I would just like to say "thank you" to all of you who have read this and to those who have left such nice reveiws...

back to the show...

It was a bright Autumn afternoon, a mild wind and a little snap of cold. Ana carried a large basket in one hand, and held on to Alphonse with the other. He was a little concerned at first about leaving his brother alone, but soon began to relax. Shops were open and the streets fairly busy.

The first shop they stopped in was an herbalists. The old man inside greeted Ana warmly, then smiled, "And who is your new friend?"

Ana snugged up to the metal armor, smiling, "My new boyfriend. Alphonse."

"It is an honor to meet you, Alphonse. Now, what may I do for you, Miss Ana?"

It was that way everywhere they went. Friendly people, smiling faces. People looked at them, but not the way they did when Al was with Edward. Those looks, those stares, tended to make Al feel uncomfortable...this was way different. He liked being Ana's 'boyfriend'.

At last they stopped in front of a rather rundown looking building and Ana handed Al her basket, "Last stop, love. Wait here."

"Okay"

She gave him a pat and stepped up to the door, "If someone sees you...just smile." She pushed it open and stepped inside. Leaving a rather befuddled Al to wait outside.

Clouds were starting to cover the sky when she finally stepped out again. "Got it." she said taking Al's hand again, "Large size. Double strength." she held up a black velvet bag, "We'll need it. Now lets get back home before it rains. We'll dose Preciousmetal, then I'll fix your blood seal.."

Al stopped short, "Fix it? Wh-what's wrong with it? Brother did a good job!"

"Yea, he did." Ana tugged on his arm, "It's a great job. He just didn't finish it, and we need it finished."

"How do you know so much anyway!" Al would not budge, "There aren't even any State Alchemists registered in this city! This DarkBlood Alchemist we're supposed to find..."

"Is dangerous. A rogue. A rebel. A loose cannon. " Ana made him start walking again, "Forget him! Think about your brother. We need to help him first. Get him well if we can."

"Then I should call Co. Mustang, tell him what happened. They'll send help. Get Brother to a hospital." Al argued.

"No!' Ana snapped as she opened the front door. "This was done by a very gifted alchemist."

Al set the basket down and said, "Are you an alchemist?"

Ana hesitated then said softly, "I practice a more ancient art."

Al never pressed her further. He asked no more questions. He watched as she went to the kitchen, taking out a bottle of milk,

"This will keep him from puking up the medicine." She said, pouring the liquid into a glass, "Give him some nutrients to boot."

Al was horrified, "He won't drink that! Ed hates milk!"

"But, it's good for him." Ana smiled. She picked up the bottle of medicine and started for the bedroom.

Al followed, "I'm telling you, Ana, he's going to throw a fit!"

They found Edward doubled over in pain, and breathing in rapid, watery, gasps. Al got him back propped against the pillows, and once again, Ana crawled over to practically sit on him.

"I'm sorry we were so long, Preciousmetal." She said softly, "Poor sweety. We've got medicine. Good stuff. But first..." She held out her hand and, with much trepidation, Al handed her the glass of milk. "You need to drink some of this."

Edward did not respond, did not look at her or the dreaded glass. He just moaned and whimpered a little. He allowed Ana to tip his chin up and put the glass to his lips. He let a bit of milk into his mouth, swallowed. Next came the medicine. Just two drops. Then the milk until the glass was drained. Ana handed the glass back to Al.

"Now I know Brother's really sick." Al said, "He actually drank a glass of milk!"

Ana moved away from Edward and folded her legs under herself, "Of corse he did."

"What..." Edward groaned, it was hard to speak, "What's. wrong. With. Me."

"You're very sick, Brother." Al said, putting a hand on his arm.

Ed turned his head slowly to look at his brother. The golden eyes were hooded, dull, "Al. Are. You. Okay."

That question rather disturbed Al for some reason, "I'm fine."

"Where's. Mom."

Now that disturbed Al a lot. He had no idea how to answer.

But the question needed no answer. As soon as it was asked, Ed

fell asleep again with a soft sigh.

"With any luck, he won't remember any of this." Ana said quietly. She slid off the bed, "Come on, Hon, let's let him rest."

Al heard the cat before he saw it. Large and sleek and solid black with huge yellow eyes. 'Ching!" The little bell around it's neck as it leapt upon the bed. 'Ching!' "Mew?"

"Hello, Pye." Ana smiled. "Alphonse, meet Pye."

Animal and armor regarded each other briefly.

"She's beautiful." Al exclaimed.

"He,"

"Oh, er, sorry."

