A/N: Not the last chapter but the last one I'm uploading for today. Chapter fifteen and sixteen are in the works, but I don't want to rush them. Well enjoy.

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchhemist is something I've realized I can never own...

Chapter 14

When I walked through the gate it was like…

He stepped forward cautiously half expecting arms to come out of nowhere.

Everything I had ever known, all the memories I had forgotten, caught up with me…

There was only silence and pure stillness. But it didn't feel empty at all…

In the distance was the other side, surrounded by moving colors. Everything and everything stood before him, if he dared blink he would miss it.

"It was like tons of information was being planted directly into my mind."

And I realized…

"The truth was in there..."

"What else could it be?"

"Give me back my brother!"

"I thought it was an equivalent exchange. My body mind and soul for his…"

"We're just insignificant human beings…"

That even with everything that I had experienced. Until that point it had been close to nothing.

"I promise I won't die, okay?"

He kept his eyes open reliving scenes from the past, and seeing things that could be the future.

That I hadn't lived or experienced even a fraction of all that was out there to experience.

"All is one and one is all…"

"When we die the same thing will happen to us…"

"We can't keep living like we're the only ones that matter."

But even as the images took over his mind he only kept moving. The door was on the other side.

That if I wanted to see my brother smile again, if I wanted to see my home ever again, I needed to keep walking forward and let myself live without question.

Loved ones smiled at him as he passed right through their memories. They flickered and faded some of them even spoke to him.

Because we only get one chance at this completely random and unanswerable thing called life.

With every step he took however he didn't feel like he was moving forward but slowly back to the beginning. Of his journey of everything. The feeling was indescribable. And yet he kept walking and opened the door.

I've always been prepared to throw it all away for the sake I've those I care about. Even so I was offered yet another chance…

And I figured this time I would just accept it, you know?

Germany 1923

"So where are we headed now, Brother?"

"First we have to track down that uranium bomb that was brought over from the other side. A weapon like that shouldn't exist. No matter which world it's in."

"People are saying another great war is inevitable here. And from everything that's going on maybe they're right. Are you sure we should get involved in their battles?"

"Like I said, Al; we can't keep thinking we're all that matter. That the world has nothing to do with us. That goes for both sides of the gate. This is where we live. It's home now and we have to do our part."

The gentle breeze blew past the mountain top as the setting sun gave way to twilight. The passengers in the cart were already quieting down their conversations to soft murmurs anticipating a long night.

Edward Elric didn't really pay much notice to them as his eyes were fixed on a floating leaf that was being carried by the wind. It was a peculiar little thing that had been circling the cart since the start of their journey and he couldn't help but imagine the green pursuer as being a passenger who had been left behind, and was chasing after them wanting to come along for the ride. Edward envied it for it's freedom, and pitied it at the same time, for he saw it also as himself, the self he had left behind, a dog of the military who had no choice but to follow the wind.

He shook his head. Talk about boredom, he was practically on the verge of writing a story about a leaf. He really wished he had brought his alchemy books, and then he could have something to do. Something that didn't involve staring at the other passengers until they glared at him, and Al asking him if he was alright, or Noah looking at him with a confused look on her face because he couldn't think of anything to say to her. Gosh, he hated being idle.

Feeling fidgety, he dug into his pockets and took out his old State certified issued watch chain and started fiddling with it. He only had the chain left, considering the last time he saw it Archer had it and according to Al it had exploded thanks to Scar's alchemy. Immediately his eyes went to the man driving the cart.

He looked exactly like the Ishballan but so far had been pretty nice and didn't seem to have a violent demeanor at all. Not that the other Scar was a complete bad guy, but his personality could have been a lot less hostile. That was something that still amazed him about this world. Familiar faces, but that's all they were the people behind those faces were complete strangers and sometimes he would forget that. He was a lot more used to it now, but that didn't stop him from feeling weird about it. He felt like he was meeting everyone all over again.

He wondered if he would meet this World's Winry. Would she be anything like the girl back home? He shook his head. What was he thinking? Even if he met this world's Winry, he couldn't get himself to want to know her for who she was but only see her as a shadow of who she represented to him. He had done that with Alfons, at first, but quickly learned that no one could replace the people he cared for. He would always long for the Winry Rockbell he knew. And that just wouldn't be fair to Winry to try and befriend her other version when he left her behind so easily.

A pang of guilt suddenly hit his stomach. He hadn't even told her goodbye, and the "thank you" he sent with Al would never reach her. By now she most likely had figured out they weren't coming back home. What did she think of him now that he had abandoned her not once but twice?

