The first five seconds that Edward was on the scene in the sewers, were by far the longest he'd ever lived through. The night he and his brother attempted the impossible sadly didn't even come close; despite losing limbs and in Al's case his whole body, they still had their air in the their lungs and most importantly, each other. That night everything had moved so quickly it was almost a blur. But tonight, those first five seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity as Ed's mind came to a screeching halt.

It wasn't until the men who had managed to subdue him got the word that King Bradly had taken down Greed that Ed had been allowed to enter the sewers. With Armstrong he entered, following the directions given over the head sets in order to navigate the labyrinth of underground passageways. The two of them never expected what they found.

Sitting limp and unresponsive was Al, the normally shinning eye slits of his helmet dark and life less. Blood streamed out of the joints of his armor, and while not his own, it still sent a cold shiver down Ed and Armstrong's spines. Directly beside him stood King Bradly, one of his six swords still clutched in his hand and dripping with relatively fresh blood. His face was stony, a drastic change to the calm exterior he normally portrayed.

The bodies of two of Greed's goons floated in the sewer water, their blood staining the brown liquid black in the dim light. Ed felt his stomach churn when he saw the head and shoulders of Dolcetto floating in the opposite direction of his legs. Up on the path, pinned to the ground by four blades and seemingly unconscious was Greed, his regenerating flesh sparking with dim red light as it tried in vein to heal it's self around the swords. And directly behind Greed's head, laying face down in an unbelievably large puddle of blood- "Dmitria!" Armstrong dashed over to her side, his hands shaking as he grabbed her shoulders and gingerly rolled her onto her back.

Ed stayed rooted to the spot, unable to breath and unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. Dmitri was dead. Dead. And Al, he hadn't moved an inch- was he gone to? Dead; they were both dead...I... all that blood...they're dead- I let them DIE- "Fullmetal." The sound of Bradly speaking his name made Ed take in a deep, strangled breath. His leg's felt unsteady beneath him and his head was spinning to quickly he was sure to lose what little contents were in his stomach any moment. He had failed them- he let that monster get away...IDIOT! I'm such a stupid, stubborn-

"This is all my fault..." Ed said, gritting his teeth as the shock started to fade into agonizing, gut wrenching remorse. He fought off the tears that had gathered in his eyes; he didn't deserve to mourn damn it! "I-I'm sorry Major."

Armstrong, who had been carefully checking his bloodied baby cousin for a pulse, let out a pensive sigh before glancing over his shoulder at the forlorn Edward. "...There is nothing to forgive. She chose to follow on her own despite knowing the risks-"

"How can you say that?!" Ed said, his strangled voice turning into a shout, his emotions making if difficult for him to control his own voice. He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut so tight he was seeing stars. "How can you say there is nothing to forgive?... If I hadn't been so god damn stubborn- Al wouldn't be... and Dmitri- they would still be here damn it!" Ed punched the ground with his right hand, causing a few more shards of steel to clatter to the ground.

Armstrong strode over then, bent down and grasped hold of Ed's shoulders, pulling him up right so that he could look Ed in the eye. "Edward Elric, that is enough! This is not the time to lose your head!" Armstrong released his hold on Ed, his lips pulling into a stern frown. "If my cousin were conscious, I'm sure she would be saying the same. As for you brother-"

"C-conscious?" Ed stammered, his eyes going wide in shock. "Y-you mean... she's not-"

"Dead?" Bradly supplied making Ed and Armstrong turn to regard him, Ed's eyes as wide as saucers. "Good heaven's, no! She was merely knocked unconscious in the skirmish." Bradly chuckled as he sheathed his blade, proceeding to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "I do apologize for that; I miss took her for one of his subordinates and hadn't realized my mistake until after she was unconscious. Thank goodness I didn't just strike to kill on sight! Hahahah!"

All the color drained from Armstrong and Edward's faces, with Ed leaning his forehead against the sewer wall. "...I think I'm gonna throw up..." He grumbled out, the sudden relief followed by a split second of horror and shock being enough to make his stomach churn. Ed turned his head a bit to look down upon his silent, unmoving brother. "...What about Al?"

Bradly hummed seriously, his smile turning into a tight lipped frown. "There appeared to be a young woman hiding within his armor, manipulating it. I disposed of her." The way Bradly spoke, it was obvious how disgusted he was by the scenario. "It is only now that I regret my decision to do so, at least while she was still inside, as it appears to have sent him into shock." He looked down his nose at Ed, his one visible eye hard as stone, a stark contrast to his suddenly gentle tone. "Why don't we remove the body?"

