CHAPTER THREE

Wide awake and staring at the white washed ceiling in the middle of the night, Ed regretting sleeping so much that day. He debated bothering the guard outside for entertainment. The man wasn't someone he recognized.

Ideas of where to go from here continued to swirl in his mind. All day he wondered what to do. Most of his ideas depended on what Al wanted too. He didn't worry a lot. Without Hughes knowing about homonculi, the Elric brothers had time to think. Winry wouldn't be coming to Central either. His automail wasn't broken this time, and that was one phone call he was grateful not to make a second time.

Teacher ran into them at Rush Valley. Ed knew Teacher was looking for them, but didn't know what time they'd run into each other this time, or if she was even looking this time. He wanted to go to Dublith for real, but couldn't tell when and why Teacher started on her Elric hunt. It had never seemed important at the time.

A long low groan interrupted his musings. Sitting up, he glanced at the neighboring bed where Al fidgeted under the sheets. "Al?" he asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Another groan, slightly louder answered him. Walking over, Ed touched his brother's forehead. "Al?"

Hazel eyes greeted him as they blinked away the last vestiges of sleep. "Brother?" The cracked horse voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

"Al!" Leaning down he hugged his brother, drinking in the warmth of living flesh and hearing the pulse of a beating heart against his ear. When they had first met after two years of separation, the alchemist had to restrain himself because of the situation. Pulling back, he met his brother's confused stare. "Are you alright?"

Ed helped Al sit up as the younger Elric nodded and looked around the room. The blonde watched confusion build in the child-like face. "Where are we brother? What happened? Did it work?" Their eyes met and gold watched hazel widen in surprise. "And why do you look so old?"

The alchemist frowned. Al's eyes were clear and his skin felt fine. No signs of fever or chills. A cold lump formed in his belly. Al had explained how he hadn't remembered their four year journey, but they had met again.

"What's the last thing you remember Al?" The question was physically painful to get out. Did Al remember their quest for the stone only to forget his two year search for Ed? Was the extra years of memory Ed had of Germany true? How much did they loose to get them back here?

"We ate with Granny Pinako and Winry so they wouldn't show up to surprise us. All the ingredients were ready and we double checked our calculation before adding our blood for Mom's soul. Then we activated the array…" The blood leached out of Ed's face as his brother spoke. This wasn't true. It wasn't right. "What's wrong? Are you okay brother? Here, you need to sit down."

The young Elric shifted to push his brother down on the edge of the bed, but over balanced. Instinctively, Ed caught him before he tumbled onto the floor. The analytical part of his mind speculated that Al was expecting a ten year old body. His current one was at least twelve.

A gasp broke through Ed's shock. "Brother! What happened? Why do you have automail!" The blonde had no time to form an answer. The door opened and Lieutenant Fayone poked his head in.

"Major Elric? Is everything alright sir?"

"Major? Ed, what's going on?" Al sounded panicked and the blonde had no idea what to do.

"Major Elric?" The Lieutenant questioned.

Clearing his throat when his first attempt at speech failed, Ed finally made out, "Would you send for the doctor? My brother's awake and has some memory trouble as well."

"Memory?" Al repeated as the Lieutenant saluted and backed out, flipping the light switch on his way out. Ed could hear the man issuing commands through the cracked open door. "Brother?"

Meeting Al's lost eyes put a crack in the blonde's heart. How was he supposed to explain all the trials they had gone through since their sin? What about the two years he had no knowledge of while both brothers tried to find each other once more? Could he find a way to let this innocent Al know of the danger they currently faced? Would he remember on his own?

Those young hazel eyes dropped as the silence continued and Ed knew he couldn't do it. Al had a chance to start over as well. Unless he remembered on his own, Ed would never burden his brother with such weight. Even if the decision felt like he was ripping out his own heart.

"Al?" Ed gave his brother a weak grin. "Look, I know you're confused, but I need to you trust me, okay?" The immediate nod added another crack to the alchemist's heart. "That happened a while ago. It didn't work and that's why I have automail now." He hugged his brother close when it looked like the boy was going to cry. "There was a reason human transmutation is forbidden," he whispered in Al's ear.

Soothing his crying brother, he explained the situation to the newly arrived doctor. Al's last memory was an alchemy experiment we did four years ago. Ed lost his limbs when it went wrong and the younger brother just found out again.

Another whisper to a calmer Alphonse before the doctor examined him insured the exact nature of the experiment remained a secret. The blonde stayed in sight of his brother at all times, and was glad to hear that nothing physically marred the younger Elric's health.

