E y e . t o . E y e
Rated T for Teen
(For blood and language)

- : Ed and Al see eye to eye as brothers, they face differences, get in fights, and resolve problems, work together. They see eye to eye. : -

Chapter Two - So Confusing, These Notes -Part One-

Bite after bite, quickly being stuffed into his mouth, Ed shoveled in the food like the pig he was. And as usual, finished soon after he had even started. Picking up his plate, he moved to the sink, pushing the chair back with his legs, then carefully placing it into the sink, rinsing it. Shutting the water off, he dried his hands with the kitchen towel rag, and stretched, walking over to Alphonse. "Nnnnnnnyaaaawn," he yawned, obviously. Dropping his left hand, he set his right, mechanical on his younger brother's shoulder and smiled warmly, assuringly. Almost as if his hand was sending a vibe that said, "Thanks for the food" and also, too, as a way to comfort the boy. "I'm gonna get some sleep, Al. I'll be up in my room...I'm..." He yawned again, and finished, "I meant to say, I'm awfully tired."

"Alright, brother...Night." Alphonse gave the older boy a weary grin as Ed left to his room, before his head turned back down to his unfinished food. It was definitely getting late, and Ed was right to go to bed now...and Al knew that in the end, even if they were stuck here, they were at least together. A small smile crept to his lips, his eyes becoming distant as he thought. After two full years of everyone telling him that Ed was gone for good, after two years of searching, studying...training...they had actually found a way back...

Now, this was Edward. He was known for attempting all-nighters when it came to research, yet about 80 percent of the time, he failed miserably at that. And so he had a tendency to lie about what he was really going to do. Thankfully, the brothers each had a room to themselves rather than sharing one together. So Ed said his lie, carefully, and managed to get by Al without him suspecting him. Going up the stairs with a fake yawn that seemed real, the boy headed to his room quickly, but quietly. Entering his room, he took off his coat and threw it int the corner of the room and sat at his work desk. A few rocket pieces, some bolts and nuts and even some screws lay around his desk. With a soft grunt and sigh, he pushed them out of the way as he shut off the room's main light. What remained was a dully lit desk lamp, placed in the corner.

He flipped the switch, light barely emitting from the bulb, but it was enough for the blonde to make out the words in a book, or to write down notes he got from research.

Though, Ed and Al were studying together, Ed had been studying a more...advanced way back, one that only someone with a true understanding would be able to decipher. Moving towards the wall nearest the window, but not the actual wall with the window in it, he pulled out a small section of the wall, revealing a secret compartment he had made, years back.

This was Ed though. He constantly studied in secret. So that there wouldn't be even more stress than needed for Al to worry about. Ed never gave up. And it was true. With a sigh, he pulled several books and papers out of the compartment, along with a lead pencil, and popped the wall back into it's spot. Moving back to his desk, Edward Elric sat down with a sigh and placed the mass amount of notes he had written over the years. But those were complimentary, meaning they had no true value.

About a year and a half ago, the older boy had visited an ancient library, lined with books that most people never thought to have ever existed. But they did. An old, hard back covered book, with many pages ripped out or torn slightly, the corners bent as markers, and a golden tint to the pages to show its true age, was in front of Ed now. In this old book, many different philosophers and alchemist from the 9th century all the way to the 14th and 15th century had owned and wrote their notes into. It was Ed's turn to read this large book and find the truth about the perishing alchemy on this side of the Gate.

Edward opened the book to any page, and upon doing so, he stumbled across some hard to read notes about the alchemy here. "Albedo?" He asked no one in particular, just the air around him. He held a finger to the word 'Albedo (alchemy)' and squinted to read what the page had to say.

"Albedo is one of the four major stages of alchemy; along with nigredo, citrinitas and rubedo. It is a Latinicized term meaning "whiteness" and follows the nigredo stage. Following the harrowing, chaotic nigredo, it is necessary for purification provided by the albedo which is literally referred to as ablutio; the washing away of impurities by aquavitae."

Ed's face twisted into a frown. When did alchemy have ANY thing to do about this stuff? Ed looked up a moment, as if to think about something. "Hm..." Sighing slightly, he closed his eyes a moment before opening them again and looking to the scribbles on the paper of the book. He began to slide his finger down the lines of text, continuing to read to himself.

