"Stop!" Roy screamed as he watched Edward sketch the array on the ballroom floor. He felt soaked in his own blood, streams of it dripping from bleeding eyelids. The fight with the Fuhrer had been tiring and every muscle in his body ached. He wanted to stop and sleep but he recognized the array that Edward had scratched on the floor. He knew every swirl and loop that that piece of chalk had etched out.

Until that array had been wiped off the floor, Roy couldn't stop. He jumped from one balcony level to the next and swung down, racing towards the alchemist. "STOP, EDWARD!"

Edward glanced behind him, flipping his braid over his shoulder as he did so. The boy was naked to his waist; arrays were scribbled on his arms and torso. The drawings were blue and glowed with an eerie light. Roy figured, as he jumped over a chair, that Ed had finally become desperate enough not to care about equivalent trade. There was a crazy look in his eyes.

Ed sat on array and checked the drawings on his arms and chest. Alphonse was nowhere to be seen but a girl Roy didn't recognize sat next to Ed, shivering and watching in an uncomprehending way. Why wasn't she trying to stop him? He was screaming at Ed to stop; why didn't the girl help?

"Scratch out the array!" he yelled. The girl made no attempt to move, staring at him as if she wasn't sure he was really there and Roy cursed. "Stop!" he yelled again, breaking into a run. He had to ruin the array. It would be crucial to change it; he had to alter it somehow!

Edward called out to Roy then, refusing to meet the Colonel's eyes as he finished the last line and tossed the chalk away. "My brother sacrificed himself for me," Ed said simply. "I promised to bring him back from there." The boy paused and placed both hands on the array. "I keep my promises."

There was a clap and then a bang and the array lit up blue. Roy could hear the roar of transmutation echoing in his ears. He made up his mind: skidding, he slid on his knees and threw himself into the array. Edward jerked; Roy could feel the array alter as he forced himself into it. What was he doing?

He should have dragged Edward out! No, there hadn't been enough time. Edward squirmed as Roy wrapped his arms around him. The array burned and Roy screamed. There wasn't a sound from Edward as the light increased, painfully burning until there was nothing.

Mon something whispered in the darkness. "Gate."

There it was. Hideous bodies clinging to some mockery of an entrance. The doors swung open and Roy squinted against the yellow light. Edward: he'd entered the array looking for Edward! Roy turned as he heard the gate open and saw Ed behind him, glaring at him with a look that could only be hatred.

"You've ruined it," Ed accused. "You've taken me from him forever!"

Ed had a frightening look on his face and Roy took a step backward. The sword on the alchemist's arm was transmuted in a second and Roy jumped back to avoid being gutted.

"Why did you do that?!" Edward screamed. "Why did you ruin the array!"

"I was trying to save you!" Roy defended, jumping back from the blade again. He couldn't see; his depth perception was off. It was becoming harder and harder to avoid Ed's strikes.

Stopping for a moment, Edward laughed hysterically. "Saved me?" he said, crowing. "You've damned us both."

Ed pointed at a point that was behind Roy and Roy turned. The gate had finished opening. It peered at him, hundreds of eyes staring right into his soul. Tiny hands were stretching outward and he watched as they wrapped around him. They wormed their way under his clothes. One climbed into his eye, prying open damaged lids and worming its bloody way under his skin. He screamed.

The gate showed him things that he hadn't wanted to see.

Somewhere in the middle of it, he felt a hand wrap against his. His screams quieted as he felt the warmth from it. One eye cracked open and, even though he could see nothing but thousands of damned souls, he knew that Ed had reached for his hand.

"Close your eyes," Ed said.

Roy didn't want to tell him that it was impossible. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see these things. He could hear them and Roy felt himself shake with fear. This wasn't something a human should ever see. The will to survive made him terrified.

"Close your eyes," Ed repeated.

Roy did so. Behind them, he could hear the gate close and the painful laughter that echoed in his ears finally brought blackness.

Hitting the ground hard, Roy's body made a thud that was strong enough to jerk him awake. He opened his eyes and focused quickly. The transmutation circle was fading, the last glimmers of light disappearing. Ed was sitting on the ground next to him, pawing at something that had gotten attached to his head. What was-?

"I declare this to be a battle of spells," a strange voice said and Roy looked up. Standing next to a picnic table and a lamppost were two figures. The taller one hugged a small boy close to his chest, nearly shoving the tiny figure into his coat. The man looked furious and Roy could see a tiny… array? etched on his skin. It activated as he spoke and Roy put his hand forward.

"Do you accept?" the man demanded.

"Yes," Ed said in a strange voice. Roy turned around.

