…*inches in* H-hey…guys…! Er…how's it-dodges milk—right. So…yeah. Sorry 'bout the length of time between my updates…I told you I had some writer's block…and who knew that procrastinating on a final project would cure it so easily? /shot

So yeah…kind of a longer chapter than usual (not super long…but longER). I'll write more at the bottom…but first…enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I've been writing this stuff fer five years guys…I still don't own ANYTHING. Except the plot…even though 'twas the plot bunnies' fault…

Ed blinked for a second and came back to reality. He looked at Danny and noticed that he looked worried. He smirked, "Eh? Sorry Danny, I was just thinking about some things. By the way, you showed me a few of your powers, so why don't I tell you a little about alchemy?"

Even though Danny quickly nodded, he still noticed a glint of sadness in Ed's eyes. It wasn't as bad as the first day that he'd met him, but it was still there. "Loneliness. That's what it is. He misses his home and family."

Danny mentally sighed, and decided he'd wait to ask him about his home, and decided it would be better if he learned about alchemy first. He'd noticed there was a small gleam of happiness in his eye when he remembered that much.

"Alright! So, where should I start…" Ed replied, rubbing his hands together. He paused for a moment to think.

"How about what it is?" asked Danny, but decided to say a little bit more under the incredulous look Ed gave him. "I mean, I know there's stuff like changing stuff into gold and stuff…but that's all I know."

Ed continued to give him an amused stare, and Danny felt himself blush a little. Hey, it wasn't like alchemy was common knowledge anymore. It died out long before he was ever born!

Ed noticed how uncomfortable Danny was getting and shook his head, "Alright, so alchemy is…well, part of it is changing 'stuff into gold', even though it was illegal where I lived." He smirked once more, thinking about past adventures, but continued, "But it's also about changing one substance into another. And the biggest rule of alchemy is that of equivalent exchange."

Danny looked confused. Ed had mentioned it the day before, but he hadn't really thought it was so important. He was about to ask what it was, but Ed interrupted his thought, "Humankind cannot obtain anything without first sacrificing something. In order to obtain anything something of equal value is required. That is Alchemy's law of equivalent exchange." He stated, as if reciting something from long ago.

Danny nodded and thought out loud, "And since nothing could ever equal a human soul, you and your brother had to give up parts of your body for a mere body to come alive for seconds."

Ed looked at him curiously, but nodded too. "Yeah, that's right." This kid's pretty smart.

"Then…uhm, how do you actually do alchemy?" Danny asked. It's kinda like the theory about mass equaling energy or something…wait…how did I know that?

Ed smirked, "That is where the actual studying comes in. But, for now I'll just tell you that you need an alchemy circle, and energy, and that energy must be equal to the energy needed to transmute whatever you want to transmute."

"But…if you need a certain amount of energy to transmute something…would trying to transmute a human soul take a lot of energy? If equivalent exchange is true…then wouldn't you need some sort of sacrificial life, someone that is living, in order to bring something back from the dead?" Danny asked, thoughtfully.

Ed was stunned. It had taken him years to figure out what Danny had put together in a few seconds. "Y-yeah. Jeez kid, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you've know a lot more than you're lettin' on! How'd you figure that out?"

Danny flushed a little. "Well…if you think about it, a human soul is made up of energy. It isn't something physical, so I don't think it's some sort of matter. And when you think of ghosts, they're considered to be the souls of those who stayed behind right? Well, I've found out through my fights that the more energy a ghost has…the more solid it becomes, the less, the further it fades into nonexistence. And…well, I've also found out that because I'm still half-living, I'm a lot more powerful than the normal full-ghosts. I guess…it would make sense that a living person would have more energy than a dead person…and you could use that energy to bring someone dead…back to life."

Ed blinked. This kid's pretty smart! Why did he have to do this for extra credit though? "You got it right again, kid. Although, I didn't know about the half-living part-since you are the first person I've met who's like that-but yeah. You said you were doing this for extra credit, right?" Danny nodded. "Why do you need it? It looks like you're smart enough to get good grades, or at least sharp enough to put two and two together with this kind of thing."

"Er…well, not really. My friends always call me 'oh clueless one'." Danny chuckled and threw in some air quotes for good measure. "But, it doesn't help that most of the time, the ghosts keep me up at night because I have to fight them and by the time I get to class, I'm either half asleep or fighting some other ghost." Danny paused to think again. "And since I was a bit of a slacker before…well, I usually scraped by with B's and low A's…I'm not nearly as smart as my sister though."

"Danny, what you just put together in seconds…it took me years to figure out," Ed paused. "Even then, I only found out that you need hundreds of dead souls in order to set one's body back to normal. Whether or not your sister is smart, you are a lot smarter than what you credit yourself for."

This time, Danny blinked. No one had really told him that he was that smart, especially when compared to his sister, of course Ed hadn't met her yet so he probably wouldn't keep the same opinion for too long. However, it was a nice feeling for someone to congratulate him. "Er…thanks. Well, it's probably 'cause I've had experience with the dead…and coming back from the dead…so…"

Ed shook his head, kid's a little too modest for his own good. Probably has a hero complex. He smirked at himself. Now that sounds kind of familiar… "Now then, where were we?"

"We were talking about energy and, uh, trans…something," Danny replied.

"Ha ha ha, of course! Well…" Ed laughed, but looked around and noticed it was getting dark. He smirked again. "Well, I'd continue, but it looks like it's gotten a little late. The nurses might've noticed we've disappeared.

Danny blinked again. Shoot! "Ah man, if I don't get us back soon, I'll be late for dinner! I'll carry you back then!"

Danny transformed back into his ghost form and carried Ed back to the nursing home. He used his intangibility to go a little faster, but was a little winded when he dropped Ed off. They agreed to meet up at the same time the next day, but before Danny left, Ed drew him something on a piece of paper.

"This may be skipping a few steps, but here. It's a very simple transmutation circle. You can try and draw it on your own and see if you can make something happen in this world," Ed explained at the door. "It might work for you because you have a different type of energy than most others in this world."

Danny looked at the paper closely. It had two circles, on inside the other. There were also two squares inside the outer circle. It was simple, but maybe Sam could show him how to draw it perfectly later.

Danny smiled and took it, "Thanks Ed! I'll see you tomorrow then!" Ed nodded and waved as Danny walked out. He knew he had ran around the corner and transformed to fly home.

It had been quite a day.

Anti-climactic chapter is suuuuuper anti-climactic. Sorry if y'all were expectin' somethin' crazy to happen in this chapter…it's kind of a filler chapter…but I did put in a bit of a smart Danny (will explain in a sec). I can't say if the next update will come soon…or in another year…but at least I'm tryin'…neh? My muse suddenly re-appeared…an' I pretty much just did this all in about an hour. *crazy…neh?* I'm really sorry that I haven't updated this in so long…I'll make a more formal update on my profile in a bit if y'all wanna see what's been takin' so long (plus there was a bit o' an announcement on there from 'round October. I'll keep typin' when I get an idear, but until the next update…I'll see you later!

Oh! And as fer the smart Danny…well, I always thought that Danny wasn't so much as stupid…but clueless and awkward. It takes a lot to come up with witty banter in the middle of a fight, I can barely even do that in a normal conversation! Plus! His parents are geniuses (one more obvious than the other…look…while Jack acts like a total doofus, he DID help create most of the gadgets seen throughout the show…and most of them WORKED…with some opposite effects…but…yeh know what I mean). I think Danny's a lot like his dad in that sense.