With no indication of a blow to the head, Dr. Masao could only assume that the boy also lost memories due to the alchemic feedback Ed had described to him.

A watch and see policy was recommended. The doctor was hopeful for a complete recovery as Major Elric has slowly regained his own in the last 24-hours. The warning that Al may never recover was glossed over, but Ed's gut feeling told him otherwise.

When all the standard procedures were met, Lieutenant Fayone was instructed to notify his replacement of the situation and insure a full account would be given to Lt. Colonel Hughes when the officer arrived at headquarters the next day.

The two brothers were left alone in the hospital room and neither spoke for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Brother?" Al had always been the first to break. "Will you tell me what happened?"

A careful tale of Al's soul being bound to a suit of armor, Ed's automail and the decision to join the military started the night's conversation. The burning of their house, the Alchemist State Exam, Tucker's daughter Nina which led to a summary of the most recent adventure kept them up for hours. Both Elrics took comfort in sitting next to each other on Al's bed. The stories were intentionally light as Ed could make despite the troubled context.

Anything he could skip over, he did. Tucker was necessary, who knew what that man would do with a naïve and ignorant Alphonse. The slight guilt of relating the cover story to Al instead of the truth didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. The young Elric drifted off in the middle of Ed's bastard Colonel story. The alchemist stayed awake long after he stopped talking. Without Al what was he going to do?

The hand that reached out for him was caught before it touched his shoulder. While shaking off the cloudiness of sleep, recognition set in and he apologized to a smirking Lieutenant Ross the next moment. "How are you feeling today sir?"

Two seconds to think about it produced an easy, "I'm fine." Ten seconds later and the memory of Al's condition made his first answer a bald face lie. Extracting himself as his brother's pillow gave him time to steady himself to face the day.

Sergeant Brosh was forced to run downtown and purchase something for Ed. Nothing the alchemist owned would fit now and the clothes he arrived in were burned due to possible substance contamination. He refused to wear a uniform. Hopefully Al could use his old clothes.

The Fullmetal Alchemist filled out his report on the 5th laboratory while he waited. It helped him refresh his memory of two years ago. Leaving out the tanks filled with red water was tricky, but Hughes hadn't dropped that information for nothing. He wished he could write down his thoughts on what happened after, but Al could decipher his private code.

He needed to talk to Al again too. There were a few options he could see, but he didn't want to decide their future without some input. It felt like a betrayal to their long held trust in each other to do otherwise.

There was no point in debating the reality versus dream theory anymore. He had done that when he first arrived in England and lost a few precious months to denial. This felt like reality so Edward Elric would treat it as such. If it all turned out to be a dream he'd have a good story to tell when he woke up.

"Brother?" A groggy voice called out.

"Good morning sleepy head," he replied cheerfully. Ed did not like mornings, but it had been ages since he could tease his brother for sleeping in. The younger brother always woke before Ed, even before he was an armored suit that didn't need sleep.

"Morning," Al yawned. Ed concentrated on the end of his report as muffled footsteps approached him. "What are you doing?"

"The military runs on paperwork. I swear I have to fill out five forms just to get a paperclip." He laughed at Al's disbelieving gaze. "This is the report from the 5th laboratory." The young boy turned sad at the reminder. As Ed watched the open expressions, he admired the way Al seemed to handle himself with such a change in life. If it had been him, his younger self would be yelling up a storm and firmly sticking with denial… but even when placed in a seven foot tall suit of armor, his younger brother had never complained.

"There's a suitcase of clothes that should fit at the end of your bed. Bathroom's through there if you want to get ready," the alchemist gestured at the far door. He watched from the corner of his eye as the younger Elric awkwardly found some clothes and went in the bathroom. Al was still adjusting to the new proportions of his older self.

The report was finished by the time Al returned. Ed let him read it as Brosh returned with his new clothing. Grateful to get out of the hospital garb, he changed immediately. To his disgust the black pants hung over his new boots and dragged on the ground. Clapping his hands together, he felt a tingle spread up his arms and settle in his chest. The sensation reminded him of the pins and needles when his foot fell asleep. Studying his hands he shrugged as the feeling faded. That was weird.

He clapped his hands again and frowned when the feeling repeated but ignored it. It was annoying, nothing more. As soon as he placed his hands on his new pants with the intention of transmutation, he regretted the decision. Lighting raced down his arms and the transmutation failed halfway as his concentration broke. Gasping in unexpected pain, clutching his chest. His lungs and arm muscles were on fire. He would have collapsed if the burning pain hadn't faded to a dull ache relatively quickly.

