Disclaimer - I donut own Fullmetal Alchemist

Heh . . . Donut.

A/N - Sorry the beginning of this chapter is so slow, it was either a slow beginning and an exciting ending or just a filler chapter, and I figured as a reader you guys would prefer the former. Also, there is a little bit of family-type fluff, and I suck at fluffy-ness. So sorry in advance.

. . .

London, England

1926

She could be dead, a small voice in the back of Edward's head told him. They all could be.

No, he told himself. Don't think about it like that. They aren't dead. They can't be.

Teacher's dead, the voice reminded him. And Wendy's going to die, so wouldn't it make sense that Winry would, too?"

No, they can't be dead. She can't be dead.

While Ed continued his internal conflict, Alphonse began to absent mindedly doodle on a blank piece of paper.

He had wanted to tell Roy and Lisa about he and his brother's discovery right away. But, after wearing about Wendy, he doubted it was a good idea to say that he and Ed were leaving, too. Just in a different way.

There was a light tap on their door and Noah let herself in. "It's awfully quiet in here. What's up?"

"Roy and Lisa didn't tell you about Wendy, then?" Ed asked.

"Oh . . ." Noah's expression changed as she flopped down on Al's bed. "Yeah . . . That's so terrible of me to forget, I'm sorry."

"But . . ." Al began. He turned so he was facing her. "There is another thing on our minds."

"Which would be?" Noah asked.

"Al!" Ed exclaimed. "I thought we weren't telling anyone yet!"

"But, Brother! This is Noah, if we can't tell her at the least . . ."

Ed rolled his eyes. His little brother was just too damn soft.

"Brother and I have found a way back to Amestris. Back to our home!" Al told Noah, his excitement clear on his face.

Noah felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks. She immediately morphed her initial expression of shock into a fake smile. "Well, that's great! You boys have been working so hard for so long . . . When do you plan to go?"

"Sunday," Ed replied.

"We'll tell Roy and Lisa at dinner," Al added.

Noah nodded. "Sounds like a plan! Now if you'll excuse, me I've got . . . A phone call, that I need to make . . ."

She felt in her apron pocket. It had been three years . . . Would they still remember her?

When she was out of the Elric's room, she pulled out the paper and read it a few times.

"I hope they haven't moved . . ." she muttered to herself.

. . .

"Al and I have an announcement!" Edward declared after everyone had sat down at the dinner table.

"Well then," Roy said, pretending to be interested. "Do share. Please."

Ed glared at him.

"Come on," Lisa told them. "He's just over tired. I'd love to hear your announcement."

Ed took a deep breath. "Al and I have found a way to get back to our own side of the gate. We're leaving Sunday."

Lisa and Roy's forks fell from their hands and clattered to the table. Amanda looked around, confused.

"W-what?" Roy asked. "Are you serious?"

Ed and Al both nodded.

Lisa rose unexpectedly from the table and walked out of the room. If Ed didn't know any better, he would have sworn he had seen a tear making it's way down her cheek.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" Amanda asked. Noah patted her shoulder.

"Sunday's only a week away," Roy told them. "Are you really so eager to be rid of us?"

"It's not that," Al told him. "If we had the choice, we'd probably offer to take you all with us; we really do consider you family. It's just that . .. Brother and I aren't from this world, and we don't belong in it."

"It was a mistake for us to have lived here," Ed said, as usual hiding his emotion from his face and voice. "Making emotional attachments to people hear was selfish and stupid. We appreciate you taking us in none the less."

"It was really no problem," Roy told them. "You certainly did you share around here. I'll be sad to see you go. Now I'll only have Noah for help around here."

"Actually . . ." Noah said. "I'm leaving, too."

"What?" Ed and Al asked in unison.

Noah nodded. "Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for France. I'm going to go live with some of my own people. I feel that while traveling on my won I've lost touch with my culture. I promise to write as often as I can, and maybe even call once in a while."

