Ok, when I said this wouldn't follow the plot of the manga, I didn't think ahead. I have to mention part of it but in this fanfiction, it all happened in the past.

Italics means that the voice is being heard through the phone.

And I'm sorry my chapters are all so short… . I just work better with shorter ones.

When the sun rose the next morning, Al awoke and headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He found some eggs and bread and started to work. A while later, Edward rose out of bed and staggered into the kitchen.

"I am NOT cut out for mornings…" He rubbed his head and huffed.

Al chuckled at his brother's disheveled appearance. "Then why aren't you still in bed?"

That got Al a smirk from his older sibling. "Your cooking is amazing and I am starving. Simple as that!" He sat down and waited patiently for Al to finish and serve up 2 helpings of scrambled eggs and toast. Both brothers ate in silence, relishing their food.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Ed picked up the phone and called Winry.

"Hello, Rockbell Auto-mail shop. This is Winry speaking. How may I help you?"

Ed smiled at the voice of his mechanic and childhood friend. "Hey, Winry. It's Ed. Do you think you could come up to Central for a day and give me a tune-up?"

A huff came from the other end of the phone. "What did you do this time? Oh, never mind tell me later. If you can get the ticket for me I'll come up now. Meet me at the station ok? See ya!" Without another word, Winry hung up the phone and began to pack all the necessary things for the trip.

Ed rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. "She'll be coming up on the next train if I can get the tickets in time. I suppose I should call the station…" He picked the phone up once more and arranged for the ticket to be there for Winry at the Risembool station.

The boys headed out from the apartment and into town. Al wanted to know what happened with the case, as did Ed, so they headed to Mustang's office, Ed more grudgingly so.

Al raised a fist to knock on the door, but never got the chance. Ed just opened it and strode in, sitting on the couch. Roy was on the phone, apparently talking with a woman. He laughed, almost giddily like a schoolboy and said, "I have to go Charlotte… I'm sorry, but duty calls sweetie! I'll call again later! Bye." He nestled the receiver back on the hook and turned to the boys.

"Yes, Fullmetal? I suppose you want an update on the case, yes?" With a nod from Ed, he continued. "Well we pursued the fugitive but weren't able to apprehend him. He didn't leave much of a trail. However, based on what he said to you, we have reason to believe that he may be in Central still."

Al looked worried but Ed just grinned, a bit evilly. He turned to Roy, an innocent look on his face. "Well, we'll be careful Mustang. Don't worry about us, alright? Thanks for the update!" He quickly stood and pulled Al out of the room. Once outside, Al questioned Ed.

"Brother, why did you pull me out so suddenly? Don't tell me you plan on searching for him!" Al looked incredulously at his brother. It was so like Ed to do this type of thing. "What is it he said to you again?"

"'You military bastards deserve to die' is the exact phrase he used. I think he…" Ed paused and his eyes widened a little. The scene on the rooftop played back through Ed's head and he leaned against the fence surrounding HQ.

Al looked at him worriedly. "Brother, are you ok? What's wrong?" He put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

Ed shuddered a bit and met his brother's gaze. "Al, that man… His voice, his skin… He sounded like… He looked like…" It couldn't be… could it? He was dead. Ed had killed him himself. It wasn't pleasant, but in an attempt to attack, he had impaled himself upon Edward's blade. He watched the body be taken away and someone would have reported if he had been alive…

Al's voice wrenched him back from his musings. "What did you say Al?"

"Who do you think it is, Brother? Do you have an idea?" Of course Ed had an idea. Ed always had an idea.

Ed nodded, slowly forming the words. "It's not him, but I know that he either was close to or related to him…"

Al narrowed his eyes a bit from worry. "Who is 'he,' Brother? You don't mean…" Ed had said 'skin,' which meant it hadn't been the normal shade of an Amestrian. That meant…

Ed almost choked on the word, hatred and fear building inside him. That man had almost killed Al, and how this new person had almost succeeded as well. Al whispered the name fearfully at the same time.

"Scar."