Chapter 5: A Brother's morality

"Brother!" Alphonse shrieked, knowing that voice from anywhere. He couldn't see him as he was too far away but the two kidnappers in front of him flinched and turned around. Alphonse noted how tired Ed sounded. His voice was quiet and lacked the conviction it usually had. Brother was in pain and there was no way he'd be able to fight these guys head on. Al knew he had to do something before they figured out that Edward was truly the Fullmetal Alchemist and not him.

"Run away brother! Go get help!" Alphonse yelled, hoping his words would reach Ed's thick skull. He often laughed at his brother's stubbornness, but not when his life was in danger.

"You okay?" Ed asked, ignoring Al's pleas to run.

"I thought I told you to kill him!" The older man yelled, his face contorted and flushed red. His nose scrunched up like a pig.

"When the boys went back, he was already gone!" The younger one defended.

"Go take care of him. We can't have a civilian ruining our plans!"

The younger of the two nodded. From his belt he pulled out a small handgun.

"Shit, where did he go?" The younger man asked, looking around frantically.

"Find him, you idiot!" The older one barked.

"Ed! Run! Please, run away!" Alphonse cried. if he could, tears would have been pouring out of his eyes.

"Wait." The younger man stopped his searching and whipped back around. "Did you say, Ed?"

Alphonse felt his soul quiver.

"As in… Edward Elric? He's Edward Elric?!"

A faint clap could be heard and a large rumbling shook the ground. The two men jumped out of the way, barely missing a large stone fist.

"Damn! What the Hell?!" One of them shrieked.

"Find him!"

Alphonse felt useless. Edward was nowhere in sight, engaged in battle and Al couldn't even move. All he could do was scream.

More rumbling and jostling could be heard, yells from the men and a few from Edward bounced off the walls. There were flashes of blue alchemic light scattered around the entire building. Alphonse waited in anticipation, praying to an unknown God for his brother's safety.

A loud shot rang through the air.

A cry escaped lips.

And everything was silent.

"Brother?! Brother!" Alphonse pleaded, trying to move his unmoving body. He heard shuffling until the two men came forward. They had cuts and bruises littering their skin. Behind the younger man, a small boy with long blonde hair in a simple, disheveled ponytail was being drug by his metal wrist.

"No! Brother! What did you do to him?!" Alphonse cried, his voice edging on pure anger.

The younger man flung Edward forward as if he weighed nothing. Al studied the crumpled heap of his older brother, looking for wounds. His shoulder was bleeding, staining the light blue hospital shirt a horrifying shade of purple. Alphonse saw more blood pooling from Edwards upper thigh. His back was facing Alphonse as he laid on his side, gasping for air.

"Ed, say something! Ed!" Alphonse sobbed. A small groan escaped the small alchemist's lips.

"A-" a series of coughs cut off the brother. The two men were standing above him, looking at him with a murderous gleam in their eye. They then looked up to Alphonse.

"So. This is the Fullmetal Alchemist." The older man put his foot on Ed's chest and pushed him to his back. Ed cried out in pain, gritting his teeth. His eyes were crushed shut as he continued to pant.

"Let go of him! I'll kill you!" Alphonse threatened, knowing it was an empty one. The younger man laughed.

"Who woulda thought this runt was the Fullmetal Alchemist!?"

"Not… Littl-'' Ed was cut off as the older man's boot crushed harder into his ribs.

"Dad, we can't have him dying. We need him to do the transmutation." The younger one reminded. The old man sighed and moved his foot off of Ed's chest. Edward sucked in as much air as he could and rolled to his side. He choked on the stale oxygen and let out a series of hard coughs.

"Fine. But we can't let him clap his hands together again. James my boy, my back is killing me. Be a dear and rip that pesky arm off for me." The older man said, turning to a small folding chair and sitting in it.

"Sure thing." James replied, moving to Edward. Ed was completely out of it, simply focusing on breathing through the pain. Alphonse continued to yell as he watched James get closer to his beloved brother, helpless to do anything.

"Y-you… K-killed all those women…" Ed shuttered, his golden eyes locked onto the pile of bodies in the corner of the room.

