The Gate, 7th April 1934
The ancient door creaked open slowly, revealing an empty, but narrow passage. On closer inspection, the soldier realized the ceilings and walls were made out of countless of little black figures. Their eyes glistened in the dark background, reminding him of stars in the night sky. The soldier gulped – a single wrong move and he'll be done for it. Looking back, he must have been plain crazy to volunteer himself to prove the Fuhrer's theory. 'Arh, all these for the sake of fame and glory,' he thought sadly.
"Well here goes nothing," he muttered, as he approached the door carefully.
"YOU MAY ONLY PASS THE GATE SAFELY THREE TIME. SUBSEQUENT TRESPASSERS MUST PAY A TOLL," boomed a voice suddenly the moment he stepped into the passage.
Out of shock, he tripped over his own feet and fell forward, as he attempt to break the fall took a chunk out of the door. Being a soldier, he instinctively remained flat on the ground and covered his neck. A few moments passed and still nothing seemed to happen. He lifted his head to check. Good. Nothing stirred.
He reinserted the cigarette that fell onto the ground into his mouth, and got up slowly, as he slipped the door fragment into his pocket. He flexed his neck a little, took a deep breath and began to walk.
Resembool, 29th June 1934
Winry picked up a cloth and began to polish the automail parts furiously. Within a few minutes, they were all well polished. Glancing at the satisfied look on her reflection, she stood up and headed for the kitchen. Nothing else satisfied her more now than to do her job properly – Grandma Pinnoco had passed away a few months back, Sheska was invited to join back the Military the year before, and Den was buried way before Grandma Pinnoco (Dogs age much more quickly than humans do). She was refilling up the kettle, when the doorbell rang.
"Must be a customer," Winry muttered, though her heart secretly hoped it was Edward.
She opened the door and peered into the familiar face of a tall, dark-haired man. He greeted her and waved smilingly. It was Roy Mustang!
Though slightly shaken, she welcomed him inside warmly, and made them each a hot cup of aromatic coffee.
"So…what brings you here," she began, then with a small teasing smile she added, "…my dear Fuhrer?"
"Matters of the greatest severity are at hand right now," the Fuhrer inched closer to Winry, and slowly reached into his waist coat.
Winry inched her head forward in anticipation, as he took out an envelope and a piece of wood. The envelope was sealed with a lion wax stamp, and the piece of wood, which was only partially painted silver, looked like it was chipped off from some kind of furniture.
"THIS FIRST!" He whipped up his wallet to reveal a photograph of his three-year-old daughter. "ISN'T SHE TOTALLY ADORABLE??"
Winry nodded her head furiously, and gripped her chair tightly to prevent herself from falling. That felt oddly familiar as well.
"Well, now now…Back to business," Roy spoke solemnly, and removed the seal on the envelope and unearthed the contents. "One of my soldiers volunteered to enter the gate under special conditions three months ago. This is his report on the 'experiment.'"
Winry jolted up at the mention of the gate and stretched out her hands to receive the report.
It read:
'Hi Fuhrer,
On 7th April 1934 at 1230 hours, I volunteered to take part in a dangerous (but fame-catching) experiment and ventured into the unknown. On seeing the gate, I bravely took a sample of the left door when it opened. When it opened I saw that there was a narrow passage. Only one man could fit. The ceilings and walls were made out of small, black imp-like creatures which reached and lunged for me as I walked across. On stepping onto the path, a voice originating from within the gate warned me that I may pass the gate thrice. I reached the other end in less than a hour and arrived in a conscious state. My watch was working throughout, and on further confirmations, our time is in phrase with that of the other world.
Upon arrival, I hid the in portal which was formed behind some large crates. On the first day, I observed that the other world is no different from our own, except for the fact that machines can travel freely in the air. They spoke our tongue (German) and ate like we do.
On the second day, I conversed with a few civilians and discovered a disturbing situation - the country they call 'Germany' is going to war. Their Fuhrer had promised to bring his people out of the darkness.
On the third day, I was apprehended by some men in brown uniforms while I was talking to another civilian. She quickly flashed her identification card and fled quickly, leaving me to feud for myself. They threatened to send me to a concentration camp if I did not produce mine quickly. I tried to explain that I was not a local but was kicked in the stomach by one of them. At that moment, two men quickly knocked the brownshirts out, then disappeared again. I remember distinctively that one was much shorter than the other. Perhaps they were the Elric brothers.
On 12th April 1934, I returned to the warehouse and I think I accidentally performed alchemy when I tried to annihilate a mosquito. I believe that the phenomenon was attributed to the piece of the gate I had possessed. I re-entered the portal and escaped to our own land, back into haven, on 12th April 1934. Strangely, the journey back was much quickly, but the passage did seem narrower. Once again, a voice bellowed the moment I stepped inside. This time it warned me that only one more trip was available. I returned to Central Military grounds safely.
Your loyal subordinate,
Jean Havoc (Colonel)
END OF REPORT
Winry looked up and asked, "So does that mean you want me to go over to the 'other side'?"
The Fuhrer nodded but said nothing. He placed blocks of silver and copper beside the piece of gate. He snapped his fingers (left hand), and transmuted them into a silver watch. Then with his right hand, he engraved the imperial lion crest on the watch. Winry noticed that the symbols on each glove were different now.
"Tell me," the Fuhrer suddenly spoke. "Do you miss the Fullmetal Alchemist?"
Munich, 29th June 1934
Two men sat at a small, dusty table. A single light bulb hung above them, illuminating their tired but youthful faces.
The shorter man, Edward, lifted his cup and sipped. He put it back down in disgust quickly – he found cold coffee highly distasteful. He wiped the excess coffee on his sleeve, then leaned back and sighed deeply.
"Tomorrow night…that's the night right?" Alphonse, the taller man, prompted.
"Arh yes. Are the plastic explosives ready, Al?" he whispered.
Alphonse nodded and tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes looking down, gesturing that the package was on the floor beside him.
"Excellent," Edward gave a rare smile, and drained the rest of his cold coffee down his throat, his nose wrinkled like it was poison. Still with a pained look on his face, he put some money on the table and stood up, motioning for Alphonse to follow him. As they left the old coffee shop, they waved the owner, Barty, goodbye.
The night was especially windy, not to mention chilly, causing Edward's hat to sail across the street (Alphonse held tightly to his in time).
The braided blonde hair flew behind him, as he chased after it. After a minute chase, he found that it landed on a circular manhole cover. He smiled again – it reminded him of a transmutation circle, and brought up several fond memories. He bent down to pick his hat up, then clapped his hands.
'Just like old times. I wonder how Winry is doing right now…' he thought, as his hands approached the ground.