The Rose of Metal

I don't own Full Metal Alchemist; I just enjoy changing the story to fit my ideas. I WILL RULE THE WORLD.

Key: "Don't call me short" speaking

'She has a nice figure' thought

Bold is shouting

FLASHBACK

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Chapter 2: The Brothers Pain: A Past Revealed

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(AN: There will be numerous breaks in the flashback during this chapter. Pretty much it will only be conversations that they held in the past.)

Ed, Al, and Rose were walking through a library searching for information on the philosophers' stone. They had been traveling together for about two weeks, in all that time Rose learned much about the brothers. There was one question bugging her though, what had happened in the past to make them the way they are now?

"Big brother look at this, doesn't it bring back memories" asked Al while holding up a book called alchemy for beginners.

"Yah I know what you mean Al, some good but most bad. We should probably start heading back to central" replied Ed looking sad.

"What happened to make you say that" asked Rose confused.

"If I don't head back soon I won't be able to recertify my state alchemist status, and the major will be a huge pain in the ass" replied Ed with a twitch in his eye.

"Not that, I mean what happened in your past that makes you say most of your memories are bad" clarified Rose trying not to look too excited.

"That's not…" Ed started to say before he was cut off by Al.

"She needs to know big brother. She deserves to know why we are the way we are" said Al with desperation in his voice.

"Fine but at least wait until tonight when we set up camp and I'm asleep" said Ed glaring daggers at Al. This shocked Rose more than anything she had seen with the brothers before. In the relatively short time she had spent with them she learned one thing, Ed and Al were inseparable. Even when they disagreed Ed had a smile on his face and no trace of any negative emotions towards Al. For him to glare at Al like this meant that they should never ever bring this subject up again when he was awake or around.

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(Later at the campsite)

"I'm going to bed, see you two in the morning" said Ed as he yawned and entered his sleeping bag.

"Ok big brother usually falls asleep by now so we can talk freely" said Al quietly.

"What happened and why is Ed so touchy about it" asked Rose confused.

"To answer your second question Ed doesn't like to bring up the past because he hates looking back on all our pain" said Al sadly.

"Tell me please what happened to you two" asked Rose sadly.

"I hope you're comfortable because it's a long story, I'll start right where our pain began…

FLASHBACK

"Big brother what are we going to do, how are we going to live without her" asked Al who at this point was only 8 years old.

"We aren't, we're going to bring her back" replied Ed only 9 years old.

BREAK

"We spent several days studying all the books our father left on alchemy, by the way don't mention him to Ed unless you want a major verbal lashing" said Al to Rose.

"Why" she asked confused.

"He hates our father for leaving our mother. I was only two at the time and Ed was four. He left on Ed's birthday ruining the whole thing for him. That's why he often forgets his own birthday" replied Al before continuing his story.

"It was two weeks after our mothers' funeral; a huge storm was blowing the rain flooding the river. We went to help where we could but to little effect…

FLASHBACK CONTINUES

"Big brother we can't keep this up. The second we start on a new wall the old one crumbles" yelled Al over the storm.

"We have to keep trying. Are you just going to let Winry die? She loves you, and you have to protect what you love" responded Ed furiously.

"What about you don't you love her" asked Al perturbed by Ed's admittance to Winry loving him and not Ed.

"I only see her as my little sister, but yes I do love her. I realized long ago that she never saw me as anything more than her older brother unlike you. I'm happy that she feels more for you than me" said Ed the look on his face saying everything.

BREAK

"That's when teacher came, before I could respond to him" said Al.

"So he already felt the pain of losing both his parents by different means and heartbreak before the age of ten" asked Rose shocked that someone could go through so much and still be unscarred emotionally.

"Yes, when I saw the look on his face I realized that he saw Winry as more until he saw what she felt for me. He sacrificed his own happiness just so I wouldn't have to. It's the reason he never let's anyone get close to his heart, he doesn't want to feel that pain again" said Al quietly so as not to wake his brother. Unfortunately for him Ed was already awake, he sighed making Al and Rose freeze in their shock.

"That's not entirely true Al, it was also self punishment for leading you into the mess we're currently in. I knew even if we succeded one of us would be disfigured. I just never thought that it would go for both of us. Al before you go on I have to know, do you hate me for what I did" asked Ed sounding more vulnerable than either Al or Rose had ever heard him. One look at his face could tell you he was terrified nearly to tears awaiting his answer.

"No brother, I could never hate you" replied Al as tears of relief flooded down Eds' face. Rose rushed over and embraced him stemming his tears.

"You don't have to punish yourself anymore, he forgave you and I'm sure you'll find the perfect girl for you" said Rose in tears herself. Ed could only nod and think 'She's so warm, and soft, and OH MY GOD SHES PRESSING MY FACE INTO HER BREASTS.' That was the only time Ed was ever grateful to be short.