Roy sighed. "Well, I suppose Lisa and I knew this day would come, we just never thought it'd be all three of you at once."

"What's going on?" Amanda asked. "I don't get it."

"Come on, Mandy, finish your dinner. I'll tuck you in tonight, okay?" Ed offered.

Mandy nodded excitedly. "Promise me a story?"

Ed nodded. "Whatever one you'd like."

. . .

The next morning, Lisa refused to leave her bedroom, even to bid Noah farewell.

Roy, Noah, Al and Ed (who was holding a half-asleep Amanda) stood at the bottom of the hill. Roy was helping Noah get her trunk into the back of the cab.

"Wha's goin' on?" Mandy asked with a yawn. Her eyes were half way closed.

Noah kissed the top of her head. "I'm going away for a little while, but I promise I'll come visit really soon, alright?"

Amanda nodded. "'Kay."

Noah then turned to Roy. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. "Give Lisa and the baby my love."

"I will," he promised.

Now she faced the Elrics. This was the last time she would ever see them, and she knew it. Tears formed in her eyes. "You boys . . ."

But she couldn't finish that sentence. For there were no words to describe her feelings.

Alphonse understood. He decided the best way to say it was by using three of the few German words he knew. "Wir lieben dich*, Noah."

Without warning, she flung her arms around both of them. "I'll miss you."

"Uh, yeah . . . We'll miss you, too," Edward replied awkwardly.

She released them both. Mandy rubbed her eyes and lay her head on Ed's chest.

Noah got into her cab. As it drove away, she stuck her head out the window and called, "you Elrics better not forget me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Al shouted back with a grin. They turned and started up the hill.

Edward looked down at Amanda, who was now asleep in his arms.

No, he thought. Never look back, and never forget.

. . .

Edward and Alphonse spent the rest of the week visiting the rest all their friends in London to say goodbye.

As far as Patricia, the Andrews family, and Mrs. Williamson knew, the Elrics were moving to France to live with their cousins.

Their plan was that if another great war were to start (which at this point, everyone thought inevitable), Roy and Lisa were to tell everyone that Ed and Al had been called into service and were shot down by Nazi soldiers. They wrote Gracia and Hughes telling them the same thing. The only people left who knew the truth were Roy, Lisa, Wendy, and Amanda (although she didn't understand any of it).

"You'll visit, right?" Nina had asked them as they were walking out the front door of the Andrews home.

"We'll try," Ed lied.

She smiled. "Don't forget."

"Don't worry, we'll come play with you again real soon," Al promised.

"Really?" the four-year-old asked.

"Mhmm."

"Yeah," Ed agreed.

She smiled. "Don't forget."

Don't forget .10

Ed shook the memories from his head. He had to think clearly in order for this to work.

While Lisa gradually began spending more time outside her room, there had definitely been a change in her since the boys told her they were leaving. She somehow seemed more patient, and quieter. When she did speak, her voice was soft and sad.

To her, it had seemed like the day the Elrics walked out her door for the last time was forever away. But then, that time that was "forever away" had been given a name. Sunday.

And while no one likes goodbye, they must still happen. As must the passing of hours of the day and months of the year. In what seemed like no time at all, Sunday was apon them.

Ed and Al spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital with Patricia and Wendy.

"So, today's the day?" Patricia asked them. "You boys are really leaving?"

Ed nodded. "Thank you, Patricia. For everything. You've been so kind to us these last three years."

Patricia smiled weakly. "And there's nothing left at my house that you'll need?"

The boys shook their heads.

She sighed and pulled her coat over her shoulders. "I'd best be off. Errands to run. Best of luck, Elrics. Be sure to visit."

They nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She gave them each one final squeeze before walking out of the hospital room.

"I hope you get home alright," Wendy told them once they were alone. "You know, without loss of limbs or severe amnesia."

Al nodded. "Yes, that would be a nice turn of events, wouldn't it?"

