Chapter Two: The Brothers Elric

"I don't believe it," Kevin said as he looked down at the ancient projector reel, "This is a real copy of Die Nibelungen?"

"Didn't know you like silent films Kevin," Gwen said, gazing at the projector reel, she didn't really watch silent movies but it was amazing that Edward had a copy of something that was made in 1923.

"How'd you get this?" Kevin asked, looking at the projector.

"It was a gift from Fritz Lang," Ed replied.

"You met that guy? That was like, eighty years ago!" Kevin exclaimed.

"How old are you anyway?" Ben asked. Gwen elbowed him.

"You don't ask him his age!" she reprimanded.

"Oh, sorry. So how'd you meet him Ed?" Ben asked.

"It was kinda strange; he wanted me to help him find a dragon. I first met him because I thought he looked like the Führer."

"The Führer? As in Adolf Hitler?"

"No, the Führer King Bradley. But that was a long time ago, I was just a few years older than you and I was studying rocketry with Dr. Obert."

"What's this about a dragon?" Gwen asked.

"Fritz Lang hired me to help him find a dragon after a thief claimed he saw it after he broke into a building."

"So was there a dragon?" Kevin asked.

"Not exactly…it was just…" Ed's voice trailed off and the two boys didn't hear the last part of what he said but Gwen heard his voice barely whisper something as he became lost in thought, "Envy…"

What did he mean by Envy? The emotion of envy? Probably not, it seemed he was talking about a person, someone named Envy? But why would there be someone named Envy? What was he talking about?

"Oh, so did Fritz Lang see the dragon?" Kevin was curious, not everyone believed that dragons' existence, although there was a race of aliens that resembled dragons, the one they had encountered crashed near Bellwood and not in Germany.

"Yeah and it helped him make his movie too."

"Why don't you have any pictures of your mom?" Gwen asked. "I see photos of you and Alphonse but only paintings of your mother."

"My mother died when I was 10, Al was 9. There was something we tried to do, and it backfired. We were seriously hurt. After we recovered we decided to fix our mistake and before we left the village where we lived, we burnt down our home so we didn't take any pictures of our mom with us."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Gwen apologized.

"Don't feel bad. That was a long time ago."

"What are you telling her now, Ed?" Al asked. "Trying to get someone to listen to your stories?"

"C'mon Al, you should be happy. All those things happened to you too."

"I know. I just don't want to draw unwanted attention to ourselves, you know."

"Like anyone would believe all the crazy stuff we've been through. Sharing stories won't hurt at all."

"Well, let's hear it!" Ben said eagerly. He was already curious about the strange saying on the plaque on top of the mantle. Maybe Ed would explain it if he asked.

Suddenly, he heard his cell phone ringing. He hoped it wasn't his parents worried or angry that he was out so late. They were very understanding about his responsibilities as a super hero. He answered it.

It was Julie Yamamoto, his girlfriend.

"Julie?"

"Ben, there's something going on. The news says that a bunch of Knights are destroying downtown. You've got to get down there fast."

"I'm on my way," Ben said, closing the cover. "Guys we have to go. It's an emergency."

"Hey, maybe we could help," Alphonse suggested.

"Don't worry, we can handle it," Ben said.

Kevin stood to his feet. "That's all well and good Ben, but how do we get there?"

"Oh yeah, you don't have a car right now," Ben looked at him.

"Do you…think you could drop us off downtown? There's something we need to do there."

"Sure. What are you going to do there?" Ed asked, although he knew the answer.

"We just have some stuff to do, that's all. But we're kind of in a rush," Ben said. Kevin and Gwen looked at each other. They really had to go. There was no telling who or what was downtown.

They all piled into Ed's car, Alphonse came along too.

They arrived downtown and Ben asked them to stop when he spotted a large group of Forever Knights blocking their way.

"Who're the guys in the armor getups?" Ed asked.

"They're the Forever Knights, but don't worry, I know someone who will get them out of the way."

"Alright, be careful out there," Ed said. Ben stared at him.

"I saw you guys earlier this evening. The thing with the watch. It's interesting. You'll have to explain it to me later."

Ben, Gwen and Kevin got out and prepared to fight the Forever Knights.

"What do you people want?"

"We're looking for someone, it's none of your business," Connor, the most formidable knight said. He didn't waste words and opened fire.

Kevin and Ben were busy fighting other Knights as Gwen began blasting them with her powers. She threw dozens of them a ll over the street as she made her way toward Conner.

Ben changed into Spidermonkey and used his tail, along with his four arms to fight the enemy while suspended from a lamppost. Kevin used his powers to absorb some metal from the same post and grabbing two knights, be bashed their heads together knocking them out cold.

"So what do you think, Brother?" Al asked. "Should we help?"

"They look like they could use it. These guys look way overconfident. They're hiding something. Let's go, Al!"

They got out of the car and sprinted toward Ben and his friends who had beaten the Forever Knights back far enough away that the Elric Brothers had to run to catch up to them.

