Ladies and gentlemen, this one is a long one. It explains Freddy's medical condition, at long last, because a fair few have been waiting to know what it is. It also has some 'splaining and a sweet moment between Ed and Freddy. Nothing too sweet, if that's what you think!

Disclaimer: Julie owns Freddy. Ownerships papers on Ed haven't quite come through yet.

My Misadventures in Alchemy

Chapter 11: Truth Will Set You Free

"She lied."

"She probably didn't think we needed to know, Brother!"

"Our mission was to get her home alive, operative word being 'alive!'"

I could hear Ed and Al's bickering, though it sounded disjointed and distant, sluggish as though on a radio with a bad signal. I felt my body begin to wake itself from its slumber, the weak feeling working its way out of my muscles and at last the signal in the radio connected. I smiled slightly as the Elric brothers continued their argument and I peaked my eyes open, blinking at the bright light above me, noting the tiles on the ceiling and the smell of antibiotics. My throat was tight and my voice was raspy from disuse.

"I'm really getting tired of waking up in weird places."

I heard the clanking of metal and was engulfed in a steel embrace, being slightly crushed as Al hugged me. As sweet as the gesture was, I was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Freddy, you're awake, are you alright?!"

"Can't breathe…"

"Oh!"

He released me and I gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. Sitting, legs crossed under the blanket, I watched as Al sat down in the chair next to my bed. I got comfortable, wincing at the feeling of an IV in my arm, noticing the bandage that covered the cut in my hand and I looked around at my hospital room. Sitting in the chair directly across from my bed was Edward, his automail arm in a sling and a scowl on his face. He glared at me and I heaved a sigh before turning my attention back to Al.

"Hey Al Pal, how are you?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"A right side better then your brother judging by the look on his face!"

Ed sniffed at this and I glanced back at him. His eyes had that dangerous look about them and it was quite clear just how angry he was. Al gave a nervous shift and started speaking again, but I kept my eyes locked with Ed's.

"You were out for two days! The doctor said there was a problem with your heart! And it wasn't all to do with the explosion!"

Two whole days, eh? As Al spoke, I saw Ed's eyes turn darker until I couldn't meet them anymore and I dropped my gaze to my hands, folded in my lap and I sighed. I could feel Al and Ed staring a hole into my head and I spoke in a timid voice.

"I know."

"Then why didn't you tell us!? Why did you lie?"

I jumped at Edward's sudden outburst and looked up to see he was standing, left fist clenched and face flushed. I stared at him wide eyed and dumbfounded for a moment, then my anger flared up, spilling over.

"What do you mean by that!?"

"You lied by omission!"

How dare he! I was about to rant at him, scream and give him a piece of my mind when he continued in a growling voice.

"You knew you had a problem, that's why you had the medications, and all you did was say it's 'none of our damn business!' You nearly died, Winnifred!"

That shut me up. I sighed and hung my head, my hair covering my face. The tension in the room was thick and I could tell Al was staring at his brother in shock, while Ed was giving me the Glare o' Death. He had used the angry name. I thought a moment, then after a sigh, I looked back up at Ed.

"I did lie. I'm not a bad swimmer."

Ed's face changed from one of anger to confusion and shock. Al just stood there, looking between his brother and me, hoping for some form of clarification. I gave a small smile to Ed.

"I'm actually a really strong swimmer. I was on the swim team at school and everything. I lied to you about what happened at the lake."

Ed continued with the look of confusion and so I kept going, looking down again, voice quiet.

"Do you remember what I told you? About how I went under, drowned and had to be revived?"

Silence. I took that as a yes and continued.

"I went into cardiac arrest. But the drowning didn't cause the cardiac arrest. The cardiac arrest caused the drowning."

I heard Ed step forward and I looked up to see him standing at the end of the bed. I bit my lip and kept going.

"I have this weird condition where my body tells my heart to work too hard. Basically it thinks I'm in danger and my heart pumps a mile a minute with extreme force, when in actuality I could just be standing there, not in any danger what so ever. The only problem is it's just my heart that's having these reactions. Because there's no adrenaline, the rest of my body is calm while my heart is working overtime and my body is bombarded with extra signals and extra blood. My heart doesn't beat properly, my blood pressure goes up and down extremely fast and I get really bad pain in my chest. The lake was the first time the condition showed up."

Ed stared at me and I stared back, waiting for someone to say something. We played this little game of Chicken for a few minutes until finally Ed looked down at the ground and spoke in a monotone voice.

"What's the condition called?"

Easy question enough.

"Prince Metals Disease."

Ed looked back up at me and continued.

"It can be fatal?"

I nodded.

"And the medication works?"

Uh oh. I knew it would come down to this. How was I going to explain this without getting transmuted into something terrible and oozing?

"Somewhat."

I winced as soon as the word was out of my mouth. Ed quirked an eyebrow.

"'Somewhat?'"

"Well, you see… I was starting to run low on the medication, so I've been halving and quartering my doses to make it last longer. That way I wouldn't run out and have to go cold turkey…"

Ed's eyes widened almost comically and Al slapped his leather hand against the eyes of the helmet, the sound reverberating. I tried giving Ed the same innocent smile I had given Envy and Gluttony, praying it work. It didn't.

