AN: Heyo! I hope you all like this chapter! I spent two hours every day for the last two days on this, so I hope it's good. Constructive criticism would make my day! Disclaimer, I do not own FMAB or FMA. If I did, Envy would still be alive.

The next morning, Al woke up from a tapping on his shoulder. He tried to push the fingers away, but they were determined to wake him from his blissful slumber.

"Nngh," he mumbled, and cuddled closer to the pillows.

"Al, you have to wake up, the doctor's going to be here soon," Ed said.

Al sighed. "What doctor?" He rolled to face his older sibling. "Why?"

"You're sick; she's going to see what's wro-"

Al rolled his eyes and huffed. A doctor's opinion was not going to change his condition! He needed to tell Ed about his secret soon, before things got out of hand. How would he do it though? Ed would be furious, he knew that much, but he was also aware that as soon as he would confess, Ed would want to play hero and become reckless. Denial would have to work for now, he concluded.

"I'm not sick!" Al interrupted. "Just a cold! I swear, brother!"

Ed gave him an 'Are you kidding me' look. "You don't puke blood when you have a cold, Al!"

Al flinched. It was barely a day after that little incident, and Ed had already talked to Winry?

"You heard about that?"

"Yes, and you're seeing a doctor today. Get dressed."

Al closed his eyes and sighed. He was dreading this moment. He couldn't keep it a secret anymore. His brother needed to know the truth. He needed to Ed to know the truth.

"Brother, I need to talk to you about somethi-"

Much to his relief, Al's confession was cut off by Den's barking. The front door creaked open, and a chorus of greetings were loudly exchanged.

"Guys, Mrs. Lauren is here!" Winry called. Al stood and grabbed his cane. Ed shook his head disapprovingly and gave him a piggy back ride downstairs.

Mrs. Lauren preformed her checkup and announced that Al had symptoms similar to Yellow Fever. She gave Ed a container of pills, along with instructions.

"Just give him one tablet each morning for a few weeks or so. He should feel better soon."

Ed and Winry thanked the doctor and showed her out. Al was relieved to see her gone. All of her medical talk and constant prodding got annoying quickly. He took a single pill to ease Winry's anxiousness, and then retreated to the living room.

Ed followed soon after, plopping down on the sofa next to his brother. They awkwardly exchanged glances. Al looked away suddenly and rubbed his temples. Ed peered over to see if he was okay, but found Al scrunching his eyes shut.

"Al! Are you okay?" He asked. Al turned to face him again and grinned, his pale lips strained. "Yeah, I'm fine." A single tear rolled down his cheek, contrasting harshly with the forced happy expression.

Ed growled. Even when his little brother was in pain, why did he choose to hide it under fake smiles and lies? He smirked at the thought. Who was he kidding? He would've done the same thing.

"I'm going to get Winry," he said. When he stood up, Al grabbed his shirt and sighed shakily. "Ed, I really need to tell you something."

Ed nodded, sat back down, and stared at him; silently beckoning him to continue.

"The day I sacrificed my armor to get your right arm back…" Al curled up into a ball, his knees tight against his burning face, "Before you showed up, the Truth told me that I would need to sacrifice something more to regain my humanity. He said that a hunk of metal wouldn't cut it. I said that I would give up anything for you, and…" He trailed off. His eyes closed in the middle of the sentence.

"And?" Edward pressed.

Al blinked several times before he was awake enough to finish. "…And he took away my 'decent state of health.' I wasn't sure what exactly he meant by that, but before I could say anything; I was in front of my gate, staring at my physical body."

Ed clutched his head. This couldn't be happening. They had just gotten everything back to normal, and this is how life repays them? He wiped a single drop of water away from his face, and sighed. He was going to kick the Truth's ass for this. A loud cough shook him from his malicious thoughts. He scooted over to his baby brother's aid and patted his back until they quieted to weak hems.

Al hated the feeling you experience when you know someone is going to go to great measures for your well-being. He knew it far too well in fact. Not even a year ago was he in a suit of armor, relying on his brother to fix everything for him. Here he was now, in the same situation, but this time, physically ill? Was he even worth all of that pain? All of that sacrifice? The entire burden that he was to his older sibling?

"No", he declared to himself. "Brother is not going to go through hell again for my sake. It's time to fix my own problems, without him guiding me every step of the way. This is a task of my own."

The sound of coughing filled the house, but the only thing that the younger Elric could hear was his own mind planning out his mission.

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.

.

Once his family was asleep, Al packed necessities for his trip. His clammy fingers fumbled under his bed, but paused when he found the item he was searching for. He pulled out the shoebox that he had saved his allowance in when he still lived with Pinako as a boy. He smiled at an old memory of a nine-year-old Edward spending his money every week on candy.

Al was glad that he hadn't given in to the chocolate snacks like his brother had. He pocketed the money and snatched his drawstring bag. Today was a new day.

He snuck out of the house, and into the humid summer air. Den trailed behind him, his automail leg clicking every few steps. When he reached down to pet the dog one last time before he left, he face palmed his idiot self.

"How could I forget to leave them a note? They would be worried sick if I left without a trace! Thanks Den." Al patted him on the head and ran inside to scribble down a letter. He stuck it on the dining table, an obvious place for his family to look.

Al left the house once again, and ventured down the familiar streets of Risenpool. His body was exhausted following only twenty minutes of walking. He became nauseous soon after, so the sight of a tree in the distance was a relief. He scurried over to the stump and started retching. He panicked a little when he saw red tainting the dry grass, but wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He had to continue on.

He stood up, wiped off his pants, and started walking again. Coughs racked his body for the remainder of his trip to the train station, and small splatters of blood stained the sleeve he covered them with.

When he arrived at the train station, the scent of exhaust welcomed him. The bright lights hurt his eyes, so he rubbed them and walked like a zombie to the ticket booth.

"One 'cough' ticket please," Al said, placing some money on the counter.

The man recognized him immediately. "Alphonse! Traveling again already?"

Al nodded.

"Your brother's not wit'cha? That's a surprise!" He added.

"Yeah, I'm on my own this trip," Al rasped with a smile.

The man handed Al his ticket and gave him a sideways glance. "Hey, Alphonse, you feeling alright? Ya' look pale."

"Yeah, it's just a cold. Once I get back, it'll be gone." Oh, how he hoped he was right.

The man grinned and bid his farewells. Al searched the station for the train leaving for Central and boarded when he found it. He quickly settled in, falling asleep the moment he hit the seat.

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.

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"Ed! Edward! Wake up! Ed!" Winry cried, shaking the shaking the golden haired teen awake.

Ed cracked open his eyes and saw worried blue ones staring into his own. He sat up into a sitting position and groggily looked at the clock.

"Winry!" He whined, "It's seven in the morning, why the hell did you wake me up?!"

"Al left! I went downstairs to check on him this morning, but he wasn't in his room. I was on my way to your room, when I found this!"

She handed Ed a notebook paper filled with neat flowing letters that they recognized as Al's. Ed scanned the page suspiciously, and read aloud:

Dear Ed, Winry, and Pinako,

I think I know who to call to help me. I'll be leaving for a little while, but I'll be back really soon. Don't follow me Ed. I have to do this on my own.

Love,

Alphonse

Steam almost erupted out of Ed's ears. Was his little brother really this stupid? Didn't he see that they could help him? He crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room. He stomped to the door, snatched his pocket watch off of a table, and rushed out, tuning out the cries of the worried Rockbells.