Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or FMA
Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.
A boy with a black shirt, black pants, and a long red coat looked over the hills of Resembool. He had his hair pulled back into a ponytail, it had grown quite long in the past few years. Yes, Alphonse Elric had grown up to look so much like his older brother. You would hardly recognize him now, especially if the last time you saw him he was still in the armor.
Al sat on the hill, looking out at the sunset. It was almost time. He knew that soon he would be reunited with his brother, him and Winry. For several years they had done extensive research on trying to find a way to find Edward, even if it meant that they would be trapped on the other side of the gate.
They had a plan. It was completely absurd. There was no way it would work, but they where willing to try anything.
"At sunset next month" The fortune teller, Pamela, had said. "On the quarter moon, go to the place where you made your mistake and perform your ritual on an item that belonged to him."
It couldn't work. It just couldn't! The fortune teller was insane! What did she know? And how did they end up going to her anyway?
It was Winry, thought Al. She saw the café and just has to look. But what had drawn her in? It was a fortune telling café! What was the name? The Tarot Café. That was it. It was strange that she would even think about it. But she had, and dragged Alphonse with her.
He remembered sitting down with the fortune teller. She looked about seventeen, the same age as his brother would be. But Al suspected that she was older than she looked. She had very frizzy black hair, and was dressed in all black, an unusual style for Central, even if it was a shady part of town.
They had just finished visiting the Colonel, regarding any information of Edward, but none had turned up. They could have just called him, but Winry wanted to go shopping for new auto-mail supplies, and Alphonse agreed to go with her.
They had lost track of where they where going after a few hours. It was getting dark, and Winry saw the café.
Pamala looked at them and started shuffling a deck of cards. She flipped one over.
"The Queen of swords." She started. "You've had a tragic experience recently. You lost some one very special to you both. But you're carrying on courageously, just like the queen."
Alphonse stared. How did she know? Was it really in the cards? Had she known about them? Al was a little scared.
She turned over the next card.
"Seven of Swords….. I don't know what you're planning to do, but you may want to think it over very carefully, for there is a chance of failure" She stared directly at Alphonse.
No way, thought Al. He had been desperate lately. So desperate that he had been looking at human transmutation again. He was ready to do anything to see his brother again, but now he wasn't so sure.
Another card.
"Judgment… This card represents the future. You will find yourself facing a new light, and knowing what you must do."
What that meant, neither Winry nor Alphonse knew.
The last card.
"Another one for your future, the Fool. You are about to start a new journey, or are heading towards an unknown road, so be careful. It can also mean taking crazy chances, which is not necessarily a bad thing."
A new journey….. thought Winry. Could it have something to do with Edward?
"To solve your problem." said Pamala. "In one month, on the quarter moon, go to the place where you made your mistake and perform your ritual on an item that belonged to him. He is not dead, but not in this universe. To see him, you must be ready to give up everything in this world, to be with him."
And that was all.
It was now a month later and almost dark. Alphonse wasn't sure what was going to happen. He wasn't even sure it would work.
What the fortune teller said for them to do was simple enough to decode. The place they made the mistake? The burnt down remains of his old house. The mistake? Trying to bring their mother back to life. The ritual? An Alchemic transmutation.
He didn't know if it would work, but he was willing to try anything to see his brother again. A shadow appeared from behind him.
"Alphonse?" came the soft voice of his dear friend, Winry "It's almost time."
Alphonse looked up, and nodded. Winry and him had become very close this past year. He treated her like a sister. He smiled. He always though that if they ever found Edward that she WOULD be his sister one day, well, sister in law. He knew that she loved Ed, and he knew that Ed loved her back, even though he never told her. It would just cause her pain if she knew, and never saw him. And besides, it would be something Ed would need to tell her himself.
Alphonse stood up and dusted himself off. He looked at Winry and started walking toward the place that was once their house. They had spent a month clearing of the spot where they had made the circle, they could have just used alchemy to do it, but it kept them busy, clearing of that exact spot, building a secluded room with only a door, and getting ready.
They entered the room and opened the door. It was clean. Well, clean enough to make the circle.
"Ready to get started?" Alphonse asked. His reply was a slow nod from Winry. He looked at her; she had grown a lot to. But for the past year, she had carried around a suitcase.
Of course, Alphonse knew what was in it. And auto-mail arm and leg. He knew that it was for Edward. She was determined that she would see him again. For a year, she had worked on the parts, making sure that they would always be in top condition. Of course, she had the case with her, strapped tightly to her wrist. On the outside, they always say that this had to be a joke, but on the inside, they prayed it wasn't. The fortune teller had given them hope, hope that showed tied to the blond girl's wrist.
Alphonse started to draw the circle, very slowly and carefully. Yes, he could just use his special gloves, but he wanted to do it the old fashioned way. Plus, he had spent a month teaching Winry the basics of Alchemy, and she needed to use the circle with him.
Winry wasn't the best alchemist, she could only do small things, but the absolutely refused to use it for anything else. Alchemy wasn't her thing, it was auto-mail. Once, Al tried to show her how to use Alchemy to transmute auto-mail, which ended with a wrench in Al's head.
"If I wanted to do the easy way, I would have done it a long time ago!" she had yelled. "When I make auto-mail, I want to know that I did it all by myself, with my own sweat and elbow grease, not with alchemy!"
Al smiled as he drew the circle, thinking about it. It was just like Winry to think that way. He finished the circle and stood up. Both of them stared at the circle, their hearts beating like crazy. Now just and item of Edward's to use in the center. Al dropped the chalk and slipped off his red coat. No… not his coat. EDWARD'S coat. He folded it carefully and placed it in the center of the circle, so the design on the back was facing up. He walked back toward Winry.
"Are you ready?" He asked her. She nodded again, fiddling with the rope on her wrist, making sure it was tight and wouldn't come off. They both got on their knees. Al looked at his watch; it would be dark by now.
"It's time. On the count of three, ok Winry?" asked Al.
"Yes." She replied.
"One…."
"Two…."
"THREE!" They both clapped their hands and pressed them firmly against the cold hard stone floor. Immediately the circle lit up with a bright blue glow, Bright lights swirled around them, much like what happened when Al and his brother made the mistake. They closed their eyes tightly. Suddenly, there was no ground under them.
Al opened his eyes. There was nothing surrounding them but a white light. There was something in the distance though. A gate. As they sped closer, it opened to them, Al grabbed tightly to Winry's hand as they sped through the gate at a million miles an hour. There was a bright light. And then, nothing.
And that's the end of Chapter 2! I hope I did good with it! This was really fun to write .
Oh! If anyone has read the Manga "The Tarot Café" then you know where I got all the cards form
Disclaimer: I do not own The Tarot Café, Newsies, or FullMetal Alchemist.