"What?! You did what?! How can you hide something like that! We had to trust that you told us the truth about everything so we could get you home, then you lie and sneak around behind our backs!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I stared at him, face flushing. I quickly removed the IV, something I had learned to do long ago, and jumped out of bed, thankful for pajama pants under the hospital gown. I walked around to the foot of the bed until I was inches away from Ed, glaring up at him and shouting.

"You want to talk about the truth!? You want to talk about trust and lying!? You're the one who knew about Envy and what it meant to be considered an 'ideal sacrifice' and you said nothing! Not a warning, you let me walk around without a clue to be blindsided! Who were Hughes and Nina? And what the hell happened to your mother?!"

I had said something hurtful in my anger and as soon as I had finished speaking I gasped and clapped my hands over my mouth. Ed stared at me with a sad expression and I looked over to Al, and though he couldn't show it, I knew he was sad and anxious as he watched his brother. I looked back at Ed as he spoke in a soft voice, still staring at me.

"Al, do you mind stepping outside for a moment?"

I watched as Al turned, walking slowly towards the door and opening it. After one more glance at his brother over his shoulder, Al stepped out into the hallway, the door closing behind him with a click. The quiet of the room engulfed us and I shivered as I turned my attention back to Edward. He now glared at me and I took a step back as he spoke, anger flaring with each word.

"We didn't tell you about Envy because we figured that there wasn't a need! We figured we'd get you back home before Envy would find out about you! We figured if Envy did find out about you he wouldn't be bothered! I know it was dangerous for you just like it's dangerous for Al, why do you think he wasn't there when I came to get you? As for Hughes and Nina, they were friends of mine. Two people in the wrong place at the wrong time and I couldn't help them even though I wanted to! And my mother…"

He stopped yelling at me and after a moment he turned away, his back to me and he walked a few steps before speaking. I felt my heart sink with each word he spoke.

"Our mother was sick. She died when we were kids and our father left when I was four and Al was three, so we didn't really have anyone. That's why I convinced Al that we should learn alchemy. When I was eleven and Al was ten, we tried to bring her back. Despite being taught not to, we tried. That's all we wanted, was our mom back."

I fisted my hands at my sides as I stood there glaring at Edward's back. He tried the unthinkable! He tried what I had learned to be Human Transmutation, the greatest alchemic taboo. He himself had warned me never to try it, the hypocrite! And yet here he was, confessing that he had stepped on Nature's territory and had tried to create life, tried to rewind death and put a spark into his mother's heart so she could live again! I gritted my teeth as he turned to me and continued.

"The transmutation failed and what we brought back was nothing like our mother. Something went wrong, Al's body was taken and so was my left leg. I gave up my right arm to get Al's soul back and I transmuted it to the armor. We've been looking for a way to get our bodies back ever since."

He looked up at me and I met his eyes for a moment, mulling my thoughts over and over until finally I screamed at him, tears streaking my face.

"You tried to bring her back!? I can't believe it! Life only goes one way: You're born, you live, you die! That's it, no second chances! What were you thinking!? What you two did was so careless, so reckless, so irresponsible, so stupid and dangerous!"

I stopped screaming and looked at Edward, who's eyes rimmed with tears and he crossed his legs and sat on the floor, eyes covered by his left hand. I swallowed as the tears spilled over my cheeks and I suddenly understood as I watched Ed. Now that I wasn't ranting, I saw that I could relate to him in a lot of ways. Seth and I only had our mom, I don't know what would happen if I lost either her or Seth. If Mom was gone, I'd have to take care of Seth. Edward only had Al and he himself was just a kid. They were scared and alone, they just needed their family back.

I felt guilt and extreme sadness wash over me and I swallowed hard. I walked over to Edward, kneeling in front him, my eyes about even with his. I touched his arm and when he moved his hand so he could see, I leaned forward, wrapping my arms tight around his shoulders and I pulled him towards me, his eyes wide. I gave him a small kiss on the cheek before whispering quietly in his ear.

"I would have tried too."

I heard Edward gasp and after a moment, I felt warm moisture on my shoulder where he buried his face, the tears making their way loose. He didn't wail, he didn't yell, he just silently let the tears fall, quiet sobs barely heard. His arm wrapped around my back and I closed my eyes, stroking his hair and back, trying my best to comfort him and apologize.. My breath caught at the sound of the door opening and a quizzical female voice.

"Ed?"

Well... That was long, but it explains a lot. Prince Metals is a real disease, although it strikes seniors and men far more often then teenage girls. It is possible though, I actually have a friend who has it and she's 17. The symptoms I gave above are really just the bare bones, but you get the idea. As for that little kiss Freddy gives Ed at the end, that was friendship comfort. I've had a few requests for romance between Ed and Freddy, I don't know if I'll act on them or not, but that kiss was friendship. Nothing sucks worse then having a cry fest when a girl is trying to shove her tongue down your throat. As for the quizzical female voice, you shall find out next chapter.