Gwen used her powers to shield them but the man kept firing and firing until she couldn't keep up with him and was knocked off her feet by a blast

Gwen tried to move, but she was too shaken up by the blast from a laser lance. Her head felt dizzy and she couldn't see straight. She tried to struggle to her feet but slipped and fell on the concrete.

She turned around to see a Forever Knight standing a few feet away. He raised his lance and fired a blast at her.

Gwen was frozen with fear. Her mind couldn't concentrate to bring up another shield to protect herself.

"Gwen!" Kevin shouted, he was running towards her, ready to shield her with his body.

Gwen stared in shock as she saw another figure move quickly to stand between her and the blast. It was Ed with his right hand outstretched, as if he could block the blast with his bare hand.

"It's been such a long time since I had a good fight," Ed said, a smirk on his face.

The Forever Knights stepped back and stared at Edward. Gwen, Kevin and Ben were staring too. Instead of flesh, they saw metal, intricately designed and gleaming in the glow of the streetlights where a hand should have been.

"Who are you?" a faceless Knight demanded.

"Where I come from, I was known as Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and the Champion of the People. But that doesn't really mean anything here, as alchemy is not a science."

Ben stared. "Alchemy? What's that?"

"It was a pseudo-science. People thought they could use it to turn lead into gold. Don't you pay attention in history class?" Gwen asked. She was just as confused as they were, but at least she knew some of what they were talking about.

"That's good to know," the night spoke, removing his mask. "I've been searching for you for quite some time, Edward Elric, I've known about the world you come from as well. Shamballa, isn't that what it's called?"

"Patrick? The Forever King?" Ben asked. "What do you want with him?"

"That's none of your business, Ben Tennyson," Patrick said coldly. "We wish to request Mr. Elric's services."

"You mean you want to make me do something for you," Ed smirked. "Apparently, you have no concept of Equivalent Exchange have you?"

"Now what would that be?" Patrick asked.

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is the principal of Equivalent Exchange," Alphonse's voice rang out a short distance away. "What is it that you want from my Brother?"

"We want him to teach us Alchemy," Patrick said. "In return, we'll let him live."

"That's a crappy request isn't it?" Ed replied. "That's hardly considered Equivalent Exchange. Why would you want to use alchemy?"

"To go to Shamballa, of course, in that world, there will be technology far advance than here. An enlightened woman Dietlinde Eckhart opened the door to Shamballa, if she hadn't been able to return, she would have enlightened the entire world with her knowledge."

"Enlightened the world?" Ed laughed. "Dietlinde Eckhart was a racist bigot who was obsessed with going to my world. Once she was there she tried to destroy it."

"How would you know that?"

"I defeated her myself," the man replied confidently.

"But that was 86 years ago!" Patrick exclaimed. "You can't possibly be that old!"

"I'm a hundred and two, so what? When compared to my old man, I'm rather young. My Father Hohenheim, he was over 400 years old when he died."

"It was because of something called the Philosopher's Stone, wasn't it? The legendary amplifier of alchemy," Patrick said, "But you don't need to worry about that. It would take far too long to make one, and all we want is your world's technology."

"Okay, okay, okay, what's going on here? Other worlds? Alchemy? What do you mean he's from another world?" Ben asked, staring at Patrick.

"That's just what I said, Ben Tennyson. Edward Elric comes from a world far more advanced than our own. Just ask him about that prosthetic of his. I believe if the story is correct, they call it automail."

"What story?" Ben asked.

"You don't watch anime do you? His story is told in one called Fullmetal Alchemist."

"I don't watch that kind of stuff but Julie does," Ben said, "But how do you know that it's real and not some story that somebody made up."

"Because of this," Patrick said, removing something beneath his cloak. "You know what this is, Elric!" He held up a strange object that Ben had never seen before but it looked like a bomb.

"The Urunium Bomb!" Ed exclaimed. The three teens' eyes widened in horror, how did Patrick manage to get his hands on a bomb?

"Do you know how long I've been looking for that thing?" Ed asked. The Uranium Bomb had disappeared shortly after he and Al had been reunited in Amestris. The Nazis had hidden it, trying to figure out how it worked so they could use it during World War II, fortunately, they had never discovered how to activate it and it had been lost through the decades. Until now.

"But back on topic, why would you want to learn Alchemy from me? It doesn't work on this side of the Gate, so anything I say would be useless."

"Who says this Gate can't be opened? You opened it before, and you could do it again. Not only will I be very generous and let you live, but you'll get to go back to your own world as well."

"Sorry but no," Alphonse replied. "WE consider this place our home, with or without alchemy. You just want Ed to open the Gate and then you'll try to take our world's technology and use it for your own gain. We won't allow that, not even for the chance to go home!"

"Not even to see your dear Winry again?" Patrick sneered.

Ed's eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed angrily. "You shut up, leave her out of this. If she were here and heard you talking about her like that, she'd beat you senseless with a wrench."

