"So what do we need in Xerxes?" Greed asked. It had turned out, that the trip to the destroyed city was long, hot and boring.

Well, unless every minute was spent arguing with your travelling companions.

"It's a surprise." Roy said simply, clearly enjoying keeping them both in the dark.

"Surprise my arse. Just tell us." Greed snapped. He didn't like the heat. At all.

"No." Roy grinned. This was so much fun!


"Are we nearly there yet?" Ed whined.

"God, it's creepy to hear you act your age." Greed shuddered.

"But I wanna know. Are we nearly there?" Ed was beaming, his small face looking absolutely evil. If he'd done this journey one time with automail, then the journey without the metal limbs was better. Much better.

"No." Roy snapped.

"What about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"Shut up, runt." Greed moaned from where he felt like he was melting.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL-"

"SHUT UP!"


"There. We're here." Ever since the city had been in sight, the three had stopped all the easy talk, all the joking. It was a reminder of what was at stake.

They needed to change things. If not... Well, they couldn't live through everything twice. They couldn't see the same ending. They couldn't try, save people, do everything, just to have it all be snatched away at the very end.

Because that would break them. Everything, everyone would be lost, and there wouldn't be a point. Not anymore. There'd be nothing to fight for, it'd all be over.

All because of those cold, emotionless eyes.


Curious red eyes peered at them from the shadows as the three walked through the ruins, Ed, much like he had the first time he had seen the city, was staring at the ruins in awe, because there was so much history written in the stones.

And to think it was all gone in a single night.

He was so lost in thought that he hardly noticed where they were going, until Roy motioned for them to stop.

Once again, Ed stared up at the broken monument, shuddering as he remembered where its other half was, in a sea of blood, secrets revealed in the flickering torch light.

"Scar!" Roy called, his voice loud and confident, but Ed didn't miss the way the man's fingers edged towards his gloves.

So they were looking for Scar after all. And maybe- Ed's eyes widened.

"Brother? What does that mean?" An unfamiliar voice called, and the young alchemist turned to see one of the faces from his nightmares walking towards them, followed by a smaller Ishvalen in glasses.

"That doesn't matter." Scar said gruffly, eyes trained on the group. "Flame Colonel. You kept your end of the bargin." He stated, his eyes cold and calculating.

"Yes. And you will keep your end of the bargin, won't you." Roy responded coolly.

"Will someone explain what the actual fuck is going on?" Greed demanded impatiently.

"I'd like to know that too." Scar's brother muttered. Ed, however, was staring at his arms.

"That makes so much more sense now." He mumbled.

"I think we'd better find somewhere private to talk." Scar said finally.


"Who are you?" The Ishvalan with glasses asked suspiciously. "I don't get why you're here."

"We know about the nation wide transmutation circle. And your counter circle." Ed said flatly, and the man nearly fell over.

"What- how?" He choked.

"Can someone explain everything, like right bloody now? I get that you're the Ishvalan that killed a load of people, but who's the guy with the glasses" Greed snapped.

"Killled... a load of people?" Scar's brother repeated faintly.

"You can know me by Scar, and my brother by the name Kabuto." Scar spoke gruffly. "Now you introduce yourselves."

"I'm Roy Mustang." The former Colonel said simply, his eyes cold and calculating, not matching his tone at all.

"Edward Elric." Ed nodded, staring at Kabuto, thinking of the danger, and the potential of Scar's arm. This was the man who'd created it.

"And I'm Greed the-"

"We don't have time for the speeches." Roy cut in, eyes dark. "I only have a few more days until I'm due back at the military. We're short on time."

"The military? Mustang? Wait, you're the Flame Alchemist who didn't actually kill any Ishvalans!" Kabuto gasped, eyes wide. Scar's head jolted up and he stared at Roy like he'd never seen the Flame Alchemist before.

"Yes. And we need your help. As Fullme- Edward mentioned earlier, we know about the nation wide transmutation circle, and the counter circle you developed. We need to learn your alchemy."

"H-how? How do you know all this?" Scar's brother was pale and looked terrified, most likely of the notion that they would know his circle, or of the idea that they were helping the people who made the circle.

The mere thought of helping the homunculi made Ed feel sick, overwhelming bitterness.

The three looked at Scar, who sighed heavily, and the young former Ishvalan monk suddenly looked years older, like when he'd decided to stop killing, and was merely left with a shell of the hatred that burned his mind alive, and left him with regrets like ashes, empty and all that was left behind of something that had once seemed so bright.

"Because it happened before. Someone used the circle and used that power to become like a god. Only things didn't go so well for him, and the blonde kid managed to overpower him, so he travelled back in time, and dragged everyone fighting him with him." Scar said slowly, and every word was dark and serious. To Kabuto, it was clear that this wasn't a joke, as the Ishvalan's eyes were wide.

"But time travel is-" He started, seeming defensive, seeming scared.

"Nothing is impossible." Greed said, and his grin was sharp. Dangerous.

"We're short on time. We don't expect you to believe us, not yet, we just need you to help us." Roy interrupted.

"What could I help with?" Kabuto asked, and only looked confused as Scar stared at his arm, red eyes unreadable.

"Your alchemy. It proved effective against this god figure in the future." Scar spoke, and his voice was full of pain. "They want to learn how to use it, so they can fight him."

"Wait..." Scar's brother said slowly. "If... If you remember this future, brother... Then you were fighting against him. So why don't I remember? I was fighting with you, right?"

Scar slowly shook his head. He'd been changed through the future, and shoved into the past. Something that had been a dream quickly twisted into a nightmare, as he realised that he was the only one that changed. Everything was perfectly preserved, except for him. He didn't fit.

So he'd had to learn again.

And still, he couldn't bring himself to learn to lie, just to keep the past, the changed future as perfect, as unbreakable as it had been. Because it was a lie, and living in lies hurt.

The truth was quick, brutal and simple. It'd sting, but it'd stop. But the lies choked and burned, and never quite healed.

So Scar chose the lesser of the two evils. "You died. You gave me your arm." He said simply, and watched as his brother's face crumpled.

"I-I see." He swallowed. "So... when did I... die? Sorry, this is all so hard to believe, but I honestly don't think you're lying."

"During the Ishvalan war. The war was worse, the casualties were... unbelievable. You were killed by the Crimson Lotus Alchemist." Scar stared at the sky, unable to look at his brother's face, because he'd see the pain, the shock, and know that it was all his fault.

"Time is running out." Roy repeated, and Kabuto jumped, like he'd forgotten they were there.

"Right, sorry." The man straightened, and in that instance, Ed could see the resemblance between the brother, and not in appearance or blood. "If it really works..."

No, Kabuto was exactly as determined as Scar was, only it wasn't bloodthirsty as Scar had been, rather defiant, and it took Ed a second to realise that the man was deciding to go against fate, to survive, to change the future.

"I will teach you all my alchemy." The man with glasses said firmly. "I will help you change the future."

A/N: As far as I know, Scar's brother doesn't actually have a name in the anime or manga, so he's being called Kabuto in this story. Unless of course he does have a cannon name, in which case I'll use that, if I find it or someone lets me know. Sorry for any inconvenience or confusion!