I may do some sections not in third person. This is just a head's up. :]

And I know that the characters seem a bit different from how they are in the anime/manga, but it's fanfiction. Get over it and enjoy the story.

When the 'bang' was heard, Ed's instinct instantly took over and he threw himself at Al, knocking him over. They hit the ground hard, Al groaning slightly. The bullet shattered a crater in the road and Ed growled. If he wouldn't have knocked Al out of the way…

He instantly stood up and hauled Al to his feet, shoving him towards the alleyway. He put a wall around them, protecting them from all sides. He heard someone yell, "Come out come out, Fullmetal Alchemist! Hiding will do you no good! I'll find you eventually!" The voice was slightly demented, but at the same time deep and strong.

Ed looked at his younger brother. The bullet hadn't touched him, but his face was a bit pale. It had really shaken the young alchemist up. "Al… Are you alright?" He put his left hand on Al's shoulder gently and Al nodded once before hugging Ed.

"I'm fine Brother. You saved me…" Al suddenly felt a huge rush of affection for his brother, but it seemed almost too strong for just that.

Ed smiled once and leaned back, punching his hand. "Let's get this guy!" He clapped and the wall disappeared, leaving them unsheltered. Instantly another shot rang out and the Elric boys both dove away, rolling once and landing on their feet. "He just has a pistol by the sound of it! At most he has 4 shots left!"

The direction from whence the shots came gave Ed and idea of where the attacker was. He and Al ran at the building and clapped the ground, creating hands to lift them up. 2 more shots rang out but the bullets missed them due to their acceleration. "He's on the roof! See him behind the pipes?"

Ed nodded. "Good eye, Al!" As they leapt onto the roof, one more bullet hit the ground at their feet. The assailant cursed. "Just come out and we'll go easy on you."

"Never! You military bastards deserve to die!" The man rolled out from behind the pipes and shot once more, aiming for Ed's heart. Al yelled something and Ed reacted, raising his right arm. The bullet pinged off. "Dammit, what the hell happened?"

Ed sighed with relief, shaking a bit from shock. His face was a mixture of fear and determination. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, am I not?" He clapped and sent a wave of stone at the man. He dodged, but only just. He leapt onto the fire escape and the boys darted after him. When he hit the ground, he took off towards the slums.

"Damn, he got away!" Ed pounded the wall with his auto-mail fist. "And I know he was the perpetrator…"

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Al there. "Come on, Ed. Let's just go tell Mustang what happened." Ed consented and they headed back to HQ to report. When they walked into the office and sat on the couch, Mustang looked up expectantly.

Ed relayed news of the happenings to his superior and Mustang nodded. Once again these boys had narrowly escaped death. Would it catch them one day? "Well, you did good. Now we know where he fled and we can send a squad after him." Ed was about to protest but Mustang held up a gloved hand. "No complaints, Fullmetal. We sent you to find him and you did. Leave the capture up to us."

Ed grumbled as he left the office with Al and headed back to Havoc's. "I don't get why we can't catch him…" He kicked his boots off and sat on his bed, scowling at nothing in particular. Al sat beside him and hugged him tightly again.

"You were almost killed today, Brother! I'm glad he didn't let you go!" Al looked like he was about ready to cry as he rested his head on his older brother's shoulder. Ed looked down, a bit shocked at his reaction but he leaned down and hugged Al tightly to him.

"You were almost killed too, Al. If I hadn't knocked you down… The bullet would've hit your heart." Al looked up with wide eyes, but Ed just hugged him. "Hey, it's getting late." This was a total lie. It was only about 8 o'clock, but they had had a harrowing experience. "Let's clock out, k?"

Al nodded and crawled over to his own bed. Both boys snuggled under their covers and quickly fell asleep.