A/N: Hey, It's me. MoD. So, here is a new chapter story I've written. It's definitely never been done before; no one else would think as crazily as I do. But the twists won't come until the next few chapters. I think it has more promise than RoL... Anyway, this is set after CoS. The story is inspired by a Jane Yolen book of the same name. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

The Devil's Arithmetic- Prologue

"What?" Edward Elric whispered to himself, staring in disbelief at the paper in front of him, which was covered in mathematical equations, variables, and Greek letters. A few words in German stood out on the page; a few especially stood out to Ed; "other world," "alchemy," "uranium bomb," and "Huskisson."

"I don't believe this…could it be true?" Ed whispered again, staring at the page filled with the musings of Alfons Heidrich. "Al!" He shouted, his voice cracking, "Come here! You need to see this!"

It had been over a year since they had been stuck in this world, over a year since Alfons had died, but only now had they gotten to sifting through their friend's belongings. Al had settled perfectly into this world, but Ed could not accept it. He had been fine with resigning himself to this world, but he had never wanted it for his younger brother. In their years together, Ed had already taken so much from him; how could he take his home, his friends, his family away now?

Ed had never given up on leaving this world, at least for his brother. Still, he had not made much progress, even after a year. Still, if Alfons' calculations, his theories were true… he allowed himself a tiny bit of hope. Maybe they could return after all.

Ed snapped out of his reverie as he heard heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs. Al's head peeked around the doorframe, and stepped into the room as Ed motioned to him. "What is it?" he asked, his voice curious.

"Al. Just look at this for a moment." He thrust the paper towards his brother, watching as the younger boy's eyes flicked over the page, once, then a second time. When Al looked up at him again, his eyes were filled with confusion--and hope.

"Brother? Is that true?"

Ed nodded slowly. "I think so. It makes sense… I have to check the equations, but the theory is sound."

"But where…where did it come from?"

"Alfons." Ed said simply. "All this time, he really did want to help get me home. And if everything on that paper works out, we could use the Uranium Bomb to get us home…within a week."

A/N: I know, it's short and very generic. But you'll see... this is just the prologue! Things get a lot...twistier after this!

As always feedback is greatly appreciated!