Time had seemed to stand still, as soon as Alphonse had caught sight of those familiar golden eyes that he knew to well. But once those eyes had widened in confusion, the words escaping his mouth, everything seemed to fall apart.

That's big brother! Alphonse's senses screamed with every fibre of their being. But elsewhere, in a darker corner of his mind, something whispered to him that no, the boy before him was not Edward Elric. Not his brother, no matter how much he looked like him. Edward would have been around thirty years old. Not seven years of age.

Alphonse pushed down his voice of reason. The Truth caused Edward's disappearance, he firmly told himself. Anything could happen when the Truth was involved. Besides, why else would Alphonse feel so at ease, as if his brother was by his side, if that boy wasn't Ed?

Alphonse didn't feel the tears pricking at his eyes until Arthur started talking, standing up. "Alphonse? Is something the matter? You're crying."

Blinking as he came back to the real world, Alphonse nodded, wiping away the tears. "I'm sorry, it's just that your... Brother, am I right? Well, he looks just like my missing brother."

Arthur's eyes shone with understanding before nodding. "I see. Well, I do hope you'll see your brother again."

"Big brother?" The voice was a few pitches higher than what Alphonse remembered, but was only natural seeing as how it belonged to a child who had most definately not hit puberty yet, seeing the visible signs of childhood on his frame. "Who is that?"

While the question made Alphonse's heart clench, he forced a friendly smile on his face, hoping that it didn't seem too strained as Arthur turned to the boy. "Well, Edward," Alphonse heart seemed to crack further at hearing the familiar name being used to address the boy who clearly did not know who he was. "That's Alphonse. He helped me out with the hijacking business on the train earlier. Come on, be nice."

"Okay." Edward nodded, turning to Alphonse with a smile on his face, although it seemed somewhat shy, putting his hand out for a handshake, although it seemed obvious that Alphonse would have to bend down slightly to shake his hand. "Hello, Mister Alphonse, it's nice to meet you! I'm Edward Kirkland!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you too." Alphonse grasped his hand to return the handshake, only to flinch slightly as a feeling similar to that of a slight electric shock seemed to zap hisheart, before dying down completely, along with the hollow feeling in Alphonse's chest that had lingered there for over sixteen years, since the day his brother disappeared.

Edward's eyes widened a fraction, before he removed his hand from the handshake, a frown coming on his lips as he place a hand over the left side of his chest- over his heart.

"What ever is the matter, Edward?" Arthur asked curiously, concern lacing his voice upon witnessing this peculiar action.

"I thought something zapped me here!" The younger boy complained, rubbing the spot over his heart as though it would do something, causing Arthur to frown in concern for his younger brother. "It felt so weird!"

"I'll see what's the matter, once we find a place to stay for the night, alright?" Edward nodded before reaching out to grasp Arthur's hand, a pang of jealously shooting through Alphonse as he watched the slight display of brotherly love, before he pushed it down.

He knew that Edward Kirkland was Edward Elric. He knew that much as soon as their hands had touched. After all, they had a soul connection, and such a thing never lied. But, no matter how much Alphonse wanted his brother back, who was he to interfere if his brother had a new family and clearly didn't remember him?

However, even if they couldn't be brothers again, Alphonse was fine as long as his brother was happy. He just hoped that they could at least be friends. His lips twitched up into a smile. There were differences between Edward Kirkland and Edward Elric, however. One being Edward Kirkland's apparent like of cats, if the kitten seated comfortably on his shoulder wasn't any clue.

"Well," Alphonse started to say, catching the attention of Arthur and Edward. "If you want, you could stay at the place I'm staying at. That's the least I could do for you for helping me out on the train."

Arthur spoke first. "Are you sure? We wouldn't want to impose."

Alphonse nodded, showing he meant what he said. "Yes, I'm sure. And I'm sure Winry and Granny wouldn't mind either."

Arthur thought about it for several moments, before turning to Edward, as if to ask if it was okay. Edward gave a slight nod, before the Brit turned back to Alphonse. "Well... If it isn't too much trouble, I suppose it'd be alright."

"It's no trouble at all!" Alphonse smiled, his chest feeling lighter than it had been for a long time. "Come on! It's this way!"

"Are there sheep on the way there?" Amestris asked cheerily, following closely behind, kitten perched on his shoulder.

0o0

England would have been lying if he had said he hadn't noticed the look in Alphonse's eyes. After all, it was quite similar to the one he had on for a long time after America declared his independence and left. Alphonse's eyes had been dulled by the feelings of loss and anguish.

He spoke of a brother, who was most likely the cause of his anguish. A brother who disappeared, and who looked just like Amestris. Somehow, England felt that this was much more than just a simple coincidence, and especially so after that incident at the train station.

The way both of them had flinched when their hands had met, had a much deeper meaning than what it looked like on the surface. Amestris complained about a zapping feeling in his chest, as though by an electric shock. England guessed that it was the same for Alphonse, even if he hadn't said anything.

"Big brother," England was brought out of his thoughts at a slight tug at his hand. Looking down, he saw Amestris staring off curiously into the distance, where what looked like the remains of a burnt house stood undisturbed. "What's that? Did someone's house burn down?"

