May 23rd, 1976 (Continued)

To Mssrs. Edward and Alphonse Elric,

I can only hope that this one day comes into your hands. If it does, I am likely dead, as I have come to have little faith that my attempts to reopen the portal will succeed. I have decided –too late, yes I know- that these attempts must be aborted. I doubt very much that my alchemical associates will agree. I should have chosen more wisely.

I am sorry. A poor apology, but all I can give. Curiosity led me to the gate in Munich, and to recreating the research of the Thule Society needed to open it. My original purposes, however altruistic, are pointless now. I was proud and foolish. I am still proud and foolish.

My father and mother spoke of you both often and fondly, especially Edward. They had many stories to tell my sisters, my brother, and I. He trusted you both implicitly, and so it seems only you, here, in this world, can be trusted with these books; the product of many years struggle and attempts to remember my home, to keep it from fading completely. So within these pages, along with my most secret notes, you will find as complete a history as I could write, beginning with my father's stories of the days after you vanished, through the Second Great War, and up until the day I opened the gate. Consider it an apology from a foolish man, and may none of what befell Europe and the rest of the world darken the lives of Amestrians, Cretans, or any here. What happened there made the war with Drachma look like a school-yard quarrel.

If you find my daughter please pass on to her, once more, my love, and my regrets that I was too much a scientist and too little a parent.

Regards, and with regret that we never met in person,

Duar Dumais
born Edward Hughes
Munich, Germany
1940 by the Gregorian Reckoning

Edward's mouth had gone dry. For several seconds after he finished reading he could do nothing but stare at the page in shock. "Hughes?"

Al's voice was no less soft. "Second Great War?"

Ed's heart sank. They had failed to stop a war after all. But then, the world had been so bent towards one, in the years since they had returned home, he had come to accept that it was unlikely the two of them could have ever stopped it. "He's Hughes' son, Al. Youngest apparently." Maes and Gracia had four kids, and they had named the youngest after him.

"That makes him Elicia's brother."

Ed glanced sharply at Al, who was still staring at the page over his shoulder. Al was right. "Which makes Krista Gracia's granddaughter… sort of."

"Close enough." Al nodded. "She's Elicia's niece."

That made Krista family, in a very convoluted fashion. Ed nodded. "Do we tell Elicia and Gracia about this?"

"I'm not sure," Al admitted, surprising Ed. Al never hid things from his wife. "I mean, they ought to know, but Europe isn't something I've talked with either of them about extensively. Not that part, and not in a long time. Telling Gracia about a dead son she never had? Elicia about siblings she never knew? That might never have been born here even if Hughes had lived? Is that fair?"

"Is it fair not to tell them?" Ed countered. "I'm not even sure we should tell Krista. But she has the right to know she has family here."

"What's a few decades and a world between relatives?" Al quipped, but he was smiling now. "No, you're right, Ed. We should tell them. I think this part we should tell Gracia and Elicia first. I want them to have some say in how we tell Krista."

Now Ed could agree with that.

"Tell me what?"

Ed glanced behind him, where River was just leading Krista, Tore, Ted, and James inside.

"That your Dad had way too much stuff," Al quipped, thinking fast.

Ed chuckled. "There's enough here to keep you busy for years. He even left us a letter… a really long letter," he put his hand on the stack of books. "Hoping we'd show up some day."

Krista beamed. "He did? He was always so interested in meeting you. I… wow. Will you tell me what's in it?"

"We've got to read through it all first," Ed replied, avoiding the question even though he kept smiling. If there was anything worth sharing in there, he certainly would. But there was a lot in there that he suspected would never go beyond himself, Alphonse, and probably Winry. It wouldn't mean much to anyone else. It was hard enough not to rip into it right now with Duar's reference to another Great War. It was easier to keep thinking of the man as Duar.

"How are we going to get all this back?" Ted asked with an exclamation that was part dismay and part awe. He looked like he wanted to rip into the stacks too even though he wouldn't be able to read most of it.

"I will loan you a pack mule to carry anything you wish to take into town," River smiled. "These are your legacy, Krista. Your father talked about you much more than you could know. Anything in here you may take with you."

"A mule?" Ed asked, bemused.

"He's a very large mule," River chuckled.


"It looks like a mule."

"It does not." Gracia said as she came over to Winry and looked over her shoulder at the pieced quilting Winry was attempting to stitch together. "It's clearly a rabbit."

