Edward would have normally gone after the soldier in order to find some clue as to how he had gotten to this side of the gate even after they closed the portal. He thought 'Perhaps he is a state alchemist, but why would he come to this side of the gate in the first place? Was he following us? He can't be here to find information on alchemy.' "Ed? Brother? Your food is getting cold." Al said pulling Ed out of deep thought.
"Huh? Sorry, Al, my head is somewhere else." Ed responded, picking up his fork and taking a bite of his food. "What have you been thinking? You were silent all the way here from Serina's house." Al questioned. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Edward said his mouth full of mashed potatoes. "After all that we've experienced with the homunculi and the gate I'm pretty sure I would believe you." Al said making a point. Edward put down his fork and told his younger brother what he had seen on the way home after they had dropped of Serina.
"Brother if you really saw an Amestrinian soldier then how do you think he got here?" Al said taking this as a serious situation. "I'm not sure; it is possible that they are a state alchemist. We'll have to keep an eye out for him in case there's the possibility that we're somehow involved." Ed said telling Al how to handle the strange encounter. With these circumstances in mind the two of them went to bed ready for what was in store for them tomorrow.
Edward and Alphonse took their usual routes to their separate jobs and both saw nothing of the nostalgic soldier. Edward was greeted by Serina as she normally greeted him and everything seemed alright and nothing was off balance. Edward spent his day tinkering with the machinery that was to be used on set, and Serina kept her post in the dressing rooms of different actors eventually becoming exhausted by running all over the film studio. By the time that their work was done the two of them were given their pay and took a tiresome walk home.
"That 'beautiful young girl' was so stuck up! You don't know how badly I wanted to draw a mustache on her with the eyeliner!" Serina said making their walk somewhat comical. As Ed enjoyed the laughter that came with Serina's daily commentary he stopped short noticing that Serina's exceptional laugh had become suddenly soundless. He drew his attention to her and noticed she had fallen back several paces behind him. She stood frozen with an expression of surprise and worry sculpted on her face as she stared into the window of a café across the street from them. Edward turned to face her and drew near to her wondering what could be the matter. She seemed not to notice him approach and didn't take any notice of him until he placed him hand on her shoulder for a brief moment and asked her what had put her into her daze.
She gave him a smile that looked very much like the one Edward always knew her to give especially to him, but it seemed to have been made hollow of its glad atmosphere and was replaced with the heavy air of fear. "I'm fine, Edward. I was simply reminiscing." Serina shifted her position unsteadily and drew her fingers meticulously through her hair. "Oh my goodness, if I don't get home soon Seiko is going to chew my ear of for it." She said with a nervous laugh. "Yeah…" Edward said agreeing with her. "Have a good day tomorrow! Good-bye!" Serina said running down the cobblestone street and vanishing around a lonely corner. Edward felt the ambiance as he walked become dark and full of anxiety. What had Serina, who was always so jovial, sanguine, and charming, in such a mood that took all of her lightening mood from her surroundings.
Alphonse reported that had seen no trace of the mysterious soldier from the long gone world. Edward said the same and mentioned Serina's strange behavior as well. "That's not like her. Even in some of the worst situations she has been the person who was always smiling and trying to make it better." Al stated. This settled uneasily in Ed's mind and it's never a good thought to know your friend is worried or scared.
Ed couldn't stop his disquieted thoughts long enough to eat his breakfast the next morning and ended up going to the studio with an aching in his stomach. All day he had intended to ask Serina if she had recovered from her strange behavior the other day; unfortunately when Edward went to the closet where Serina would normally be sewing costumes at this time he instead found a girl who clearly looked like Sciezka in her place.
"Sciezka, where's Serina?" Ed asked already guessing what she was going to say. Sciezka was part of the costume department and helped Serina sew when she had the time. When Edward had starred in that movie she had become an avid fan of his and took special care with making his costume. "Oh, her friend Seiko called in for her at said that she was too sick to come in and that someone should stand in for her." She said answered in a friendly tone. "I thought so. Do you think you could give me the number she called from?"
Edward soon found himself in one of the phone booths outside dialing the number that Sciezka had provided for him. Seiko worked at a restaurant where she waited tables and was in charge of keeping out any unwanted customers. She was a tough cookie that Seiko and Edward knew better than anyone that you wanted to be on her good side. Seiko had just finished kicking out a customer that was causing trouble with one of the other waitresses when Izumi, her boss, called for her. "Seiko! Someone is asking for you." Seiko made her way to the back of the restaurant where Izumi was holding the phone out for her.
