Sorry to everyone for not answering all of your reviews, believe me, I enjoy every single one, it's just I haven't had time this year to answer. -_-" Thank you for reviewing nonetheless!

Warnings: OOCness, this chapter didn't want to be written. Not only that, but inspiration has been kind of dry for a while, what with school and stuff. Some plot appears... sort of. This is a slightly gory chapter, earning it's T rating. I needed a chapter for release and, sadly, this happened...

if you get queasy easily, be warned.

Anyways, hope you enjoy, and thank you everyone for all the reviews, favorites and follows. :)

PS: little AN at the end I want you to read when your done with this, explaining some of the decisions I made in the chapter. so... anyways enjoy!

He curled up slightly, feeling the tail between his legs as his hair collapsed over his shoulders in waves. His hands rested by his side, flesh resting in metal. He closed his eyes and relaxed; he decided he wouldn't think about it… At the moment, he didn't want too.

The next day was a little more pleasant; the sun had come out and was slowly drying the ground. The air was fresh and clean. Ed woke, feeling much better compared to the night before. He stood up, stretching his arms high above his head as his stomach growled loudly. After a crack issued he dropped his arms and headed out the door. Along the way he grabbed a rubber band off the side table. Putting it around his wrist he carefully pulled his hair back, avoiding the ears the best he could. After a good amount of struggling and a lot of cursing Ed, finally, was able to get it into his signature braid. He almost felt like whooping in joy at the achievement, but decided against it. He stepped out the door just to stop.

"Al!" He stated, finding the suit of armor right outside his door. "What are you doing out here?"

"Um... I didn't want to disturb you." The boy mumbled, standing up with a loud clunk. Ed sighed and shook his head.

"Jeez Al! It doesn't matter, come in whenever you want, you're my brother, I wouldn't mind." Al nodded, turning towards the boy.

"Okay."

"Come on, let's get some breakfast." The blond smiled. Al nodded and they both moved quickly downstairs. They arrived just as Winry finished setting the table.

"Ed! Al! You're up!"

"Of course! You didn't think I would sleep all day did you?"

"I bet you could manage." Winry stated, sitting down next to her plate.

Ed scoffed and sat down, grabbing a piece of toast in the process. Al joined him, sitting in the chair right next to his brother.

"You know, Winry has a point." He stated glancing at the older boy.

Ed pouted, glaring at his brother as he took another bite.

"Thanks for the support Al."

"Anytime."

Ed sighed. After a moment of thought he turned to his brother.

"Say, Al, What do you think of trying to spar again? We didn't really spar for that long yesterday, and I still haven't gotten a good feel of these stupid additions."

Al hesitated for a second, as if in thought. A moment later he nodded, his ears swaying with the movement. "Sure."

Ed clapped his hands together in delight, a slight smile adorning his lips.

The two left, walking outside onto the sun warmed ground. Ed stretched, reaching for the sky and, once the duo was far enough away, turned, grinning.

"I'm going to beat you this time." The boy stated, getting into position. He felt the hard packed earth beneath his feet as wind blew gently over the nearby grass.

"We'll see." Al responded, mockingly, taking his own defensive position on the opposite side of the boy, soul-fire eyes dancing in amusement.

Edward grinned, dug in for a second, then dashed forward, using his tail for balance as his ears shot backwards.

Ed skidded to a halt a second later as familiar energy crackled. Electricity flashed, causing the two boys to whip their heads sideways towards the light. Ed flipped backwards as Al jumped to one side, barely avoiding a wood column heading towards them at breakneck speed. Al swerved to the side as the wood turned, slamming into the ground where he had been.

"Al! Are you okay!" Ed shouted, crouching with one hand placed on the ground next to his knee.

"I'm fine!" The suit of armor responded from the other side of the wood, a good distance away. A moment later there was a loud crack and the sound of something slamming into metal resonated around the area like a bell.

"Al!" Ed shouted, springing from his position and running towards the boy.

Ed quickly jumped over the wood column that separated them. He landed in a squat, and raced forward, drawing even with his brother, who was slowly sitting up.

