Not my best chapter, and it's a bit short, but hell, I'm on vacation. I DID MY BEST (Dane Cook reference, right here)! And, the Elric bonding at the beginning of the chapter is decent, if I do say so myself.

I'd like to thank all my reviewers and favourite/alerters. You guys make my day, even if I don't reply to most of my reviews (because I'm a lazy shit), I still love you guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. ANY of it. Whatever 'it' may be.

Chapter Four

As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our responsibility. ~Arnold J. Toynbee

The Elric brothers sat on their bed in Reid's guestroom. It was well after midnight, but even Edward -who was usually a heavy sleeper- couldn't sleep.

"Brother, something isn't right. The way we came here... The way truth acted... And the white hands... Nothing makes sense!" Alphonse hissed. Edward nodded thoughtfully.

"So that's what's been bothering you all day... You're right, it is odd. I don't like it." Edward's eyes flashed. Alphonse watched the shadows play across his brother's face, growing and shrinking, morphing and blooming as cars drove by and their headlights illuminated the alley outside the window.

"Brother... Do you think it's possible that something like Truth brought us here?" Alphonse asked suddenly. Edward's brow furrowed.

"You mean... You think there is a Truth in this world that brought us here...?" Edward trailed off, and the brothers stared at each other for a while.

Then Edward smiled. A small, strained smile.

A completely fake, forced smile that would have fooled anyone but Alphonse.

"You're just reading too much into it, Al. Why would another Truth want us here? Especially Scar." He said cheerfully. Alphonse studied Edward's eyes for a moment before putting on his own false smile.

"Right. Sorry, Brother." He said, equally as cheerfully. Edward's smile faded and he frowned.

He looked so much like their father when he had on that expression.

"Don't worry about it too much, Al, really. I'll find a way to get us back to Amestris." Edward paused and lifted his left hand to gently push back Alphonse's bangs. "And I won't let you loose your body again. I swear." Alphonse looked at Edward's metallic limbs and the scars that marred Edward's collarbone. His eyes grew sad.

"We have to get you back to normal too, Brother. That automail is so hard on you." He said quietly. Edward shrugged, clenching and unclenching his automail fist.

"It's not so bad." He murmured, thinking back to their fight with Scar. "It's saved me more than once, and it's a useful weapon..." Edward's gaze pierced Alphonse, making the younger boy freeze. "Listen, Al. I don't care about getting my limbs back, as long as you have your body. In my opinion, that's equivalent." Alphonse opened his mouth to object. "No, Alphonse, don't argue. I made up my mind about this a long time ago."

"Brother..." Alphonse's face suddenly twisted in anger. "No! Stop talking like that! Stop acting like you have to stay like this!" Alphonse's thin hands gripped Edward's shirt tightly. He gave his older brother a slight shake. "I'm not a kid anymore, Ed! I can take care of myself, or I can at least try! You need to take care of yourself, too! You can't be worrying about me! All you do is worry about me! What about you? Do you know how stressful it is for me to have to worry about you for both of us?" Alphonse paused to take a breath, his eyes burning. Edward stared at him, absolutely shocked.

"Alphonse..." He murmured. Alphonse ignored him, plowing on.

"You're so reckless and irresponsible and stupid! You do things without thinking and you purposely throw yourself in harm's way! You have complete disregard for your own safety and you think you have to carry the weight of the entire world on your shoulders!" Alphonse's head dropped onto Edward's left shoulder as angry tears forced themselves from his eyes. His hands loosened, but did not completely let go of Edward's shirt. His voice dropped to below a whisper, barely a breath. "But you don't need to. I've always been right beside you, and I always will be, Brother. We need to stick together, we're all we have. Especially here. Give me a little piece of the world, Ed. My shoulder's aren't as strong as yours are yet, but I'll get stronger. We can carry the world together."

Edward sat frozen as Alphonse's tears seeped through his shirt. He turned over his brother's words carefully. The bottled up emotion that had been building in Alphonse for who-knew-how-long. It was so unlike Alphonse to be angry. Or was it? Did Edward actually know his brother as well as he thought he did?

Edward finally let out a long, tired sigh and closed his eyes. A smile tugged at his lips as he put his hand on Alphonse's shaking shoulder.

"Alphonse... Thank you."

...

Detective Marker stood just inside a boundary of police tape, watching as some officers gathered the three bodies. Another officer behind him was talking to the owner of the bar across the street, the man who had discovered the bodies. Marker took a sip of his cold coffee and looked at his watch.

3:47 am.

The crime scene specialists were taking pictures of the area, the pools of blood and what not. Detective Marker wondered what he should tell the BAU.

It was weird. One of the men had been killed using Scar's M.O., but the other two were different.

One had been killed in the same fashion as the M.O. of a that the serial killer that Marker had been following recently, a woman that the press called The Siren.

And the last man had been killed with the same M.O. as another recent string of mission-oriented murders committed by someone the press called The Judge.

Marker took another sip of his coffee and then threw it in a near by trash can, his nose wrinkled slightly in distaste.

'Is it possible all these killers are working together? I've never come across something like this... I'll just ask Agent Hotchner tomorrow, I suppose.'

...

The Elric brothers were awoken by another explosion the following day, this one at about seven. Again, they heard Reid hurry down the hallway and out the front door.

But this time, the brothers did not follow. They laid in bed, neither willing to move before the other. Finally, after almost five minutes, Alphonse spoke:

"I'm not sorry about what I said, Ed. And I don't take it back." He said quietly. Edward was silent for a moment. Then he chuckled.