"So what? They were whores. No one will miss them. They needed to die just like the street trash they are." James said calmly, his tone was so even, it sent chills up Alphonse's non-existent spine.

"You're a monster!" Alphonse shrieked.

"I could say the same about you! Look at you, You don't even have a body!" James cackled.

Edward growled and struggled to push himself upwards.

"D-don't you dare… Talk about him like that…" Ed hissed. James kneeled down and smiled,

"What are you gonna do about it, shrimp?"

Alphonse was amazed at how quickly Edward moved. In a flash, Ed's metal foot landed square in the middle of James' face. A loud, sickening crunch could be heard as the man fell backwards. Blood gushed from his newly broken nose and a flare of rage carved into his features. Ed was squinting, as if he could barely see. His leg dropped heavily on the ground and he heaved out a few more desperate coughs. James jumped to his feet and landed a kick straight into Ed's torso. Ed tried to curl in on himself as a shield.

"B-bastard…" He coughed again. Alphonse couldn't imagine how much pain Edward was in at the moment. His entire body was shaking, blood pooled around him, covering his back and seeping into his hair. James easily flipped Ed to his stomach and pinned him down with one foot. The boy struggled uselessly, his body obviously too weak to fight back. James then grabbed his automail arm in large, dirty hands. Ed turned his head and opened his eyes slightly to look at Alphonse. His golden orbs were filled with sheer terror.

"No, stop! You can't do that! You can't just rip it off!" Alphonse pleaded. He knew how much Winry drilled into the two brothers about automail safety. To have it forcibly torn off could kill Edward with the pure shock alone.

At that moment, Alphonse was horribly reminded of the Scar attack. Ed's arm being destroyed in an instant. He had gone into shock after that and although Ed didn't admit it, his port was in horrible pain after the incident. Sometimes his shoulder would twitch as the nerves tried to connect to something that wasn't there and the area was red and inflamed from the trauma.

Thankfully, he got medical help quickly after that… but now they were alone..

"Please, you could kill him doing that! Please don't!" Alphonse begged, trying to reason with the two assailants. They needed Ed alive, right?

It didn't matter.

James pulled.

…

A scream ripped through the air, it was filled with pure, guttural pain. The screams mimicked that of the children in Ishval Mustang often heard in his nightmares. He shuddered at the memory, his fists clenching. He rubbed his fingers together, feeling the hum of alchemy through his gloves. They were standing in front of the warehouse, ready to enter. Armstrong had secured his gauntlets while Hawkeye and Havoc loaded their guns. They looked to Mustang expectantly.

He motioned for the team to move forward. Everyone sprang into action, pushing through the large doors. Mustang and Armstrong surged ahead while Havoc and Hawkeye began firing shots from behind. It was incredibly dark in the large space and the smell was nauseating. Mustang knew the smell of rotting flesh all too well, he thought maybe one day he'd be used to it. However, it still sent a sickening twist in his stomach. He focused on the light ahead of them. A bullet whizzed past his head.

"They have guns! Stay sharp!" Mustang called out.

"No worries Colonel!" Armstrong reassured. The team moved forward, Armstrong occasionally raising a wall to block a few bullets. As they got closer, they could hear the familiar hollow cries of Alphonse screaming.

Everyone skidded to a stop when they were able to see the entire scene.

Mustang felt something snap inside of him at that moment.

Edward was being held up around his neck. His eyes were shut, tears spilling from them. Blood dripped from his leg and shoulder and his automail arm looked like it had been torn apart by animals. Wires and sharp bits of metal were splayed in all directions. Edward was limp in the arms of a young man. A handgun trained on his temple.

"Let go of him." Mustang said darkly.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot!" The man cried, a wild look in his eyes.

"Put him down, or we will be forced to kill you," Armstrong demanded, his voice sounding much more serious than normal.

Mustang flitted his eyes to Alphonse, whose armor was visibly shaking. His arms and legs had been sawed off, leaving him motionless. The soulfire pinpricks in his eyes were stuttering, almost as if he was crying. Mustang tried to give him a reassuring look before turning his eyes back to the man holding his young subordinate.

"James. That's your name right?" Havoc stepped forward, his gun gone from his hands.

"H-how do you know that?!" James yelled, his voice faltering.