"What happened?" The blond asked, tail whipping frantically. Al's own attachments were skewed slightly, one ear was bent oddly but everything else seemed fine.

"Something slammed into me…" Al looked up just in time to push Ed to the side. Ed's eyes widened as earth wrapped quickly around his brother pinning him in place, and practically squeezing him to death.

"Crap." Ed spat as he quickly stood up, "Al!"

Al struggled against the earthen surroundings, trying to pull out of it with all his strength. The earth started to move up, crawling over the boy's helmet. The blond dashed forward, slapping his hands together before slamming them onto the ground. The flow of earth stopped. A moment later it splintered and broke apart with a loud crack, setting Al free. The suit of armor swiveled so that he was next to the kneeling boy. Ed quickly stood up and turned, with Al, back to back. Both looked at their surroundings with sharp eyes. Ed glanced around, his body tense. His tail bristled, staying parallel with the ground as his ears swiveled, listening for any movement.

"Who's there?!" Ed shouted into the quiet clearing, hearing soft rustling from the surrounding bushes. His hands were up in wary defense. A moment later there was a sniffle and an eerily familiar woman stepped out from behind the original wooden column a foot away from the two boys. It was Mrs. Halibaster.

Ed and Al turned slightly so that they were both facing the women.

"Rin why won't you come back?" The women asked quietly, her expression one of loss and confusion, "I even learned Alchemy! Just like you wanted me too!" the woman whispered.

Ed watched her warily as he moved closer to his brother, his ears sat back as his tail held still.

"I am not Rin." He stated firmly towards the women, shifting slightly.

"But you have to be… They told me…" the woman whispered hoarsely, tears slipping from her eyes as she looked at the cautious blond.

Ed narrowed his eyes, curiosity slipping into his countenance.

"Mrs. Halibaster…" Al began slowly, noticing his brother's silent contemplation, "… You know that Rin is dead." He whispered, his voice softening with the last word.

"Lies!" the woman cried, slashing her arm sideways as more tears slipped down. "Rin isn't dead! She can't be! There's no way my little girl would leave me so easily!"

Al winced as Ed tilted his head down, hair covering his eyes.

"Mrs. Halibaster… think about it…" Ed glanced up, golden orbs staring right into distressed and woeful eyes as he carefully walked up to the woman. "Rin has been gone for a year. I have just gotten back from central as a State Alchemist. I'm sorry… but you have to realize that I am not Rin. I never was and I never will be." He stated his tone soft and comforting. His ears twitched as he took another step, folding down slightly on either side of his head as his tail swayed slowly around his legs.

"You should recognize me… my name is Edward Elric. I am Trisha's son and I was one of your students… don't you remember?" He finished, standing in front of the distressed woman, his eyes flashing in pain for a second.

The woman stared for another minute, looking into his golden somber eyes as if fighting to believe in her own twisted truth. A moment later she tilted her head up, facing the sky as she fell on her knees. Her face was blotchy with shed tears as she closed her eyes. Ed, noticing her reaction bent down on one knee to stay in front of her, wary that she might have hurt herself.

"Edward… I knew it… I knew deep down but… I wanted so desperately to believe." She spoke softly, voice coming out slightly choked. Her age showed in her eyes as she looked back down at the boy kneeling in front of her.

"I was so sure though… they said… they said that you were Rin… that if I had you I can finally have my daughter back…" She whispered.

Curiosity once again flaring, the boy spoke quietly, "Who?"

The women looked at him morosely. She opened her mouth…

and time stopped. The women's eyes widened in sudden horror and pain as Ed froze.

Blood exploded outwards, as if in slow motion.

Ed sat there as the warm liquid splattered across his face and neck, coating his clothes in the sticky substance as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped in shocked horror.

He collapsed backwards, landing on his tail as the women pitched forward. Her mouth was open, red trickling out, mixing with the blood and-other part's- from a hole between her eyes. Ed watched the women collapse to the ground in front of him as a black thing moved away from the bloody woman, eerily resembling a spear.

He heard his brother's outcry, yet he couldn't get his body to move. He just sat there, trembling as the crimson liquid dripped down his face. After a while he finally pulled a hand up, seeing the flesh tremble. He looked and saw something whitish mixed in the blood.

