AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGSI'm feeling better today, and extremely happy for some unprecedented reason...So of course we get some physiological torture in here. Enjoy!~ X3

White. It was all he could see. Instead of the fear most people would posses when faced with a blankness of eternity surrounding them, he only felt anxiousness. He knew what this place was. It was the Gate. And that meant...

"Alphonse..." the whisper tore itself from his hoarse throat. Slowly, he turned his head to see looming gates and a figure sitting in front of them, surrounded by a puddle of blood. The figure's head raised and he could only stare helplessly into crimson orbs. "Al..." he managed.

"Onii-san." came the stiff reply. He tried to stand, but instead saw that his limbs were once again missing. Instead of worrying over that fact, he started to drag himself

"Al... Alphonse..." he could only repeat his brother's name over and over. Blood poured from the armor and his breathing sped up, hitching even through the tears that he just barely was unable to keep back.

"Stop Onii-san." Al told him, urging his older brother to stop causing himself pain, "Edward, please." Edward just kept pushing towards Alphonse with his two limbs, pain searing through him. He finally came to a stop next to the bloody armor. After a minute of silence, Edward sat up and raised his hand to touch his little brother's cheek. Alphonse flinched back though, and pain showed through his eyes, obvious to Edward, who had so much practice reading the unchanging helmet.

"Onii-san, you shouldn't be here!" At the hurt expression evident obvious in Edward's eyes, Alphonse amended his sentence, "If you're here, that means that the Gate is calling you."

"It's calling me?" Edward asked, his scientific mind skeptical, even after all that the two had been through.

"Onii-san," Alphonse said, anxiety in his tone, "It means that you're close to dying."

"That's impossible Al," Edward managed after a moment, "They've got me hooked up to all sorts of machines and-" Coughing cut Edward off and as he fell onto his side retching specks of blood into his left hand, all that he could think was 'Not now. Please, not now.' But, as usual, whatever entity there was that could possibly exist ignored his plea. The coughing continued. Alphonse was shouting something, but Edward couldn't hear his brother over the roaring in his ears. He blacked out.

When Edward woke, it was to the feeling of metal arms surrounding him. Due to all of the bad situations he'd had to deal with over the years that followed along the lines of waking up held in place, he reacted before he even opened his eyes. However, only having one arm and one leg prevented him from doing much more than tuck and roll. He got away from the feeling of imprisonment and opened his eyes. As the blurry armor came into focus, Edward suddenly recalled what had happened.

"Onii-san?" Al asked warrily.

"Sorry Al," Edward replied, sitting up, "I'm just... Not too many good memories with waking up being held..."

"I'm sorry Onii-san. But... what was that?"

"Nothing Al." Edward looked away from his brother, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. It felt as if it would eat him alive and sunk even farther into his being as his brother spoke.

"No Edward. It's not nothing,"Alphonse said tersely, "Onii-san, you just passed out on me and the Gate is calling you. Just please, I can't do anything else for you right now. Tell me what's going on. Let me help you."

Alphonse's voice broke on the last word and Edward felt his will break along with it. For a moment he simply sat there, head held low as he contemplated what to say to his brother.

"Life isn't... It's not fair anymore Al, and there aren't rules anymore. Equivalent Exchange is a lie. Maybe it's... Maybe it's because I didn't try enough Al, but I don't know what else to do." A sob rose up to his throat and Alphonse just sat, listening to Edward as the tale came forth. "I'm sick Al, real sick. Like Mom was. And Fuhrer Bastard is keeping me at the hospital, so I can't look for Truth. And I can't even tell them about it! They don't know that you're trapped here at the Gate and that the bastard is loose. It's just... I don't even know anymore Al, I just don't know."

Edward dissolved into tears and Alphonse reached forward to hold his brother, ignoring the pain that rose withing his own being. The two sat there, until Alphonse finally spoke.

"You have to go Onii-san. It'll hurt, but I can't keep you here." Edward looked up at his younger brother and nodded uneasily before pushing off of the armor with a shaking arm to stand on one leg. Hesitantly, he hopped forward, until he vanished from Alphonse's sight. The armor lowered its head again, a sense of hopelessness surrounding him. He wanted to believe in his brother, he really did, but he couldn't. If Edward was truly sick, he was doomed to remain at the Gate forever, as the new guardian. Because that was his fate if Truth wasn't found.

"Call the nurse." Mustang ordered, his voice cold and worry plain for all to see on his face.

"Yes Sir." Marcoh hit the call button and the Flame Alchemist turned to Izumi.

"Did he talk to you when you came in?" he asked seriously. For a moment, he was worried that the woman wouldn't answer him. He supposed that if he were in her position and she in his, she probably would be cinders by now. Just as he wanted to give up on her, she spoke.

"He spoke briefly with me, he was wondering if there was any information about finding his brother." The glare at Mustang was unmistakable for what it was. Hair on the back of his neck rose in warning of her anger. Wisely, he looked at from her and towards Marcoh with an eyebrow raised.

"He only waved at me." the Crystal Alchemist replied.

"And he said nothing to me or even look up when I came in..." Mustang mused aloud, "So at some point between your entrance and mine something happened..." The three thought over the issue, trying their hardest not to give up hope.

AUTHOR'S WHATNOT BECAUSE SHE'S TOO LAZY TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT NAME RIGHT NOW

I seriously had too much fun writing this chappy... Well, you got a look at Alphonse, if you're having trouble picturing him, let me know in a review or a PM. Now, does anybody else remember when you had to click a blue link to review?

3-25 edit I accidentally had Edo call Mustang Col. Bastard instead of Fuhrer Bastard. Thank you 199!