"What the blazes was that?" he cursed under his breath. He surveyed the ruined pants in dismay. If he had to guess, he'd think they were made of wax instead of cotton. Wax pants that someone had melted with a judicious amount of fire.

Sighing he clapped his hands again. The tingling sensation returned a tad more painful due to aching muscles. Vowing to figure it out later, Ed transmuted the pants and waited for his shaking limps to recover. That his automail arm was affected as well worried him.

It took several tries to braid his hair without getting it snagged in his metal finger joints. In Germany he would have settled for a ponytail, but his braid was a trademark in Amestris. He remembered he started doing it to prove he could, metal fingers or no metal fingers. Stubborn pride motivated most of his decisions back then. Now he was still stubborn, but tried to watch out for the pride issue. It cost him too much already.

When he stepped out of the bathroom he was immediately tackled by a dark blonde and black blur. Crashing to the floor he grunted in a mixture of pain and exasperation. "What's wrong?"

Al looked up from his lap with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry brother! You had to go through all that and it was my fault! I'm so sorry." The younger Elric buried his head in Ed's chest as he continued to mumble apologies. Looking up in confusion for help he saw Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh reading his newly written report.

"Oh Al. I'm the one that should apologize." Trying to get his little brother's attention was a lesson in patience, but the blonde persevered. Knowing Al had forgotten their time in the military and acting on that information was going to be harder than he thought. That report was far more detailed than what he had told Al last night.

"Look at me Al." When Al calmed down a bit, the alchemist chose his words carefully. "That was not your fault." He cut off the boy's protest.

"No. Listen to me. It was not your fault. Everyone will agree with me." Al bit his lip as Ed continued. "You don't remember, but I was the one who couldn't wait and planned the whole break in plan. Lieutenant Ross will be the first to tell you that I needed to wait for authorization before actually investigating the laboratory." Ross seemed to have finished the report and was paying close attention to their conversation. The stiff nod helped Al, but the hard glint in her eyes just added to Ed's worries.

"I wanted to go. Like a good brother, you tagged along to keep me out of trouble." The silent whimper was discouraging. "Remember what you read. Did I have any problems when you were with me in the beginning?"

The negative head shake screamed doubt. "What isn't in the report is the you kept me from charging in the front door. Even the back doors would have been a bad choice. The air ducts were your idea." Seeing hope grow in his brother's eyes encouraged him.

"You were in your armor. When you see how large it was, you'll know why there was no way you could have followed me. Even then, you wanted us to come back later, but I ignored you."

Ed could see memories of similar events in their childhood flash through Al's mind. "I ordered you to stay and wait for me when I should have sent you back so someone would know where I went. I don't know what happened, but I bet you were caught by one of those guards like I did. Those guys were tough. You beat me whenever we sparred, but even you couldn't have taken more than two of them at a time. Anyone would have been captured. Anyone, understand?"

Al nodded in acceptance, only a trace of guilt left. "As soon as you were captured, there was nothing you could do. Nothing," he reiterated when Al tried to disagree. "You wore armor for four years. It was almost destroyed. Without your armor you had no weapons but alchemy and you weren't even conscious to be able to do that." There was no way he was going to admit any story that differed.

A bit of guilt was left, but Ed knew that was just Al being Al. No helping it but time. As he hugged his brother he met Ross's eyes again and was surprised by the spark of pride he saw in them. What happened to the righteous fury?

"Good Morning?" Al jumped off his place in Ed's lap only to stumble back. The young Elric's reintroduction to Maes Hughes was made sprawled on his backside, head stretched back and wondering if he was ever going to get used to this life he found himself in. Watching his brother's thoughts so clearly displayed on his face, Edward couldn't help the rich laughter that escaped him.

"So glad to see you so chipper this morning Ed," Hughes exclaimed, setting one of the several bags he carried down. "I received your message first thing and couldn't help myself!" The large grin and twinkling eyes brought a familiar feeling of dread to the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Divest of his burdens the Lt. Colonel turned to the now standing Alphonse and threw a friendly arm over the boy's shoulder. Ed's old tank top was tight on his brother's broad frame, but the pants fit well. He suppressed the frustration that a 12 year old could fit in his 16 year old clothes without a problem. No wonder no one looked twice at his 18 year old size.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to Central City Alphonse Elric. I am Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes, but you can call me Hughes. Whether you remember soon or not, second chances are so rare, I knew, as your good friend, it was my duty to share the wonders of our beautiful city. The heart-stopping moment when you first set your eyes on such splendorous sight can never be repeated. And here you are, you lucky dog." Photos magically appeared in the grown man's free hand.