A moment later he turned to the side and threw up onto the ground. His body shook as he tried to move away from the now, obviously dead, women.

He scrapped his arms along the ground desperately, trying in vain to get the blood and residue off of it.

Al, who had seen most of what happened from behind his brother, froze as well. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of long ebony black hair and then it was gone. Yet he didn't pay it any mind, seeing as his whole being was in shock.

Suddenly he heard a splattering sound that broke him out of his revere. He glanced over to see his wide-eyed, blood soaked brother trying to scramble away. His face was white and the ears were flat on either side of his head, trembling. Al dashed forward faster than he had in a long time. He squatted down grabbing the boy in a hug, turning the blond's head away from the scene as he also pointedly looked away.

"Al?... Al…" The boy trembled, looking up into the armor's face. Al looked at him and nodded slowly, his own body shaking.

"Brother… are you alright?" He whispered, finally able to talk.

"Edward? Alphonse?" a voice shouted before Ed could respond. A second later there was the sound of running footstep and a gasp.

"Ed! Al!" Al turned seeing Winry racing towards them. Granny was already next to the boys, eyes narrowed.

"Winry! Get the boys inside. Now!" The old women stated sharply, looking pointedly back at the girl.

Winry, who hadn't quite seen what happened, nodded and turned to the two, shock flashing across her features at their state. Ed's tail was curled up tightly, almost between his legs. His ears lay flat against his head, with his face buried deeply into his brother's chest. Both the boys were trembling.

Al stared at her silently. She paused and then looked at them comfortingly. She smiled extending a firm hand to the quivering duo.

"Come on, let's get you inside." Al nodded and stood, holding his older brother tightly. Slowly they walked towards the house. Winry resisted the urge to glance back, or to take a more detailed look at what was on the blond. If it could make these boys scared, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Quickly she ushered them inside and brought them upstairs.

"Ed, take a shower, it should help." The girl said carefully. The boy finally glanced up to look at her. His eyes were dark and shadowed. He nodded, almost mechanically, and pushed away from his brothers arms. With a pause he turned, walking into the bathroom. Al hesitated for a second and then just sat outside, waiting for the other. Winry sighed and slumped down against the opposite wall. After a moment of debating she turned to the younger one and asked.

"What happened?"

After a pause Al turned to Winry. He went to speak when there was a loud crash from the bathroom, glass tinkled and clattered onto ceramic flooring along with a string of powerful curses. Winry and Al shot up in shock.

"Ed?!"

"It's fine… I'm fine… just tripped…" The boy from inside replied quietly. A moment later water turned on as the two outside watched the door in solemn silence. Another moment found them slumped back into the positions they had been in earlier.

"… We were going to spar… when we were suddenly attacked with alchemy… it turned out to be Mrs. Halibaster… though I didn't know she could use alchemy…" The boy began to answer her question, letting his head tilt downwards as he spoke. After a moment of silence he looked back up. Soul fire eyes flickering in some emotion Winry couldn't quite name.

"Brother was able to talk some sense into her… a moment later… right before we were about to find out something… something happened… I never got a good look, being behind brother and all, but…" Al glanced down, once again quieting. Winry sat there for a moment in silence, waiting for the boy to continue. When he didn't she stood up and walked away, hearing the bell tinkle downstairs, announcing her grandmothers reentrance into the house.

"Granny… what happened?" The old women looked up and shook her head sadly.

"It was an instant kill. The poor woman… she was shot through the back of the head… though it didn't look like a bullet wound… it was too clean… but even so…" WInry looked at the age-weary woman and then something clicked. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Ed… he was right in front of her when it happened… that's what Al said…" Granny looked up and shook her head again.

"That boy… He'll probably be in shock… it's not a pleasant thing to see… no matter how cleanly it's done." Winry paused and nodded, eyes shadowing slightly.

She had read all of the medical books her family owned, so she knew, generally, what a bullet wound looked like and, though Granny said it wasn't quite the same, she could still get a rough idea. With the way Ed was drenched she could easily imagine just what might have happened. She shuddered. Just the thought made her want to throw up. She glanced up at the top of the stairs as Granny looked away.