She had been so nice to him for those short moments in which she had replaced his arm and leg. He smiled. She had been carrying that case around with her that whole time. She had been expecting him. They hadn't talked much due to the situation but he was just happy to see her smiling in front of him instead of dreaming about it. She and Sciezka both looked like they grew up a lot in the last two years and that made him realize how much time had actually passed.

A sudden thought crossed his mind. If he had had more time, if he had stayed where would they stand? Despite the fact that he had known her all his life he doubted things would be the same between them, too much time had passed. Besides being childhood friends, he didn't really feel like he'd gotten that close to her anyway, though he felt she was always trying to keep him close.

He started twirling the chain. What did it matter? anyway? It wasn't like he was ever going to see her again. Her or anyone else that had to do with Amestris.

Suddenly feeling a bit depressed he put away the chain and proceeded to stare at his shoes.

"Are you alright, Brother?"

"I'm fine, Al." Just depressed and bored out of his mind and kind of hungry. He wondered if Wittenburg's restaurants served weisswurst.

He looked around at the spreading darkness. "We should be arriving soon right? I can't wait to get some food."

Al smiled. "Is that all you think about?"

"Heh. Food is an important part of a man's life Al." he grinned back.

The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful and when he and Al and Noah got off he felt relieved to get something to have to do.

"Okay our first order of business is to find a place to stay for tonight, preferably a place that also serves food."

"How about over there?" Al pointed to a building down the street.

Ed turned to see a bright white sign with bright purple lettering that looked silver in the dim lit streets. "Um Das Wichen Rose, huh? Catchy. Let's check it out."

When I walked through the gate I didn't see much of anything…

No matter how many times he circled the white room his brother wasn't anywhere to be seen

No sign of Ed anywhere.

He hoped his brother's stupid idea to sacrifice himself hadn't been successful.

I wondered if the gate had taken him.

Images popped up in technicolor trying to take over his mind but he ignored them.

Brother was always so reckless, and impulsive…and hot headed.

He kept on walking on a search for the idiot.

I guess you can say that's how we got into this whole mess…

"Mmm." Edward sighed as he fell backward on the bed with a content smile on his face. It's been a while since I had a meal that good."

Al turned to his brother and raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Brother? You said the same thing about the hasenfaefer. Noah cooked two nights ago!" He was sort of relieved Noah wasn't in the room at the moment; she had been so flattered by the compliment.

"Oh that was two nights ago? It feels like weeks. What? Her cooking is pretty good too. What? Two nights is a while. Why do you have to look at me like that?"

Al sighed. "Your compliments are a dime a dozen, Brother."

Ed glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it. Anyway we're in Wittenburg now right? So are we going to check out the library or look for research on the guys in the picture?"

"From what that film maker told me, the Thule Society supposedly promised the bomb to this Hitler guy. However he obviously never got it because I'm sure we would have heard about some country getting destroyed by now if it had fallen to those Nazi people. My guess is that it's still in whatever lab they transferred it to…"

"Somewhere north, right? Like Mr. Laing told us. How are we going to get on hands on it. I mean we have to be careful because Thule is probably still looking for you."

"I talked to Officer Hughes about it. Apparently there are hundreds of these nutjobs in the country. Eckhart was just a lower official there are others out there. Hess got away scotch free and I'm pretty sure I'm not his favorite person it wouldn't surprise me if I was on Thule's blacklist."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure they'll know to look for a male with long blond hair and yellow eyes. Let's Face it, Ed. You don't exactly blend in with the crowd."

Ed put his right arm over his face, a habit he had since he was about eight years old. It was also a sign that he was not happy with the current situation.

"You're right. Either way an eighteen year old rocket enthusiast asking for information on a war weapon would be considered suspicious in itself."

Al got up and sat at the foot of the bed. A habit he had developed when he was a suit of armor. He looked up at his brother.

"So what you going to do then?"

"How long do you think it would take to become a military approved scientist?"

"A couple of years at the least. You have to go to university and get a degree and then actually get certified then you have to get hired. In short, a long time, Brother."

"We don't have a long time. Not when a secret society holds a destructive force that could wipe out a country in a day."

"That and I'm pretty sure any one would take notice of a scientist named Elric it's not exactly a common name in Germany is it?" Al said.

"No it's not."

"Then there's the bigger problem. Getting our hands on that bomb."

He heard his brother sigh. A few moments of silence before he spoke again.

"I like science, it's a nice broad subject. Lot's of internships…lots of experimentation and room for research…"

"What are you getting at?"

"It's simple Al. I already studied rocket science and compared to that other science course will be a piece of cake. I'll go take few classes get a degree and work as a researcher who just happens to be researching uranium. With any luck I'll get a job at a research facility that will be run by some corrupt official that I could get answers from. In a world where research on war weapons is common no one is going to suspect an intern."

