Okay, I managed to get another chapter written, finally! Didn't RR-Major-Ed-Pride do great on that last chapter? I sure thought she did! (Yes, by the way, for those of you who didn't seem to catch on last time, that last chapter was written bya co-author, not me! I suppose that it's a little harder to catch the difference than with "Me in this Android Body", because both me and RR-Major-Ed-Pride are almost equally twisted, though I still think that I might be just a bit more...I don't know, we'll see. Heh. Sakura-chan isn't twisted, just creative. Hehe. Waves at Sakura-chan, since I know she'll be reading this. Hehe, I love that last chapter she wrote for "Me in this Android Body" though, it was awesome! That last chapter for her story, "If I were You" is really awesome as well!)

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother saying it? Don't you know by now that we don't own FullMetal Alchemist? Man, are you guys ever slow! Heh, yeah, it's fun to insult my readers' intelligence. They keep coming back for more, so I guess that I don't have to worry about offending them. Heck, they keep coming back for more every time I kill Ed in one of my fics, even though they protest loudly every time it happens. I guess that they secretly like it. Heh.

I couldn't sleep. I flopped over onto my stomach, but that didn't help much. The welts from the whip still hurt pretty badly. I was also shivering from the cold in this drafty shack, and my mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to free our people.

"You're still awake, Edward?" came a small female voice from the mat across the room. Male and female servants weren't even allowed separate quarters when forced to sleep in the shack. Thankfully, she was just a child, a few years younger than I was, and we were the only two in the shack at the time. She had been sent here after being caught attempting to escape.

"Yeah, I'm still awake. Who could sleep in a place like this anyway?"

"I'm cold; can I come over next to you?"

I was about to protest, but then I remembered how naïve and childlike she was. It wouldn't hurt anything to let her be near me. Besides, I was pretty cold too. "Uh…sure, come over here beside me."

She came over and snuggled up beside me, even wrapping her arms around my neck, which almost choked me. I felt a little guilty for allowing her to do this, but sleeping next to each other might actually allow us to get some sleep. If we didn't get enough sleep to do our work properly the next day, the consequences would be severe. Conscience would just have to be put on hold for the moment.

"You know what? You remind me of my brother somewhat, except that he was a bit taller." I ignored that comment about my height, since it came from a naïve little girl, and let her continue. "My brother has visions, actually, but people rarely ever took him seriously. He even predicted the Drachman invasion, but no one paid attention to him until the Drachman military forces were upon us."

"You're serious?" I asked, "He really predicted that?"

"Mmhmm, he got that ability from Grandad. Neither one of them likes that ability, but they still have it."

"I see," I mused, "When was the last time you saw your brother? If you know where he is, I'd like to talk with him."

"I don't know where he is," she said, "I haven't seen him since the invasion."

I sighed. "That's too bad. I could've really used his council."

"Um…" she hesitated, "He did say more than just that, but he told me not to tell anyone except the person it was about."

"Well, who was it about?" I asked.

"It was about a teenage state alchemist…something Elric."

"Edward Elric," I corrected for her, though I must admit that I was pretty surprised to have been included in her brother's vision. "Please don't tell anyone, but that's me. That's probably why I remind you of your brother."

"You're a state alchemist? Then why haven't you used alchemy since you've been here?"

"I couldn't take the risk," I said, "Can you imagine what would happen if our master found out that I was a state alchemist?"

She nodded. "That would be chaos. He would try to use you for his own personal gain. Who knows what would happen?"

"I don't particularly want to have to find out," I said.

"Understood," she said, and proceeded to tell me the vision.

The next morning, I got up, and went to the kitchen to begin my chores. I overheard one of the other servants debated with the master about giving him his freedom. The master only granted one's freedom if he could get something out of the deal. Since one rarely had anything valuable enough to bargain with the master about, I was curious to know what this person had.

Though I knew it was rude, I decided to eavesdrop. An Amestrian servant didn't gain his freedom every day, and even if he did, he usually wound right back up in slavery with another master, once he was caught wandering around on the streets.

"I have some information which I know that you would very much like to have. I will give it to you if you will grant my freedom in return," I overheard.

The master tried to threaten the man into giving him the information anyway, but the man wouldn't budge. There wasn't really much that the master could do to force the man to give him the information. He was just trying to drive the fear into him, in the hopes of getting the information for free. The man apparently knew this, and didn't budge.