It was about an hour or two later when the water finally turned off. Winry had walked back upstairs during that time to sit by Al. Al shuffled closer, appreciating the others presence even if he couldn't actually feel it.

The door opened just as Winry stood up. Ed stepped out, eyes lowered, his wet bangs partially covered his face. He looked like he had scrubbed at his skin viciously, to the point where it was almost raw. His ears drooped while his tail wrapped around him tightly, peaking above his leather clad legs. He had a towel around his neck, soaking up the water from his dripping hair.

He glanced up, surprised to see the two outside, looking at him worriedly. Al's features, though broken, still swayed back and forth each time he shifted. Winry moved forward carefully.

"Ed…" The boy glanced at her and looked down. He took a breath and then let out shuddering sigh.

"Sorry to worry you Winry… Al… I'm fine now…"

"No you're not!" Winry suddenly shouted, surprising herself along with the two boys standing next to her. Ed's head snapped up in shock as Al jumped. Winry stopped, she breathed in and out, looking at the boy sternly.

"I heard what happened and I have to say… there was nothing you could do! There was no way to save her! And you know that just as well as I do!" Ed's eyes widened and his head tilted down once more. Winry pursed her lips, as she continued softly. "It's not your fault that this happened. You tried to help her. You did what you could, how could you have known…" After another moment of hesitation she set her shoulders firmly and walked forward, arms crossed over her chest. She stood in front of the boy, who looked away, bangs still hiding his eyes. She sighed and let her arms drop to her side.

She breathed in and out then moved forward, taking the surprised and drenched blond into her arms in a gentle embrace.

Ed just stood there eyes widening slightly. He glanced at Al who stood slowly from his position against the wall. The suit of armor turned looking at him; his soul-fire eyes holding a warm and gentle fondness. He wasn't disgusted or upset, and that was emphasized when he walked forward, wrapping an arm around him as well. Ed glanced back at Winry and turned away from both.

After a moment of staring at the wall he turned his head back and laid it down onto the crevice between Al and Winry's arms. His body shuddered, yet he didn't say a word. Winry and Al hugged the boy tighter, making sure not to shift the arms he was resting his head on.

Ed continued to tremble, as they stood there in a three way hug, Winry and Al holding the boy comfortingly. Ed, as per usual, didn't shed a single tear. However, his face was twisted into anguish and pain no matter how hard the blond tried to hide it.

Al tightened his grip, understanding flooding his system as he stared at his brother, barely suppressing his own quivering.

It was just like what happened with Nina, when both of them had been unable to save her... It was similar to Al's own inability to be with his brother when Ed fought Barry the chopper… and, most recently was the lab… the lab where he heard his brother's screams, yet couldn't do a thing…

Each time… he had been unable to save them… to protect them like he had wanted to… and yet again… he let it happen. He watched his brother shake, tears wanting to break free.

"Brother… why don't you cry…" It was not a question or a statement, it was a simple suggestion. Ed's face tilted slightly into Al's grip. After another moment he backed away. He turned to the two, calmly.

"Can you… give me a few minutes?" Winry took one look at the boy and nodded, understanding flashing through her eyes. She glanced at Al and turned, walking away. Ed looked at Al who just stared back at him. After a moment Ed turned, not arguing with the younger boy. He walked into his room and crawled onto the bed. Al quietly closed the door and turned to see Ed slowly pulling his legs up. His arms were crossed in front of him, leaning against his knees as he put his face in his hands. Al looked down and then moved sitting behind the boy quietly. Metal rubbed against metal in a low clanking groan as he gingerly leaned against the headboard right next to his brother, gently massaging circles into the others back.

He didn't need to see to know that silent tears were trailing down the blond's cheeks soaking into his clothes.

Al paused, taking the shuddering boy in for a moment. He shook his head and slowly pulled the boy into an embrace. Ed, after a moment of hesitation, moved in and let go completely. The young boy broke down, tears splashing down his face onto the cold metal as he curled into the other boy. His ears were tilted to the side while his tail wrapped weakly between his legs. His cries were muffled by the close contact of the large suit of armor.