"Good. It wouldn't mean anything if you were sorry." He turned his head and smiled at Alphonse, who looked surprised. "You're acting more and more like me all the time... Which might not be a good thing, but I like it." Alphonse stared at him for a moment and then broke into a grin.

"Thanks Brother."

Then they heard Reid's footsteps coming down the hallway. Edward carefully made sure his automail was covered as Reid knocked on the door.

"Come in, Spencer." Alphonse called, sitting up. Reid cautiously opened the door and peeked in.

"Good morning. We're leaving in about half an hour, I got two hours off this morning so we can buy you two some clothes, since I forgot yesterday. So, get dressed and I'll make some toast." Reid said, smiling. Alphonse smiled back, friendly as always.

"Thank you, Spencer. We'll be out soon."

Twenty minutes, two showers and some cursing later...

Edward and Alphonse walked into Reid's kitchen. Edward wore a pair of old jeans that were rolled a few times at the ankle and a long-sleeved button-up grey shirt with his normal white gloves. Alphonse wore a pair of too large light brown slacks that were secured about his hips with a black belt (which Edward had had to make an extra hole in, which had also caused Edward to accidentally stab himself in the thumb with a pair of scissors) and a too large white t-shirt.

"Toast is on the counter, there's butter, jam and peanut butter." Reid said, drinking coffee and watching the News. He gave Alphonse a wary look.

'And Morgan used to say I am a skinny pale kid...' He thought, quickly looking at his coffee. Alphonse, who had noticed his look, shifted uncomfortably and followed Edward over to where the toast sat.

Edward was putting jam on a piece of toast, once he was done, he switched to another piece and put peanut butter on it. He then put both pieces on toast on a plate.

"I know you can take care of yourself, Al, but I'm your older brother." Was all Edward whispered as he handed the plate to Alphonse, who smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Brother." He said, watching Edward put peanut butter and jam on his own toast. It was silent for a moment as they all listened to the news anchor, and then the brothers sat at the table and ate their toast.

"Alright, are you two ready to go?" Reid asked, standing. The brothers nodded and Reid swept them out of the house.

...

Janet walked toward her apartment, a smirk curling her lips as she saw a talk man walking toward her from the opposite direction. The two met at the door of the apartment building and the man opened the door.

"Good morning, Janet. How was the graveyard shift at the hospital?" Marker asked with a tired smile. Janet smiled back and led the way into the building.

"Oddly quiet." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as they waited for the elevator. "Why were you out so late, Michael?" She asked, although she already knew.

"There's been a recent string of murders, I had to investigate another crime scene." Marker replied. The two stepped onto the elevator.

"Oh, was it that Scar man who's been on the News?" She asked, innocently. Marker nodded as the elevator slid to a halt. Janet stepped out after the doors opened and turned back to Marker. "Good luck, then, Michael." She smiled.

Then the doors closed between them.

...

After two hours, Edward had five red shirts, three pairs of dark jeans, and a black leather jacket. He refused to buy shoes, saying he'd wear his boots.

Alphonse had six different coloured shirts, three jeans of varying shades of blue, a white sweater with a black, red, blue and green paint-splatter design and a pair of sneakers.

Reid took them back to his apartment and had them change. Alphonse wore a blue shirt, his white sweater, light blue jeans and his sneakers. Edward wore a red shirt with "JUST DO IT" in bold black letters on the front (Edward didn't know what that meant, but he liked it), black jeans, his leather jacket, his boots and his gloves.

"Excellent, let's go." Reid said once they reappeared in the living room. The brothers followed him out and they drove to the police station in silence.

The police station was chaotic. The phones were ringing endlessly, and people were dashing around.

"What is going on?" Reid asked as they walked into the conference room the BAU team had taken over.

"Three more people were killed. But only one of them was killed by Scar. It seems like everyone in the city has a 'tip' about the murders." Morgan explained. The Elric Brothers exchanged a worried glance.

"We're worried Scar has teamed up with two other known serial killers, The Siren and The Judge." Prentiss said. Both brothers paled. Reid frowned.

"Do you think Scar would team up with other killers?" Hotch asked, looking at Edward and Alphonse. They looked at each other again.

"Yes." They answered in unison. The profilers didn't seem to like their reply. Rossi's brow furrowed.

"You're sure?" He said. Edward nodded.

"He's new to this area, he'll want any help he can get, I'm sure." He said with conviction. Hotch sighed.

"I was worried you would say something like that."

...

Janet walked into her apartment just as Scar hopped through the window. GOD was already sitting in an armchair.

"It seems that our little outing last night attracted a little more attention than I wanted." Janet said, sitting on an office chair and gesturing Scar towards the couch. Scar sat cautiously. "Oh well, no matter." Her gaze pierced Scar. "However, those children that you failed to kill may be a problem, if they are working with the police." Scar looked at her sharply.

"You think Fullmetal is working with the police?" He asked. Janet nodded, filing her red painted nails.

"Probably. We should find and eliminate them as soon as possible. We will kill no one else until those boys are dead..." Janet smirked. "Hell, the lead detective on your case lives in this building. We can get rid of him too."

So, yeah, that's it. I know, "HAZEL, WTF IS THIS SHIT?" Shut up, you. I DID MY BEST! ... Okay, maybe not my BEST, but whatever.

Anyway, I am officially NOT accepting OCs anymore, however, I am (or have already) started a new next generation Harry Potter story, which I need OCs for. (Shameless self-promotion, I has it)