A/N- Glad to see people like the story! On to chapter 3!

Disclaimer- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters.

Chapter 3- Sickness

Izumi was already awake, sitting downstairs on the living room couch contemplaiting what to do about the situation at hand. Whenever Al left the room his brother was in, Edward would take on the personality of a homunculus trying to overtake his body. It couldn't stay like this forever. Alphonse wouldn't be able to follow Ed around for years upon years. It just couldn't happen. So what would they do about Ed? So many questions...

She was jerked out of her thoughts by Al's now quiet voice entering her mind. "Sensei, can I talk to you?" Izumi shot up, probably worrying Al with the expression on her face changing from concentration to fear.

"Where's your brother?" Al looked at her timidly, thinking he might have done something wrong, or something to anger his teacher. "Well?"

"Sleeping... Is that bad?" Everything was okay. Izumi shook her head, and motioned for him to sit down next to her. "Sensei, there's something wrong with him... Something wrong with Ed." Al's eyes closed a little, and for a second, Izumi thought he might finally let the tears come out. But it passed over, and Al continued with his explanation. "He talks funny, and it's like his body heat just... Disappeared. I'm worried about him."

Unsure of what to say, Izumi pulled the younger Elric into an embrace. When she let go, he was giving her a blank stare, almost as though he knew she had some idea pertaining to what was happening to Edward.

"Maybe he still doesn't know how to react to the situation he's in. It must be very hard. You remember what I told you, about the stories from across the gate, where they're not allowed to use alchemy? They speak a strange language, and aren't very fond of strangers. And after all of these years, he saw your father. That was probably the hardest thing for him to take in, that his father was still alive and well, and no matter how much he didn't want to, he had to accept it." Alphonse nodded his head lightly.

"I'm sure that's Ed, but he seems so different."

---

Al was rushed back into the bedroom not long after his conversation with Izumi, and there was no explanation given to him as to why they would worry about the brothers being in seperate rooms. Ed was still sleeping.

"Brother?" Al had to admit, it was a little lonely in that room without his brother to talk to. "Brother, are you awake yet?" He wasn't. "Ed?" Finally, Edward began to stir from underneath the large blanket.

"Mmm..." When 'Ed' opened his eyes to stare at his younger brother, Al gasped and fell backwards, tripping on the rug below him and hitting his head on the bedpost. "Al? You okay?" Ed shot out of bed and stepped over, leaning down to look at his young sibling.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Everything looked normal now. What had happened? Al was so pale, laying on the ground staring at his brother in confusion.

"Al, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost or something?" Edward pulled Al up, who thanked him and reassured him there was nothing wrong, when really, so much was wrong.

---

Once downstairs for breakfast, the entire household was bringing up random conversations right and left. Izumi would need to be getting back to her own home soon, Rose was talking about her son being schooled by Winry, and Winry was trying to have a conversation with Ed. "And I was thinking, maybe you and Al should hang around here for a while longer?"

"I dunno... Al, you want to?" Al didn't answer.

"Of course he wants to stay! He loves it here, don't you Al?" Winry placed her hand on Al's head and patted him, leaving it there only until he wretched away from her in extreme pain. "What's wrong?"

"He hit his head when he fell over this morning. Nothing too bad." Winry looked at Ed in alarm.

"He fell over!"

"Yeah... I think he was a little suprised when I woke up or something."

"Oh."

Al had been suprised all right, he thought to himself, trying to ignore Ed and Winry's conversation as he remembered what he'd seen that morning. When his elder brother had opened his eyes, they hadn't been normal. The pupils were extremely small, and fading away in color. Still, Alphonse wasn't sure if what he'd seen had been his imagination, something he'd seen when he hit his head, or if it was real. What was happening to his brother?

---

Chores were a hassle, but they had to be completed. It was part of living at the Rockbell house. Al's job for the day wasn't really what you would call a job. It was more like, "Watch your brother and make sure he doesn't leave your sight." The only time Al let Ed leave his sight was when he needed to use the bathroom, but no longer than that. It seemed to Al that, as long as Edward was around him, he acted perfectly normal. But what about this morning?

