A/N: Hey guys. I'm BAAAAAACK! *waves* Missed u all. Work's been getting busier and takes up a HUGE chunk of my time.

I guess that's about it. Other than HOLY CRAP this thing went on an unitended mini hiatus enjoy the latest chapter and as always, enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think! :)

Special shout out to: anonymous guest, Kiyunni, lilaclily00, W0lfWarrior, thatswhatbeesaid, and thetattooedrose for their lovely feedback and support. :)

Elric residence - Resembool, Amestris

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Pinako couldn't move. She sat frozen on her small trundle bed, overwhelmed at the contents of the letter she just read. Unable to compute someone else knew Hohenheim and the old wanderer never bothered to tell her any of this.

I can't believe it. He was actually writing to someone behind Trisha's back? But it didn't make any sense. The writer was obviously not a plain housewife from the countryside. She sounded well-traveled. Experienced. And Trisha Elric-may God rest her beloved soul-had exhibited none of those qualities.

She felt her heart fluttering, a precursor to a heart attack. She'd suffered minor episodes before due to her age but had managed to stave them off by staying active as an engineer. But right now she was feeling every second of her ninety years. Calm down Pinako. Deep breaths. There has to be an explanation. Maybe you should wait before jumping to hasty conclus-

"Grandma?" The old woman pressed a fist against her chest, willing the muscle to settle down as her only grandchild padded down the hall calling her name. Winry can't see me like this. She'll freak out. The girl knocked on her door before pushing it open. "Grandma, are you okay? The guests are starting to worry-oh my God!"

Pinako squeezed her eyes shut. Blast. She's seen me.

Winry rushed to the bed and knelt by her grandmother's side, blue eyes wide with worry.

"Grandma what's wrong?! Is your heart acting up again? Should I go for the doctor?"

Pinako licked dry lips before uttering one word: "No."

"Huh? Whaddya mean no? You're not feeling well. Here, let me get Al he can-"

"Winry. No. No doctor and don't bother Al. I'm just...tired that's all. I need to take my nap."

The blond mechanic furrowed her brows. Something wasn't right. Pinako never took her midday nap this early and certainly not when they were entertaining guests. Something must've stressed her out and she didn't want to tell anyone about it.

"Gran?" Pinako turned to face her granddaughter. "What happened?"

"Nothing child." She rose stiffly and began to turn out the soft blue comforter. "Tell everyone I'm sorry but I'm going to take a nap. They'll have to manage without me."

Winry wanted to press but she'd learned-along with the rest of the Elrics-that questions before her naptime were forbidden. So she settled for tucking the smaller woman in and smoothed her iron-gray hair away from her face, then leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Pinako's temple.

"Sleep well Gran."

The old woman smiled at her then was out within seconds.

Winry tiptoed over to the window to close the blinds, muting the bright light from outside. The second everyone left, she'd pull Al aside to speak with him privately in Ed's study. Whatever had brought this fit on, she was determined to get to the bottom to and solve for Pinako's peace of mind and her own.

...

Train - en route to Resembool

She felt like she was flying. Slender black arms snaked around her body but unlike most who usually trespassed due to pride, the teenage alchemist felt no fear. She had the Stone so her toll was covered.

Images, complex alchemic formulas and equations, origins of life and everything in between filled her head, a seemingly endless stream of data cramming into her mind but thanks to the Stone no headache accompanied it.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity a pinprick of bright light pierced the darkness of the Gate's interior growing and growing till Xena was spat out into another void of endless white.

"Ugggh." Carefully, she pushed her body to a kneeling position on her hands and knees. "Where am I?"

Xena slowly stood up and took in her surroundings which were nothing more than the blank void she'd seen when first encountering Truth at the front door.

"You're in limbo." A soft male voice answered breaking the silence. Her eyes snapped to its source, surprised that another person was here with her.

A giant slab of stone with intricate carvings of what appeared to be a coiling tree root reaching up to the sun with a refractured surface stood in stark contrast to the endless sea of white. And sitting in front of it was an emaciated young boy with overgrown golden hair.

"Limbo?" She took a small step toward the boy, then another. "As in the holding cell for souls who haven't crossed over yet?"

Xena hadn't got more than three more steps before the kid rose on spindly legs to face her, bony hand outstretched in a stopping gesture.

"Please don't come any closer. The Gate will drag you away and you're the first human face I've seen in three years."

She stared at the skeletal blond amazed he remained cohesive after all that time but the lack of nourishing food and drink had taken its horrible toll. 'Three years?! He's just been sitting there for THREE WHOLE YEARS?'

"So...would you mind...staying with me? For a few minutes at least?"

He sounded lost. Lonely. Hesitant. Like he felt he was being selfish to impose his desire for human companionship no matter how fleeting.

The boy waited a few moments, wondering if he pushed too hard with his request. After all, she was still alive and wouldn't be allowed to stay forever. He spoke his next words gently, hoping to reassure her. "If you don't, then I understand. I won't force you to do something you're not comfortable with."

His willingness to ease her supposed discomfort banished any doubts. So to show she wasn't offended by his offer, she sat cross-legged on the blank 'floor' in front of her personalized Gate.

"I don't have much time," she said. "So be fast."

"Well okay then." He blinked a pair of gentle hazel-gold eyes a tiny flicker of life dispelling the glazed over stare he'd perfected since being trapped behind the Gate for committing human transmutation. "What's your name?"

"Xena Winter. You?"

"Alphonse Elric." He flashed her a faded smile, gingerly resuming his seated position. "But you can call me Al. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah." Plesantries aside she decided to jump right into it. "So, what happened to you?"

He was quiet for several long beats.

Then: "I'm waiting for Brother to restore my body back to normal. I want to do the same with his."

