1Prologue- Ed Elric is now in his mid-forties, married to an American woman, and has two daughters of his own. He kept a journal of all his exploits and adventures on the other side of the gate. Never did he imagine that his daughters would find his several hundred page tome of history. His history. One day while poking around in the attic, they find a book with a strange cross like symbol on it.
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Some Memories Aren't Meant to Leave Traces.
Years after it all ended, we find Edward Elric, the famed Full Metal Alchemist, sitting at a kitchen table with a light beard and long hair drawn back into a pony tail, almost reminiscent of his father Hoenheim. Across from him was a woman with brown hair, and kind eyes. This is his wife, Anne Elric. To his left and right were his two teenage daughters, Elsie Jessica and Monica Trisha Elric, enjoying a summertime dinner with his family.
Monica takes after her mother in many ways, but she has her father's eyes. Of the two girls she's the responsible, logical one. Always way to into her studies, she always has some kind of book in her hands. Elsie is a dreamer who is an almost perfect likeness of Ed. She's the more physical sister and never one to be idle for to long. Back to dinner.
"What a great dinner dear." said Ed with his mouth full.
"Ed, mouth." said Anne.
Ed swallowed the food with great difficulty, it wasn't bad but there was a lot of it in there.
"Dad, I have to do a report about World War II for school." said Monica, "I was wondering if you could help me with it."
Ed gulped and said, "I really don't remember much from way back then Monica. But I can do my best for my little girl."
"Thanks dad."
"Don't forget dad, you and I have a pick up basketball game after you're done with Monica." said Elsie.
"Yes. Thanks for reminding me Elsie."
Later that night, Monica was looking for things in the basement when Elsie poked her head in. She was fresh from her game with Ed in a jersey, shorts, and holding a ball underneath her arm.
"What'cha looking for Monica?" asked Elsie.
"Dad said that I might find something down here for my report." said Monica, who was digging through a box of papers.
She pulled out an old, yellowed leaflet and stared at it.
"Come take a look at this Else." she said.
Elsie walked over and looked at the paper.
"Just a bunch of weird circles Monica." said Elise, handing back the paper.
"I want dad to take a look at this. Maybe he could tell us what it is."
Monica ran upstairs to her parent's room and knocked on the door. Ed opened the door to see his daughter studying the paper.
"Hey dad, do you know what this is all about?" she said, handing him the paper.
The paper seemed to send him into a shock. He sat there holding it thinking, "How did she find this? I thought I got rid of all of it."
"Where did you get this Monica?" he asked.
"In the basement." answered Monica.
"Was there anything else like this?"
"Nope that was the only thing like it."
"This is a note from an old friend of mine. I thought I had gotten rid of all these coded notes." lied Ed, "Thanks for finding it Monica."
"You're welcome dad."
Monica walked off and Ed closed the door and crumpled up the note. Anna looked over to him from the bed.
"What did Monica want honey?" she asked.
"She found something that reminded me of the old days." said Ed.
Later on, Monica and Elsie were brushing their teeth. When they were in the hallway, Monica had a brain fart, pardon the terminology.
"There's something strange about dad's reaction, and I'm going to find out why." said Monica.
"Let it die Monica, I want to relax this weekend and you're not going to ruin it." said Elsie.
"Whatever. I'm still going to find out what those circles are all about."
The next day, Monica was looking around the house when she saw her father walking out a door that she had never seen before in the house. Ed looked around carefully and clapped his hands, pressed them against the door and bolts of unknown energy flew around it. In a matter of seconds, the door was gone and all that was left was the solid wall. Monica stared at the phenomenon, wondering what just happened. Ed walked away and Monica ran up to the spot where the door was and knocked on it. Solid, just like it ever was. She ran to Elsie's room and pounded on the door.
"Come in." she said.
"Elsie! I just saw the weirdest thing in the world." said Monica, "Dad was in the hall in a door that wasn't there before then he clapped and there were these sparks and the door wasn't there any more!"