"Fine," the master finally said, "If you give me information that is worthwhile, I will grant you your freedom."

"No," said the man, "You have to grant me my freedom first, and then I will give you the information."

"Whatever," said the master, "Just make sure that you give me this information that I so desperately need to hear. If you fail to come through on your end of the bargain, I will see to it that you are recaptured and severely punished."

"Understood," said the man.

"Now what is this information?" said the master.

"Among the slaves you just purchased, one of them is a really scrawny kid that bears a striking resemblance to one of the slaves you already own."

"So?" said the master, growing a bit irritated.

"So," said the man, "The one that he bears a resemblance to, I just overheard last night, talking to somebody else. It appears that he is actually a state alchemist, and he has been hiding that from you."

"A state alchemist? You're crazy! Who is it?"

"It's the short blond kid…Edward, I think his name is."

"Him? The idiot that lets himself be seen in public? That Edward? Why would they let him be a state alchemist, isn't he too young?"

"There were rumors back in Amestris about a kid who had become a state alchemist," said the slave, "I never paid much attention though, because I didn't really care."

"So what do you suggest I do about this?" asked the master.

"Well," said the slave, "Obviously, he's not overly willing to share his alchemical abilities with you. Maybe if you threatened that other kid that I mentioned that I think might be his brother, maybe he'd be a little more willing to comply with your wishes."

"You have earned your freedom. Go," said the master with a flick of his hand, "But know this, if this information turns out to be false…"

"It won't be false," replied the man.

"It had better not be," said the master.

I pressed my back against the wall, and in a shudder, sank down so that I was sitting on my heels. My master knew my secret now. And what was this about him having my brother? Al? Did he have Al? What was I supposed to do, should I run…or stay? I couldn't just leave Al alone, but I couldn't just expose myself and let Amestris suffer either. I was getting a headache. I couldn't make up my mind what to do.

The kitchen door slammed open, and in stepped the master. "Where is Edward?" he shouted. I shivered. I didn't want him to see me, not just yet. One of the maids pointed her finger in my general direction, and the master turned around and saw me cowering in the corner.

He walked over to me, grabbed me by the collar, and yanked me up to my feet. "Come with me," he said gruffly, "I have something to show you."

He continued to drag me by the collar as he led the way, though he was holding his hand up high, so I had to stand on my tiptoes just to follow him. We soon arrived at the building where new slaves were kept. It was a filthy building, and I always tried to avoid coming here. However, if this was where Al was being kept…

He opened the door, threw me in, and then followed behind me. I coughed for a few seconds from the stale air in the building, and then got my bearings and tried to look around. It was really dark in this room, and I couldn't see very well. There was only one tiny window in this whole shack, as well as the light that crept in from between the boards on the walls.

Gradually, my eyes began to adjust. I scanned the room, and saw several slaves staring at me in silence. They were just as confused as I was. The master went over to one of them, picked him up by the collar, and dragged him over to where I was.

I took one look at that face, and I knew. This was Al. He had grown since I had last seen him, and he was sick and weak, but I knew. I just knew.

"Al!" I yelled, and was about to throw my arms around him when the master jerked him back. Al looked at me with a tear-streaked back, and mouthed something, though no sound came out. He repeated it again, though still no sound came forth. This time, I caught it though. He was trying to say "Brother".

"Al…your voice…" Al looked at me and sadly shook his head. Tears started to sting at my eyes. How did this happen? How did Al lose his voice? I was angry and wanted to hit something, so I swung my arm and took a hole out of the nearby wall. No one really cared that much. It did let more light in, after all.

The master then drew out a blade and placed it under my brother's chin. Al gasped and looked at me. I glared at my master, and then, without thinking, clapped my hands together, and transmuted the blade onto my auto-mail.

"Anyone who touches my little brother will have to pay dearly!" I shouted. The master grinned a sinister grin. I had done just what he'd wanted.

Ok, your turn, RR-Major-Ed-Pride! I can't wait to see what you come up with! Readers, please leave a nice review, and she might consider updating sooner! I can't specifically remember, but I think that she might be one of those writers who won't write until she gets a certain amount of reviews. I've run into a few writers like that, and I can't remember if she's one of them or not. Just in case she is, leave a review! Please! Hehe