"Let's continue on with the story" said Al trying to save some of his brother's dignity.

"Right as soon as we saw teacher she clapped her hands together and created a wall the length of our town. We went over to her and as soon as we said our names she vomited blood. We took her back to Winrys' to take care of her. We than asked her the question that would put us through two years of hell. We asked her…

FLASHBACK CONTINUES

"Will you teach us" asked Ed excitedly.

"No" was her only reply.

"Why not" asked Al dejectedly?

"I don't take on students" she replied coldly.

"We promise to do everything you ask us to do without complaining. We'll obey your every order without question just please teach us" yelled Ed.

"Fine if it will shut you up" she replied.

BREAK

"Boy I almost forgot how much she put us through. Even after training I couldn't move for a month" said Al shivering at the memory.

"What did she have you do" asked Rose.

"First we had to remain on a deserted island for six months and couldn't use alchemy. After that was done than the real training began. She would wake us up at 3:30 in the morning to do 500 laps around town. We usually finished by five. After that we had to do 250 pushups and 300 pull-ups. Than she would have us spar for about two hours. By that time we were served breakfast, and right after that we began to gather materials for transmutation. By the time we were done with learning every last single property of the materials it was time for dinner. Than we would spar against her for about four hours, we never won once. After that we went to sleep and the process started all over again the next day" said Ed smiling like it was nothing. Rose on the other hand had the WTF look on her face while thinking 'What kind of sick, demented, depraved person would put two boys through that kind of torture.'

"Hey brother what time is it" asked Al.

"About 11:30, why" responded Ed.

"Just curious" said Al.

"So what happened next" asked Rose.

"Well after we finished our training we went home and gathered the necessary materials for a human body" said Al.

"We holed up in our basement and drew the proper circle and placed the materials in the center" continued Ed.

"We double checked everything and started the transmutation" said Al.

"That was when everything went to hell. The powers that be or what you would probably call god rejected the transmutation. It turned against us, violently. It ripped off my left leg and took Als' entire body. After that I drew several blood seals' on my body and offered anything they wanted for Als' soul. They took my right arm, soon after I passed out from the pain" said Ed finishing his part of the tale.

"After big brother passed out I carried him to granny Pioncos to try to save his life. They patched him up quickly and he was no worse for ware, well aside from not having an arm or leg. Kind of gives a new meaning to the phrase doesn't it" joked Al.

"When he left the room I woke up and asked for them to operate and give me my arm and leg. They complied, and gave me the top grade auto mail made by their own hands. It may have its problems but it was worth it to give me a chance to find out how to fix Al and me" said Ed.

"After he finished the surgery he passed out and that was when we first met Colonel Roy Mustang. We sent letters out before mom died to try to get dad to come home for her. Mustang was the only one to reply but his was in person. He came to see if dad was there but instead found us. He said that if two boys could perform human alchemy and live than our dad dropped a notch on his priority list. He offered to let us take the state alchemy exam" said Al continuing where Ed left off.

"What none of them realized was I was awake to hear the entire conversation. I made my decision to become a dog of the military to give us an even better chance to fix ourselves. We left soon after burning our house down to signify that we had no real reason to come back. Boy was that ever stupid of me, I forgot to take out the money mom left us" laughed Ed smacking himself with his normal arm.

"Is that the only reason you regret burning your house down" asked Rose looking horrified still holding Ed to her cleavage.

"Pretty much, in truth the only reason I have to go back is repairs. For Al its Winry, when this is all over he can stay with her and have a home. As for me, I guess I'll just keep wandering until I find someone worth staying for. But I digress, on our way to Central to take the exam we had to stop in a town that was being plagued by strange disappearances. We investigated and found out it was an alchemist trying to play god again, resurrecting the dead or at least so he thought. Turns out she was alive all along but he failed to recognize her because time had worn her beauty. Poor fool died looking at his dolls thinking they were his beloved, shallow bastard" said Ed sadly.

"From there we got on a train at Mustangs prompting. We had a later train that we could have taken but he said either get on that train or go home. We sat in the rearmost car waiting. A little girl saw me while Ed was eating, she waved and I waved back. Ed turned around exposing a little of his arm by accident. She saw and he pulled his sleeve back so she could see better and said something. What was it again brother" asked Al quizzically.

"It was…

FLASHBACK

"Cooler than skin huh" asked an 11 year old Ed.

"Yeah" the little girl responded giggling.

"Now that's enough honey let them travel in peace" said her mother with a smile.

"It's no trouble really" said Al happily.

"In truth we like squirts like her, cute, respectful and very well mannered" said Ed with a big grin on his face.