"Yours looks like rabbits," Winry disagreed with a sigh. "Mine looks like a mule."

"Well, maybe the ears do a little," Gracia conceded, though she smiled kindly.

"Thank you." Winry wasn't sure why she felt she needed to win that particular point, but as much of a perfectionist as she was quilting was not her area of expertise. But, in the interest of trying new things to do in her spare time, she had agreed to join Gracia for the day, working on one of her many projects. "I suppose it's not bad. You'll be able to make it fit won't you?"

"Of course I will," Gracia assured her. "We're talking a matter of millimeters here. Now, if it were as bad as Elicia's first piece…"

"Gee thanks, Mom," Elicia rolled her eyes. She was also piecing together a quilted area shaped like a rabbit. Winry noticed that Elicia's looked just like a rabbit in shape. "It wasn't that bad."

"Not after the second time, no," Gracia agreed with a teasing chuckle. "And that was just a square. These rabbits are far more complicated."

"And yours doesn't require redoing," Elicia grinned at Winry. "Now do you feel better?"

Winry looked down at her rabbit. It really wasn't so bad, with its little pinwheel of colors for a body and head, and its cute floral ears that were just a shade the wrong shape. "Well it's cute. But I still think it looks a little mulish."

May 25th, 1976

"Why'd you do that?"

Ian looked up from his drink at Reggie's expression. His friend didn't look happy. He didn't look mad either, just confused and unsure. Ian glanced behind him and noticed that the girl they had been talking to before Ian had absented himself had left. Well so much for that. "She kept looking at me," he admitted. "But you were talking to her first. You deserved her full attention, so I figured I'd let you have it."

Reggie scowled. "It's not like I have to get your help."

"I didn't say it was," Ian pointed out. "You know I don't poach, Reg. Not even if it's just a girl my friend is hitting on."

Reggie glared at him a moment longer, then sighed and took a seat. "It shouldn't take you leaving the conversation for me to get the attention of a cute girl. But these days, that seems to happen a lot."

"I swear I'm not trying," Ian said, sipping his beer. "I don't even get why they prefer me over you. You were just as popular a character as I was."

"In the polls." Reggie sighed. "I guess most of my fans aren't pretty girls."

"So maybe they aren't all," Ian didn't try and deny it. "But I bet the ones that are happen to be particularly charming. We've just got to find them." He glanced around the room and felt a spot of good luck when he recognized two girls sitting at the table in the corner; Brittany Benson and Chelsea Spinner. He had gone to high school with both of them, and he knew that they were not only currently single, but that Brittany had always had a huge crush on Reggie's character. "Let's try those two."

"What makes you think they'll be any different?" Reggie asked, though he looked interested.

"I know them," Ian replied, grinning. "I went to high school with them. We weren't best friends or anything, but I have a good feeling. Come on." He stood up, slapping Reggie on the shoulder.

With a slightly skeptical look, Reggie followed.

Brittany and Chelsea spotted them as soon as they got into a clear space between tables, and both girls immediately broke out in smiles, though Chelsea tried a little too hard to appear coy.

"Hello, Ian," Brittany gave him her winning smile. "Long time no see, except on television of course."

Chelsea chuckled.

"Well work keeps me busy," Ian assured her with an apologetic smile. "Hopefully I can make it up to you. I'd like to introduce you to my very good friend, Reggie." He gave no further introduction, but propelled his friend up into the light over the table.

Both girls' reactions were perfect; gasps of surprise and pleasure, and blushes. Brittany, ever the cool one, recovered first. "It's a pleasure," she smiled, holding a hand out to Reggie, half as if she looked like she expected him to kiss it, though it turned into a friendly handshake. "Ian's told us so many nice things about you."

Chelsea nodded, eyes still a little wide. "Your work is amazing!"

The tension went out of Reggie's shoulders, Ian could see from the back, and within moments he was sitting at the table talking, with both girls glued to his every word.

Ian grinned as he sat there, almost completely ignored. Maybe they weren't the most brilliant girls in the world, but Brittany was smart enough to hold a decent conversation. That, and she wasn't mean spirited. The last thing Ian wanted to do was put Reggie in that kind of situation.

The way he was chatting animatedly with both girls, Ian was pretty sure that the rest of the night was going to go well.