Wendy giggled. She turned to Edward. "Will you do me a favor when you get back?"

Ed nodded. "Sure."

"This Winry girl you say is the other me? When you see her, kiss her. Trust me, she wants you to."

Ed's face turned bright red and he shook his head. "Winry and I are just friends . . ."

Wendy sighed. "You sound just like I did when I was a teenager . . . Someday, you'll learn."

Ed felt a shot of pain through his forehead.

Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde*.

Edward Matthews had one final message for his fiancé, and Ed felt obligated to pass it on.

"Wendy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a message for you. 'Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde.'" Ed repeated.

Wendy gasped. "Edward . . ."

"We really should be going now," Ed told her. "Al and I are making Amestrian Stew tonight for Lisa, Mandy, and Roy. Good bye, Wendy."

Wendy held back her tears. "Bye Fullmetal Boy, bye Alphonse. I love you."

"I love you, too," they replied in unison.

. . .

"Milk?" Lisa asked as she watched the boys prepare supper.

Ed nodded. "Yup. It's weird. It's got milk in it but it still tastes good."

Lisa shook her head. "Stew with milk in it . . . What are they doing in that universe?"

'You'll like it," Al told her. "We're following Aunt Pinako's recipe."

"From memory," Roy pointed out.

"Yeah, but we've watched her make it a thousand times, I'm sure we remember just fine," Al defended.

Ed, who hadn't bee paying attention, help up a measuring cup in the air and studied it. "Was it three cups of carrots or four? And did she use hot sauce or vanilla?"

Al buried his face in his palm and snatched the cup from his brother. "It was two cups of carrots and lemon juice, Brother!" Al exclaimed.

Roy snickered.

. . .

(Under) Dublith, Amestris

1920

(Earth Year - 1926)

"Where we really that savage?" Gluttony asked as he stared down at their newest addition. She almost looked like a real human. Just like all homunculi, she had purple eyes and black hair (other than Envy who could manipulate his appearance). Her build was petite, and her hair fell even with her shoulders.

"What will we call her?" Lust asked, leaning forward just a little to see her face better as she shoved more stones in her mouth.

"Hmm . . ." Envy thought a moment. The girls had been only 16 when she died. Her grades had been perfect, as had her social life. Her parents had been so proud. "She'll be called Pride."

Lisa smiled. "I wonder what her ability will be."

"Hopefully something more useful than memory washing . . ." Gluttony muttered.

Lust's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me kill you, Gluttony. You know how slow you are at regenerating."

Gluttony rolled his eyes.

"She's almost done," Envy told them. "Just a few more stones and she should be good."

They watched as Pride's form finished morphing from raw homunculus to a humanoid figure.

When she was done, she looked up at them with wide eyes. "Thank you!"

Envy laughed. "No problem, Pride. That's your name, by the way, in case you missed it. This is Lust and the other is Gluttony. I'm Envy."

"Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Pride . . ." the girl muttered. "Four of the seven deadly sins."

Envy nodded. "Very good. We still need Sloth, Wrath, and Greed, though."

"My question is still unanswered," Lust pointed out. "We still don't know what she can do. How do we know she can be of use to us?"

Pride thought a moment. What could she do? After a moment, she was sure she had figured it out. She threw her hand up over her head, and following this motion was a long, thick, vine sprouting from the ground.

"The ability to control plants," Envy mused. "Well that one's knew. We haven't had a memory-washer since the original Sloth . . . Then new Sloth was a water creature . . ."

"We've been around for generations," Lust explained to Pride. "Always seven at a time. Over the years, we've lost some comrades. Envy was the first homunculus ever, and he intends to be the last."

. . .

Amanda stared down at her bowl of stew. "This looks funny."

Lisa and Roy didn't say anything, but it was clear that they agreed.

Ed and Al however had dug in. Their attempt was no where near as good as Pinako's but it was still okay.