"Wouldn't you like to see her, Edward? She was your childhood friend, after all."

"We gave up our friendship with her to come to this world, leaving her behind was one of the things we sacrificed in accordance with Equivalent Exchange to destroy the Gate on this side so psychotic people like you wouldn't get stupid ideas like this." Ed gave him a hard look. "She would never want to be reunited with us if it meant going against what we believe in. You can't always get what you want, you know. Get used to disappointment."

"Very well," Patrick said, "I was hoping you'd cooperate with us, but it seems I have no choice. I'll force you do what we want."

Patrick removed a high-powered Laser Lance and fired it. Ed avoided the blasts easily using acrobatics that impressed Gwen considering the fact that he claimed he was over a hundred years old! What was it about him that made him a target of the Forever Knights? This idea that he came from another world seemed completely impossible; a world where Alchemy was some kind of science, it seemed absurd.

She knew there was something different about him the moment she'd met him, she had tried to sense his Manna energy, but what she'd seen was a strange, crimson energy that emitted from his entire being, Alphonse was the same as well. When she looked at them using her Anodite powers, she had to wonder if all this talk of another world was true. They were the same as Ben and Kevin, and yet they were different too.

"Don't think we're just going to stand around and let you do this, Forever King. Come on guys; it's hero time!" Ben slapped down the Omnitrix and transformed into Jetray.

Ben bowled over six Knights, knocking them down like bowling pins. Kevin absorbed concrete from the street and began beating his way through five others trying to stop him.

Gwen launched several disc-shaped bursts of Manna energy as the Forever Knights charged forward. She knocked several of them off their feet and she used her powers.

She heard a sharp sound behind her, she thought it sounded like clapping, she thought she saw a flash of blue light. She didn't have a chance to move before she felt something stab her in the back and through her shoulder. She'd been protecting herself from the front and hadn't seen Patrick move behind her as she'd been fighting off his minions.

"No! Gwen!" Kevin screamed, running toward her and catching her as she slumped toward the ground.

Ed stared hard at Patrick. "You used Alchemy. And alchemy isn't meant…to be used like that! You don't need me to open the Gate! You just want me to teach you everything I know."

"So you figured it out, did you?" he smirked.

Ed laughed. "Unfortunately for you, you're outclassed. I'm way out of your league."

Kevin stared. What had just happened? He'd seen the concrete rip itself up and form into spikes that stabbed Gwen in the back. How had Patrick done it? Was it that alchemy stuff they'd been babbling about?

"Prove it!" the Forever King challenged.

"Fine!" Edward replied. He clapped his hands and slammed them down into the concrete; a giant fist rose up and slammed straight into Patrick, knocking him off his feet.

A dozen Knights charged toward Kevin and Ben intervened quickly, blasting them off their feet as Jetray put himself between them and Kevin. They were going to protect Gwen until they could escape safely to get her to a hospital.

Al sprinted toward them and stooped quickly drawing a strange circle on the ground; he also clapped his hands, summoning a concrete wall to shield them from a hailstorm of laser fire.

Ben transformed into Humongousaur and made his way toward Patrick. Nobody hurt his cousin. He wouldn't stand for it. Before he could get to the man, he saw Ed already engaged in combat with him.

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted metal from his arm into a blade that he had often used in his many fights, from Russell Tringham to Greed and Eckhart, he had used the technique along with his proficient martial arts he had learned from his teacher Izumi Curtis.

He elbowed Patrick in the face as he slashed at him with his blade; the man had managed to transmute a sword from bits of metal from a parking meter. Ed somersaulted backwards, executing a well-aimed kick and landing on his feet. Blade met blade as he pushed forward.

"As you can see, mine's the genuine article. You're pathetic excuse for a sword doesn't stand a chance." His opponent's blade snapped in half.

"That may be true, but if you pursue me now, I'll use the bomb and destroy all of Bellwood."

Humongousaur barreled into him, knocking him off his feet, he managed to land upright. He removed the Uranium Bomb and held it up.

"Do you all want to die? It looks like the young girl his half way to it," he sneered down at an unconscious and bleeding Gwen. Kevin glared at him.

"I'll kill you!" Kevin snarled, enraged. They had never gone this far, he was going to make them pay for what they'd done to Gwen.

"There's no need for that," Al said. "He won't detonate the bomb, he won't be able to go to our world if he's dead."

"Don't try to follow me," Patrick said, "I'll do it." He began to move away from them. Ben began to move toward them but Ed stopped him.

"But—" Ben protested.

"Gwen's more important than him. We have to get her to a hospital."

Ben watched the Forever Knights retreat and he changed back into his human form.

"Can't you use that alchemy stuff to fix her?" Kevin asked.

"No. Human transmutation, alchemy on human beings, is forbidden in my world. It is the greatest taboo an alchemist can commit. Let's get her to a hospital. They'll help her there."

They got her into the car and made their way toward the Bellwood General Hospital. They hoped they would be able to save her. Then they would stop the Forever Knights for good.