"Al! Alphonse! Ed!" Rebecca shouted, running through the small town. A book was clutched in her hand, "AL!" She ran to the Rockbell's, and banged on the door.
"Al! AL!" she yelled, tears coming to her eyes. Pinako answered the door.
"Rebecca, dear" she said, letting the young girl in.
"Where are they?! Where are Al and ED?! The house, it's-"
"Burnt down, we know" Pinako sadly said.
"Where is Al?!" Rebecca demanded, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"They're gone" Winry whispered. She was crying at the table.
"What!?" Rebecca gasped. Winry looked up at her, eyes red.
"Ed joined the military…Al went with him" Winry told her.
"Why?" Rebecca whispered, clutching the book tight to her chest.
"To find a way to get their original bodies back" Pinako replied. Rebecca fall to her knees, crying.
"I'm…sorry, Alphonse" she cried, crying into the old, worn brown book, titles 'Beginners Guide to Alchemy'
"Edward! Alphonse! Get your lazy butts down here!" Izumi yelled up the stairs. Ed jumped awake and Al jumped up, shaking.
"What did we do now?!" he asked in fear. Ed's eyes showed fear as well.
"Come on" he squeaked, scared at what their teacher was going to do to them.
"Teacher! What is wrong?" Al asked. Izumi chucked the phone at them. It hit Ed straight in the head.
"Big Brother!!" Al squealed.
"Someone's on the phone for you" Izumi said, before walking away.
"Hello?" Ed said into the phone, while rubbing his head. Al sat down at the table, reading the stray Alchemy book that was there.
"Oh, hi, Winry, what's up?" Ed said, a faint smile on his lips. There was a short pause.
"Yeh…we were actual talking about her last night" Ed said, his voice changing. It now sounded concerned. Al looked up.
"Really?...That's terrible"
"What Big Brother? What is it?" Al asked, standing. Ed went quiet, bowing his head slightly. Al could hear Winry talking, but couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Ok…Yeh….yeh, we'll be there as soon as possible…yeh, I'll tell him" Ed said, quietly.
"Big Brother?!" Al asked, fear in shi voice, as Ed hanged up the phone. Ed gave him a weak smile.
"What is it?!" Al begged, panic in his voice.
"Rebecca was in…in a bombing a couple of months ago" Ed told Al.
"What!?" Al asked, "Is she ok? Big Brother?" he went to Ed and shook him slightly, "Please tell me she's ok"
"She lost both her legs" Ed said, sadly. Al let go of Ed, and fall back into his chair.
"She is in the middle of the Automail surgery" Ed continued. Al covered his head with his hands. Ed was sure if he could, Al would be crying right now. Ed placed a hand on Al's shoulder.
"Winry said that Rebecca has been asking for you" Ed told him.
"Re…really?" Al asked, shocked. He looked up at his older brother. Ed nodded.
"I told Winry we'll go there"
"Let's pack then" Al said, getting up and leaving the room.
"Are you going somewhere?" Izumi asked, re-entering the room. Ed nodded.
"Yeh, our friend has been seriously injured" He replied. Izumi looked at him.
"Well, come back soon" Izumi said. Ed nodded again.
A couple of hours later, Ed and Al were on the Train on the way to Resembool. Ed was asleep, taking up the whole seat. Al was staring out the window, twisting his hands around each other in worry. His eyes caught two little kids on the train. There was a boy with blondy brown hair. He was asleep, with a little girl with brown hair laying her head on his lap, also asleep. Al watched them, wishing he was still that young.
"Al! Al! Where are you?! Dinner is ready!" Edward shouted, walking through the house. He sighed, fed up of looking for his little brother. He walked to their room and noticed that the light was on.
"Al" Ed sighed, opening the door, "Al, dinner's re-" Ed started but stopped. Al was fast asleep in the window seat, a book in his lap. Rebecca was asleep as well, her head rested on Al's shoulder. Ed sighed again, but this time with a smile tagging at his lips. He picked up a blanket from the bed and covered the two seven year olds with it. Edward picked up the book and crept out.