Al nodded eyes wide, despite the fact that his brother couldn't see him. He had to give Ed credit the guy could come up with very interesting plans and this one might even work if he was careful enough. Still…

"Um and how are we going to keep the Thule Society from figuring you out, I'm sure they'll be looking at any record with the name Elric in it."

"Yeah Al, that's where your idea comes in. What do you think of changing Elric to something less…conspicuous?"

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

There was a knock on the door and Al got up to answer it.

"Mr. Hughes, the receptionists sends this receipt for your bill and would like to remind you the cleaning lady will be in around nine o clock in the morning. Have a good night sir."

The bellhop left and Al closed the door. So that was his clever name change idea…

He turned to his brother who let out a sheepish laugh. "Hughes?! That's the most you could come up with?!"

"I didn't have much to work with Al, besides that name's so common in this country no one will think twice about it, trust me!"

Al hung his head. He was starting to lose confidence in his brother's ability to plan.

"Whatever," he sighed and then a thought occurred to him. "Hey Brother, what about Noah? Doesn't she have people after her too?" Ed had given him a brief recap of who the gypsy girl was and why she had been living with Ed and Alfons Heidrich in the first place.

"Yeah. She has her own path to follow."

Al didn't press the issue, it was weird but he felt like Edward was really protective of Noah to the point that he didn't want to talk about her. That or something else was going on that he wasn't aware of. All he knew was that Ed and Noah seemed to be sharing some sort of secret that he would never find out about. It didn't offend him; on the contrary he was glad to see Ed interacting with a girl, even if it wasn't Winry. He felt sort of guilty for leaving and following his brother without telling her but he was sure she would understand.

He snapped out of his reverie when he noticed Edward had stood up and was putting on his coat. "I need a bit of air. You stay here."

Al nodded, recognizing the fact that Edward wanted to be alone for a bit. He could read his brother a lot easier than he anticipated he would. He had been afraid that losing his memory of the years spent with his brother he would lose the connection they had shared, that his brother would be a stranger. Now that he was by his side he realized that wasn't true, despite being apart the bond hadn't lessened rather grown stronger.

Lately however he noticed that his brother was more quiet than usual and would disappear for a while to be alone. He figured that the Alfons from this world's death had him depressed. That and the death of his father which Edward had told him the whole story about how his father had been used by Thule when he tried to bring Edward home. He had been more shaken however about finding out about a guy who looked exactly like him. He felt sort of sad that he hadn't gotten to meet him. Though Ed never mentioned it something told him that they had been really close, and when he died a piece of Edward had gone with him.

Feeling sort of depressed himself he settled to sit on the bed across from his brother's and read about the amazing thing called rocket science in one of the older Elric's books.

OoOoOoOo

I've never exactly had a place to call home…until I met those two.

"What do you mean, they disappeared without a trace? You're detectives aren't you! Look into it."

She stared as the phone was slammed into it's cradle.

"Damn those two, what on earth did they get into this time."

Noah didn't say anything when she caught the looks Hughes gave her. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you?" he asked her.

"They were going to stop the portal from destroying everything. Ed ran off first, he promised me he wouldn't die."

When Hughes raised an eyebrow at her she continued feeling more confident than ever. "I'm sure that he kept that promise, and he wouldn't anything happen to Al either. So it's all okay."

As she turned and left the room she noticed that Hughes shrugged his shoulders. "You know them a lot better than I do…so I'll take your word for it."

In her room Noah threw on a night gown, and stared out the window. The moon looked almost golden through the window above the Hughes garden. She'd a seen a moon like this before…

OoOoOoOoOo

A golden moon lit up the night sky it was the beginning of a new phase, a new way of looking at things. Noah sighed as she took in the beautiful view and let the cold air wrap around her. This calm weather was nice after a week of rain and sorrow. She felt a pang of despair within her as she thought of the late Alfons Heidrich and imagined he was watching her in the light of the moon.

"Don't cry," he said to her. "You need to be strong now. For you and for Ed."

She wiped a stray tear and stared across the street. A group of men and woman were making their way to the local beer hall, their faces red as the chilly wind blew around them. They looked happy. She wished she could say the same.

"Seems like we had the same idea."

She turned to see Edward leaning on the side of the building with a sad smile on his face.

She suddenly felt the cold wind hit the back of her neck. "Edward, I was just…"

It had been really hard to talk to Edward lately as she still felt guilt for betraying him every time she looked at him. If she hadn't said anything to the Thules, if she hadn't convinced Ed to open that Alfons would probably still be with them right now. However, he didn't have long to live anyway. Perhaps it was better for him this way. A quick death with the knowledge that he had helped his friend get home. He had been already dead when she found him but he was smiling and his last moments had been etched in his eyes. She had seen it all in a vision. And she had felt his happiness. He had been happy. That was all that mattered.

