Red Roses2: 12 pages. Awesome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. That belongs to Hiromu Arakawa.

!#$%^&*()_+~

Al stared at Desperate as the waitress poured more tea into Winry's, Fletcher's, and Russell's glasses. Desperate's water glass sat untouched, as was Al's. Desperate played with his hair, smiling weakly, a small glint of longing flashing in his purple eyes whenever he glanced at the sidewalk when someone walked by. Then the glint would be replaced with disappointment and . . . Al couldn't figure out what it was before Desperate hid it.

This was a homunculus. But what did this mean? The definition of a homunculus was "a man-made human", but could it be a human back from the dead? This Desperate didn't act much like Ed, but who knew the damage the transmutation caused?

Desperate obviously didn't recognize Russell of Al, but he knew Fletcher on sight. Did that mean Ed's memories were damaged, resulting in a seemingly different personality? If that was the case, then the real Ed was still in there.

Al just had to dig it out.

Russell was telling Winry something or other, and Fletcher sat awkwardly next to Desperate, looking like he wanted to say something but afraid of the answer.

"Desperate, why do you keep looking at the street?" Al asked.

Desperate stiffened, then tried to widen his smile.

"Just in case Brother shows up. . . ."

Winry tensed but pretended otherwise.

"Didn't that woman say he was in Leore?" she said.

Now why was Fletcher tensing?

Desperate grimaced.

"I don't like her. She says mean things and makes Brother angry."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's unlikely."

Desperate frowned, looking dejected.

"Of course," she added quickly, "that doesn't mean we won't find your big sister. She's here somewhere, isn't she?"

"Yeah. . . ."

Desperate bowed his head. Winry sighed.

"You have a brother and sister?" Al asked. Did that mean there were more homunculi?

Desperate nodded.

"Are you an older brother?"

Russell furrowed his eyebrows, his attention now solely on Al. Desperate looked at Al for a moment, then smiled at him pityingly.

"Of course not, silly. I'm too small and fragile to be the big brother."

. . . . Well. The real Ed certainly wouldn't say that. But the height thing was a reaction caused by "painful" memories in Ed's past. So maybe . . . .

"What's this brother like?"

Russell raised an eyebrow at Al, but Desperate's smile became genuine.

"Brother's great. He even let Winry come back home with us!"

"Let me. Right." Winry muttered, laughing nervously. "He certainly looks after you at any rate. So, Al, what have you been doing?"

"Just following Russell around. Does your brother have a name, Desperate?"

Please let his memory just be screwed up. Please let him at least get the name right.

"His name is Envy."

Al's helmet creaked as he fixed his sights solely on Desperate.

"And Sister's is Lust." Desperate turned his head in Winry's direction. "When will we go find her?"

Winry waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. Just be patient."

Russell's eyebrow climbed farther up his forehead.

"Envy and Lust? Who the hell names their kids that?"

Fletcher elbowed Russell in the side. Russell protested, but Fletcher glared him into submission. Desperate gave Russell a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

Russell stared blankly for a moment.

"What do I mean by what?"

"What you said. 'Who names their kids that.' What do you mean?"

Russell stared at him a while longer.

"Well, you know. When people have kids, they give them names. You get your name from your parents."

Desperate tilted his head to the side.

"Par . . . ents? What's a – parent?"

Winry, Russell, and Fletcher all stared at him with wide eyes. Al's armor creaked.

"You . . . don't know?" Fletcher said.

Desperate shook his head.

"Brother named me, and he's my brother. Can a brother be a parent?"

"Well," Winry said. "A brother can be a parent."

"But your brother can't be your parent. He would have to be someone else's." Russell added.

"A parent is an adult that takes care of you," Fletcher said softly. "And when your parents aren't able to, your big brother does for them."

Something flared up in Al's soul, but he did his best to quell it. IT wasn't in his best interest to lash out at Fletcher right then. He had bigger objectives to achieve.

Desperate hummed thoughtfully.

"I'll . . . have to ask Brother if we have parents. I don't think we do, though. . . ."

"W-why is your brother in Leore?" Fletcher asked.

Desperate opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it.

"I don't know," he said, his shoulders drooping. Despair crawled into his eyes, and his mouth trembled. "I don't even know why Lust is here. . . ." Desperate tugged at Winry's sleeve. "What if they're in trouble? What if they need help? I have to find them! I have to! I have to!"

