From Mom."

"Eh? She told you to tell him something?"

"No, not me. She told granny, and granny asked me to tell him."

"Oh. Then we should see him. Aren't you worried about him?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Al was going to say more, but he decided to give it up. As long as Ed was willing to see their father, he was fine with the situation.

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(yawn) me sleepy.