Second Chapter (which was previously the end of the first chapter).

Chapter 2: The price the brothers paid

Ed sat in the middle of the room looking at Kate, his expression a mixture of panic, fear and mistrust. Kate slowly picked up Al's helmet and walked towards the brothers.

"Al you really don't have to hide in that armour?" her voice shook a bit, betraying her fear. Neither brother spoke as she walked up to the suit of armour when she was close enough to see that there was no person in it she stepped back again dropping the helmet.

"What are you?" her voice bordered on the hysterical,

"He's a human being." Ed answered determination in his voice.

"But, but..." Kate continued to move away from them and as Al moved towards her she screamed and turned to run but Ed was quicker. Grabbing hold of her he wrapped his arms her around so she couldn't run.

"Please Kate listen to us we'll tell you what happened." Kate looked down at Ed's arms around her, he was only wearing a sleeveless top now so she could clearly see the whole of his right arm was automail. She relaxed in his grip, pushing away what she decided was irrational fear. As Ed let go of her she turned round and trailed her fingers over his metal arm right up to his shoulder.

"My left leg too." Ed stated.

"What happened to you two?" Kate asked looking between Ed and Al (who'd replaced the helmet).

"Our Mother died when we were kids." Ed began.

"Our Father had left years before, when Al was still really young. So we were on our own, we lived with some neighbours for a bit until we found a teacher, we studied under her for a while then we came back and tried to transmute our Mum. It didn't work, we exchanged Al's whole body and my leg for something that wasn't even her. I then attached Al's soul to that suit of armour, it cost me my arm. Lucky for me our neighbours were automail mechanics, I got a new arm and leg and left for central to become a state alchemist, we were looking for the philosopher's stone to regain our original bodies but the cost was too high so we stopped looking."

"I didn't believe them, when they said you performed a human transmutation. I thought you were wanted for some other secret reason."

"We are. We're wanted out of the way."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you. Do you hate us now?" Ed asked.

Kate looked at him sadly.

"No, that would be hypocritical."

"Hypocritical! What? Why?"

"Because after my Mum died I thought about human transmutation too." Kate burst into tears.

"What? But you didn't right?"

"No, teacher came then and stopped me, he saved me."

"Teacher?"

"Yeah, about two months after Mum – after you left, I was in the graveyard when a man came up to me and spoke to me."

Kate stood in front of the grave, tears streaming down her face.

"Who is she?" A man stood next to her, Kate jumped when he spoke.

"She's my Mum." The man looked at her sympathetically.

"My boys lost their Mum too, where is your father?"

"Dead too, before I was born."

"You have a lot in common with my sons, I wasn't there for them, I'm trying to find them now." Kate burst into tears dropped onto her knees, burying her head in her hands.

"I don't care, I don't care, I want her back, Don't leave me Mum, I can bring you back, I can. I'll do it I will." The man knelt down besides Kate and gripped her shoulder.

"What do you mean by that?" his voice was stern.

"I'm an alchemist, I can bring her back?"

"Human transmutation? That's against the law?"

"I don't care."

"Do you know the price?"

"What?"

"I mentioned my sons lost their Mum, well they had the same idea as you. Human transmutation, but they paid a high price, the younger one, lost his entire body, the older one lost an arm and a leg." Kate stared at him.

"Whatever it was they bought back, it wasn't her. It wasn't human." Tears flowed afresh down Kate's cheek.

"She's gone, she's really gone, I'm alone." The man wrapped his arms round her and she cried into his chest for a long while. Finally she sniffed and stood up drying her eyes.

"So your an alchemist, me too. The name's Hohenheim."

"Kate. You're an alchemist?" Kate looked at him.

"Can you teach me?"

"Sorry, I'm looking for my boys." Kate looked sad.

"Yeah sorry." She said. Hohenheim sighed.

"Ok, for a little bit but you'll have to travel with me."

"Thank you, thank you." Kate smiled at him, unknown to Hohenheim it was the first time she had smiled since her mother's death."

"Hohenheim." Ed said the name with a certain amount of bitterness.

"Yes, he only taught me for a couple of months, then he brought me back, he said he'd come back for me when he could. I haven't seen him since, I hope he's ok."

"Ha. Don't worry he's probably fine, can't look after his own children let alone other people's"

"He was looking for his sons. Maybe he found them." Kate defended her teacher, wondering why Ed seemed to hate him so much.

"He didn't"

"How can you know, oh." Kate stopped and looked at Ed, his blonde hair and amber eyes that had always seemed familiar.

"You're his sons?" Kate asked.

"Yes. Good to know he's still alive, did he talk about us much?" Al asked eagerly.

"Yes all the time and your mother. He always told me he regretted leaving you, he said he had his reasons but he never told me what they were."

"Who cares, forget about him, both of you, he's not coming back." Ed sounded angry, then ruined the effect with a huge yawn.

"I should let you both sleep." Kate said, laying out the blankets into a bed for Ed.

"Good night." She said as she left the room

"Good night." The boys answered.

As Kate stood at her bedroom window looking out at the half moon, she wished she had a way to summon her teacher.

"Come back teacher, I found your sons and they need you."

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