June 2nd, 1976

By the time they got off the train in Central, Ed's head was spinning. The trip home itself had been relatively uneventful, except that he'd had hours and hours to read. Him and Al both, and they had plowed through –skimming in some places- the volumes that Duar had left specifically for the two of them to read. It was not an easy read in places. Not that the language was difficult, but the topics, and the speed with which certain technologies had been advanced, were sometimes astonishing, and other times horrifying. The second great war, called World War Two by Duar's time; the Holocaust.

The things that Fuhrer Hitler had done in the name of Germany revolted him. That man, whom Ed had only seen once before he'd been imprisoned during the failed uprising, had achieved more power, and done even more damage with it, than Bradley had done. He knew now what had happened with that technology too. The atom bomb. The full on advent of aerial warfare; fighting in airplanes, firing rockets. Even just moving past that war, things were terrible in places, and inspiring in others. Most particularly the Space Race. Ed had to admit, he was amused to find that, in space, there was more space.

And intermixed with it all, the personal story of the Hughes family, and that hurt worse in some ways. Hughes, after being assigned to Chelmno, had taken the first opportunity to flee Germany on leave, taking his family to Switzerland, then after the war they had moved to the Netherlands. Duar had gone to college in the United States. Duar had little to no memories of Germany as a child, he had been so young, the youngest of four. What he remembered was his father, who refused to speak of his experiences at Chelmno, and the people he had been witness to their murders, even if he hadn't gassed them personally. Yet he always smiled during the day, and told stories of happy times. It was only at night, Duar noted, that he had once seen his father, probably drunk, crying in his mother's arms.

It was a lot to take in. Ed was just glad he had Al to share it with. The triumphs and tribulations of the twentieth century in a world they had left behind; a world that was little more than a dream, even if it had shaped them in its own way. Even as he dreaded it, Ed still looked forward to getting through some of the sections in more detail.

Still, it was the simplest, and most personal, elements that they gave Gracia and Elicia over coffee after dinner their first night back. Winry was there, but it was just the five of them. Ed let Al tell it. It was still a simple version; a reminder that they had met the other side's Gracia and Maes, before Elicia had been born. That they'd had Elicia, and three more children in that world, and that the youngest, named Edward, was the real Duar Dumais. That he had come through the gate, and realized before it was too late that reopening it was a bad idea. That Krista was his daughter.

Ed spent the time ping-ponging his gaze from Gracia to Elicia, with occasional glances at Winry. But it was the Hughes girls whose reactions he wanted to see most.

In the end, it was Gracia who spoke up first. "What a wonderful gift."

"What do you mean?" Ed blurted.

"Don't interrupt, Ed," Winry frowned at him.

Gracia chuckled. "It's nice to know that, even if things weren't perfect, there is a world where Maes is still alive, and he still loves me, and Elicia had siblings."

Elicia's expression was thoughtful, but she didn't look upset. "And another niece, sort of. I mean, if this Duar guy, this other Edward, is my full blood brother from the other side of the gate that means Krista is a Hughes."

"There's no reason to think there would be any difference on a genetic level, not that we can really test it," Al nodded. "Ren might be able to tell you something, but even alkahestry can only delve so far into the body. Proving blood relation is not something it can really do."

"And it doesn't really matter," Gracia said, cutting quietly back into the conversation. "What it means is that she still has living family, and found her way to them. Duar was smart enough to foresee the likelihood that his work would be examined, and that anything with your names recognizable on it would eventually get to you. Perhaps he thought if you knew the truth, even if you didn't know Krista, you would find her."

That made a certain amount of sense. He and Al hadn't discussed that possibility. Ed nodded. "And of course, we would have gone looking. With her right here in Central, it wouldn't have even been that hard."

"Have you told Krista yet?" Elicia asked.

"We wanted to let you know first," Al explained, looking slightly abashed. "To see how we should proceed, and if you wanted her to know."

Gracia gave them a no-nonsense look that still made Ed squirm a little. "You haven't told her yet? Well by all means, we need to fix that!"

June 3rd, 1976

They told Krista in Tore and Charisa's living room. It was only right that her foster family be there, and while Ed had warned Tore in advance, the Shock Alchemist had shaken his head at the irony and agreed that Krista should know.

The girl's expression as it was explained went from one of confusion to shock. Then, one by one, she looked at the faces in the room, as if daring any one of them to admit that this was a lie, or a huge joke. Of course, no one did.