Armstrong and Ed shared a reluctant look. "...Very well Sir..."

If he were to be honest with himself, Alphonse would have to admit that he had thought death would be more, well, lively. Floating through pseudo space, a never ending black space that seemed to have no beginning or end, where cardinal directions were useless and one couldn't even tell if they were sitting up right, was not what he'd envisioned, and it truly made him wonder; why were people so scared of dying? Sure, for some the act of dying must be brutal, inhuman- but what awaited them on the other side, was nothingness...boy, wouldn't the people in Liore feel foolish if they were here with me right now...

Not that he would know if they were there; he couldn't even see his hand an inch from his own face. Or was he not even holding it up to begin with? He felt incredibly numb, more so then he ever had in his armor. At least when he had a body of metal, he still had the phantom sensations of movement in his non-existent limbs. But here? He could just be a floating essence, uninhibited by the physical restraints that were placed on all things of mass in the universe. A true soul, doomed to float aimlessly through the endless void; or was he actually just a figment of the darkness it's self?

"...Alphonse!"

Hmm? A ripple of sound moved through the black space around him. It kind of sounded like...who is it again... they sound so familiar... Al could hardly put a face to the voice that called to him...or is it just a trick... it's so quiet here... maybe I imagined it...

"DAMN IT AL! ANSWER ME!"

The clanking of metal followed the voice this time, making Al's entire being, what ever he may be now, quake violently. The space around him seemed to shift as well, it's surface suddenly glittering in the faintest of...light? But, where... Al's sluggish thoughts stirred the ebbing and flowing darkness around him...who's there?

"Come on Al! Al!"

Hmmmm...? That's voice again... A sudden flash of bright colors, and blaring sounds suddenly filled every crevice of Al's mind, making his whole body jolt at the sudden assault of stimuli. The scene it's self wasn't very loud, or bright to be honest; it was set in the dead of night, and a light rain fell against the window panes. A fire burned in a near by fire place, and a warm blanket was draped over his torso and legs... he was laying on his belly, his head propped up by his hands and his eyes fixed on the dancing flames. He couldn't stop staring at them, no matter how much his eyes burned from their intense heat. It was almost like he was under a spell- "AL?! Hey!" His arm's were knocked out from under his head, making him smack his nose and forehead against the hard wood floor.

"OW!" He cried out, pushing himself up onto his knees in order to tend to his now bleeding nose. "Ed, what was that for?!" He wined, his voice throaty due to his pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You were spacing out again!" The same voice that had called his name before, the one responsible for his bloody nose, answered him from his right. "Come on, we'er almost done with this one!" He turned, his eyes growing wide when he spied the young boy sitting beside him. He looked no older then eight or nine and had golden blonde hand and matching golden eyes. He was laying on his belly, his upper body propped up on his elbows as he stared intently down at the yellowed pages of an old, worn out book.

"...brother?"

Ed glanced up at his younger brother, his brow furrowing in worry and mild irritation. "Yeah? What the heck are you crying about? It didn't hurt that bad did it?" He asked making Al raise his right arm, rubbing it against his misty eyes.

"N-no, I just..." Al sniffled making Ed frown. "I-I'm just happy t-that you're here..." Al felt Ed's hand ruffle his hair, the action soothing to his frayed nerves.

"Don't worry Alphonse..." Ed said, his voice leaning towards a taunting tone as he continued consoling his little brother. "I'm not going anywhere. After all..." Al's head snapped up as Ed's voice mutated, resembling a chorus of individual voices that clashed against one another in such a way, it made the hair stand on up on the back of Al's neck. He let out a startled gasp; he was no longer on the floor, snuggled with his big brother beside the roaring fire in their childhood home. Instead he was sitting on his knee's in a room devoid of all color; a room so white it made his eyes hurt. But Al dared not close them.

Before him, it's hand still laying atop his head, stood what looked to be a young boy; or at least, the out line of one. All Al could see of this boy was the very light outline he had that hardly made him distinguishable from the stark white room, and wide, sinister smile. This void of white giggled, it's chorus of voices making Al tremble from head to toe. It leaned it close to him, his featureless face drawing itself with in just a few centimeters of Al's face. "...I am you."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Al let out an ear piercing scream as the featureless person before him shifted, his face becoming Al's own face, and his body becoming Al's own body. Moving to grasp at his head with what should have been his own flesh and blood hands, Al let out another scream as hand's void of color, and barley distinguishable from the stark white room, came up instead.

