A/N: Hi again everyone. First thing is first. Thanks to all of three of you who reviewed. I'm so pleased with them that im gonna update earlier than planned. Im glad to know that people like our fic so much. Yusuke343

Disclaimer: I dont own FMA and as far as I know neither does The New FMA

"Please… help… us…" the young girl said weakly before fainting.

"Urgh… No! Jacque!" the boy cried out, face contorted with pain. Al ran forward and scooped the boy up while Pinako and Winry tended to the girl, the one called Jacque.

"What the hell?" Ed asked softly, frozen in place and staring at the spot where the two children had been. He suddenly snapped back to his senses and turned to help Pinako and Winry take the girl to a bed upstairs. After making sure that the girl was resting soundly, the three came back down-stairs to find Al trying to comfort the young boy.

"No… Jacque…" the boy groaned, thrashing his head from side to side as if having a bad dream. Suddenly the boy opened his eyes and looked around at the four figures huddled over him. "Jacque… please… help…"

"It's ok," Winry hushed him, "she's resting upstairs. Now please, tell us, what happened to you two? Where are you from? Did someone hurt you? Or - "

The boy gave a raspy laugh. "No… no one hurt us… no one… but ourselves…" he wheezed before gritting his teeth in pain. Winry, Al, and Pinako looked on worriedly as the boy tried to continue speaking.

Ed's mind raced; he broke out in a sweat and his face paled. He couldn't take it anymore… "What happened?" he asked the boy harshly, surprising everyone in the room.

The boy laughed again. "I… guess… this is why… human transmutations… are forbidden."

Ed's mind snapped; his eyes widened. "No…" he said shakily, clutching at his head, "No, not again… NO!" Ed shouted as he began to shake violently.

"Brother!" Al grabbed a-hold of Ed, trying to calm him.

Winry's eyes filled with panic. "What do you mean? Are you trying to tell us that you attempted human transmutation?"

"Yes… Nngh!" the boy wheezed before another spasm of pain took over.

"He's missing an arm and a leg…" Pinako harshly observed. She glanced over at Edward, who was crying silently in a corner of the room. "Hurry, Winry, let's get this boy into the operating room!" Pinako told her granddaughter. "Al, you carry him in!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Al said as he carefully took the boy into his arms and left the room, Winry following right behind.

Pinako gave a dark look before sighing and turning to head towards the operating room as well. She placed a hand on the door. "Edward…" she said to him, although her eyes were focused straight ahead.

Ed, still trembling slightly, looked up towards her.

"It's going to be alright…" and with that she opened the door and proceeded towards the operating room. She sighed. It had been almost 5 years since she had needed to do a surgery such as this, and she had hoped that the first time would have been the last…

A few days later, at the Rockbell residence…

"Nhhh…"

"Ed, look! He's finally coming to!" Winry called out excitedly from the other room.

Ed ran over and looked down at the red-headed, slowly awakening boy. "Hey, there," Ed said softly, "how're you feeling?"

"Not too bad… OW!" the boy shouted as he tried to sit up. He looked at his right side in alarm. "What the hell? Where's my arm? What is this?" he shouted, panicking.

"It's ok! It's ok! We fitted you with auto-mail, that's all! I know it hurts, but please, you have to calm down!"

The boy stopped shouting, but continued to breathe heavily. "But… why?" he asked, searching Winry's face for an answer.

"Well, when you got here your arm and leg were missing. You told us that you had attempted a human transmutation," Al told him.

"Don't you remember anything from the other night?" Ed asked, concerned.

The other night? the boy thought. "How long was I out?" he asked.

"Two days," Winry told him, putting a hand to his forehead and noticing satisfactorily that his fever had gone down.

"Oh," the boy said, slightly embarrassed from both being out cold for two days and from Winry's touching him.

"So, now that you're feeling better, I have a question for you," Ed said, leaning against the wall with arms crossed, head bent, and eyes hidden by his golden bangs.

"Err, yeah, shoot," the boy said nervously, trying to read Ed's expression.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Ed shouted, grabbing at the boy's shirt collar.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked darkly, blue eyes narrowed. His brow became beaded with sweat from the searing pain in his shoulder caused by being physically pulled upwards by Edward.

"I'm assuming that you're an alchemist?" Ed asked with a nasty grin.

"Yeah…" the boy agreed through gritted teeth, red hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.

"THEN YOU KNOW THAT HUMAN TRANSMUTATION IS FORBIDDEN!"

"Brother, please, stop - " Al cried out, but was quickly cut off by the shouting.

"YEAH, SO WHAT? I HAD A GOOD REASON!"

"OH, YEAH? WELL YOU KNOW WHAT? THERE'S NEVER A 'GOOD REASON' TO ATTEMPT A HUMAN TRANSMUTATION! I HAD TO LEARN THAT THE HARD WAY!"

"I tried to bring my brother back…" the boy said in a gravely serious tone.

Edward stopped short. "I see…" he said as he slowly let go of the boy.

"Just like you, Brother," Al added softly.

"So, Al…" the boy asked through labored breaths, "You're… a soul attachment?"

"What? Me?" Alphonse asked, genuinely surprised. "But-but… how did you know?"

"Your voice… it's hollow…"

"Oh…"

"Hey," Ed asked, avoiding the boy's blue eyes, "what's your name, anyway? We didn't catch it… before…"

The boy blinked. So… he's not mad at me? he thought. A minute of silence went by.

"Well?" Ed prompted gruffly, hazarding a quick glance at the boy.

The boy laughed at Ed's caution. "My name's Jayson," he said with a smile.