Then Krista looked at Gracia, and there were tears in her eyes. "Does that mean you're my Grandmother?"

Gracia nodded, and gave her the same kind smile Ed had seen her give every lost child in need of love since the day he'd met her. "In any way that matters," she replied, "If you want me to be."

Krista nodded, and fell into Gracia's arms, hugging her tightly. Gracia returned the hug, and the moment of hushed silence, waiting to see the girl's reaction, was broken. "I understand that this whole mess is crazy," she snuffled in Gracia's shoulder. "But thank you."

"Family is family," Elicia spoke up, with a misty-eyed chuckle.


Krista could hardly believe it. For a moment she had been sure she was being duped, but that thought had passed quickly. They had no reason to lie to her, nor would they have wanted to. After several minutes of hugging, Krista got more proof of that, when Fullmetal showed her the signature in the front of the book that clearly read, even if she couldn't read the rest of it, not only Duar Dumais, but Edward Hughes.

"Will you teach me to read the rest of it?" she asked him shyly.

"Someday, perhaps." Ed closed the book. "Most of what's in here isn't relevant to anyone but me and Al and Winry. It wouldn't mean anything to anyone else except us, and your Dad. I'm not sure how safe it is to know too much about the other side, honestly. That's why I didn't tell any of River's people anything real about it."

"I see." Krista was disappointed, but she understood to an extent. If alchemists on both sides had tried to open the gate, and caused trouble every time they did, than it was probably for the best if people forgot about it. New information would not make people less curious. "Thank you."

The conversation had turned from an unveiling into an impromptu party of sorts, before Krista even realized it. There was food coming out for dinner, being made in the kitchen, someone ran out for ice and drinks, and soon it was more of a welcome to the family get together than a potentially awkward revealing.

She had already been welcomed as a stranger, without question, and treated like family. Krista would never have said she was treated differently than anyone else in the few weeks she had been with the Clossons. But this, being a Hughes… having far more family than she had ever dreamed –however much it was not by blood- was incredible! "Mrs… umm, grandma?" she stepped into the kitchen, where Gracia Hughes and Elicia and Charisa were all working on food preparation. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Of course," said a chorus of female voices, followed by chuckles.

Gracia grinned. "Could you slice these tomatoes for me?"

"Sure." Krista picked up a knife and stepped up to the cutting board. It was so nice to be part of a family again.


James and Ted cornered Tore in the middle of dinner preparations, when he got back from the supermarket with a bag of ice, fruit juice, and soda pop in a variety of flavors. James had been mildly stunned by the realization that Krista was actually a Hughes. That made her, obliquely and not by blood –thankfully- a cousin of sorts. Or rather, it made her Alyse and Will's cousin.

He was glad she wasn't related to him. While he was thrilled for her to have a family of her own again –however bizarre the circumstance— James wasn't about to give up on hopes of dating her. And, apparently, neither was Ted.

Tore gave them a look as if he knew exactly what was coming when they walked up. He sighed, and his words confirmed it. "I know what you're looking for, and I don't think you're going to like my answer," he said right up front. "But I don't think she particularly prefers one of you over the other. She likes you both, that's clear enough, but she's not in love with either one of you. I'd bet my rep on it."

James felt his heart twist a little. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"That's not an answer," Ted objected at the same moment.

Tore held up both hands, palms out. "Hey. I just tell it like it is. You should both just man up and tell her how you feel and stop being stupid about it. If you want to know what she thinks, you're going to have to ask Krista. And you'd better be gentlemen about it, or I'll have both of your backsides on the sparring mat for a little practice, and I'm pretty sure your parents would be all for it."

James swallowed. His mother probably would. He looked at Ted. "All right, how do we do this?"


Ted tried not to grin too much as he and James hunted down Krista. They waited until after dinner, when people were mingling and talking. It was better for a private conversation.

They found her sitting on the stairs of the back porch, enjoying the evening air, and petting Rapscallion. The elderly cat was all-fours-and-belly up, purring as she rubbed his stomach.

She smiled when they joined her. "Hi, guys. Having fun?"
"Always do," Ted grinned, dropping down next to her and stretching out his legs. James settled down on the other side. "This whole thing is surreal, but awesome."

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "It is… both."

"So Krista…" James started in, then seemed to lose his nerve and choked on the statement.

Ted tried not to groan. So much for a smooth lead in. Krista was looking at James curiously. "What?"