"The most important! Feast your eyes on the lovely Elysia. This beauty is turning four in a few days and you'll be amazed at just what she can do. This is her at the precocious age of three, riding her tricycle for the first time without a starting boost. Incredible, isn't it?"

Gratitude at not being the current victim warred with guilt at watching Al bombarded by the enthusiastic father. Glancing in one of the bags Hughes had hauled in, a set of photo albums greeted him. If he didn't recognize the red covered one to be Gracia's personal collection of the Elric brothers' photos, he would have grabbed Al and ran as fast as he could. Somehow, he knew Hughes was just informing his brother of his missing life in true Maes style.

Shaking his head he noticed his so-called bodyguards had already retreated to the hall. The dark haired man had led Al to the desk conveniently placed on the wall where the photo filled sacks had been placed. The Lt. Colonel had even managed to snag an extra chair without Al noticing. The amnesiac Elric had moved beyond the initial fear and shock. A light of interest shone in his eyes while studying a candid shot of armored Al playing in the snow with a young Elysia.

Grabbing his finished report from the end of his bed, he shoved it in front of Hughes's face. Mid-rant, the man looked up at him from his seat with a raised eyebrow. "Lt. Colonel. Here is my report from night before last. Please insure a copy is sent to Colonel Mustang."

The moment of shock was covered well. "Of course Major Elric. I'll be certain to include a complimentary note on its timely completion," he replied with a note of humor. Ed smirked at the thought of Mustang's reaction. The handful of remarks that immediately came to mind would be good ammo in their continuous battle of wits.

"Thank you." Duties finished, the blonde looked at his brother. "We've known Hughes since we met on the train the first time we came to Central." A light of understanding clicked on. Al should remember the story of the train hostage that let the brothers take the State exam at such a young age.

"I really need to get some errands done. Do you want to stay with Hughes and I can pick up a few shirts, or do you want to tag along?" Interest fought with fear in Al's eyes. "I shouldn't be very long as it's mostly getting new clothes. Hughes knows how to find me if you need me."

While the boy made up his mind, the two military men held a silent conversation.

Hughes's intent stare: What are you up to? Don't you dare ditch your guards again.

Rolled gold eyes: I'm not that stupid.

A raised black eyebrow: Of course.

Trademark scowl followed by a quick glance at Al: Stuff it. You okay with him?

A solemn nod: Count on it.

"I don't want you to go alone brother," Al decided. The regretful resolute face almost sent Ed to chuckling fits.

"Ross and Brosh are going too," he said with a jerked thumb in the hallway's direction. Relief and nervous hope danced across the young Elric's face. Was he always this expressive or had the armor effected his brother's ability to hide his body language?

"If you're sure…"

Nodding he looked at Al. "I'll be back before you know it." Noticing the boy's bare feet he grabbed an extra paper from beneath one of the photo albums that had already made their way to the desk top. "Let me get a trace of your feet and I'll pick up some boots for you as well." Sergeant Brosh had done a good job getting the alchemist's boots this morning with the same method. Ed would let him repeat the small miracle.

The blonde walked out the door with a slow shake of his head as the older man launched into the tale of Elysia's birth, complete with photographic evidence.

"Sir!" Waving his two bodyguards out of attention, he braced himself for the coming lecture. He didn't miss Lieutenant Ross's mothering so much now.

"Al is being entertained by the Lt. Colonel." The fearful shudder from either soldier was politely overlooked. "We've got the go ahead to run some errands. By 'we' I mean I am running errands and you guys get to baby-sit." He wasn't bitter, not at all.

"Sir, I must protest this course of action. Scar is still at large and no conclusions have been made regarding the laboratory incident. Even with two guards, your safety cannot be guaranteed in such a public environment."

Biting back the instinctive insult was habit after living in the volatile country of Germany. Meeting Lieutenant Ross's gaze he formally replied, "Dully noted Lieutenant. I'd like to point out that no location provides guaranteed safety. I accept that public location hold additional elements of danger, but we will be going none-the-less."

Not to mention that Scar was currently hiding with the Ishvalan refugees, recovering from wounds left from battling forbidden homunculi.

The shifting stances of his bodyguards showed Ed's order wasn't holding up. "Lt. Colonel Hughes has already given consent… unless you'd like to appeal to him directly?"

Lieutenant Ross's eyes darted to the closed door where the muffled sounds of Maes joyfully expounding on the virtues of his little angel could be heard. "That will not be necessary sir."

Mentally patting himself on the back, Ed headed down the corridor to check himself out of the hospital. Who knew rational debates on rocket design with scientists stuck in the technologic Stone Age could come in handy? He hadn't even been slapped by Ross for his foolish actions this time around.