"Thank you very much please enjoy the rest of your journey" said the mother happily.

BREAK

"After that I went to sleep for a while" finished Ed with the same grin he had that day.

"About twenty minutes later an undercover army official came into our cabin. He blew his cover and basically let a number of armed men hijack the train. As they were rounding us up one of them called Ed a shrimp. You saw his reaction to quips about his height in Lior, well this wasn't as bad because we were younger and he had more of an excuse" said Al feeling a sense of doom overcoming him.

"That really hurts Al" said Ed with a slightly maniacal look on his face.

"Come on settle down and tell me what happened next" said Rose still holding Ed to her chest like a teddy bear.

(AN: Kind of makes you wonder how she treated Cain doesn't it.)

"Well we split up; I took the roof of the train to work back while Al took the cars working forward. After I made it to the engine car I took out the two guards overseeing the engineers. After that I saw the tinder car which holds all the fuel for the train. I got a brilliant idea and transmuted a pipe into the cars of the train. I even gave the hijackers a chance but they refused…

FLASHBACK CONTINUES

"Listen up hijacker dirt-bags, this is your only chance to surrender, give up now or face the consequences" said Ed through a speaker.

"Fuck you" was the only reply he got.

"All right but don't say I didn't warn you, all passengers hold on to something" said Ed as he transmuted a pipe from the tinder car into the passenger cars.

He let loose a mighty torrent of water washing all but one of the hijackers to the other end of the train, and right to a waiting Al. Who than proceeded to beat the living tar out of them.

BREAK

"While brother was doing that I was clearing out the next three cars. All I had to do was walk in and they began shooting. I didn't even touch them; they all got hurt by the ricochet of their own bullets. When I heard brothers warning I figured what he had planned. I helped secure the girl and her mother first than closed off the chain rail at the end of the train. When they washed up I wailed on them until they were unconscious" said Al with enthusiasm fisting the air in front of him for emphasis.

"While he was doing that, I jumped into the car to see if there was anything more I could do. I came across the leader soaking wet but still conscious. We began to fight and he revealed that he had an auto mail arm too. I remember that conversation well…

FLASHBACK

"So you got one too eh brat. I got this because I thought it would help me in a tour of duty for the military. The second I got it they sent me packing, you see they don't like anyone being more powerful than they are. You know what it's like right, you got that arm because you weren't happy with your normal one" said the man making Ed lose his temper.

"Don't ever lump my reasons for getting this arm with yours" yelled Ed smashing the auto mail arm to pieces and throwing his opponent back knocking him out.

FLASHBACK BREAK

"I was about ready to kill the guy but than I saw the man they were holding hostage. He had his wife and two kids with him. He looked mystified that a kid would be so willing to kill. His wife looked horrified and saddened, and his kids just looked scared. I calmed down and tied the leader up. When we reached the train station Mustang was there waiting for us. He looked smug as usual and said…

FLASHBACK

"Hey Edward" said Colonel Roy Mustang.

"Oh, hello colonel" said Al cheerily.

"Yo" Said Ed.

"Aren't you glad you chose the earlier train, now you can take the exam" said Mustang.

"WHAT I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULD TAKE IT BEFORE" yelled Ed in a rage.

"Well I lied, I mean come on did you really think they would let an 11 year old take a test like that" said Mustang smugly.

"AAAUUUGGGGGG" was the yell they heard. They turned to look at the commotion, it was Bald the leader. His auto mail arm revealed that it had a hidden knife in it. He charged Mustang intending to kill both him and Ed. Lieutenant Hawkeye drew her gun, but Mustang stopped her from firing.

With a simple snap of his fingers flames burst around Bald scorching him.

"Remember that pain Bald, and remember my name from it. I am Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist" said Mustang.

FLASHBACK BREAK

"After that we were introduced to Shaou Tucker. He let us stay at his house to study for the state alchemy exam" said Ed with a sad look on his face.

"We worked our asses off studying. In fact someone worked so hard he forgot it was his birthday" taunted Al.

"Oh yeah, that also reminds me, Elicia will be turning three in a few months won't she" asked Ed.

"Who's Elicia" asked Rose confused.

"She's the daughter of a friend, he brought us to his home to celebrate my birthday and introduce us to his pregnant wife Cordelia. The baby wasn't supposed to b born for another few weeks but she chose right then to start coming out. It scared the crap out of us when Cordelia passed out for a minute" said Ed smiling at the memory.

FLASHBACK

"Brother what do we do" yelled Al.

"I don't know I'm not a doctor" replied Ed just as loud.

"Oh no brother what if it's equivalent exchange a life for a life" yelled Al panicking.