James swallowed. "Well, it's just that we were wondering something and thought you might be able to help us out with it," he blurted, almost rushing.

"Oh? Is it an alchemy question? Or something else?" Krista glanced between them, and then Ted thought he saw realization behind those eyes.

Ted swallowed. Nothing to gain by chickening out. "I like you, Krista," he said, smiling despite the flutters in his stomach. "But… so does James. You're an amazing girl. We just… wanted to know if you were interested in either of us?"

The crickets had time for a the second movement of their little summer symphony before Krista stopped looking between them, flustered, and replied. "Well I'm flattered… really," she said finally, cheeks rosy even in the twilight haze. "But I'm afraid that I can't say I feel that way about both of you."

Ted tried not to feel relieved. "Well we wouldn't expect you to like both of us," he assured her. Most girls weren't into two guys at once, right?

Krista looked at him. "I mean that, you're both really great guys. I'm just… not interested in a boyfriend right now, at all."

He could almost hear his ego deflating. Ted had been so sure Krista would pick him! They'd had so much time together on the trip where she smiled, and they had fun, and they could talk about anything.

"I see," James spoke up first.

"Oh, please don't be mad," Krista looked momentarily fearful. "I don't want to lose you as friends over this. I'm not saying that. And I'm not saying you aren't both really nice guys, or cute, or …well, any of that. I just mean it. I'm not ready to get romantically involved with anyone right now. Things have been so crazy. I just need some time to really find myself in all of it."

It made sense. Perfect sense. Ted felt a stab of guilt for feeling sorry about his own wounded pride. "It's okay, Krista," he assured her. "I understand."

"We both understand," James nodded firmly, clearly not wanting to be left out of the moment. "It can't be easy."

"Thanks guys." Krista smiled then leaned over to hug first Ted, then James. "I'll be back in soon."

It was a polite dismissal, but one all the same. Ted nodded though, smiled, and stood up as if it wasn't a big deal. James followed him inside. Both rejected. Ted wondered if Tore had seen that coming. He had said he couldn't see a difference in how she felt about them. Well, he'd been right about that much. They'd both gotten turned down in the end.

When he closed the back door, Ted looked at James. "You want to go get a soda?"

James sighed, nodded, and grinned. "Yeah. Let's go."


Ed sat with Winry on the couch when it was all over and most of the family had dispersed back to their houses or was helping clean up. Ed felt only a moment's guilt at not helping, but it went away as he enjoyed the feel of Winry's head on his shoulder, her body against his side. "So, how's retirement?" he asked. "Did you miss me at all?"

"Well, I'm still pretty good at hitting a target," Winry grinned at him. "And Gracia and Elicia insist my quilting is decent, but I don't think it's something I'm going to get highly involved in. And yes, of course I missed you. I didn't have anyone to grumble at."

"So that's why you missed me." Ed chuckled and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I should have known."

"Well it's hard to grumble when you're not here," Winry pointed out, "Or when you're pensive like you've been." She stroked her fingers through the end of his ponytail.

"I've had a lot to think about." Ed had told her a decent summary, the high points and low points, of what he had read on the long train ride home. He'd had days to digest it, and it would take time to fully understand and accept it all. "I wish I'd met him while he was alive."

"That would have been nice," Winry agreed. "Imagine hearing about all of it first hand. But he stayed away for a reason."

"Yeah. Maybe he thought I'd kick his ass for trying something so stupid."

"It would have saved him a lot of trouble." Winry tugged on the hairs gently. "And Krista. But it all turned out all right. Krista has family, and she's safe and sound, and unlikely to try anything foolish. We're here, where we belong. Knowing isn't going to make us go anywhere." There was a note of warning at the end of that statement.

Ed smiled. "No, no we're not," he assured her. He wasn't. He was long past the age and impulsivity when the other side of the gate held any real pull. What-ifs were daydreams and reality far too good to mess up. "Still. It would have been nice to be able to ask questions about anything his writings don't answer. I would have liked to have heard more about exactly what stories Hughes used to tell his kids about me."

"Knowing him," Winry said. "They were probably cautionary tales."


Author's Note: 7/1/2013 Finis! This one turned into much more of a 'shocking discoveries' research mission for Ed and Al. They've had quite a few of those over the years. Things don't always turn out the way folks expect, not even characters. ;) Perhaps especially not the teens. Rocky roads ahead. Definitely not the end of things.

New story next week!