"I was just going to go to bed." She turned to go back inside. "Good night."

"Noah, could you wait a second?"

She turned to look at him. His eyes were looking to the floor.

"Listen I…" he trailed off.

Is something on your mind, Ed?" she asked him when he didn't say anything more.

"It's nothing. Just…have a good night."

Noah tilted her head and looked him in the eye a habit she had been trying to get accustomed to. Something was definitely bothering him his eyes were swollen and it looked like he hadn't slept well at all.

"Pretending everything's okay only makes suffering much greater and people into hypocrites. That's what Alfons would say." He would say it all the time, especially when he talked about Germany's path to war..

Ed looked at her a bit of shock on his face but it lasted for only a second before he replaced it with his usual calm expression. "You're right." He looked at his shoes and then back up at her. "I could say the same thing about you."

Noah immediately felt guilt grip her heart. "I…" Now it was she who looked at the floor.

He walked closer to her. "That was uncalled for I'm sorry."

"Something is bothering you isn't it?" She tried again.

He didn't say anything and she suddenly grew frustrated. "Edward."

"Tomorrow we go our separate ways. I would understand it if you never want to see me again."

"What? I don't understand."

He sighed and his eyes grew determined.

"I want to apologize to you, Noah. I haven't been much of friend lately, to anyone. I realized too late that I was avoiding all the people that actually cared about me because I was too focused on what I had lost."

"Edward…"

"Because of my selfish actions I pushed Alfons away and in his effort to help me his life was taken. My own father died…because of my own selfish dreams…and you…all you wanted was to get away from the suffering and I just…I just left you there, like I left behind everyone else. I'm sorry."

He was sorry? Noa shook her head. She couldn't ask him to be her savior anymore. Her eyes welled up with tears and she felt herself crumple onto the side of the building.

"Noah…you…please don't cry. You make me feel more like a jerk than I already am." Hi voice was soft and he looked guilty.

She shook her head.

"No. It's not your fault. I was the selfish one, Edward." She felt tears stream down her face. "I only focused on my own dream. I took advantage of how kind you and Alfons were to me, I betrayed you. If it is anyone who should ask for forgiveness it's me."

"No…I was the one who…Edward put a hand on his face. "Listen to us, fighting about who was more selfish. Face it Noah, we both acted like jerks and we're both responsible for what's happens now."

Noa looked at him confused.

"Tomorrow you're going your way and I'm going mine it will be a very long time before we get to see each other again, if at all. I was hoping we could at least make amends before that happens. So why don't we just say we're both sorry and we both forgive each other and just continue being friends like before."

Noa smiled genuinely for the first time in a while. "I would like that."

"So…friends it is," he smiled and scratched his head. "Sorry keeping you up, you were going to sleep right?"

She suddenly had a vision of a beautiful girl with blue eyes and long blonde hair smiling at standing next to Edward. She only lingered for a second but Noah saw her as clearly as the man who stood before her. She was tall and curvy and she looked to be about Edward's age. Noah figured she was close to Edward considering how warmly she was smiling at him. She had the feeling she was the Winry girl she had heard him talk to in his dreams.

"You okay."

"I'm just fine…"

OoOoOoOo

Even now as she lay down in the bed Gracia had given her she closed her eyes and repeated the words to the ceiling. "I'm just fine."

"I don't need to say it." She closed her eyes and smiled somehow knowing it was true.

OoOoOoOoOo

Al smiled as he spotted him, all casual and relaxed and hanging out by the door on the other side as if he didn't just spend all that time worrying about him.

"Got here first." Ed grinned.

"It's the first time you beat me at anything." Al reminded him.

"I know."

And when I finally found him…

He was actually smiling…

He grabbed on to his brother's shoulder and gave him a good shake. "And the last time."

"Don't count on it."

Ed looked up at the door "Well this door's gotta lead to somewhere right?"

"Doom or bliss I'd say."

"Only one way to find out." Ed said putting his hand on the door and pushing slowly. It was too dark to see inside but Al took the step anyway feeling Ed right behind him.

I think he finally realized that what we both wanted was no longer just a dream…

A/N: Oh man this was one of the hardest chapters, to write. All that jumping from one time frame to another… I really hope I did it justice.

More to come of course so stay alert for the next batch of chapters…

-Seems like this is going to end up being longer than 15 chapters…hmm maybe 18?

Well it's been fun writing this so far, let's see if I can keep it up and give them a nice homecoming. Well knowing me, that may not be the case...poor Elrics...

Ed muse: Hey! You promised a happy ending?

Me: Did I? (Stares out window)

TBC...