"Try it," Ed told them with his mouth full. "It's delicious!"

Amanda bravely picked up her spoon and raised it to her lips. She gulped, then opened her mouth and let the stew pour onto her tongue.

For a moment, she was expressionless. Then, slowly, a smile cracked across her face. "Mmm!"

Roy and Lisa were shocked. They could hardly get Mandy to eat normal food. The looked down at their own bowls. Hell, if their two-year-old could do it, they could do it.

"Well?" Al asked after they had each taken a bite.

"Surprisingly good . . ." Roy admitted. "You'll have to give Lisa the recipe."

Lisa nodded in agreement.

Ed gave them a cocky grin. "Sure thing."

. . .

After supper, Ed and Al headed straight outside. They had to draw out the transmutation circle before it got dark out.

Right as they were finishing up, Roy, Lisa, and Amanda came outside. Lisa was carrying Lewis in her arms. They had come to bid their farewells.

Al stood up, brushed off his pants, and walked over to them. He smiled at the baby and ruffled his hair.

Roy looked at their circle. "This is how you're going to travel to another dimension?"

Ed nodded. "By connecting the people who know or are some how effected by one another, we can pull ourselves home."

Lisa pointed to the top of the circle. "'Winry Rockbell.' She's your best mate, isn't she?"

Al nodded. "She's really more like a sister . . ."

"She's the other Wendy, isn't she?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded, a little impressed. "How did you know?"

Roy shrugged nonchalantly. "Intuition."

Ed connected the final line ("Roy Mustang" to "Riza Hawkeye") and stood up. He joined his brother and the Stanleys. "That should do it."

Tears began to pour down Lisa's face, but her voice was even. "So, this is it then? Forever? No more Elric Brothers?"

Ed smiled sadly. "Come on Lisa, don't cry."

She reached into her apron and pulled something out. She handed it to Ed.

"The picture," she explained. "I forgot to give it to you. I want you to always remember us."

"How could we forget our family?" Al asked.

Amanda looked from her parents to the Elrics, her face confused. "What's going on?"

Ed crouched down to her height and looked her in the eye. "Al and I are leaving, Mand's."

"Well, when are you coming back?" Amanda asked.

Ed sighed. "We're not."

Tears formed in the toddler's eyes. "Never?"

Ed shook his head sadly. "Never."

"No!" she cried. "You're my big brothers! You're supposed to stay!"

Ed wrapped his arms around her little body. "I love you, Mandy."

"I love you, too, Eddie," she told him. "And you, too, Al."

"I love you, too, Mandy," Al said.

Ed released Mandy and stood up. Lisa wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Lewis around the two brothers. "You brothers are something else."

When they were released, they turned to Roy.

He held out his hand. "Boys, it's been fun."

The Elrics looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Simultaneously, they enveloped him in a very manly hug.

"We'll never be able to thank you enough," Al said.

Lisa shook her head. "No thanks necessary. And boys?"

"Yeah?" they both replied.

"We love you," Lisa told them.

Al smiled. "And we love you, even if we don't say it very often."

Ed took one last look at the picture before shoving it in his back pocket.

He and Al turned away from the Stanley family and began to walk towards the center of their circle.

"Don't leave!" Amanda yelled. She was sobbing nearly uncontrollably.

Roy picked up his daughter and followed after his wife as she retreated from the circle.

"NO!" Mandy screamed. "Don't go!"

When the family was a good twenty yards away, Ed pulled the knife he had concealed in his boot out, and made a thin slit on the back of his left hand. He let a few drops fall to the ground.

Together, he and his brother clapped their hands together and pressed down on the array.

From where they stood, the Stanleys watched as the Elric brothers were surrounded by bright blue light. It became so intense, that they had to shield their eyes.

When the light cleared, where the Elrics had been standing was nothing more but empty space. Even the giant circle was gone.

They hadn't left a trace.

. . .