"Yes? Who is it?" Seiko answered. "It's me, Seiko." "Oh hey, Ed. For what reason do I have the honor of you calling me?" Seiko said jokingly. "I want to know why Serina couldn't come into work today!" Edward said demandingly. "I figured that was the case. Don't worry yourself so much, she'll be fine. Serina just came home yesterday feeling a little faint and didn't fully recover by the time she had to leave." Seiko explained. "It must have been from what she saw yesterday…" Edward said. "What?" Seiko said slightly bewildered. "Seiko, do you know if Serina is afraid of anything or if she has any bad memories?" Edward asked. "Not that she's ever told me but sometimes I wake up at night and I almost always hear her moaning and crying her sleep. I suppose everyone has bad memories, but Serina never tells me about hers." Seiko told his solemnly.
Edward paused and it was silent over the phone. "Hey, Seiko? Is Serina still at home?" He asked with a comforting tone in his voice. "Yeah, I left her there for the day so she could rest." Seiko said wondering what he would do. "I'm going to go see her. I wanna make sure she's okay and maybe I can cheer her up." Edward said his caring smile being carried through in his voice. "I'm sure she'd like that." Seiko said smiling appreciatively. With that they both said goodbye and Seiko waited for the phone to click before going back to work.
Once Ed had finished working with the special effects, he made a bee line for Serina's house. He walked leisurely with his hands in his pockets fully intended to bring a smile to his friend's face and possible get her to explain what made her feel so distressed. Edward was taking the path that he and Serina used to get home after work and suspected that he wouldn't be bothered on his way to see her.
Just as he was coming down the last stretch of the road to reach the apartment, Edward once again came to see the strange soldier that he thought had been a trick of this mind. Edward at first took no heed to what he was doing until approached him and noticed him watching the window of Serina's room. Ed knew nothing of what he wanted with Serina but he did know he had to take action.
"Hey! What's a soldier from Amestris doing in a place like London?" Edward demanded still walking nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets. The soldier made a sudden turn with a questioning expression and Edward clearly saw the silver chain dangling from his pocket. "You! You're the boy who is always following the girl around!" the soldier stated. "Yeah and you're a state alchemist." Edward said stopping several feet away from the man.
The state alchemist was surprised by this statement. "How do you know that? How does someone from this world know about us?" Edward responded, drawing his auto from its hiding place in his pocket "Because I am the Fullmetal Alchemist." The soldier seemed to be in a state of disbelief. "That's impossible we were told that the Fullmetal Alchemist disappeared two and a half years ago!" "Well, that's only partly true. I disappeared as far as Amestris knows. Now enough of that, I wanna know how it was that you got to this side of the gate." Edward demanded.
"I will not be telling you anything!" The alchemist dove his hand into his pocket extracting a transmutation circle. Edward laughed in his head knowing what the outcome would be. As the man placed his hands on the circle he discovered that there was no reaction. "What's going on!" the soldier exclaimed. "What a shame. It seems you didn't know that alchemy doesn't work here." Edward approached the man and forcefully lifted him by the collar. "Now tell me why you're here!" The soldier stayed silent; Edward slugged him with his automail arm to persuade him. "Answer me, Damn it!"
The soldier gave in without any further persuasion and said "I-I was told to follow the girl alchemist and capture her to bring her back to Central Head Quarters to have her executed!" Edward questioned so many things. 'Who w this girl alchemist? Is it Serina? What do they want with her? Why does she need to be killed!' The soldier was trembling in Edward's hands and within a moment he was out cold with a blow from Edward's.
The Fullmetal Alchemist left the soldier unconscious the street and advanced upon the door and knocked softly. There was no answer. "Serina, its Edward!", he called. Still it was silent inside. Edward put his hand on the door knob and found that the door was left unlocked. He took it upon himself to enter the house and search for Serina. Edward walked through the house calling her but received no response from Serina. He began his trek up stairs and could hear something; noises from the last room.
It was Serina's room and what he heard was crying. He slowly made his way to the door and looked inside at his distraught friend. There were no lights except for the light come from the window. This made the room bright enough for Edward to see Serina sitting with her knees drawn to her chest. He entered the room and saw familiar markings lining the edge to the ceiling. 'It's clearly alchemy.' Edward said in his mind.
Serina had taken notice of Ed and wiped away her tears. "Edward what are you doing here?" she asked still sobbing slightly. "I came to see if you were ok, but instead I found a state alchemist outside tracking you." Serina knew where they were headed in this conversation and sat up straight with her feet on the floor. "Alright…I'm an alchemist."