Good. Keep going Havoc. Mustang thought, knowing that Havoc was much more even-minded than he himself was. If looks could kill, James Reinbuckle would have exploded by now from Mustang's fiery gaze.

"You lost your sister, isn't that right? That's why you are doing all of this. To bring her back?" Havoc's voice was even and deep, carrying as much kindness as he could muster, although Mustang noticed the slight shake in his clenched fist. "You must miss her terribly."

"Alexandra was my little sister. She was all I had left other than dad… The girls at the bar… They got into an argument… Alexandra left and next thing we know… She's…" James's voice cracked as he visibly relaxed a little, tears forming in his eyes. Ed groaned slightly, opening his eyes halfway, but too out of it to recognize what was going on.

"Let the boy go. Please." Havoc pleaded.

"N-no… Dad he…" James looked around frantically, not spotting his father anywhere.

"Looks like he fled." Mustang noted, quirking an eyebrow up to James. James crumpled, dropping Ed into a heap on the ground. He fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Hawkeye and Havoc moved to him, restraining him and pulling him away from Edward and Alphonse. All the while, Hawkeye kept her gun trained on James's broken form.

Armstrong moved to Alphonse while Mustang hurried to Ed's side. He gently turned him over, trying to not jostle him too much. Ed groaned in pain, his eyes scrunching together. His hands hovered over the small boy, afraid that one touch could break him apart. As gently as he could, he pulled Edward towards his chest. Another small whimper escaped the child's lips as he was moved. His head lolled into the Colonels chest and rested against him.

"My brother! My brother, is he okay?!" Alphonse yelled from behind.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Mustang said. Armstrong nodded and lifted Alphonse up into his sturdy arms.

"Ed! Why isn't he moving? Brother, open your eyes!" Alphonse sobbed.

"He'll be fine, Alphonse. Don't worry." Mustang reassured, however, looking at the pathetic form of the teen didn't leave room for much hope. He knew the signs of shock as well as he knew how to walk. Sweat and blood clung to the small alchemist, drenching him from head to toe. His skin was cold to the touch and his breaths came in short gasps. Mustang put two fingers on the side of his young teammate's neck. His pulse was quick. Way too quick. He needed help, and he needed it now.

"Here." Hawkeye tossed the keys to Mustang, who barely caught them with one hand.

"Get him out of here. We'll call this in," She stated.

"What will we say? We can't tell them they kidnapped Ed and Al for human transmutation!" Havoc reasoned.

"Don't worry about that." A voice rang. Everyone stiffened as the air in the room shifted. Loud footsteps echoed throughout the room. Mustang felt his heart beat out of his chest as none other than Fuhrer King Bradley strode into the light, a smile plastered across his face.

"Fuhrer King Bradley!" Armstrong straightened his posture, not able to salute with Alphonse in his large arms. Hawkeye and Havoc quickly saluted as well. Mustang simply stared at him with a nervous, dumbfounded look on his face.

"I heard the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother were in danger. I thought I'd stop by and see if I could help," Bradley said in his sickeningly sweet tone. Mustang instinctively held Edward a little bit closer to his chest.

Bradley was the definition of suspicious. He wore that smug, fake smile and always seemed to know what was going on. The leader of the country was a force to be reckoned with, and someone you didn't want to piss off. Mustangs wariness of Bradley only grew as time went on. He was always there. Somehow he had found out about Ed and Al's location, he somehow always manages to piece it together. Bradley had also grown incredibly interested in Mustang for some reason.

Especially after Hughes' death.

"At ease." Bradley said, waving his hand. Everyone relaxed slightly, but not by much. Mustang's fiery eyes looked deep into King Bradley's one exposed one. He must have been sending a glare from the way Bradley looked at him. It was like he was looking at a small child who had just thrown a temper tantrum.

"Don't fret. I already knew." The Fuhrer said coolly.

What?

Bradley knew about Ed and Al's attempt at human transmutation? He knew the taboo was committed but still kept quiet? How had he even found out?

"Well then, sir?" Mustang challenged, his gaze locked onto the man in front of him.

"We must get Fullmetal back to the hospital. I already called for an ambulance." Bradley explained.