"Nigredo, or blackness, in alchemy means putrefaction or decomposition. The alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter."

Edward fumed a moment. None of this was making sense to him, yet it was making perfect sense at the same time. "Damn it..." He whispered, turning his head to the door. He needed to rest, but in all honesty, he couldn't. Too much was going through his mind to even relax his own muscles. Edward began to jot stuff down on the paper, desperate to make sense of these notes. Honestly, Ed was glad he had stumbled across these, or else he may never have discovered this.

Edward turned back to the page, seeing many drawings, pictures of what the alchemists of that time thought to be the structure of a human. Ingredients were also jotted down, as Ed read to himself the apparent key elements and ingredients to making a Philosopher's Stone.

Flipping the page, a soft crunch was heard as Ed patted down the old yellow pages. He continued reading, more notes explaining more stuff, just as confusing as the previous excerpts.

"Citrinitas, or sometimes referred to as xanthosis is a term given by 15th and 16th century alchemists to "yellowness". It was one of the four major stages of the alchemical opus, and literally referred to "transmutation of silver into gold" or "yellowing of the lunar conscientiousness". In alchemical philosophy, citrinitas stood for the dawning of the "solar light" inherent in one's being, and that the reflective "lunar or soul light" was no longer necessary."

"Alchemical...opus? Hm..." He mumbled softly to himself. He jotted those words and sentences, and many diagrams and diaphrams. Charts and symbols. So many things to write down and try to figure out; to decipher.

"Rubedo is a Latin word meaning "redness" that was adopted by 15th and 16th century alchemists to define the fourth major stage in the "alchemical opus" in achieving enlightened consciousness and the total fusion of spirit and matter. The three alchemical stages preceding rubedo were nigredo (blackness) which represented putrefication and spiritual death, albedo (whiteness) which represented purification, and thirdly citrinitas (yellowness); the solar dawn or awakening." After that, many pages were blank, before it came to even more old notes. The notes were scattered within the book, and the book itself was hundreds of years old, well over 600 years of age.

With a yawn, Ed pulled out his pocket watch, the one he bought at the pawn shop, and read the time. It had been hours since ascending to his bedroom. With another yawn, he pushed the notes and closed the book, pushing it, too, to the edge of the desk. He muttered a few words, saying, "Only for a few minutes..." And like that, the boy was asleep, pulled into the world of dreams and fantasies.

Meanwhile, Alphonse had dumped his food, and poured out the rest of his milk, washing the dishes as he thought. Afterwards, Al dried his hands and he too went upstairs. "Hm..." He breathed as he walked back Ed's bedroom door. Maybe I'll study a little more and see if I can find any info that could be useful. He thought hastily. Walking past Ed's door, he went into his own room and pulled out a few book he and Ed had checked out from the library.

It was hours before the boy had nearly fallen asleep on his desk too. But, as his head fell to the table, he made a loud thud and shot his head up, looking around nervously for a moment. Letting out a long sigh, the boy stood up and stretched. Maybe he should go check up on Ed? Make sure he's doing okay. Al knew Ed was fine for the most part. But in the last few months, Ed had been having "horrible nightmares", as Edward had put it. But, no matter how hard Al pushed his brother to tell him about them, Ed refused and lied that he was fine; that it had only been a dream and nothing more.

Honestly, Ed needed to work on his lying skills. Alphonse sighed as he exited his room and tip-toed his way to Ed's room. "...Ed?" He whispered, just to see if Ed was awake as he cautiously opened the door. No response, but what Al found was more than enough to tell him that Ed had been hiding a secret from him...

End Chapter Two.

A/N: Aw, damn. I'm on a writing SPREE! WHEEEEE! Anyways, enough of that randomness. How are you all liking this story? -Grin- I'm real happy about it. Lately, I've done some MAJOR research, looking this stuff up. Anyways, I'd appreciate it GREATLY if you would all comment this story, give some encouraging criticism. I mean, if you think there's anything that might help and contribute to the story, feel free to tell me. I'm glad I've got any comments as it is since I'm new here. Heh. OwO;