Here's the next chapter. Review responses are at the bottom I apologies for the long wait. Without further ado, here chapter 13.
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To say Al was nervous about the faith healer's arrival would be a vast understatement. Ed, even as sick as he was, could tell something was up. He'd known his brother for sixteen years. He could tell when Al was hiding something.
Not that it was that difficult to tell. Winry kept on avoiding the subject of the healer whenever Ed brought it up, wanting more information. Winry never had been very good at hiding things from the two brothers, Ed in particular. But Winry's behavioral patterns was something that he rarely thought about. Winry, Ed had decided, was like all other girls: impossible to comprehend or predict. He'd stopped trying to figure out why Winry did the things she did a long time ago. It was probably the reason he was still sane.
Ed, now capable of some movement on his own, had managed to hobble over to the familiar wooden table and had been pouring over as many of his father's books as possible. Al had left about fifteen minutes prior to collect the healer.
Ed glanced up from the numerous leather-bound journals that were scattered in seemingly random piles to look at Winry, who sat at the other end of the table, working on Den's automail paw.
"Hey Win, who is this 'healer' guy anyway? You still haven't told me much about him other than what you've heard in town. Have you met him?" Ed questioned, smiling lightly. It was easier, he had discovered, to act as if he weren't sick. While it didn't fool his overprotective younger sibling, it did tend to ease Winry and Aunt Pinako's fears. Ed ignored the nagging voice in the back of his head that told him that he did it for himself as much as anyone else.
Winry's hands paused for a moment before going back to work. Shrugging her shoulders, she muttered, " I haven't talked to him myself. Al was the one who went into town to see him. From what I hear though, he's very good. Almost a- a miracle worker or something." She stumbled slightly over the last bit. Ed's brows furrowed, puzzling over Winry's choice of words.
"Miracle worker…" he mumbled. His eyes widened in realization before standing up, leaving his books abandoned on the table. "Al…" he growled under his breath as he stormed from the room on slightly unsteady legs.
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"Al!" Ed called out, as he stalked into living room. Al glanced up from a pile of notes he'd been reviewing, his expression deceptively innocent.
"A priest?" Edward growled. "You got a god damn priest?" his tirade was cut short by a set of body-wracking coughs. Ed hunched over, one arm brought up to cover his mouth, the other was wrapped protectively around his stomach.
"Brother!" Al rushed over to his sibling shaking form. He carefully guided his older brother to the couch. Ed let hold him upright, despite the anger and frustration he could feel uncoiling in his stomach.
Once the coughs finally stopped, Ed cast an almost hurt look at his younger brother.
"A priest?" Ed asked, greedily gulping air into his starved lungs. Ed kept his eyes fixated on the floor. "Al, you know I don't believe in that stuff. I don't want some phony old man chanting gibberish at me, trying to 'cure' me when I could be doing something useful."
The guilt that Al had been feeling about hiding the true nature of the healer tripled. He had known how his brother felt about things like this, but he had gone and agreed anyway. Wincing, Al muttered, "Technically Brother, he's not a priest. He's a faith healer." Ed's form sagged forward slightly, as if trying to collapse on itself. Alphonse placed a hand on Ed shoulder. "Brother, I know you don't approve of this kind of thing, but maybe it'll work. It could make it any worse. I-" Al sighed, shoulders slumping. "I haven't been able to find anything in those books. Neither have you, and you're getting worse everyday. We- Winry, Aunt Pinako and I, We're desperate Brother. I won't just watch you di-" Al stumbled over the word, unable to voice it out loud. "If there's even a chance he could help. Even if it's just telling us what's happening. What's going to happen."
Ed looked at where Winry was sitting at the table. Even she was in on this? "I know what's happening. First my internal organs start breaking down. Then my muscles will start getting weaker. I'll probably start losing my memory. My motor skills will get worse and worse. I'll get so that I won't be able to talk. Eventually, I'll be confined to a wheelchair, unable to even think. Then my heart will probably give out or something." Ed let out a humorless laugh. I'll be seventeen and dying of heart failure. How pathetic is that?" Ed took a shuddering breath and finally looked at Al. For the first time, Al could see just how terrified Ed was. "You're right Al, even after all this research, we haven't found anything. I haven't got a clue what to do. This isn't something I can fight. All I can do is sit here a wait to die." Ed sighed, closing his eyes in order to suppress the tears that were threatening to overflow. "But I don't want some wackjob coming here telling you guys he can cure my by 'the power of god' when he really can't do anything." Ed left out that he didn't think he could take being liedto about something like that.
"Brother please! Give it a chance at least. Maybe he really can do something. If he can't, we won't be any worse off than before. He's coming by later today anyway, at least here what he has to say." Al begged. He knew Ed was violently apposed to this, but he wasn't going to give on this. And if this faith healer had even a small chancing of helping Edward, than he wanted to go through with it.
Ed sighed. He knew that voice. He didn't have to look at Alphonse's face to see the look of desperation and determination he knew he would find there. After years of having only his brother's voice to go on, Ed had gotten good at deciphering Al's different tones of voice. Al wouldn't give up on this one. It would be best to just go along with this, however painful it may end up being.
