We left Resembool and spent the summer in the north. I thought about what Winry said and going to Dublith to face that woman. Eventually I got my courage up and told Sister I wanted to go to Dublith. "There is someone I have to see," I told her. She made me promise that it wouldn't be dangerous, that the woman wouldn't hurt me. I promised her and it was true, I don't think she'd hurt at least not in the out right way.

I didn't make it. We turned around halfway there. "I can't face her," I told Sister.

"Someday you will," she replied with more confidence than I felt. She was quiet for a moment than said, "Sloth Mommy you lived before wasn't your real mother right? She's your real mother isn't she, the lady in Dublith?" I couldn't bring myself to say yes so I nodded. Sister didn't push me. She let me turn around. We went west instead.

I was as happy as I could be I think. I might have had everything so of course something was bound to be taken from me. I dreaded it coming but I couldn't stop it. And then Sister got sick. She'd been sick on and off for a couple of months but this time she wasn't getting better. I had to do something for her so I decided to buy medicine even thought I didn't have any money.

I fidgeted as I stood in line at the pharmacist's. I was scared of getting to the front of the line because I really wanted medicine but I didn't have a way to pay for it. I didn't have a plan. I'd thought about just grabbing it and running. I'd also thought about stealing money to buy it with. But I didn't like either choice because of the stealing. I was afraid of stealing. I was afraid of taking without giving things; it was not equivalent. I'd admit that I did it sometimes when traveling with Sister but it always made me feel sick. And this was important, so I was afraid of what I might have to give up if I stole something worth so much.

I wiggled my toes and tried to figure out how I could get help if I couldn't pay for it. We needed it though, this was not something I could chicken out of. The small store was really busy. At last there was only one person in front of me. I was close enough now to hear what the man behind the counter was saying. "Is Clarence still sick?" he asked the lady in front of me.

"Yes, his cough is getting worse and now he has these horrible chills." she answered.

"Fevers?"

"His fever broke this morning but I fear it may get worse again."

"Mmm," he was doing something behind the counter, making medicine I think. He gave her some medicine and instructions on giving it to her son. I was trying to listen to every word. Sister had been coughing for days and she'd been shivering last night. As the woman took the medicine he asked her. "And your other two how are they doing?"

The woman sighed, "Alita is doing fine but Imogene had begun to cough also."

"Do you have any relatives who live in other towns? You may want to consider sending Alita away while she is still healthy. There is talk of quarantining the whole town to stop the spread of the coughing sickness. Here you are. This should help with Clarence's fever." He handed her something else and she turned to leave. "Next." It was my turn.

"Um, my sister's sick. She's been coughing a lot and now she's feels kind of hot."

He looked straight at me. "Where is you mother?" he asked me.

I had a flash of inspiration "She's sick too." I lied.

"Same thing?" he asked.

For some reason I thought of her and way that she was sick. "No, she's got something else."

He sighed. "Have you heard of the coughing sickness?"

"You were talking about it with the lady in front of me."

"The coughing sickness has been spreading throughout this town. It sounds like you sister has picked it up. It starts with a cough that persists for days. For some this is as far as it goes. But roughly half go on to develop a high fever. This fever can be very dangerous especially for those with weaker systems. Tell me, was your sister healthy before she started coughing?"

I wasn't sure what he meant by "healthy" but I thought about it. "She wasn't sick before she started coughing, but I don't know, some days she seems kinda tired and she's had coughs before. "

He frowned. "It sounds like your sister's immune system is already kind of taxed." He gave me a serious look. "Make sure she gets lots of rest and takes it very easy. You will have to take care of her if your mother isn't able to. But take care to wash well and keep yourself from getting sick." He handed me a small bag, "This should help with the fevers. If she can make it through the next few days and fight off the fever her cough might linger but she will be out of danger."

I wanted to grab the medicine and run so badly but instead I forced myself to say "I can't pay for that."

He pushed the bag toward me. "I figured, but your sister needs this medicine. Take it. Consider it a gift for a brave boy who is taking care of his sister." Right after he said "take it" I'd grabbed it off the counter. It wasn't till I was out the door that the rest of what he said occurred to me, I must have been what he meant when he said a "brave boy." I didn't feel like a brave boy and I didn't feel like I deserved it. But sister had needed it so I took it.

I tried my very best to do what the pharmacist told me. I gave sister the medicine and tried to keep her from moving which wasn't hard because she didn't have much energy. The medicine helped at first. Sister said it brought her fever down. But it came back up. By the middle of the day sister's fever had gotten worse. I remembered what the pharmacist had said about how if she made it through the next few days she'd be okay. I wished as hard as I could that she'd survive.

As they day grew on she grew weaker and slept a lot. I was watching her sleep when suddenly her eyes shot open and she coughed and coughed. She tried for awhile to speak but kept coughing instead. "W...Wrath," she finally managed to get out.

"I'm here," I told her hurrying to her side.

"Are..you...c..can y...you...get...sick?" She asked.

Sister was talking about the fact I was different from her. This was something we both knew but she pretended it wasn't true. "I don't know." I told her, "I don't think so. I think if you were going to make me sick, I'd be sick by now."

"G...good." She smiled at me. "I'm...glad...I...want...you...to...stay...with....me."

"I won't ever leave you." I promised her.

She shook her head. She tried to speak but coughed instead. I gave her some water and when she spoke again it was a little easier. "I'm going soon," she told me.

"Don't leave me!" I pleaded before I could stop myself.

"I have to." She whispered. "They're waiting for me. My family- I'm going to see them soon." She smiled at the thought.

"I'm your family!" I insisted.

"You've been the best brother I could ask for. But they're calling for me. It's time." I wanted to scream or plead with her but I knew it would make no difference and I couldn't stop her from going. She held my hand. "The woman in Dublith, your mother, I know she hurt you but did she love you?"

It was a funny question and I didn't want to think about her, not with Sister dying. But it was important to Sister so I thought about it. I thought about the way she treated me before I knew who I was. I nodded slowly. "I knew it," Sister's voice was soft and fading. "You should go to her. I'm sure she misses you. I sorry I can't stay with you, but my own family, I'm going to be with them again." Sister closed her eyes. I held her hand till it grew cold. I sat there for hours. I'd known or at least feared that I was going to lose her but I still wasn't ready for it when it happened.

I left her body at a church, cause I figured they'd bury her. Then I left town alone.

Poor Wrath, he's alone again. I don't know if I should apologize for killing off Jessica (Sister). I don't know if any of you got attached to her, or if you feel bad for Wrath. I will say in my own defense, I always planned for her to die. For one, this story takes place between the ending of the first anime and the movie and when we meet Wrath in the movie, he's alone. Also Jessica was created to be someone for Wrath to interact with, someone to teach him things and to impact his life. Tragic though it is, her death has an impact and in terms of storytelling serves a purpose. This was the last chapter, but there is an epilogue I will post once I finish polishing and proofreading, probably in a week or so depending on how much studying I have to do.