Central, Amestris

1920

(Earth Year - 1926)

General Roy Mustang sat at his desk, staring off into space. Sometimes, work was just so damn boring.

Suddenly, he felt a stabbing pain through his forehead. At the exact same time, Hawkeye (who had been standing in front of him) cried out in pain. Across the room, he watched as Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Furey all put their hands to their heads. They faces were contorted in pain.

"Damn my head," Havoc moaned.

"Mine too," Breda said. His eyes were shut tight.

Mustang wanted to think. Why had everyone suddenly developed a severe headache at the exact same time? But his head hurt to much to figure that out now . . .

. . .

Resembool, Amestris

Winry was standing behind her work bench when it hit her. If felt like someone had taken a sword and slashed her skull in half. The pain was too much. She slowly walked over to the couch and lay down.

Where was Granny? Would she know where to look if Winry blacked out?

Winry decided she didn't care. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. It must be due to stress . . . Surely.

. . .

?

Ed and Al once again stood in the all-white space.

At first, Alphonse thought it was the place from his nightmare. But then, he saw the giant gate and he understood.

His brother's plan had worked.

But that wasn't the only thing he noticed. Standing in front of the gate where two men. At first, Al couldn't make out their faces, but as they got closer, Al recognized one of them right away.

"Edward Matthews?" he asked.

The man nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Al. And formally meet you, Ed."

But Ed wasn't looking at him. He was more focused on the other boy. "Alfons?"

"Nice to see you again," Alfons replied, a smile on his face. "It's been a while, huh, Ed?"

"W-what are you doing here?" Ed asked them.

"We just came out to say hello," Alfons explained. "And also goodbye."

"And to thank you," Edward Matthews added. "For looking after my Wendy for me. And for passing on my message to her."

Ed blushed a little. "No problem."

"You do realize that there's no turning back, right?" Alfons asked them. "Once you're back in Amestris, that's it. The people on our side don't have inner gates attached to their souls; you won't be able to use people like the Stanleys to pull yourselves back for a visit."

Ed nodded. "We know."

"Well then," Edward Matthews said. He stepped back and held his arms out towards the gate. "Step right up."

Al took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Let's do this, Brother."

Ed nodded and together, the Elric brothers stepped through the giant gate for the last time.

. . .

As the small black hands dragged the Elrics through the passage between worlds, they say images of the people and places they were leaving behind. They knew what would happen in their lives, they saw it. Along with other things.

A few week after they left, Wendy would die in the hospital.

Noah had found the gypsy family in France, and they took her right in. Eventually, she would marry Dmitri's younger brother.

Just as Al had predicted, Nina Andrews would grow up and get married. She raised her children on the stories the Elrics had told her when she was young.

Lewis Stanley would grow up hearing theses same stories of his "brothers" and eventually follow in Ed's footsteps and become a rocket scientist.

Amanda never forgot the Elrics completely, and she dedicated her life to becoming a doctor so that she could help people the way they had. In her heart, she always felt that they would meet again, and she made it a point to tell her parents so often.

Lisa and Roy spent the rest of their long lives on their farm, living just as they had before the Elrics had entered their lives. Lisa kept a copy of Ed's birthday picture in a frame in her grandchildren's play room so she would never forget who used to live there.

The Hughes family was blessed with a beautiful ababy boy, whom they named Alfons Edward Hughes. And as they had promised, the read him stories from the Elric's book.

As everyone feared, another Great War would come. And millions of innocent lives would be taken in a massacre called the Holocaust.

. . .

Central, Amestris

1920

Roy Mustang doubled over in pain as his migraine worsened without warning. Hawkeye gripped his desk, her clip board clattering to the floor.

CLK! CLK!

The noise of it hitting the floor drove everyone to thoughts of suicide. Anything to get rid of this pain . . .

And then, it was gone. Just as quickly as it had come, it left, leaving all of Mustang's team at ease.