"Why?" Mustang blurted without thinking.

"Hmm?" Bradley challenged

"Why are you letting him go?"

"Ah. That. Well, I have my reasons. Edward Elric and his brother are precious resources to our country's military. He's beloved by the people, and is quite the force to be reckoned with. As I'm sure you agree. I can't let that go to waste. A taboo is only a taboo if we make it so, and quite frankly, I believe our young alchemists have suffered a punishment worse than death."

Mustang wasn't fully convinced at Bradley's explanation, but took it for what it was. Edward stirred uncomfortably in his arms. His breaths were ragged and wheezy.

"Go on. All of you. I'll take care of this." Bradley explained. "No one will know. Consider it a favor for our youngest state alchemist."

Everyone stared at the fuhrer with wide, dumbfounded looks. A wail of sirens in the distance caused Mustang to focus back on the task at hand. He wobbled as he stood, cradling Ed to his chest. He was mindful of the broken mess that was his automail, careful to not come into contact with any of the wires.

"Fuhrer, thank you. Thank you, thank you!" Alphonse blubbered, his soul fire eyes locked on Edward.

"Go. And leave our little friend here." Bradley eyed James with a look of daggers. An inhuman stare that reeked of blood. Everyone hesitated but slowly began to move out of the warehouse. As they reached the door they heard a scream and the sound of flesh being sliced. No one flinched, no one cared. The only people who mattered were the two traumatized, injured boys in their arms.

The ambulance arrived shortly after the team left the dilapidated warehouse. Medics swarmed around Mustang, pulling Edward from his arms and laying him on a gurney. Edward cried in pain as he was moved. Mustang stiffened and moved closer to him.

"Stay back, we need to work." A woman in scrubs intervened. Mustang wanted to argue, but decided against it, taking a deep breath to keep his cool. He backed up, eyes locked on the team of medics swarming around his youngest teammate.

"Sir. What's next?" Hawkeye asked, walking up to him. Her eyes gleamed with concern for a brief moment as she looked at the hollowed eyes of her superior officer.

"Armstrong, you, Havoc and Hawkeye take Alphonse to the hospital by car." Mustang ordered, handing Riza the keys. "I'll ride with Fullmetal."

"No! I want to be with him!" Alphonse cried. Armstrong had him propped up on his broad shoulder. In any normal circumstance, Mustang may have laughed at the spectacle, but now was not the time.

"You won't fit in there. I'm sorry. I promise I'll watch over him until we get to the hospital." Mustang assured. Alphonse studied him for a moment before giving the Colonel a small, nervous nod.

Everyone moved. The team wasted no time loading up in the car, while the medics moved Edward into the ambulance, still working feverishly on him. Mustang moved into the small ambulance as well, sitting next to Edward, who was sweating profusely and crying softly in pain.

"You idiot." The hardened Colonel said, choking on his voice.

…

"Well, well, well. You just had to stick your nose into it, didn't you?" A cool voice echoed.

"Envy." Bradley looked up to the rafters of the building. Envy leapt from his spot in the shadows, landing softly on the stone below. His spiky, black hair bounced behind him.

"I had it covered, ya know." The sin said, annoyed.

"Then how come two of our most precious sacrifices were left so battered? They could have died. The older Elric could still very well perish. I told you to watch over Fullmetal and you failed." Wrath's voice was deep with accusation.

"That's no way to talk to your big bro!" Envy teased. "Everything worked out fine in the end, didn't it? That Fullmetal pipsqueak is strong. He'll be fine. This actually may be good for us, it'll keep them from poking their noses where it doesn't belong for a while."

"I only slayed one of the assailants." Wrath said, wiping his bloody blade. His shoes now in a puddle of freshly spilled blood.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll have Gluttony sniff him out for me, don't worry about it Wrathy poo!" Envy's voice was sickeningly sweet. "Go back to your precious little family."

"If you don't find him and take care of him within the next few hours, you'll have Pride and Father to answer to," Wrath threatened.

"Psh. Snitch. Whatever! I take it you will clean things up here?"

"Ah, right. Send Gluttony here first, will you? I'm sure he'd love to snack on these" Wrath said, looking at the pile of slain bodies.