Xena let her eyes sweep over his naked frame. 'Now it makes sense,' she mused. 'They tried to bring someone back from the dead and failed. Well, at least HE did.'

"You committed taboo."

His eyes bored into hers, full of regret and deep sorrow.

"Yes."

"You mentioned a brother. Who is he?"

"Edward. He goes by Ed. I usually call him Brother." A small sheepish grin flicked at the corner of his wasted mouth. "Well, most of the time."

"What about Ed's body?"

A sigh escaped Al's lips. "He lost his left leg in the rebound. Our mother died of a terrible sickness when we were very young and we attempted to bring her back. And you see the results."

She shook her head, fiery strands of hair dancing around her face at the kids' foolish arrogance.

"Human alchemy never works Al. It's pretty much the ultimate expression of man's inability to cope with the finality of death. You and Ed knew better...yet you ignored the warnings and chose to play God anyway."

Al cast his worn hazel-gold orbs to the pure white emptiness between his legs.

"I'm simply stating the evidence you presented me, Al and it's pretty damn thin. I've run across it in my studies, and in the middle of all the giant red flags, I took away one simple truth: you can't spit in God's face and expect to come out unscathed." She closed her eyes, briefly blocking out the white void. "Death is the one thing science has no control over. Neither is fabricating a soul. And that scares alchemists. We hate not having the answers to everything."

There was silence once more as Al digested the girl's short speech. Everything she said was on point. The warnings had been right there in his father's notes. Along with every credible, renowned alchemist who published articles on the topic of human alchemy. They really had no excuse when they drew that hateful circle and assembled the ingredients.

And he was just as guilty when he failed to talk Ed out of his demented state.

"You're right. We have no excuses." Xena opened her eyes to meet his. "I wish we had your discretion and acted on it."

"It's just plain common sense Al. No more no less."

Suddenly she heard the doors to her Gate creak open. Startled, Al scrambled to his feet, stretching his bony hand in a pleading motion.

"Wait! Don't take her away! Please! Give us three more minutes!"

Xena stood, the dry rustling of the black arms writhing across the gap signaling their time was up. She knew no matter how hard the boy begged they wouldn't stop. In seconds she felt them wrap around her shoulders and torso preparing to pull her back to the Living World.

"Hey Al! Come with me! Hurry!"

Much to her surprise he shook his shaggy head.

"I'm sorry. You're not my soul. So I can't come with you. But please don't forget about me."

"I won't." Hardly had the words left Xena's mouth when the Door slammed shut in her face and she was pulled back the way she came.

The next thing she remembered was waking up completely drained, lying on a pallet when Hohenheim's concerned face and the rocky ceiling of the desert cave they were staying in swam into view.

...

Xena gasped lightly. Maroonish eyes flew open and she blinked. Disoriented she allowed her vision to adjust to her immediate surroundings. The first sight she saw was a man's black trousers and a pair of boots.

"Hey."

She immediately focused on Ed's familiar voice, whispering calmly so as not to startle her further.

"Nightmare?"

Xena exhaled as she slowly sat up the blanket falling off her shoulder to pool in her lap.

"No. It's just a...really weird dream. Nothing to worry about."

He crossed his arms over his chest, a knowing look in his gold eyes.

"You dreamt of it. Didn't you?"

Her silence was answer enough. So he decided to press for details, hoping not to push too hard and she'd shut down before he gathered information.

"Look, take it from someone who's been there. Gate-induced nightmares are the worst. I lost half my limbs and suffered a lot of sleepless nights because I was stupid and wanted to play God."

The memory of her own words floated to the surface of her mind. Snippets of a conversation she'd all but forgotten:

"Human alchemy never works...man's inability to cope with death...you and Al knew better but chose to play God anyway..."

"Except I never went to bring back the dead," she mumbled, unaware Ed was listening in. "I just wanted the knowledge..."

"It's the same thing."

Her head snapped up. Eyes glaring a challenge.

"No it's not. Don't compare your mistake with what I did."

Xena wished she could snatch the words back out of the air. Ed looked like she'd sucker-punched the air out of his lungs, his voice coming out a strained whisper.

"Wh-what did you say?"

She lightly kicked his left leg with the toe of her boot listening to the metallic clank, causing Ed to jerk on reflex.

"You didn't get this leg fighting in a war, Fullmetal." He winced at the sarcastic use of his old State Title. "If it was, I might've taken it more seriously. Nope. Instead, this bad boy was the result of your arrogant ass playing with fire and getting burned. Same goes for your right arm." And your brother's entire body, she silently added.

"How'd you know?" Ed felt beads of sweat form on his neck. This isn't public knowledge. Only a small group of people know the truth. This is bad. She knows too much...but HOW?! HOW DID SHE FIND OUT?

"The second you pulled me into your lap." He was thankful the moon wasn't casting too much light through the window just then, with his cheeks pinkening at the memory. Xena stretched and yawned the urge to go back to sleep tugging at her eyelids.

"Seriously Ed," she said, pitching her voice lower so she wouldn't disturb the rest of the car. "You shouldn't be so quick to accuse others of bending the rules. Not after violating the laws of nature and trespassing on holy ground just cause you wanted mommy back."

Ed felt his temple throb. If there was one place you didn't go to his face, it was metioning his mother in such an insulting manner.

"How the hell," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Do you even know about that?"

Xena patted his knee before settling back against the window sill to try and catch a few more hours of rest.

"All will be revealed in time Ed." She yawned. "Get some sleep."

Ed remained awake most of the ride to New Optain where their changeover would take place for the final leg to Resembool and home. One thought kept echoing through his head. Made him sick to his stomach.

She knows.

She knows.

Oh God.

She knows.

TBC...