"Hey Al..." The voice came from off to his left, and Alphonse turned to stare at his older brother. Earlier he'd been in fear, but now he just had to give Ed a smile as he watched him examining a purple flower. This was so unlike him. "They didn't have this color in Germany."

"What's Germany?" Ed gave him a smirk, pushed himself up, and looked to his younger brother, then smiled.

"Germany is the place on the other side of the gate. I was at a place in Germany called Munich, where we spoke a different language. It took a while, but you could say I got used to the place, I guess... Dad wasn't of much help." Al was staring at Ed in confusion. Normally, Edward wouldn't want to talk about such personal matters with anyone, whether it was Al he was conversing with or not, but now, everything just seemed so different around him... "And Alphonse Heidrich was a good friend of mine."

"You said he was a replacement, though?" Ed flinched.

"Only sort of... Like I said, he already had a brother, and he ended up a little angry at me after a while."

"How come?"

"Because... One day, when I wouldn't stop staring at him, he walked over to me and asked what I saw when I looked at him. And to be honest... I really only saw you. I needed someone when you weren't there, and... I really wish I could apologize to him. He was one of the only nice people in that God forsaken city."

"Oh..."

It was now that Al was trying to re-establish a relationship with his brother, and it was good to know that Ed had always thought about him, even across the gate. Maybe he'd never given up either, and maybe that was why he'd found his way back to Amestris without too much of a problem. It still hurt to think that Ed had created a replacement for Al. Whenever he looked at Al now, did he see this other Heidrich person? Did he also think of him as a brother now? Ed noticed Al thinking deeply, and emitted a taken aback look. In all honesty, he was worried.

There was much more wrong with Ed than anyone ever could have explained. Ed didn't even realize it yet.

---

"Hey, Ed, could you hand me that book over there?" Ed reached over to a book on automail and pointed to it. "Yes, that one." He picked it up, and handed it to Al, who handed it to Winry. "Thank you."

Everything in the living room was quiet, especially the three residents that occupied it. Winry was busy with her reading up on automail, Al was entertaining himself by staring at the fireplace, and Ed was trying to think of something to say to his brother. To be honest, he was worried Al was angry with him for some reason, and even though there was no evidence of this, he would still try to remedy the situation as best he could.

"So, Al, I was wondering if..." Ed stopped momentarily, watching his brother go into a coughing fit. "Al? Al...?" Al was left coughing until he could hardly breathe, and when he brought himself back upwards to look around the room, there was sweat running down his face, and his eyes were closed. Winry was imediately up off the chair and running for the upstairs. Ed was furious. Was she really going to leave his brother alone like this, when he needed help? Either way, Ed bent down to where Al was slouched on the floor, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"

"Edward!" Izumi yelled, coming down the stairs at a high rate of speed. She jumped about three of them, landing upright. "You'll make it worse!"

"What!" Ed asked angrily. Why shouldn't he be able to comfort his younger brother, and how was he honestly making it worse? His question was answered when Al began to hyperventilate. Ed jerked away. "Sensei, what's wrong with him!"

"Winry, get him some water!" Izumi turned back to Ed, and motioned for him to come over to where she was. He did, like an obediant puppy in need of food. She motioned for him to sit down next to her on the other couch in the room. He did. "Listen Ed..." Izumi was speaking very quietly, and Ed decided he wouldn't ask why. "There's something we haven't told you, much less your brother yet."

"What?" For some reason, Ed was getting a really bad feeling about this in his stomach. Izumi sighed, depressively, and begain to talk once more.

"I know you sacrificed yourself to bring you brother back, and for so many years you were stuck across on the other side of that gate, but... I'm sorry to say there was some misjudgement on your part."

"What do you..." Izumi stopped him.

"Your brother was brought back from the other side of the gate, but the price you paid wasn't enough..."

"How can that be! He's here now!"

"Yes, but Ed, his soul... Is rejecting the vessel." Ed stared at his sensei, mouth opened wide and gaping, eyes large, shaking in fear. Had he done something wrong with the transmutation?

A/N- Haha! Cliff hanger! Chapter 4 could either be up later tonight or tomorrow night. Please review!