Chapter Eleven: All You Have To Do Is Ask

"So you are not from this world," Scar said after Edward's quick explanation.

"You're not going to kill me anyway, are you?" Edward nervously asked.

Scar shook his head. "If you aren't a State Alchemist, you aren't my enemy. I'll return to Central and wait for Fullmetal's return," he said and turned to leave.

"Hey, wait - why are you so determined to kill him?"

"Besides being a State Alchemist, he's also after the Philosopher's Stone. - Therefore, he must be stopped."


"Do you know how many dimensions there are?" Alphonse asked.

"Um... In one of these papers, I think Tucker mentioned a dimension with a number of a hundred and something. If they numbered them from one, up, I guess that means there's over a hundred," Ed said with a shrug.

"Then how are you going to figure out which one my brother's in?!" Alphonse demanded.

"I donno. I guess I'll try my dimension, first. If he's not there, I'll have to randomly open a portal."

"There might a thousand dimensions! If so, would you know the chance of finding him in a dimension?! - One in a thousand!"

"Well, duh," Ed said. "Al, you're forgetting that we don't even know if he is in another dimension or not. Who knows what the formula did. But, the only chance I have in finding him is to try the only lead I have. Tucker's notes mention that Jonston was able to open portals to worlds he's been to before by mentally calling out to them. Maybe when we were both standing in the formula, I subconsciously 'called' to my dimension, but it sent him instead of me."

"And if not...?"

"Well, when Jonston didn't picture a destination he wanted, the portal would choose a random world to send him to."

"Maybe you could tell the portal that you want to go to my brother, and it would take you to him," Alphonse suggested.

Ed narrowed his eyes. "You know how stupid that sounds?" he demanded. "I didn't say you ask the portal to take you somewhere! I said that Jonston called to the dimension he wanted - which probably means he thinks about the destination! The portal isn't alive, Al! It's a thing!"

"I'm sorry," Alphonse said from the corner of the room where he was sitting, hunched over.

"Hmph. Don't be such a baby," Ed said and crossed his arms. After a moment, he noticed that Alphonse was still sulking in the corner. "...Fine. I'll try it your way and ask the portal to take me to your brother," Ed relented. Alphonse grinned at him. 'Well, I guess I would have had no way to find him, even if he was in my dimension. I would have tried Winry's house, first, but after that, I wouldn't know where he'd go. So if this works, it would help a lot. But if Al's plan doesn't work, I'm doing it my way.'

Ed clapped and said, "Oh, Dimensional Portal thingy, take me to his brother." He then touched a wall of the room. An elliptical reddish spot appeared on the wall, and Ed stuck his head in, glanced around, then pulled his head back out. "Nope. Don't see him."

Alphonse's jaw dropped. "You didn't even look!"

"Yeah I did. If your plan worked, he would have been right there, since I asked the portal to take me to him."

"You didn't even ask it right!" Alphonse yelled. "You didn't feel what you said! You have to imagine what you want to go to and believe in it!"

Ed folded his arms across his chest. "If you know so much about it, why don't you do it?"

"Huh? But I can't!" Alphonse said in a panic as he waved his hands horizontally across his body. "I can't open a portal, you have the formula, I don't know what you're supposed to do, you've read all the notes about it so you should do it and I can't-"

"Save your breath. You don't have to try it. - I just wanted to make a point. Like you just said, I'm the one who's read Tucker's notes about how Jonston used it." Ed closed his eyes as he clapped a second time. 'I hope this works this time,' he thought. He pictured everything he knew about his dimension - his version of Al, in the suit of armor; the things he's done in Xenotime and other places; Scar; Nina-Chimera's remains; and other things he thought could be unique about his dimension. He also pictured Edward, just in case Alphonse was somehow right. He opened his eyes and touched the wall beside the portal. The plasma making up the portal reacted to Ed's alchemy. After a second, he stepped inside.

"Good luck!" Alphonse called.


"Xenotime? How'd I get here?" Ed wondered aloud. He realized that the portal had already closed and he started walking down a street.

Edward came out from an alley close to where the portal was a moment earlier. "I wonder if Russell found anything, yet," he said as he headed off in another direction.

--End Chapter--

I didn't think about asking the portal until Alphonse mentioned it. That really saves time... I wasn't sure how Ed was going to figure out that they were in Xenotime. I guess that would also help to explain how Edward appeared in Central... I thought it was because that's where Ed disappeared at, but maybe he subconsciously thought about that spot and the portal got mixed up and sent Edward there in Ed's body, instead.

I just finished the last chapter. (Wow... I wrote a lot today.) I won't put up the rest until later, though... I'll probably put up another chapter Monday or Tuesday or so.