His double laughed as if devoured by madness, rocking back and forth on the balls of it's feet. Al moved to grab hold of his double's wrist only to let out a shout of surprise when he was lifted from the ground by what looked and felt like hundreds of tiny black snakes with hands in place of heads. "NOOOO! LET ME GO!" Al scratched at the floor with is colorless hands as the small black snake hands pulled him back into the pseudo space. But this time was different.

This time he could feel his stomach bottom out as he flew through the seemingly empty void, the small snake hands clutching tightly at every inch of his skin. In the far off distance he could see a pin prick of light, and the closer he came to it the more he could-

"Al!-"

Al gasped, his suit of armor jerking violently as he was suddenly thrust back into the here and now. Edward, covered with bandages and dried blood, was knelt before him, hammering Al's helmet in desperation. "HEY! Answer me damn it! ALPHONSE!"

"... big brother...?"

"Hey, are you okay?!" Ed exclaimed, resting his sore left hand on the top of Al's helmet. "What happened? Why weren't you responding?!" His shoulders slumped and his face turned a light shade of green as his stomach once again rolled inside of him. "You had me worried sick..."

Al visibly wilted at his brothers proclamation, a contrite sound echoing through his armor. "I'm sorry..." He let his head fall in guilt, though upon doing so let out a loud gasp. "W-what-" His chest plate had been removed, leaving it's hollow interior exposed to those around him. He was covered in blood, both inside and out, and a long, smeared trail lead some five feet away from him where a sheet covered body lay. "Uuh..." From his left came Armstrong who knelt before Al in order to block the body from his view.

"We thought it best, to remove her before you could wake up..." He said, his voice thick with sympathy.

Al brought his hands up to his helmet, holding it as if he were about to break into tears. "I'm sorry... I-I couldn't...save her..." His voice was tight as he tried to rein in the feelings of overwhelming guilt. There was nothing he could do for her, but still...they trusted me to protect her...and I failed...

"It's not your fault, Al." Ed rubbed Al's helmet reassuringly, a soft smile on his face. Let's go home, ok? Teacher's waiting."

AL nodded his head, letting out one last shuddered breath before glancing around the sewer hall. He could see multiple military personnel standing around, collecting evidence in order to put Greed and any surviving chimera's away no doubt, but something was missing... "Brother, where's Demi?" Ed tsked, a frown falling onto his face making Al instantly regret his question. "S-she- is she-"

"Dmitria is being kept at the local Infirmary," Armstrong said before moving out of his knelt position in order to help Al to his feet. "She has yet to awaken from her unconscious state; it seems that Mr. President miss took her for one of Greed's subordinates and hit her much harder then he would a normal, human foe." Armstrong reached down and grabbed Al by the back of his armor, hoisting him up with one arm much to Al's surprise. "Your brother is simply upset that she's being kept at the Infirmary instead of your teachers home."

Ed grumbled something unintelligible while rubbing the back of his neck, an ever so light tinge of pink dusting the apples of his cheeks. "What ever- let's go Al, before Teacher hunts us down-"

"Wait a moment." Ed, Al and Armstrong all turned around to find Bradly heading their way, his arms folded neatly behind his back and a stern frown on his face. "There's a few questions that I have for the two of you. Did any of you, Lead included, make any deals with the man known as Greed?"

"No." Edward answered quickly, his brow furrowing irritably. Couldn't this wait until after they washed the blood off of Al?

"Did you obtain any important information?"

Ed shook his head rigidly. "Nothing that would be beneficial to the military."

"Hmmm... Let me make myself a little clearer." Bradly said, his tone taking on a sharp edge making a cold sweat break out over Ed and Armstrongs foreheads. "I'm not asking these questions for military use, but if the three of you have made any deals with Greed or his co-conspirators, then I'll have to execute you two on the spot should I view it as necessary." Ed and Armstrong visibly stiffened as the men in the sewer shifted, aiming their fire arms in Ed and Al's directions. "Now I'll ask you again; did any of you make any deals with Greed that could harm the military?"

"No." Ed answered again, his mouth falling into a firm line. "Do you have any other questions, or are we done here?"

Bradly hummed, his green eye drifting from Ed to Al and back again slowly. "Your steel right arm and your brothers armor body... are they related in any way?" Ed felt as though he had been sucker punched, the air in the sewer suddenly to thick to breath properly. Why hadn't he thought of that before? The Fuhrer- the very man who had the power to take away anything and everything he wished, had just seen the inside of Al's armor- "Ah, an honest one!" Bradly's cheerful tone shocked Ed out of his thoughts and scowl, leaving him blinking in wide eyed astonishment as Bradly smiled down at him before turning on his heel and motioning towards his men. "Let's pull out now." He said earning nods form his earnest men. "That brother of yours, take good care of him Fullmetal. And sorry about your partner," Bradly turned his head as if to glance at Ed through his eye patch, the gentle smile still in place. "Lead should be right as rain by morning." Ed, Al and Armstrong watched in muted confusion as the Fuhrer, the ultimate power in all of Amestris, waved over his shoulder before disappearing into the dark halls of the Sewer.