Al squeezed harder.

He knew that… right now… Ed was crying for the both of them.

After a while the sobbing slowed and then stopped. Ed wiped his face and shook his head, letting his bangs slip around his face. He turned away and wiped his eyes.

"Brother…" Al stated softly as the blonde continued to viciously rub at his eyelids.

"I'm sorry…"

"Why?" Al asked, surprised. Ed turned to him, his golden hair flowed around his shoulders and his ears lay sideways on his head, faint tear streaks could be seen on flushed cheeks as his tail curled around him in an embrace.

"I just… I don't…"

Seeing where this is going Al interrupted, "Brother… You're allowed to be vulnerable. As you said before… we're not gods or devils… we're just humans."

"Yeah… Human's that can't even save one little girl… or one woman…" Ed finished solemnly, bending his head down.

"But brother… that is why we are fighting. Maybe we can't save everyone… but… we can save as many people as we can… It's our job to keep moving forward. We choose this path. We knew the risks and responsibilities… So we have to keep putting our best foot forward and walk. Next time… if there is a next time, we will do everything we can… because we're human."

Ed glanced up at him in silence. Slowly he nodded, his eyes shining in understanding. A moment later a grin graced his face as he looked at the younger boy.

"Come on, I'm hungry, let's get something to eat." He stated, slipping out of bed. He stretched letting his back arch as his tail uncurled until it was almost parallel with his body, the tip quivering gently. His ears, once more, sat forward, twitching slightly. He glanced at Al, who recognized the cat-like movements. Ed shook his head, slipped out the door and walked down stairs, slapping his face lightly with his flesh hand to get rid of the last of the tears. Al followed closely behind.

He knew that Ed was nowhere near recovering from the shock. But his brother had a nasty habit of bouncing back from the worst of life. Al mentally smiled and shivered. He might not have actually seen what had happened, but with the amount of blood that had been on his brother, it wasn't that hard to imagine.

Al mentally trembled, letting his soul fire eyes flicker.

Ed blinked glancing back at his younger brother and then let his grin widen.

"Race you down the stairs!" Al blinked then shouted as he noticed golden hair disappear around the corner.

"Hey! No fair! You had a head start!"

"Too Bad!~" Ed called back, as he raced away from the younger boy.

Winry smiled fondly, listening to the two boys. She had been, and was, worried; she had never seen Ed so upset like that… at least not recently. She pursed her lips as she rested her head in her arms, which lay on the table in front of her. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She opened them slightly and stared at the side wall. What could she do? She knew they were restrained there for two more days, mainly because they had gotten a call every day from one of the colonel's men. Yet she also knew that as soon as the second day ended, they would leave, and she might not see them again for a long time… She once again closed her eyes. A whine reverberated from near her leg, and she looked over. Den had his head on her lap, looking up at her with sad, worried eyes. The girl smiled and moved, petting the dog carefully behind one ear.

"Sorry to worry you." She whispered quietly and then turned forward. There was only one other thing that she could think of… it wasn't much and she doubted that it would help at all but… it was better than nothing. She stood up and walked out, grabbing her purse from one of the hangers. She hummed as she moved forward.

It was time to give Edward and Alphonse Elric a present.

End of chapter 9.

AN: regarding Edwards break down. I know that it might seem odd to have him cry in such an instance, considering in the anime we probably see him cry about three times. One of which was with Nina (in the first). I get he is strong, and that he would more likely go into shock from such an incident instead of bawling. HOWEVER he has gone through a lot in the past few days. Including, but not limited to, Becoming a chimera, seeing two dead and twisted bodies, and seeing another chimera (right after Nina). He needs a moment to just, let it all go.

I understand that this might not be to many people's liking, but it's essential for the story.

Anwyays, we'll see when I can get the next one out, I'll try to get it out before another 6 months passes. :P

Wish me luck!

AAN: also, My wi-fi is iffy at best at the moment. I've already lost this chapter once so... I'll try, but there will be almost nothing I can do in the next two weeks.