"What the hell was that about?" Havoc asked as he sat up. "That was fucking painful!"

"Second Lieutenant!" Hawkeye scolded. "Language!"

Before Havoc had time to reply, he was cut off by a bright blue light springing out from the floor.

"W-what the hell? Breda asked as he climbed on top of his desk so that he'd be further away.

Mustang jumped to his feet. "That looks like alchemy!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of screaming. Two voices, both male. It sounded as though they were falling upwards.

The amount of light increased until it was too bright to see anything. Seconds later, it cleared all together, leaving two boys in it's place.

"Ugh," the first one moaned. "That didn't feel good."

"Brother, did you see that last image? How horrible! All the Jewish people . . . It was just like Ishbal . . ."

They both looked up to find six, open - mouthed soldiers staring at them with wide eyes.

"Mustang's office?" Ed asked, talking more to himself. "Well, I guess it makes sense since we were coming from his house . . ."

"E-Edward?" Mustang asked in disbelief.

Ed stood up and brushed himself off. "Good to see you, General. If you're still a General that is . . . I guess I've been kinda out of the loop these past five years, huh?"

Mustang nodded slowly. "Yes, b-but you . . . And I . . . I closed it! The gate was . . . I closed it!"

Ed nodded. "Yup, you did. And we closed it on the other side. We took the back door here . . ."

. . .

After Ed and Al told their story, the room was silent.

"This is unbelievable," Mustang said. "To think that there are parallel universes where different kinds of science rule . . ."

"They're working on sending men into space?" Hawkeye asked. "That seems so impossible . . ."

Ed shook his head. "It really isn't though! Now that I'm back, I'd be happy to teach others how rocket science works. Maybe we'll have spacemen in this world too."

"Hold it, Fullmetal," Mustang commanded. "You say you met parallel versions of people who live here while you were over there. Care to explain more on that?"

"Well, just as I said before," Ed told him. "The doubles were almost exact copies, and their relationships with people appeared to be the same in a non-blood related way."

"For example," Al said. "The doubles of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are married on the other side of the gate, but they don't have a daughter. And Officer Hughes's best friend was the other you, General."

Ed motioned for his brother to be quiet but it was too late.

"Oh, so you met the other me then?" Mustang asked, grinning. "Was he powerful? Successful? Head of the country?"

"Actually, he had nothing to do with the government. He was a married farmer with two kids," Ed admitted.

Mustang's ego shrank a significant amount in that moment, and for as long as he lived it would never completely recover. "A f-farmer? A married farmer?"

Ed grinned at the General's displeasure. "Yes, Sir. With two adorable children."

"Married with children . . ." Mustang muttered sadly.

"Please tell us who his wife was!" Havoc begged.

"Yeah because if stuff like that matches up here, we wanna meet her!" Furey agreed.

"And warn her," Breda added.

Al glanced at Hawkeye from the corner of his eye "Nah, some things are better left a mystery, I think."

"What about your own doppelgangers?" Falman asked. "Did you ever meet them?"

"Uh . . ."

"Well, sort of at the gate-"

"And I had already met Al's but-"

"What?" Mustang asked impatiently. "Stop mumbling and just give a straight answer!"

Ed sighed. "The other Edward was killed during the first great war, and Al's double was murdered the night we sealed the gates three years ago."

Hawkeye's eyes widened. "They're both dead?"

"Coincidentally, they died at almost the exact same time we crossed the gate for the first time, although we're not sure if that had anything to do with it," Ed added.

"Oh . . ." Al's eyes twinkled evilly. "And I almost forgot to mention; the other Brother's fiancé helped us out so much while we were there . . ."

Ed turned bright red as Mustang's entire team began to laugh. Even Hawkeye hid her mouth behind her hand.

"Come on now," Breda said. "You at least gotta tell us who Ed's gonna marry!"

"We must do no such thing!" Ed exclaimed before Al could say anything else.

