Finally, an update for this story! Sorry that it took so long, I was a bit short on inspiration for this story. Well, sort of. Heh. I had the idea for this part of the plot for some time. My problem is simply waiting for the right mood to hit when I can actually think to write it down properly. If I'm not feeling "into" the story, I can't write very well. Sigh. Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn't. I barely make sense to myself right now. Heh. I'm sleepy and tired, so yeah. Hehehe. Oh well, I don't have to go to work tonight, so I don't have to go to sleep right now if I don't want to. I may have to report for jury duty tomorrow morning though. Double sigh. Not something I'm looking forward to. I'll make lemons into lemonade though. If I have to serve on the jury, I'll have something else I can write about for "The Customer from Heck". Hehehe

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own. Don't know why I post these disclaimers, since everyone knows that. Don't know why I'm starting my sentences with "don't", since that's bad grammar.

Edward marched through the woods towards the spot where he had seen Al and Roy last. He liked how fast he was able to move, having a living body again, but he had lost his spirit sight in doing so. He couldn't see what good it would do to be able to move quickly without knowing where to go. Maybe he should allow himself to die again by taking off the stone. He could always put it back on.

He grasped the stone and started to lift it off his neck, only to fall to his knees, gasping for breath. That was really weird. It was almost like the stone wouldn't let him remove it. But that was silly. He grasped it again, and again tried to remove it from his neck, only to have the same reaction. What the heck was going on?

He understood that the Brigadier General who gave this to him wouldn't have been able to predict this reaction, since he didn't really know anything about the stone, but Ed couldn't help but wonder what was actually happening. Was this some sort of side effect, like equivalent exchange? Was this stone even related to alchemy in some way? It definitely wasn't the Philosopher's Stone, he knew that much, but what was it, anyway? He hadn't even bothered to consider that before.

Oh well. He shrugged and stood up, and brushed his pants off. He was just going to have to find Al and Roy the conventional way: search them out on foot. He just hoped he remembered how to do that. It had been a year since he'd tried traditional human techniques. He knew Al better than anyone though. If anyone could find Al, he was sure that he could. He just hoped that Roy was near to Al, otherwise he was going to be very difficult to find.

He continued to press through the woods until he caught the distinct sensation of moisture in the air. He knew he was near a river. Al liked rivers, he always had. Chances were good that if there was a clearing anywhere around this river, that they would probably be camped at it. Ed walked along the shore of the river, looking for a clearing, and sure enough he found one. It had obvious signs of recent occupancy as well. Yep, he had found them. At least, he hoped so. He would have to wait around and see if they came back.

It began to rain a little bit, and he was able to feel it for the first time in a year. While the sensation was intriguing, he wasn't too keen on being rained on, so he went and hid inside a hollow tree trunk that was nearby. He was still able to keep an eye on the campsite from there.

By and by, Al came into view, wandering by the river, getting soaked to the bone. "That...stupid...Colonel," said Al. He was never able to say anything worse than 'stupid' or 'idiot'. His mouth was always clean. "I told him that it was going to rain soon, and that we should head back, but noooooo..."

He started looking around for a dry place to hide, so Ed called out to him. "Brother?" Al turned, trying to find the source of the voice. Ed chuckled and called to him again. Al turned in the direction that Ed's voice was coming from. He still couldn't see Ed, but he knew where he was now. He walked over towards the hollow tree.

He crawled inside it and sat down, shivering from the cold. Ed chuckled. "Here, let me fix that for you, Al." He clapped his hands together, and then placed them on Al's wet clothes. Blue light flared up out of his hands, and suddenly, Al was dry.

"Thanks, B-Brother...wait, your hands!" He had suddenly realized that he didn't feel any bones through Ed's left glove. He looked up into Ed's eyes, and was shocked to find that his face was fully whole and restored. What the heck?

Ed smiled. "It's all due to this." He held the stone pendant out for Al to see. "A Brigadier General gave it to me."

Al was dumbfounded. "Does that mean that...you're alive?"

Ed nodded. Tears were starting to come to his eyes. One slipped down his cheek, and Al noticed it. Yes, his brother was definitely alive. Al started to cry himself, and threw his arms around his brother. He had never expected that his brother would ever come back to life. Ever.

Ed let him hug him without saying anything for a few minutes, and then spoke up. "Just understand, Al," said Ed, "That my life is contingent upon my wearing this stone. I can't imagine that I'd be able to wear it forever without something wearing out. Just the chain alone would break after awhile of my wearing it."

Al nodded. "I understand, Brother, but you're alive NOW. That's all that matters."

Ed smiled. "Yes, I'm alive for now."

Before long, the two brothers heard the distinct sound of a man calling, "Alphonse? Alphonse, where did you go?" They both chuckled to each other. Roy had finally returned.

"We're in here!" Al called to Colonel Mustang.

"We?" he said. He poked his head into the hollow tree trunk, and gasped. Ed chuckled and explained the whole thing to him. Roy looked like he was about ready to faint. He couldn't believe it.

"Boy," said Roy, "You just refuse to stay dead, don't you, Ed?" A smile toyed at the corner of Ed's lips. Roy had called him Ed instead of Fullmetal, for once. Oh, he pretended not to notice, but in reality he liked it. He respected the guy, no matter how much he tried to pretend he didn't.

Roy cleared his throat. "So then, Ed, tell us, how are things back in Central?"

"Well, the authorities are definitely searching for you two," said Ed, "But that one Brigadier General is working to try and push his weight around to try and help you."

"But the people involved in this case are even above a Brigadier General," protested Roy.

"I know," said Ed, "That's why you have to stay hidden still."

"But if you found us, then they might be able to find us," said Roy.

Ed laughed. "I only found you because Al's my brother. I know his every move."

Al turned to Ed. "Didn't you use your spirit sight to find us?"

Ed shrugged. "I seem to have lost that once I came back to life."

"I guess that makes sense," said Al, "But couldn't you just take the stone off, and well, die again, to use your spirit sight, and then put it back on?"

"I tried that," said Ed. "I don't know why, but for some reason, I can't remove the stone." Al gave Ed a quizzical look, to which Ed replied, "I don't know why, I just can't."

Al was silent for a moment, and didn't say anything. He looked down at the floor for a second. Finally, he looked back up, and said, "Hey, Brother, the rain stopped. Don't you think we'd better get going?"

"What?" said Colonel Mustang, "Now that your brother's back, you don't ask me for my opinion anymore?"

Al shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry."

Colonel Mustang scoffed and then stood up. "Well, come on, let's get going," he said. Ed and Al stood up and stretched, and then fell into step beside the Colonel. They continued to walk along the river. They didn't know where they were heading, but they knew that they just had to continue on their path, wherever it took them.

There's your chapter for you. Hope you liked it. Now please REVIEW!