"Sure thing, Kingy!" Envy said, skipping to the entrance of the building.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

…

As Alphonse rode in the back of Lieutenant Hawkeye's vehicle, he let his mind wander. The image of his brother's bloodied body wouldn't escape his head. Sure, he's seen Edward hurt plenty of times, he's seen him with freshly severed limbs and more cuts and bruises than you could count, however, he had always been able to do something about it. He'd always been able to carry Edward to safety, or fight off whoever was trying to hurt him. The guilt of not being able to do anything about the situation crawled deep into his soul, as if the gate had been ripped open with the sheer force of it. Everyone was silent. The ambulance was just ahead of them, sirens blaring. Hawkeye kept right behind it, her knuckles turning white as she drove. Armstrong was next to her, his gaze averted to the floorboards. Alphonse had never seen him look so dejected before. Havoc was unfortunate enough to sit next to Alphonse, his body crunched up against the window, however, he didn't seem to care or even notice for that matter. He was locked in a staring contest with his reflection from the window.

"Everyone?" Alphonse piped up.

"What is it, Alphonse?" Hawkeye said, her voice empathetic and soft.

"Thank you… For saving my brother and I…" He trailed off, Havoc turned his head and smiled at the suit of armor, knocking his shoulder lightly.

"Don't sweat it, kid." He assured.

"Are you doing okay young Alphonse?" Armstrong asked, turning his head to the back seat.

"Oh, y-yes. I'm fine!" Alphonse insisted.

"It's okay if you aren't, ya know." Havoc reminded gently. Alphonse felt something crack within him, the dam of unfeeling cries bursted at the seams. His armor rattled, it was all he could do. No matter how much he wanted to cry, he had to settle for this. It felt like a choked up sob that could never break free from his throat.

"I c-couldn't do anything…" He admitted, "I just sat there and watched… The only thing I could do was scream while they hurt him… It's my fault he got hurt. It's my fault he's in the back of that ambulance right now!" Alphonse's voice edged on anger.

"None of this is your fault," Hawkeye said.

"You two brothers have the craziest guilt complex, ya know? What happened was no one's fault but the bastards that took you. Hell, some of it is our fault too! We left Ed alone for five minutes and he broke out of the hospital!" Havoc said lightly, trying to brighten the mood.

"He did?!" Alphonse whirled his head to the side in shock.

"Yup. Right from under our shoulda seen the Colonel! Smoke was practically coming out of his ears!" Havoc laughed.

"Oh brother… You idiot…" Alphonse chuckled slightly.

"I apologize young Alphonse. If I was paying closer attention he wouldn't have escaped and gotten himself hurt further," Armstrong said.

"N-no! It's not your fault! Once brother sets his mind on something, he won't let anything get in his way…" Alphonse replied.

"See? It's no one's fault. Edward will be fine, you are safe and that psycho is dealt with. Happy ending!" Havoc cheered.

"What about the other one?" Alphonse asked.

"Military police have a description of him and are searching right now. They haven't found him yet, but it's only a matter of time. Especially with the Fuhrer on it." Hawkeye informed.

"I can't believe Fuhrer King Bradely showed up of all people…" Havoc marveled.

"He killed that man… Didn't he?" Alphonse's voice shook. No one answered and no one needed to. "Why did he have to kill him? He was restrained… He was… He was being manipulated by his father… I know I should be happy he's dead but he was still a human being! He was still a life! I… I…" Alphonse's voice fell into nothing. No one in the car responded to the armored boy. The pity they felt for the two brothers suffocated their ability to talk.

Everyone in the car had killed someone at some point. Had killed guilty and innocent people. Everyone except Alphonse. Edward and Alphonse still held onto the childish desire to save everyone. Their morals were still ironclad, refusing to end another's life, refusing to use the philosopher's stone even though it could get their bodies back. But it left the brothers susceptible to the horrors of reality. Even though the boys had seen something much worse than death, they were still children. They were still innocent. Everyone in the team had subconsciously tried to protect the two from those horrors. When Hughes died, when Nina died and on countless other occasions, they tried to protect the boys from the pain of it all.

But they had failed to protect them this time.

And that destroyed them from the inside out.