"They had nicknames for each other, too," Al continued.

Mustang nearly fell out of his chair he was laughing so hard. "Pet-names?"

Alphonse nodded. "He called her 'Mijn Liefde' which means 'My Love' in Dutch."

"Awww," Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Furey chorused mockingly.

Mustang's face hardened though. "Dutch?"

The word felt strange on his tongue.

"Yeah, it's one of the languages on the other side," Ed told him. "No one their speaks Amestrian. The closest thing is English, but even then there are many differences."

"And you speak these languages?" Mustang asked.

"Well, we both know English, and I know German. Al picked up a little French from the other Mustang's wife, and we both know a little Dutch from what Wendy taught us," Ed replied.

"Oh so her name is Wendy?" Havoc teased. "Is she pretty?"

Ed clenched his metal fist. He probably would have socked Havoc right then and there, but something else caught his attention. "Oh yeah, I'm going to need a train to Resembool as soon as possible. I've outgrown my automail by a lot."

"That's impossible," Mustang replied. "No one can know that you're back yet. Envy has been gathering up more homunculi, and I suspect that they're after you, Fullmetal."

Ed held out his left leg. "THERE IS A STUMP OF WOOD IN MY BOOT AND I'M STILL WALKING LOP SIDED! I NEED NEW AUTOMAIL!"

"So I guess you finally grew, huh?" Havoc observed, noticing for the first time that the Elder brother was at least at equal height with Mustang.

Ed glared at him. "Finally? I WAS NOT SHORT!"

"Come on, Ed, you can admit it now. You were pretty short," Breda told him.

"I WAS NOT!"

"Brother, it's okay. Lot's of people start out small but they get bigger as they grow-"

"SHUT UP AL I WAS NOT SHORT!"

Furey tapped Ed's shoulder and held a finger to his lips.

"Hmm . . ." they could all practically see the gears in Mustang's head turning. After a moment, he spoke. "Envy's not exactly making it hard to track him. I mean, for someone who can change their appearance in the blink of an eye, there have been an awful lot of sightings. Almost like it's being done on purpose."

"He's trying to get us to go after him," Ed concluded. "So he can get his revenge without having to worry about facing the military."

Mustang nodded. "So, I've come up with a plan-"

"Of course he has," Ed interrupted.

"-if Envy thinks that you and Alphonse are dead, he won't go looking for you, right?"

"Well, I guess not," Ed agreed. "But how are we gonna make him think we're dead?"

"Easy," Mustang replied. "You say your arm and leg are too small?"

. . .

Resembool, Amestris

1920

Winry woke up from her nap feeling refreshed. Her headache was gone and she was ready to get back to work.

As she rose from the couch, the phone began to ring. She walked across the room and picked it up. "Hello?"

"W-Winry?" a shaky voice asked.

"Sheska?" Winry asked, recognizing her friend. "Are you alright? You sound kinda funny."

"I-I'm fine." Clearly a lie. "Oh Winry it's just that there's been an earthquake here in Central. There's a big ditch in the ground from where it originated. No one knows what to make of it. They think it might have actually been some type of explosion."

"Well, that's strange," Winry said.

"Uh-yes, but the reason I'm calling is that in the center of the ditch they found two badly burnt human bodies. It looks as though they were in the middle of the explosion when it happened, and there's no way to identify them."

"So why are you calling me?" Winry asked.

"W-w-well one of the bodies has automail limps that aren't too badly damaged. We think it's-we think it might be something of yours. I was told to have you sent to Central to try and ID the mechanics."

Now Winry knew why Sheska was upset. "We think it might be something of yours" was just code for "we think it's Ed and Al" and Winry knew it. But Sheska was trying to protect her. Besides, she shouldn't just jump to conclusions.

"S-sure, Sheska, I'll hop on the next train."

. . .

Wir lieben dich - We love you

Ik hou van je, voor altijd, mijn liefde - I love you, forever, my love