"What are you doing?" he demanded of Ed. The figures in front of them had made no move forward to initiate the kind of attack that Roy usually participated in. The taller man's blond hair was blowing slightly and the little boy curled a finger into it, flicking cat-like ears forward in a peaceful manner.

Wait, cat-like? Roy turned to Ed again and stared in shock. Those ears… Edward had them as well. Gold ears peeked out from Ed's hair and Roy could even see a tail flicking impatiently from beneath the boy's coat. What had happened after they'd fallen through the gate?

"Sentou system, on! Auto," declared the tall man over by the picnic table.

A circle of black light encased the field suddenly. Trees darkened and stopped moving, the sound of birds vanished, and the grass under Roy's feet turned to ink. Turning around quickly, Roy glanced at Edward. "What's going on?!" he asked. Ed didn't answer.

"Sentou system, on," Ed said quietly. He stood and Roy turned to face him. Suddenly, he felt light, almost as if something else had freed mind from body. Information that he could remember being shown by the Gate flooded his system and, suddenly, he knew what he needed to know. He turned to Ed and placed his palm against the other alchemist's, feeling words suddenly flare up on his skin.

Faithless, said that strange voice from the gate. That is the name given by destiny; it is for this world and this world alone.

"Faithless, so strong that even the pious fall," Edward said and Roy heard his own voice chanting the phrase along with the other alchemist. There were vibrations in the air and an array activated above his head. Strings wrapped around the battlefield and Roy eyed his competition.

Soubi was seriously concerned. He'd never seen anything quite like this pair before. They had appeared out of nowhere as he and Ritsuka had been walking in the park, and he'd had very little warning, except for a feeling of immense power approaching rapidly from somewhere else. They were strangely dressed; the older man was wearing what appeared to be an old fashioned military uniform, and he younger boy's clothes also looked very outdated and rather foreign. The blond boy seemed to be having trouble with his ears and his tail, which was sticking awkwardly out of his old-fashioned trousers.

What has Nagisa-sensei cooked up now? he thought to himself, although he had a nagging feeling that these two had absolutely nothing to do with Nagisa-sensei, Seven Moons, or anything else that he was familiar with.

He grasped Ritsuka protectively as he waited to see what this eccentric pair would do. Ritsuka leaned back against him trustingly; Soubi didn't think he was aware of their potential danger. He was determined to shield him from it in any way possible.

Disturbingly, the dark haired older man began to laugh. It was a cruel laugh, laced with irony and cynicism, and it echoed through the battleground like a firecracker. He stopped suddenly and one word escaped his lips: "Flame."

The soldier snapped his gloved fingers and flames shot forth in an immense arc with astounding speed. Soubi took a step back and braced himself: "Flames deflected! No damage taken! Flames become a firestorm that sweeps away the enemy!"

Only… it hadn't worked. Soubi sank to his knees and felt Ritsuka's gasp as chains wrapped around them and they were both Restricted.

What went wrong? In order to turn a spell around, you had to absorb the entirety of the attack, almost like swallowing it, and then spit it back out in a new form directly at your enemy. Soubi had mastered this technique time and time again, and generally it threw his enemies off guard. This time, however, the intensity of the attack was so strong that he had found it impossible to take in, and when he'd tried to throw it back… Now the Sacrifice had started laughing. Hysterically.

"What, is that the best you can do? Hate to tell you, but as long as I've still got both arms and legs,you can bring it on!!" the blond boy shouted.

These two are really starting to piss me off… Soubi decided it was time to change tactics. Flames, hmm? Well, why don't we see what happens when fire gets wet?

Before the dark haired Fighter could snap his fingers again, Soubi attacked:

"Come thunder, come lightning, come rain to soak you to the skin!"

Clouds gathered above the battleground; thunder and lightning crashed; rain came in torrents. The enemy pair were soaked in seconds. Soubi took advantage of their momentary confusion; he unfolded his arms and cupped Ritsuka's face in his hands. "I love you, Ritsuka." His Sacrifice's lips parted gently in anticipation and Soubi leaned in to kiss him, strong and deep. Their bonds snapped immediately as the energy between them surged like electricity.

A sudden noise made them look up, and the sight that met their eyes was a odd one indeed. Their erstwhile enemies were currently rolling around in the mud, wrestling each other to the ground. What on Earth…?

"Fullmetal, I'm going to kill you when this is over, do you understand me!"

"Oh, like this is my fault? Who is it that's totally useless when it rains, hmmm? Tell me that, you egomaniacal pain in the ass!"

"Say that again and you are no longer a State Alchemist!"

"Like I care about being your fucking lapdog anymore!"

Soubi and Ritsuka just stared. Well, one thing was for sure, they certainly hadn't been sent by Seven Moons…