Winry grabbed Desperate by the shoulders and shook him once.

"Your brother and sister are fine. They'd kill anyone who bothered to get in their way. All right?" Winry said, a slight edge to her voice.

Fletcher froze, Russell's eyes widened, and Al's armor creaked in surprise. Desperate looked distressed and confused.

"What are you talking about?" Desperate asked.

Winry let go of Desperate's shoulders and returned to her glass.

"Never you mind." Winry's eyes unfocused and her frown deepend. "Nothing anyone can do even if you knew."

Desperate's mood worsened, and he looked downright distraught.

Russell, Fletcher, and Al all shared a look.

"Desperate, why don't we go back to the hotel? To brainstorm about where your sister might be." Al said, standing up, the chair screeching behind him and his armor clanking. "Winry, Fletcher, and Russell will catch up."

Desperate hesitated, but Al could see that the possibility of finding his family overrode any attachments he had to Winry. Desperate followed Al away from the restaurant. . . .

But not in the direction of the hotel.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, as Al walked.

Shuff, shuff, shuff, shuff, as Desperate dragged his feet.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

Shuff, shuff, shuff, shuff.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

Shuff, shuff, shuff, shuff.

Clang, clang, clang –

"If you don't have parents, then how do you know if your brother and sister are really related to you?" Al asked.

Desperate looked at him, confusion sparking in those purple eyes. He looked absolutely pitiful.

"Of course he's my brother. What else would he be?"

"A liar?"

The shuffs stopped. Al halted and turned to look at Desperate. Desperate's lip trembled, and his eyebrows furrowed. His eyes hardened, despite the tears that shined in the corners.

"What makes you say that?" Desperate said . . . no, demanded. Like Ed would. It was Ed! Only Ed would get that worked up over a brother!

"You don't remember anything, right? So what's to keep someone from taking advantage of that?"

"Someone like you?" Desperate shouted.

Uh oh.

"No! Not like me! Like Envy!"

Desperate gnashed his teeth, his eyes flickering gold.

His eyes flickered gold as he snarled at Al.

"Don't ever talk about my brother that way! Bastard!"

Al gasped as the purple and gold fought for his irises, but the expression never changed. No, this was wrong. Ed's mind had to have been completely discarded for this to happen. Fletcher screwed up the transmutation, but Ed's soul was in there, and he could fix him – Al could fix him!

Al lunged for Desperate, and Desperate backed away, his shoulders just escaping Al's leather fingers.

"I can help you remember! I can help you remember your real brother!"

"Stay away from me! Envy is my brother! My only brothere!"

Desperate winced, probably because of his stomach pain – and Al stole the chance.

He tackled Desperate, but before he could do more than touch his shoulders, Desperate screamed. Not a battle cry, not a "help, I'm being attacked" scream, but a spine-chilling, blood-curdling, hair-curling shriek. A screech that burned lungs until they burst, that shattered windows, that could be heard all the way in Xenotime.

It was a scream of unimaginable pain, and Al had no idea of how to make it stop. He let go of Desperate, but the homunculus kept shrieking. Desperate collapsed and writhed on the ground. Al didn't know how long he'd scream but the horrifying sound echoed in his armor and reverberated against his blood seal. Al gasped as he felt the noise more than any normal being ever could.

And he screamed too.

The world became white as he stumbled backward. The farther he moved, the more he could see, and the less Desperate screamed. Once he came to the end of the street, Al saw the street more clearly than ever before . . . as though he were looking at it through Desperate's eyes. The feeling dissipated as Desperate curled into a ball on the sidewalk and sobbed, Al realizing the vague physical feeling he was trying to hold onto was the wet sensation of tears rolling down Desperate's face.

Al stood, immobile, just watching him cry, huddled up like a kitten . . . a poor wet kitten without a home and missing its only family. And he basically kicked the fragile thing, like an inconsiderate businessman only concerned with reaching his next destination.

Al lifted his head as the Trighams and Winry ran into view. Winry's eyes widened.

"Desperate!"

She ran over to him and gently touched him, but he flinched and sobbed harder.

"I want Big Brother!" Desperate wailed. "Where's my big brother? I need my brother! I need him!"

Russell ran over to Al, Fletcher hesitating to follow.

"What happened?" Russell asked.

Al couldn't tear his eyes away from Winry and Desperate. Winry tried to coax him into her arms, but he shook his head, only crying.