"Okay calm down Monica. You were up all night and you got up early, so it was a hallucination brought on by lack of sleep."
"No, I really saw this, come on."
Monica grabbed Elsie by the arm and dragged her to the spot where the strange door was.
"I t was right here. Dad clapped his hands like this," Monica started to mimic her father, "put them on the wall and then . . . "
The blue and yellow sparks flew all around them and the door formed. Elsie stood there, stunned and Monica looked at her hands
"Oh my God. I did it." said Monica, "Awesome!"
"But that's shouldn't be possible. The door . . . It wasn't there, now it is." studdered Elsie.
Monica grabbed the door knob and opened the door to a room that they had never seen before. Inside it was like an attic, but the place had tables filled with all kinds of beakers filled with elements, bookcases filled with books of varying sizes and thickness', strange objects on the wall, and what looked like a photo of a younger Ed and another boy.
"What is this place?" said Elsie.
"I don't know." said Monica.
Monica wandered over to one of the bookcases and pulled out a book with a strange cross-like symbol on it.
"We should get out of here Monica, if dad kept this place a secret, he must've had a reason for it." said Elsie.
"Yeah, good idea."
Monica and Elsie walked out of the room and repeated the clapping process and the door was gone. Monica ran back to her room and locked the door, slammed the musty old book on her desk and opened it to the first page.
That evening, Monica closed the book and looked at it.
"Dad did all that, in some other world? The clap thing I did was alchemy? I have got to try some more." thought Monica.
All night she practiced with simple objects in her room. She disassembled a pencil, turned the graphite into diamond, and then turned it back to normal. She grabbed her metal wastebasket and turned it into a wrench. She fell asleep with the book as a pillow.
Her father banging on the door woke her up.
"Monica, it's time for breakfast." said Ed, "Are you awake?"
She started to panic. She stuffed the book under her bed and lied, "Don't come in, I'm not decent."
"Alright then, get dressed and come downstairs, your mom's got pancakes ready."
Monica changed her clothes and walked to the kitchen table. After an awkward breakfast, Ed went back to his alchemy lab and sealed the door. Monica unsealed the door and walked in with the book.
"Monica? What are you doing in here?" said Ed, surprised his daughter found out how to preform alchemy,
"Same way you did, Full Metal."
"I haven't been called that in so long. Ever since the old days with Mustang."
She put the book down on to the desk of elements, and looked at her father.
"All these amazing things you did, and you never once thought about telling me, mom, or Elsie?"
"Well, some things are best forgotten Monica. My brother and I experienced things that no one else should." said Ed.
"What you tried to do for Grandma might have been the stupidest thing you ever done, but you made some many friends, the Hero of the People they called you, and you gave it up because you couldn't find a way back home?"
"Don't you think I've been trying? That's what this whole lab is dedicated to, finding a way to open the gate, and see everyone I left behind."
"Why don't I help you? It might go faster if you had another alchemist."
"It might, but your just a normal alchemist, this is stuff that drive even a state alchemist mad."
"Well I can help either way, maybe Elise too."
"Elsie might have the gift too, get her in here."
Monica ran out and grabbed Elsie, and dragged her into the lab.
"I don't want any part of this insanity, I just want to play soccer!" said Elsie.
"Shut up and at least try it." said Monica.
"Okay, I don't know why you two think I can do this."
Elsie clapped and put her hands on a piece of wood, and nothing happened.
"See, I told you."
"You're just like Al. Grab that book over there and start studying circles." said Ed.
Elsie grabbed a book entitled "Beginners Guide to Alchemy" and sat down while flipping through the pages. Ed and Monica got to work on theorems and equations.
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Epilogue- This whole thing was inspired by a little thought I had while watching the anime on Adult Swim. If this gets, oh I don't know, at least five good reviews I might work on some more chapters. (P.s. Fans of the show might recognize the title as the last words Al says in episode 3.)