Running a hand through his messy blond hair, Ed sighed. "Alright, fine." He stood up slowly. "The nut job healer is gonna be here at about two, right?" Al nodded. "I'm gonna get some sleep until then, alright Al? Don't bother waking me up for lunch." He said, slowly walking up the stairs and out of sight.
Al sighed, wanting to collapse back into the couch. The weight of Ed's explanation was only now hitting him.
"I'll be seventeen and dying of heart failure."
His brother didn't expect to survive the next six months.
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There was a firm knocking on the front door. Al sat up suddenly on the couch, where he'd dozed off. Opening the door, he was greeted with a young man, probably in his late twenties, with dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. Light brown eyes glistened behind slim silver glasses. He wore a pair of plain brown slacks along with a white button down shirt. He shifted his grip on the weathered leather handbag he held and pushed his glasses further up his nose. The young man smiled almost nervously.
"Um…Hello. I'm Achim Harzmann. A Miss Winry asked me to come by to have a look at a friend of her's?" he explained, shifting his wait from one foot to the other. Al blinked for a moment before processing what Achim had said.
"Oh! Come in! Winry's out doing a tune up on a customer's automail. My name is Alphonse. My brother's upstairs; he's the one that needs your help." Al explained quickly, while moving out of the doorway so that Achim could enter the house.
As the young healer entered the house he threw a curious glance over his shoulder, looking at the military officers who had taken to camping on the Rockbell's front lawn (much to the house's occupant's annoyance). "
If I may ask…" Achim trailed off. Somehow, it seemed to Al, that he wasn't used to having to use such polite language, though why that may have been puzzled, the young alchemist. Still, Al had learned to trust his instincts over the years. The healer seemed nice enough. Achim continued after a short pause, "If I may, why are there Military officers in the yard?"
Al chuckled. "There for Brother. Since he's so sick, the decided it would be a good idea for them to send him with some protection. Apparently he's pretty important to the higher ups in Central." Al commented as he led Achim through the house to a small sitting room.
Achim nodded. "Oh, who would you're brother be then?"
Al's eyes widened as he realized that he hadn't explained who Ed was yet. "He Edward Elric. You've probably heard of him. He's the full metal alchemist." At Achim's nod, AL explained, "Brother is upstairs. I'll go get him and bring him down." Offering a weak smile, Al walked off in the direction of the stairs.
Once Al had left the room, Achim chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Looks like this is the pipsqueak after all. Good. And here I was thinking I got the wrong place."
Several minutes later, a rather tired looking Edward entered the room followed by a relived looking Al.
"Brother, this is Achim Harzmann. The healer I told you about earlier. Mr.Achim, this is Edward, my older brother." Al introduced.
"Please to meet you Edward." Achim greeted warmly. Ed's eyes narrowed slightly. 'That voice…I know that voice. But know I've never met this guy before…" Edward's defenses were automatically raised. Ed returned the blond man's greeting before sitting down in one of the chairs, next to his younger sibling. 'I don't know who this guy is, but he gives me a bad feeling.'
"Now Edward. What exactly is wrong? You'll have to tell as much as you know about this illness of yours. Hopefully I'll be able to help." Achim smiled.
"As far as I can tell, my body is slowly breaking down. At the moment, it's starting to destroy my immune system and my internal organs. It'll eventually start breaking down the rest of my body until my body can't function anymore." He explained, leaving out just how he'd contracted his unique illness.
Achim raised an eyebrow. "Is that it? Do you know how you acquired this illness of yours? I need to know everything you do. And it seems that you know quite a lot about this illness." Ed shuddered slightly. Familiarity itched at the edge of his consciousness. It was as if he had heard the voice before somewhere. He blocked out the taunting voice in his head that pointed out that maybe he'd miscalculated about how far along his illness was, and his mind, along with his memory, were already starting to deteriorate.
"That all…" Ed replied, trying to ignore the scolding look that Al shot him. 'I'm not about to go off telling some random nut job that I got this from performing human transmutation.'
Achim chuckled. 'Pipsqueak still doesn't know what's good for him.' Opening his small bag, he explained "I'll need to do some tests before I can tell if this is something I can help with. I may be healing through spiritual means, but I still need to know if this is something I can help with."
Ed scoffed quietly. "Trust me. You can't help," he muttered under his breath, not expecting Achim to hear him.
Achim looked slightly amused. "Not a believer kid? You'd think you'd have a little more faith since you came to a faith healer."
"Winry and Al were the ones who thought you might be able to help. I'm just going along with this. So do your damn test and be done with it." Edward scowled.
"Brother!" Al scolded his sibling for his rudeness but Achim simply smiled good naturedly, shrugging off the comment. Fishing around in his bag, he extracted a plain silver cross, a needle, and a vile of what appeared to be water.
"Now if you'll allow me, I'll take a small sample of blood before I go on with my other tests. When did not object, Achim stood, walked over to where Ed was sitting and began searching for the vein.
Ed glared at the needle as it entered his skin.' Something about this guy isn't right. If letting him stick around will help me figure it out, I'll put up with his stupid 'tests'. I don't know who this guy is, but I will find out'