"Damn it Al pull yourself together, this isn't alchemy it's childbirth the same principals don't apply" said Ed in a somewhat calm voice.

"I would be doing much better if you would quiet down just a little bit" said Cordelia in a pained voice.

"Little big brother, the water went cold" said Tuckers' four year old daughter Nina.

Ed clapped his hands together in frustration and grabbed the water. Suddenly an alchemic reaction occurred in the water turning it from cold water to near boiling.

"Brother how did you do that" asked Al in amazement.

"I have no clue" replied Ed dumbfounded.

FLASHBACK BREAK

"Who's Nina" asked Rose confused.

"Sorry, she was the daughter of Tucker. She treated us like her big brothers. I really miss her don't you brother" said Al in a depressed tone.

"Yeah, I just wish I could have saved her" said Ed in the same tone.

"What happened" asked Rose.

"All in good time Rose" said Al.

"Well after the baby was born we continued our studies. When it came time for the written test we both answered as best as we could. We both passed but Mustang suggested that al drops out, so he did. I went to the interview and answered all their questions. Finally came the practical exam, one person used some of the materials given to make a giant tower, but he botched it up by being unable to stand after. The next idiot made a paper balloon. It collided with the tower exploding, sending bits down on the man that couldn't move. Without thinking I rushed forward clapping my hands like I did on my birthday, and thrust my hands forward. It worked and I transmuted all the debris into a giant ring of flowers. It got me my certification" said Ed proudly.

(AN: I'm skipping the whole incident with Winry because she met Al first"

"A few days later before we left we went to see Tucker and say goodbye to Nina. We got there and found the house abandoned. We searched the lab in the basement and found Tucker. What we found with him we will never forget" said Al.

"We found him with a chimera, but not the usual kind. This one could talk, but the materials he used" said Ed shaking. Rose just held him tighter, until he calmed down enough to speak.

"He used his own daughter, and his dog. All so he could keep his house and eat well. I failed to save her because the military came and took her away. I was told by Mustang that she was put down for humane reasons. It ended her pain, but they could never have brought her back" said Ed again close to tears.

"You did your best just remember that" said Rose crying her self and clinging to Ed a little harder.

"Rose do you realize you've been holding brother to your chest pretty much since he woke up" said Al deciding to end this madness. Rose jumped away from Ed as if she were suddenly shocked. Her face was bright red in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry Ed, I didn't mean to invade your personal space like that, I just have a habit from when I was a little girl to cling to something when hearing a story. I picked it up when I was with my grandpa before he died" she said in a rush not making eye contact.

"It's no problem Rose; to tell you the truth I kind of enjoyed it. Nobody's held me like that since our mother died" said Ed smiling slightly at Rose while sending a quick glare at Al.

"Anyways after we were denied permission to look for Ninas' killer, brother was given his first assignment. He was supposed to inspect the mines in a town called Youswell" said Al changing the subject to avoid his brothers' wrath.

"When we got there everything seemed fine, the people nice and the town somewhat clean. I mean come on who would ever expect it to be spotless it's a coal mining town for goodness sake. The only problem is when they found out I was a state alchemist their demeanor changed immediately. It turns out they hate the military because a corrupt officer was slowly bleeding them dry. Long story short I conned the guy into selling me the deed to the mines and town. In the end all he got was some culm," he started before being interrupted by Rose.

"Culm" she asked confused.

"The waste from mining coal" supplied Al.

"How did you con him into accepting that" asked Rose.

"Well I did something slightly illegal. I turned it into gold and used it to buy the town and mines off of him. Then before we left I turned it back into its true form. After I told the towns' people I sold it back to them for the price of a room for one night two meals included. They had it priced at 200,000" said Ed.

"After that brother got the title the alchemist of the people, the one wild dog of the military that no one could truly control. After that we just began our duties while searching for the philosophers' stone. The only item that can break the laws of alchemy. Brothers determined to find it to return us back to normal" said Al ending their long narrative.

"Well let's hit the hay we've got a good bit of traveling yet to do" said Ed.

They all laid down and went to sleep for the night. However while she slept Rose unconsciously inched her way towards Ed until she was snuggling right into his chest. They both slept well for the first time in a long time. Ed didn't have nightmares about his past, and Rose didn't have nightmares of losing all that she held dear. All in all it was a precious scene that would melt the hearts of even the most stone hearted bastards.

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This is thymistacles here. FINALLY, I WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS CHAPTER. I know all of you were probably thinking that I abandoned this story, well you were wrong. This chapter was just being stubborn with my writers block. If you like my stories than check out the author drakohalo117. His work in the Naruto stories is absolutely brilliant. It is comparable to mine (just kidding his blow mine out of the water. Really he is that good of a writer). Well please review or flame I really don't care which. Ja ne.