"Meowr" Pye jumped over onto Al's lap. Ching. Al stroked the animal's back. Purrrrrrr.

"Pye dear, could you keep an eye on Preciousmetal for us?" Ana asked.

Ching! Pye was back on the bed, sitting beside Edward for a second then stretching out across his legs as only a cat could. Ed's flesh hand moved and rested softly on the purring feline.

Ack! First milk...and now a cat! What did Ana say? Brother won't remember any of this? God, I wish I had a camera! And AL allowed Ana to pull him away from the bed and his brother and down the dimly lit hallway.

""Do you enjoy reading, Alphonse?" Anna asked once they were in the front room. She went to a low bookcase and extracted a large, thick volume, "You may find this amusing." She handed him the book.

It was bound in worn leather, Title gold leafed on the front: 'Elementary Witchcraft for the Modern Alchemist.' Alphonse looked at Ana, "This is...?"

She smiled in a way that reminded him of Ed and said, "Let me get a few things. Sit. Sit, sit. I'll be right back. Read."

The pages were yellowed, but still strong. 'Chapter One: Alchemy Vs. Witchcraft The Essentials.' Brother always said witches weren't real, just fairytales. Withered old hags in stories meant to frighten on a cold Autumn night before the fire. Stories, only stories. Ed would surely laugh at his brothers sudden anxiety. But Al read the words and by the time he finished the first paragraph, the leather gauntlets that were his hands were...trembling. "This isn't real. It's fiction. It can't be true. Brother, help me..."

"It's just a book, Alphonse." Ana's voice was close to his helmet.

He turned and saw her eyes, really saw them for the first time. Deep, fathomless, black. Pupils indistinguishable from irises. "Edward thinks you're too gullible. Too innocent."

Edward. Not Preciousmetal.

She carefully lifted the helmet up and away, "Can you still see?" She asked.

"Please, but it back." Al begged.

"You can feel me, feel my energy? My soul?"

"What are you doing?" Al made a startled little yelp, "Oh, please, be careful of my seal!" He could sense her finger tracing the simple design but not actually touching it. "Brother!"

Cold. Dark.

Alone. Afraid.

Alphonse drew into himself, tried to hide.

So cold.

He could not see it was that dark.

Then, something touching him. Warm and gentle.

Feminine, defiantly.

Like Mom. But not.

'Don't be afraid, little one.'

Soothing. Relaxing.

'Do you love your brother?'

'Yes."

"Trust him?"

"Yes."

'He worries so about you. Worries that you blame him. That you resent him. Hate him."

"I don't. It-it was an accident."

"So full of pain, and fear. He punishes himself so hard, never lets himself rest. The medicine forces his body to relax, but his soul is in chains of self loathing and misery. '

Brother!' Alphonse soul wept.

"He needs to know you love him and hold him blameless."

'I do! I tell him all the time.!"

"So much suffering. His soul is bound in chains, he cannot accept your love, your trust."

"Is that why he's so sick now?"

"No. But joining will make the physical pain easier to bare.'

"Joining?"

'As brothers your souls are joined in one way, we just need to strengthen that bond. Tighten it. Make it so strong that if he starts to slip, you can pull him back."

Pull him back? From death? Just as Edward had pulled Al's soul

from The Gate and attached it to the armor? Both of them bound to the armor?

'It won't be permanent. We need blood from both for a permanent bonding. It will ware off...slowly..after a time. I am so sorry. I need to get passed his pain and know what and who did this to him."

"Anything.'

A dream now. Dream was the name Al put to what happened next. The cold, hard place faded and he saw a field of tall grass and cherry trees heavy with blossoms. A warm breeze filled the air with delicate petals. He turned and saw Edward, his big brother, bowed down upon a patch of bare ground. Naked and bound in heavy chains. Brother? No. Please, don't blame yourself any more. We're in this together. I love you.

They were standing now. Eye to eye. Edward wore his black pants and top, the hem of the red coat ruffling in the wind. Al knew he had to make the first move and reached out a hand.

Drew his brother close into an embrace that said forgiveness and love and family and hope...

Ana is sitting on the bed again, watching Preciousmetal's face. Pye is purring in her arms. The cat does not startle when Edward suddenly gasps and stiffens. Then relaxes with a soft sigh. His lips curve into a smile. 7777

The days fell into a routine of sorts. Taking care of Edward being the Number One Priority. Keeping him clean and feeding him, giving him the medicine that kept his body from pain and his mind in the clouds.Keeping him upright so his lungs didn't fill up with fluid too fast.