Ed grunted as he lifted a pale of water, splashing it onto the breast plate of Al's armor. It had been quite an ordeal getting home, given they had to take many back streets to avoid stirring up a panic in the town due to Al being covered in blood, but once they stepped foot through those doors they could feel the tension from that day's ordeal starting to melt away. Teacher scolded them both to high heaven, pushed Ed into a full bath tub of water cloths and all, and forced food down his throat shortly after. Once she had calmed down, they were able to tell her what all had happened. Like Ed, she was quite angry that Dmitri was being kept at the infirmary. "WHAT, DO THEY THINK I LACK THE ABILITY TO CARE FOR THE WOUNDED?!" She had shouted, her anger causing her to tighten the fresh bandage she was tying around Ed's head to pull to tight, making him start shouting and flailing frantically.

"Alright!" Ed exclaimed as he did one last rub down on the inner wall of the breast plate. "All cleaned up!" Tossing the wet and slightly blood stained rag over his shoulder Ed turned towards Al, who was sitting in the open doorway that lead into the back of the shop. "...you alright?" Al jumped a little, as if suddenly startled from his thoughts.

"Ah... yeah, I was just thinking is all..." He said, his arms coming up to wrap around his knees.

Ed frowned and walked towards his younger brother, the slip on sandals he'd borrowed from Mason scraping loudly against the pavement. "It's not your fault you now-"

"It's not about that, I promise!" Al said, holding his hand up and waving it in a dismissive way. "It's just... I got them back... my memories from when my body was taken."

Ed's eyes widened in shock. "H-how was it?!"

"Hmmm... well, it was deffinantly weird!" Al wiggled his arms the best he could, trying hard to imitate the motion of the snake hands that had grabbed him. "And I think I met that weird guy that Demi told us about too- the man she called Truth. But..." Al sighed, his hands falling to his side in dejection. "But I don't remember anything about Human Transmutation..."

"Hmmm..." Ed sighed gently before shrugging his shoulders and grabbed Al's breast plate, pulling it over him. "You don't say."

Al nodded and grabbed the breast plate, fastening it into place with expert fingers. "Yeah... so after all this we still haven't gotten any closer."

"I wouldn't say that," Ed said as he walked over and picked up the bucket, tossing the bloodied rag into it. "Remember what happened int he hospital in Central? After the fifth lab."

"Yup- the Fuhrer came in and asked us about the Uroborus gang." Al said as the two stood at the bottom of the stairs. "President Bradly said that he suspected that they were causing unease in the military, and he wants to catch them as soon as possible. Then he jumped out the window in order to hide from his body guards." Al chuckled a little at the end, the thought of their distinguished and noble Fuhrer taking such crazy steps to avoid someone laughable.

Ed nodded, his light hearted smile morphing into a serious frown. "Then why did he give the order to slaughter everyone associated with Greed? If he wanted to catch all of the Uroborus gang, wouldn't it have made more sense to capture as many as he could and question them? He might have, at the very least, gotten a general area of where their base is located."

"That's right!" Al exclaimed, Ed's revelation striking in him exactly how odd the situation was. "And isn't it a little strange that the President himself would come down to the sewers when he had so many men? I mean, sure they probably wouldn't have stood a chance against Greed, but isn't that a move saved as a last ditch effort?"

Ed rubbed his chin in thought, uncertainty settling into his chest. "And what about what happened with Dmitri? She's on a first name basis with Bradly- he even hinted that she's been over to his personal home on many occasions and shares a relationship with his kid. One eye or not, don't you think he would have recognized her, even in those conditions?"

Al made an unsure sound in the back of his throat. "About that brother... was Demi acting alright around you?"

"Hm?" Ed shot his brother a curious glance. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Al rubbed the back of his neck in uncertainty. "When she saw Greed, he was pretty beat up from the President; his arms were missing and he had to big wounds, one on his chest and one across his throat. And she... she tried to stop the bleeding. I couldn't really hear what they were talking about but, but Greed was trying to push her away, like he didn't want her help..." Ed's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would she- "The President knocked her unconscious; I was pretty shocked, since she was on our side. But Greed... it was weird, brother. He got really mad at the President for hitting Demi, and shouted at him to "leave her alone"."

