- no specific episode -

Ed was holding Alphonse, who was bleeding out in his arms, fading in and out of consciousness. He sent a panicked glance towards Winry, who was tearing up and holding a hand to her mouth to hold back her sobs. Ed looked down at his brother for what he knew would most likely be the last time as he gently set him down, stood up, and walked over to Winry. He took her hand in his, the other resting on her face as he leaned in and kissed her, surprising her as her tears rolled down and landed on his face.

After a moment, he pulled back, leaving Winry crying (yet blushing) before he nodded.

"Wait, Ed! What are you-" Winry was saying, reaching for him, but he was already drawing out the circle, performing a ceremony he'd never been able to forget.

The day it all went wrong...the day that started all of this...

The memories overwhelmed him until suddenly, when he looked up, all he saw was white.
I'm here, he thought to himself, looking towards the door behind him and what looked like a strange spirit.

"What brings you here?" the slightly amused voice asked. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet, Alchemist?"

Ed bowed low, hands clenched in shaking fists at his side, eyes squeezed shut tight with both fear and hope. "Please! Save my brother's life!"

"And what will you give in return?"

Ed's eyes snapped open as he looked up. "Anything," he said softly, then his eyes narrowed. "Anything!" he said with more determination.

The spirit chuckled. "Anything, huh? That's a bit vague. Give me something I can work with here."

Ed looked down at his shoes with regret, Winry's face flashing before his mind, followed by everyone he'd met and come to know: Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Hughes...and lastly, Alphonse. Knowing that he had nothing else to wage, he looked towards the spirit with a new ferocity in his eyes. "I wager my life for his."

The spirit made a sound that expressed contemplation, and after a few moments of deliberating, nodded. "All right. Fair is fair. Your life for his. Your pain for his pain. Your wounds for his wounds. Do you understand?"

Ed nodded, eyes closed as he imagined Alphonse's smiling face. "I understand." He exhaled, a long and slow breath, almost as though waiting for himself to disagree, but the dissent never came. "I'm ready."

Almost at once, a searing pain ripping through his body, and he crumpled to his knees in agony, biting down on his teeth to avoid screaming out in pain as cuts, lacerations, and gashes appeared on his skin. First his legs went numb, then his arms. Last to go was his sight, and as the world faded to black, he could have sworn that he heard the strange spirit whisper, "Things are going to be a lot less interesting without you around." Then he died.

***

At the exact moment that Ed's eyes closed, Alphonse's opened, their hearts beating in sync for a single moment before Ed's faded away.

***

Alphonse blinked, opening his eyes and sitting up, expecting to wince in pain, but he felt perfectly fine. He lifted up his shirt, sure that he would be seeing a huge gash in his gut, but the skin was smooth, with not even a scar left behind.

"Thank goodness," Winry said, smiling at him as she tackled him in a hug before clocking him in the head with a wrench and yelling at him.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking around.

"You got hurt and Ed passed out, probably from overworking himself. He did some kind of ceremony, and I think it helped you. One sec. Now that you're awake, he'll be thrilled." Beaming, she turned from Alphonse and shook Ed's shoulder. "Ed? Ed? Wake up!" Glaring, she raised the wrench, but Alphonse stopped her.

"Winry," he said slowly, "did you see what type of circle he drew?"

Shrugging, Winry briefly described a few main details, and Alphonse paled. "No...no," he whispered, and Winry's eyes widened.

"What is it?" she asked, breathless, but when Alphonse didn't answer, she immediately looked to Ed, putting her head to his chest, but something was missing. "It's not...there's no..." She began, but as her tears began falling, she started hitting Ed's chest with the wrench. "Why?" she screamed through choked sobs. "Why you, Ed? Why do you always do this? Why didn't you tell me?"

After a few minutes, Alphonse gently took the wrench out of her hands and hugged her, safely pinning her arms to her sides. Her tears soaked his shirt, and more than anything, Alphonse wanted to cry as well, but he knew that he had to be strong for Winry. That's what Big Brother would have wanted, he thought, closing his eyes and smoothing back Winry's hair. Still, when he looked at Ed's lifeless body, his resolution to not give in to tears failed him immediately as his eyes grew watery. Until he was able to control himself, though, he didn't let go of Winry, not wanting her to see him in just as much pain as she was.

Brother...

Brother...