Ana was always trying something new. Trying to help, to lessen, if not cure, the sickness. She gave Edward some herbal tea one night and then sat on his legs, like she always did, and whispered something Al did not understand, for a good hour. Then there was the night that she made the room glow red and leaned so close to his face that their lips were almost touching and sang something to him. That had positive, if short lived, results. Al was delighted, and hopeful, when his brother spoke to him in a voice strong and irritated.

"What the hell...? Al! Where are we?"

He even tried to get up, but Al gently pushed him back against the pillows, "You've been really sick, Brother."

"Yea! Well, I'm okay now. Come on. We're getting out of here!" Ever stubborn, he shoved the covers back and stood up. He never noticed that the room was glowing red, or Ana sitting cross legged on the bed. He did not seem to notice either that he was naked and had arrays drawn on his chest and abdomen. He just growled and headed for the door. Ana watched, Al watched.

"Are you coming or not!" Ed shouted.

Then silence.

And the sound of a limp body dropping to the floor.

Anna wrinkled her nose and sighed, "Go get your brother, Hon."

She then tried reducing the dose of medicine, but the symptoms flared back up almost emmediatly.

Nothing was working.

Al spent his time either sitting, watching his brother, or deep into Ana's bookshelves. He'd finished 'Elementary Witchcraft for the Modern Alchemist', "Theory of Spells and Incantations, Vol. One' ; And was deep into "Witchcraft and the Soul". Reading the books was like eating popcorn, he could not stop. It was so fascinating, so much more powerful than Alchemy. So much more ancient and mysterious. He read about the Human soul, about the Life Force, and he began to wonder...

"Ana?"

"Yes, dear?" She answered from the kitchen.

"What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"

There was a pause, "It's red. And it's nasty."

"This book mentions something called the Anima Sola and the Healing of the Bloodstone...what does that mean?"

Another pause, "The Anima Sola is invoked to either create or relieve suffering. It's nasty, too, because you never know which your going to get and, no, that is not what's wrong with Preciousmetal. His sickness was created with some very powerful alchemy." She came out of the kitchen, "Actually, I'm starting to suspect that if your brother weren't an alchemist, he wouldn't be so sick. I think his own power is really perpetuating this cruelty, which makes the crime even more monstrous."

"And this Healing of the Bloodstone?" Al asked, "What is that? Would that help Brother?"

Ana folded her arms, "No. Now put the books away, and curb your over active imagination. Those are just legends. Now, come on, I've made soup, let's feed your brother. And forget all that nonsense..."

There is another argument about informing Col. Mustang of Ed's condition. It started when Ana casually mentioned their now lack of money.

Al wants to know how she intends to get food and Brother's medicine. She doesn't answer for a minute or so then glare sat him,

"If I return to Central, it will be on my terms1"

She turns and is out the back door.

Al does not follow her. It's best, he reasons, to let her cool off. After all he's had years of experience dealing with flares of temper.

It is late evening when he sees her again. She comes into the bedroom fresh from a bath, hair still damp, holding a pink bathrobe closed with one hand. With the other she pulls open a drawer,

"Alphonse, be a dear and give that wall your utmost attention." She says lightly, "You, too, Preciousmetal. You don't fool me with your eyes shut."

She tosses a piece of red silky fabric over Edward's head, "Know what today is, loves? It's Saturday. But not just any Saturday. Workers at the Mill and the Foundry got paid yesterday. Not only that but a carload of young military boys arrived this morning. They're on their first leave with their first pay just dripping from their pockets. How do I look?"

Al turned to look, "Uh, fine."

Ana was dressed in tight black pants, boots, and a top that left nothing to the imagination. Her hair was free and thick and touched her waist, and her face was painted...a bit too much for Al's taste...

"Oh, my Alphonse, you are much too young to appreciate real woman flesh." She laughed.

"Where are you going?" Al asked.

"We need money, Baby." Ana shrugged into a fitted black coat, "Now, remember Brother's doses, and feed him at least twice. If he starts coughing you know how to activate the arrays? Good. Don't wait up for me and don't worry. Pye will watch the house."

"Ana." Al stood up, "Please...can I..?"

She stopped just short of the door, "No, sweetheart, you cannot come with me. No, I do not need protecting. See you.." And she was gone.

It was early morning when Al heard the front door open and bang shut. Ana stumbled into the bedroom with Pye close behind. She fell on the bed beside Edward, "Oh, crap...I am way too old for that." her voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Ana? Are you okay?" Al asked softly

But she was asleep.

Pye curled up in his favorite place on Ed's lap, "Mewr."

"Yeah, me, too." Al shook his head.