Author's note: (Disclaimer: I do not own either the concept or story of Fullmetal Alchemist)

I'm sorry, this chapter was very rushed. Ocassionally I will switch to a different character's point of view.

I don't think I captured Ed very well but I hope you like it.

Thanks for reading!

Love, AL

The faint chirping of hammers as they came down upon nail-infested wood echoed through the streets of Munich. It had been for days. Most people had learned to block out the excessive noise while others couldn't stand it.

"Damnit!"

Edward Elric cried out in surprise and quickly pulled his hand away. He squinted his golden-hazel eyes to better see his bloody finger.

"Big brother, is that you?" A calm, curious voice came from somewhere among the piles of boxes.

"Er, yeah, sorry Al I was just…"

He shook the fat droplets of blood off of his hand and took no notice to the as they splattered onto the concrete floor. A very concerned Alphonse Elric pushed through the jungle of old junk and finally made his way over to his brother.

"You're bleeding."

Edward raised his eyebrows, "What this? Oh, it's nothing, I was looking through some old research papers and got distracted by that damn hammering, then I clipped my finger on one of the files, is all."

Al smirked, "I'm just making sure that you don't end up getting buried under these giant crates."

A small smile broke out across Edward's face as he sat down on one of those wooden crates with a sigh, "You know Al, if I didn't know any better I'd think that was an indirect comment about my height."

Alphonse feigned innocence and kicked a small pebble that had been lying by the heel of his brown leather boot, "I don't have a clue about what you're talking about."

Edward let out a short, stifled laugh and leaned his head back to stare at the plain, cracked ceiling, "Look at us…I feel fifteen again. You should be home with Sophia and the kids…and I should be…"

Alphonse cleared his throat and adjusted the rolled up sleeves of his white button-up shirt while waiting out his brother's silence.

"…I shouldn't be here." Edward finished quietly.

"Do you really think we'll find something in this old warehouse? I know this is the place where the Thule Society opened the gate all those years ago…but I can't help but wonder if they really left any alchemic studies behind."

Edward shrugged his weary shoulders, "when I heard that this place had been turned into a storage facility for confidential reports I thought it would be worth a shot."

Alphonse felt only warm sympathy for his older brother, while Al was far too familiar with the pain of losing loved ones, he couldn't wrap his head around losing one of his own children. The youngest Elric brother had come very close to losing his wife to the cold hands of death, he believed he could cope with the pain over time…but when he tried to imagine a world without the smiling faces of his bright young boys, he just couldn't stand it.

Alphonse placed a comforting hand on his older brother's shoulder, "Let's go home brother, it's getting late. Why don't you come over for some dinner and we'll come back here first thing tomorrow to see what we can find?"

Ed got to his feet with a sad smile on his handsome face, "Thanks Al."

Alphonse titled his head slightly to the side, his amber eyes glowing curiously, "for what?"

The smile on Edward's face had grown, now taking on a more bittersweet look. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pale brown slacks as they began their journey back, and replied quietly, "Just thanks."

He slept alone beneath the warm, hand-stitched quilt. The comforting promise of a good night's sleep brought a smile to his lips, until he stretched out his arm, only to feel the cold, empty space beside him. He quickly retracted his hand, having no desire to allow the memories of his deceased lover to seep back into his thoughts.

As he began to lose his heavy eyelids he saw a small stream of light coming from beneath his bedroom door. He watched with blurred, sleepy vision as the door slowly drifted open to reveal a young girl standing in the hallway. Her dainty, thin figure shivered, causing the small ringlets of golden hair that fell down to her shoulders to quiver.

Her hazel-colored eyes were wide with fear, and stood out vibrantly against her tear-streaked face.

"Skyla?" he sat up immediately, pushing aside the quilt that he had once clung to. "What is it, what's wrong?"

The pitter-patter of his daughter's bare feet slapping against the wood as she ran across the room to him rang in his ears. "I-I'm scared," she sniffled and fell into his open arms. He embraced her gently and replied soothingly, "There's nothing to be afraid of, I'm here…I promise to always protect you, Skyla, Daddy will always be here…"

As he spoke these words a large, shadowed serpent burst through the floor boards and let out a soft, sinister chuckle. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Edward Elric," the creature's voice was raspy and for some odd reason vaguely familiar.

As it stepped further into the light he could see its body was composed of human remains, distorted faces poked out here and there, moaning in agony. His daughter yelped in surprise and he held her tighter, wanting nothing more than to shield her away from the evils of the world. "Daddy!" the young girl yelped as her body began to unravel. She was disintegrating, slipping away from his muscled arms, fading from existence until finally she was gone, and there was only empty air left between his trembling arms.

He was frozen in fear as the serpent wriggled closer to him, revealing its mysterious face.

It was then, as it moved into the light that he found himself staring into his very own eyes. It laughed-he laughed. His face.

"I warned you Edward," his voice said smugly, a disturbingly satisfied grin resting on the face that mimicked his, "Never make a promise that you can't keep…."

Edward shot up out of bed and tried to catch his breath as he stared straight ahead with wide eyes. His heart was beating wildly after such a feverish nightmare.

The pale light of dawn leaked through the un-covered windows, causing everything to appear in shadows of gray. Silently, Edward swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up.

The floor boards creaked with each step he took, out of his room, down the hall, to the left.

And then he stopped. Standing in the doorway of the room that had once belonged to his absent daughter, he froze, a flood of emotions pouring through him. "Goddamnit," he muttered and clenched his fists. He said it again, his voice rising louder. And then again, now yelling the curse at no one in particular.

Pain ripped through him as he stumbled into her room, smashing the vase of dead flowers that stood by her night stand. The vase shattered against the floor and its pieces dispersed across the room.

"Why?" he cried and sunk to his knees, ignoring the pieces of ceramic that sliced into his bare legs.

"Why do you always take away the ones I love?" his voice was ragged, but quieter as he fought back the storm that raged within him.

"Weren't they enough?" he was answered with silence.

"Give her back…" his pain, which he'd masked as anger, was slowly receding. He was no longer harbored the desire to destroy everything in sight. All he was left with was a deep aching within his heart.

He clenched her cold, stale bed sheets and dug his nails into the white linen, "I made a promise…"

"I-" he paused and let his hand lie flat on the sheet. Something felt strange about the bed, like one side was heavier than the other. He slid his hand across the sheet and under the pillow, surprised when he hit something hard.

He pulled out the foreign object, a mixture of confusion and curiosity residing in his sunken eyes.

"What is this?" he asked softly, pulling the book closer to examine it.

He opened the front cover, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the picture that was pasted to the first page. It was of him as young boy, and his brother and father after a fishing trip one evening.

He had all of the pieces to the puzzle and slowly began putting them together. He stared at the picture once again, finally recognizing the book as the one he had kept in his study.

The one book that had accidentally been saved from the fire that he and Al had built after closing the gate on their side of the world.

He remembered the day well. They had decided to burn all books and records of alchemy after the incident that had occurred with the Thule Society…but Edward had forgotten about a certain black, leather-bound book that he had placed in his study. The book continuously slipped his mind as the time went on and the world around him changed.

"It…It's all my fault," he muttered in defeat. "I should have burnt this stupid book, I should have…"

His bare chest shook as he struggled for air. He gripped the book tightly in both hands, thinking of how if it weren't for his own foolish mistake he would still have his little girl safely in his arms.

Confusion swept over him and he didn't know what to feel anymore. He had no room, no energy, for anger or despair, regret, or remorse.

Instead he wiped his mind clear of everything, bowed his head, and cried.