Ed scowled, the thought of one of those monsters feeling anger over his partner leaving a bad taste in the back of his throat. "I'm sure she was just trying to get some answers out of him. Those bastards have been causing us a lot of trouble, and they won't drop the whole "mother" bull shit act either."

Al nodded in understanding. "Yeah, you're probably right, but... " A mental image of Greed's face as he knelt on hand and knees over an unconscious Dmitri flashed across Al's mind, making him frown internally. "Are you sure they're lying brother? About Demi-"

"What?! Come on Al, get real!" Ed shouted, his voice echoing off the back of the shop. "Dmitri's only two years older then I am, and those tattooed assholes are obviously over twenty five! There's no way in hell she could be-"

"Brother! Please calm down, I wasn't finished!" Al said, holding his hands up in surrender at his older brothers flared temper. Ed huffed but snapped his mouth shut, giving Al the sign to continue with his explanation. "I know that Demi's not old enough to be a mom," the left side of Ed's mouth twitched. "But what if it's similar to what we saw with Nina and Tucker? Demi looked an awful lot like Nina's biological mother, and that made Nina and Tucker love her even more... maybe she looks like someone the Uroborus gang saw as their mother- or maybe she even looks like their own biological mother." Al looked off to the side, his voice turning thoughtful as he continued. "Greed mentioned that a homunculus is an artificial human... but he sad that the word "artificial" didn't really apply to himself and the rest of his gang back in central."

Ed chewed on the inside of his cheek; Al had a valid point. Blonde hair and blue eyes, even though Dmitri's were a rare shade of aurora, were a pretty common feature among Amestrians. And so far each, and every one of those Uroborus members all had the exact same eye color... aurora blue. While rare, it's not out of the ball park that someone else with Dmitri's looks was involved in the creation of such monsters, and such a trait would be dominant, just like in the Armstrong family who are distinguishable due to two traits in particular; hair and eye color, and their unusual strength. Ed sighed, scratching his cheek irritably. "Yeah, I know you've got a point Al, but it still pisses me off. I just want them to go away and leave us alone- leave her alone. She never talks about it, but I know it's stressful for her, and now that we know she has no memories from when she was a kid, I think that just makes it worse on her."

"Ho-ho~~" Al chuckled at Ed making him shoot his brother an 'have-you-lost-your-mind' look. "You know what Demi would be saying if she were here?" Ed blinked up at Al curiously, his previous unease slowly ebbing away due to his younger brothers suddenly playful tone. Al laughed again before pinching Ed's cheek with his massive fingers. " "You're so cute when you worry Edward! Awwwwwe, look at those cheeks-" AACK!" Al squealed in surprise when Ed punched him in the side, sending him falling over into the still open door way.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Ed shouted before tackling Al, leaving the bucket and rag on the ground in favor of putting his little brother into a choke hold. Al just laughed the whole time, as Ed was technically unable to choke him due to Al not having a flesh and blood neck. " You brat, I'm gonna get you for that! You better add an ass kicking to that list of yours!"

"Why the red face brother?" Al said between laughs when Ed finally released him, rolling over onto his feet with a frustrated huff.

"Shuddap-AHH!" Ed ducked just in time to avoid a kitchen knife to the face, which was now lodged into the wall just a foot away from Al. The two shook in fear as they stared up at their teachers angry face.

"What's with all the noise this late at night, huh?!" She shouted at them, making far more noise then the two of them combined, though neither dared to point such a thing out to her. "Get to bed, the both of you! Lights out is in twenty minutes!"

"YES MA'AM!" Ed and Al both booked it down the hall, fighting each other to get through their bed room door before slamming it shut behind them. Izumi watched then scramble, waiting for silence to fill the hall once again before letting out a strained sigh and dousing the light. Today had been a long, stressful one, but she knew that she wasn't quite done. No, she wouldn't be able to rest easy until she had all three of her teen's sleeping under her roof again.

"That stupid girl." Izumi said, stopping just short of her own bed room door...how dare she make me worry like this, damn brat... she entered the room, unsurprised to find her husband already deep in his open eyed slumber...why the hell do I care so much anyway... I just met her yesterday... Izumi smirked when she remembered the two of them scolding Ed right before he left to talk to Greed. It a small way, Dmitri reminded Izumi of herself, but with Sig's patience...I wonder... if our baby had survived, would he have been like her... with that thought in mind Izumi climbed into bed, her head coming to rest on her husbands chest. On instinct his arm came to wrap around her side, holding her close in his sleep. It didn't take long for his warmth and comforting presence to start taking effect on her, lulling her to sleep.