"Teaching her alchemy again?" he whispered, before leaving quietly.
"We're here, big brother" Alphonse said, standing up nervously.
"You ok, Al?" Ed asked, picking up his suitcase and shaking the tiredness out of his hands. Al was shaking.
"Yeah…." Al said, letting Ed lead the way out of the train. It was getting dark, so Ed and Al went straight to the Rockbell's. it was a quiet walk, with neither Ed nor Al saying a word.
Den greeted them by the gate, wigging his tail in joy.
"Hey, Den" Ed smiled, stroking the dog's back. He began to walk up the path, but stopped when he noticed that Al wasn't following him. The suit of armour was staring up at a lightened window. It was the room where the automail surgery was done. The light was normally off, unless someone was undergoing the agonising procedure. As they stood there, a painful scream filled the air. Ed paled, clutching his metal arm.
"Come on, Al…she needs you right now" Ed said. Al nodded, slowly and walked to the house.
"Ed! Al! You're here!" Winry smiled, standing up from the kitchen table. She looked tried and pale through the smiled.
"When was the last time you slept?" Ed asked.
"I hardly ever sleep when there is automail surgery going on" Winry yawned, "But it has been terrible with Becky" she yawned again, "You see, there is normally someone here that is related to the person, like their parents or partner, but Rebecca has no one so me and Granny has been taking it in shifts to watch over her" Winry explained, wrapping her hands round her hot coco. Ed looked shocked.
"But what about here Dad?" Al asked. Winry looked down into her lap.
"Didn't you know?...Her Dad died two years ago"
"What?!" Ed and Al both gasped, looking at her.
"She is all alone" Winry said, sadly. Ed and Al looked at each other. They may think their lives were heard and unfair at times, but they always had each other and the people around them. There was a silence for a moment before Winry got up and walked over to Al.
"Alphonse…I know that the last time you saw Rebecca, it wasn't a good experience, but you have to believe me that Rebecca has regretted what she said since that day" Winry took Al's hands, "She has missed you so much, and the name she keeps saying in her sleep is yours"
"I…" Al said, speechless. He looked at the floor, his wide shoulders shaking, "I wish I could cry"
Rebecca walked through the small town. She had a suitcase in one hand and a bag of books in the other. She had spent the last two days travelling in a horse and carriage so was glad to be able to stretch her legs.
"Hey, Becky" called a boy who was working in the fields. Rebecca smiled and waved as the boy walked over to her.
"Hello, Fred" she greeted.
"Wow! Two old faces in one weekend" Fred said, wiping his brow, "Edward Elric was walking through here a couple of days ago" Rebecca's eyes widened.
"Ed! He was here?" she asked. Fred nodded.
"Yeh, him and his brother were staying at the Rockbell's" he explained.
"Are they still here?" Rebecca asked, desperately.
"I don't know….they might be" Rebecca started to ran off into the direction of the Rockbell's.
"Thanks" she shouted, waving a hand. Her feet automatically lead the way to the house. Den barked at her lazily as she jumped the porch steps. Rebecca knocked on the door, and waited. Pinako answered. The old woman gave a smile.
"Hello, Rebecca"
"Good morning, Mrs Rockbell, is Al and Ed here?" Rebecca asked.
"I'm sorry dear, but they have already left for the train station" Pinako replied, looking at the clock, "You might be able to catch them, but I-" Pinako started, but Rebecca had already ran off.
Please still be there, Rebecca begged as she ran as fast as she could to the train station. As she was nearing it, Rebecca heard the whistling of the train, meaning it was leaving.
"No!" Rebecca shouted, running into the train station.
"No! Stop! Stop!" Rebecca cried, chasing after it as it began to speed up. The platform came to end and Rebecca fall to her knees, heavy tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Al!" she yelled, watching as the train disappeared.