"I – I accidentally hurt him," he admitted.

Russell gave him a look – as though he were a disapproving parent – but Fletcher frowned, looking guilty, understanding, and pitying all at once.

"How'd you manage that?" Russell said.

Al watched Desperate curl into a tighter ball, hugging his stomach.

"I'm . . . not sure."

He couldn't do it again, though. That was for sure.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Gluttony yelped in surprise when the scream sliced through the air and shattered the window beside him. Glass cascaded upon him, cutting his skin. Lust brushed some off, her frown deepening. Envy's eyes widened as the sound beat against his ear drums. Sloth gazed around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Envy gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"That's Desperate's voice."

Sloth raised an eyebrow.

"Does he scream like that often?"

Lust shook her head.

"No. He doesn't talk about a whisper, mostly."

"So how do you know it's him?" Sloth demanded.

A vein throbbed in Envy's forehead, his fists clenched, and he ran ahead.

"Envy!" Sloth snapped.

"Wait!" Lust called, running after him, Gluttony at her heels.

Sloth followed at a leisurely pace. She could care less about the newest homunculus.

The humans could find and abuse him for all she cared.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Havoc slowed the car to a stop as the light turned red. He chewed on his cigarette and tapped his index fingers on the wheel. Maria Ross sat in the passenger's seat, her hands folded in her lap. She kept her eyes straight ahead, but they were unfocused. Bloch and Hughes sat in the back, Bloch looking out the window. Hughes's head was bowed, and Havoc couldn't see his expression from the rearview mirror. The light turned green, and Havoc put on the gas.

"Anyone know exactly why Russell called us?" Havoc asked.

Maria glanced at him.

"His call was after several concerned ones from citizens. The source of them was an almost unearthly scream. Rumor says it's the cause of the spontaneous window breaks. HE said he knew who it was and that we should meet him at the hotel he and Al have been staying at," she answered.

"So why did Fletcher insist on Colonel Mustang coming along?" Block asked as the car with Hawkeye and Mustang caught up with them.

Maria shrugged.

Havoc raised an eyebrow as he recognized the person on the sidewalk. He pulled over and slowed to a stop. He rolled the window down and leaned out.

"Russell?"

Hughes looked up and leaned forward until he was essentially using Havoc and the driver's seat to support his weight. Hawkeye stopped her car behind Havoc's.

Russell panted and rested a hand on Havoc's car.

"We can't get him to move, and he refuses to let us touch him. But I think he really needs some medical help. I didn't know who else to call. . . ." Russell explained.

The military personnel got out of the car, and Russell led them down the sidewalk.

"Who is it?" Hughes asked.

"He says his name is Desperate, and he's looking for his older sister here. But . . . well, Winry will explain it." Russell replied.

Hawkeye grabbed Russell's shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

"Winry!? As in Winry Rockbell!?" Hawkeye demanded.

"Like I said, you can talk to her about everything. But we kind of have to hurry. Fletcher's uneasy, and none of us know what exactly happened."

Hawkeye quickened her pace, and soon they came to the scene of the incident.

The sidewalk was covered in glass fragments that crunched beneath their feet. Al stood off to the side, almost as though he was hiding behind the shop sign. Fletcher hovered over Winry's shoulder, wringing his overall strap and worrying his lip. Winry knelt next to a huddled up figure clad in skin-tight black. Hughes and Mustang froze at the sight of the tattoo smack-dab in the middle of the small of his back.

A serpent eating its tail, forming a circle. An ouroboros. The last time they had seen that was back in Xenotime, on the corpse of Edward Elric.

Russell knelt next to the huddled figure.

"Desperate?"

The figure lifted its head, its blond hair flaling into view, but the military couldn't see its eyes from that angle.

"I brought some people who can help you. Will you let them?" Russell said.

The figure lowered its head and mumbled something. Russell raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"He said no alchemy," Winry translated. "He keeps saying no more alchemy."

Russell nodded, then stood up.

"Guess that's as good an invitation as any," he said, shooting a look at the others.

Hawkeye stepped next to Winry and clapped a hand on her shoulder. Havoc flicked his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it before walking to Desperate. He knelt down and gently pressed a hand to Desperate's back.

"My name's Lieutenant Jean Havoc. I'm going to pick you up, okay? I promise to be gentle."

Slowly, Desperate turned just enough so he could see Havoc, and Havoc could see Desperate's face.

