Open Doors

By Momo Taishou

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Chapter 1 – 1928

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Amestris, Risembool – 1928

The sun was shining brightly through the window as she sat at her desk, half-heartedly fixing a broken piece of automail. It had been exactly 5 years since the day he disappeared from her world for the second time. Last time he was gone for two years, but somehow came back; this time the gate has been sealed for good.

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Munich, Germany – 1928

Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse sat in the kitchen of the house formerly owned by Alfons Heiderich. They had been living there along with Noah since Alfons died and left the house to Edward.

Ed set his cup of coffee down on the wooden table in front of him. "It's been 5 years today."

"I know, brother."

They had spent the last 5 years trying to find a way back home to Amestris. They had come close to the solution many times, but in the end it never added up. They refused to give up, until one day when the equation worked. They went through it again and again, and every time it added up. There was only one problem: the formula required a human life to be sacrificed in order for it to work.

Neither of the brothers would ever think about sacrificing any of the people they met during their time in Munich. Especially not after their failed attempt in the field of human alchemy so long ago. They would never be able to stand the feeling of creating such a miserable, tortured, half-human creature again. Even if they created it by mistake, it would still grind their hearts with the guilt of making someone so miserable and taking away their soul for their own personal gain.

In another room of the house, Noah, the young Roma woman who had befriended the Elric Brothers was thinking to herself about the glumness that had filled the house as of late.

"Edward and Alphonse have been very distraught lately. They are usually so ambitious in their studies, but lately they have been sitting around the kitchen table; only taking their leave to sleep. And even sleep comes rarely for them now. Oh…what could be the matter?"

It was then that she recalled. It was exactly 5 years ago that they had returned to their world for a brief time, then left their good friends of Amestris for the good of both worlds.

"There is not much I can do for them but to let them be. Soon they will return to their normal optimistic selves, just as usual."

A week passed and the Elric brothers were still depressed. Their daily routine now consisted of unwillingly getting out of bed, eating a small breakfast, and sitting at the table drinking the same cups of coffee all day, until they decided to lay in their beds and perhaps try to sleep.

Something was obviously wrong. Feeling sorry and concerned for her friends, Noah decided she had to do something. She couldn't help herself; with her extraordinary and coveted ability to read the minds of others, she could find out what was wrong! She hated using this power to decieve her friends, but curiosity got the better of her. Besides, they were to stubborn to tell her what was wrong, or to let her help them.

Noah tip-toed into Edward's room one night, deciding that it would be easier to understand information from the eldest brothers head. His textbooks and formulas were scattered around the room like always, but she could tell they had not been touched in a while. One particular notebook caught her eye. It had "NO!" written on it in largely penned letters. She picked it up, curious as to what it was and saw that is was a very complex equation. She recognized some of the figures that Edward and Alphonse had explained to her during their exploits in the field of rocket science.

Although she could only piece slightly more than half of the equation together, she understood why the brothers were so distraught. This equation was supposed to get them home, but it required a human life. She knew the reservations of the two relating to taking the lives of innocent people. But Noah also knew how much they wanted to get home and see their friends. They had frequently talked about Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Alex Armstong, the deceased Maes Hughes and his family, and so many others. But most of all, they talked about their lifelong friends Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako.

Al told her how they used to play together all the time, and how she was their special mechanic after Ed lost his arm and leg, and Al lost his body when they attempted to bring their mother back to life. He told her how she always was kind and let them stay with her as long as they needed to, granted it was never long due to the constant calls of the military.

Ed said the same things about her as Al did; although he did go on a little more about how she would throw wrenches at him for never visiting then damaging his automail so badly, and how she cared for automail and mechanics more than humans. But the more he went on about these negative-sounding things, the more Noah could see in his eyes the love he had for this girl.

Noah knew what she wanted and needed to do. For the happiness of her friends and her eternal happiness, she would offer herself as the sacrifice for Ed and Al's only way home. The brothers must agree, they wanted to be home so much.

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Ed and Al silently sat at the kitchen table, taking the occasional sip of coffee, when Noah slowly walked into the room. Alphonse looked up and Edward grunted something that resembled a "Good Morning".

"I….there's something very important I need to talk to you about."

Both brothers looked up at Noah, wondering what it could be.

"Last night…I, um, I read a paper of yours. It was a formula that you had created among all the failed attempts. And for it to work I noticed….that it required a sacrifice." Noah said quietly.

Before she could get to her point, Alphonse interrupted her. "Don't worry, Noah! Whe would never take a life for self gain. We labeled that formula as a fail."

"I know you wouldn't. But that isn't what I was going to say."

By now both Ed and Al had confused looks on their faces, not quite sure where she was going with this conversation. That is until her next statement:

"I will be the sacrifice to fullfil the formula's requirements."

At this statement, Al spit his coffee out in surprise and both he and Ed fell out of their chairs, spilling coffee all over the kitchen floor.