Had Havoc not disposed of his cigarette, it would have fallen as his jaw dropped. It took him a moment to realize the eyes were not gold, but bright violet with gold lining the irises.

But Havoc swore to God that he was looking at the ghost of Edward Elric.

"You sure your name is Desperate?" Havoc blurted out.

"Yes." Said in a pained, breathy voice.

Havoc took a deep breath, then gathered the boy into his arms. Desperate's breath hitched.

"Don't worry, I've gotcha."

Havoc got to his feet and smiled confidently at the boy. He once carried Fullmetal this way, when he had fallen asleep in the car after a particularly taxing mission. Al would have done it, but they had agreed Havoc would do it more gently. Back then, Al still had problems controlling how roughly he handled living things. Fullmetal had been by no means light, but he had expected him to weigh more. It had been nice, to see the side that reminded him that Fullmetal was still a kid. This kid weighed less than Fullmetal did, and whereas Fullmetal had been asleep, this kid was wide awake and afraid.

"I'm going to carry you to the car, and then we'll take you to the hospital. Okay?"

Desperate nodded, but his eyes showed just how wary he was of Havoc. Havoc slowly carried him to the car, followed by Bloch.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Fletcher screamed as a lithe figure clad in the black jumped from the roof and landed amongst them, his feet creating a crater. Envy snarled at Fletcher, recognizing him instantly. Then his eyes landed on Winry.

"Where is he!?" Envy shouted. "WHERE IS DESPERATE!?"

"YOU!" Mustang yelled, prepping for a snap.

Lust jumped down from the roof and restrained Envy, her razor sharp fingers pressed against his neck.

"Calm down," she said. She looked at Winry. "Why aren't you with him?"

Winry glared at them defiantly and crossed her arms.

"Why'd your leader send us out here in the first place, without sufficient instructions?" she challenged.

Lust narrowed her eyes and Envy gritted his teeth, but then the tension decreased and Lust released Envy.

"She has a point." Lust said.

Envy growled.

"So where is he?"

Winry closed her eyes, turned her head away, and grunted. Envy snarled.

"You can't harm her or kill her. She's needed." Lust reminded him.

"We'll find him a new mechanic!" Envy shouted.

Winry opened her eyes.

"And what will you tell him if I'm dead? 'Oh, sorry you don't have a friend anymore that will look after you when we're not around even when that old lady's being a manipulative bitch, we decided to dispose of her'?"

Envy clenched his fists, but them his shoulders slumped and he pressed his palm to his forehead.

Mustand stepped forward, Fletcher hiding behind him.

"Who are you?!? Why did you massacre those children in Leore!?" Mustang shouted.

All but Envy, Lust, and Fletcher gasped.

Envy sidled a glare at Mustang, but it was more tired than before.

"The plan had been to get you and the Trigham brat to create a Philosopher's Stone so you could 'restore Fullmetal's brain' after I convinced you two that the brat's attempt at human transmutation actually worked. The murdered were a tool. Like the Ishbal Rebellion was." Hughes's, Mustang's, and Hawkeye's eyes widened. "But I lost my temper, which made it completely pointless." Envy shrugged.

Lust narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're an idiot." Lust deadpanned.

Envy glared at her.

"The brat's the one who transmuted Desperate's insides and created Desperate in the first place! What was I supposed to do?" Envy placed his hands on his hips. "But screw the Stone. I'm not working on it anymore."

Lust's eyes widened as Envy walked away.

What do you mean?"

Envy looked back at her.

"That bitch I call I mother needs to pay for what she's done."

Lust said nothing in response.

Mustang cocked a gun and pointed it at Envy.

"You're not getting away that easily. You're under arrest."

Envy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And pray tell how you will capture someone who is invincible? Or do you not remember our last encounter?"

Mustang narrowed his eyes.

"Come in for questioning and a trail, and we'll tell you where Desperate is."

Envy stayed still for a moment, then sighed and held his hands out, fists balled, knuckles up, thumbs and index fingers pressed against each other. Maria clamped handcuffs onto his wrists.

~!#$%^&*()_+

Block ended up being the one who had to go back for the others. Desperate refused to let go of Havoc. So Havoc sat, propped up in the hospital bed with Desperate's legs draped across his lap and his head pressed against his chest. The only explanation Havoc received was "you remind me of my big brother." Havoc guessed that was a good thing.