Alphonse, noticing Amestris's line of sight, gave a melancholic smile. "That was my family home. My brother burnt it down nineteen years ago."

"Why? That's so sad!" Amestris exclaimed, confused as to why anyone would purposefully burn their own house down.

"There were a lot of memories we didn't want to remember, so we burnt it down in order to move on." Alphonse explained, tearing his gaze away from the remains of the house to look at Amestris.

"But still..." Amestris started to say, but he never got a chance to finish his sentence, for as soon as they neared a house painted in a bright a yellow colour that had a sign that read 'Rockbell Automail', a rather shrill shriek rang out, effectively cutting off the nation's sentence as Alphonse paled rather drastically.

"ALPHONSE ELRIC!" The voice was clearly female, and one who had some pretty strong lungs. This quickly followed by well aimed spanner to the one-who's-name-was-yelled's forehead.

Amestris hid behind England faster than Italy could retreat. The lady was scary, in his eyes! How was it possible to throw that precisely?!

"HONESTLY! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! IT'S BEEN YEARS, YOU DUMMY!" A blond woman of about the same age as Alphonse stood on the porch of the house. Her fair hair was held up in a ponytail, leaving her bangs to frame her face, and she was dressed in the garb of what England recognized as a mechanic's outfit.

Through her yelling, she had yet to notice the two new spectators.

Alphonse held up his hands in a placating manner, ignoring the new business that was blossoming spectacularly beneath his hair. "I'm sorry, Winry! I was too caught up in my travelling!"

The woman- Winry, if England heard correctly, marched right up to Alphonse, wrench in hand. "Yes, you better be sorry!" She firmly reprimanded him, pinching his ear as Alphonse held his ear, face twisted with pain.

"Ow! Winry!" He finally managed to get Winry's grip off his ear, grimacing as he rubbed his now throbbing earlobe. It was around this time when Winry finally noticed that she had audience.

"Oh, hello." She greeted, as if she hadn't just acted like a demon. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Uh, it's alright?" The way England phrased it made it seem more like a question rather than an answer.

"Oh yeah, Winry, that's Arthur. I offered him a place to stay after he helped me out on the train. I hope you don't mind." Alphonse introduced England to Winry, who gave the nation a friendly smile. "I don't mind. We usually get a lot of visitors, so it's no trouble."

"I appreciate this, Ms..."

"Winry Rockbell." Winry introduced herself. "Just call me Winry. So, what I should call you?"

"Well, I'm Arthur Kirkland, so you can call me Arthur." Arthur introduced himself.

0o0

Amestris peeked out from behind England, curious to see Ms Rockbell up close. Looking at her features, he noted that she was really pretty, almost as pretty as that one female country that Amestris had seen when he had been spying in on one of the World Meetings. Amestris remembered her being called Ms Hungary, or something across that line.

Now that he thought about it, Ms Hungary was a lot like this Ms Rockbell. For one, they both knew how to make use of non-weapons, such as frying pans for Ms Hungary and wrenches for this Ms Rockbell. Secondly, they were both terrifying when angry. Amestris had just gotten a front row seat to see Ms Rockbell's anger, and he had also seen Uncle France get his head smashed in with a frying pan, courtesy of one female Hungarian. Amestris shuddered, bringing his cat closer in a hug.

"How dare you break my precious Automail, you Alchemy freak!"

Amestris blinked as a voice rang through his head, wincing slightly as a splitting pain streaked through his head, suppressing the voice before he could get a good grasp on it. But, he did hear enough to determine the gender of the voice's owner. A female, probably around the age of a teenager.

However, instead of pondering on it, Amestris pushed this to the back of his mind. His big brother had once told him that it wasn't uncommon to hear voices. He embodied the country, as well as its citizens, so it was only natural for a Nation to hear the voices of their citizens.

Amestris was pushed out of his thoughts when he felt someone nudge him. Looking up, England smiled at him. "Come on, Edward. Introduce yourself. It's only proper."

Nodding slightly, he stepped out from behind England, still wary of Ms Rockbell since he really didn't want to have a concussion on the first day of his trip, no matter how fast he healed.

"Hello Ms Rockbell," He began nervously. "I'm Edward Kirkland." He paused, seeing Ms Rockbell pale at seeing him, her mouth agape with her hand slightly over her mouth as what one would expect from a look of shock.

"Ed...?" She whispered, still looking like she had just seen a ghost, before she fainted.

"Ah!" Amestris exclaimed, rushing to support her as he panicked. "What did I do? Why did she faint?"

"Calm down, she's just shocked." Alphonse attempted to reassure Amestris as he took Winry from Amestris.

"That's a bit of an understatement." England commented from the sidelines, seeing that his help wasn't needed.

"Well, I can show you why she reacted like this later," Alphonse said, carrying the unconscious female in a piggy back ride. "Well, after I explain to her grandmother what happened."

0o0

Pinako sucked in a breath from her pipe, before blowing out the smoke. "I see. So that's what happened."

Pinako, despite being over seventy years old, was still as fit as a fiddle. Everything she did sixteen years ago, she still did presently. Mainly running the family business of Automail engineering even though Winry was perfectly capable of handling the business herself.

Looking over shoulder to look at Edward, Pinako added, "Although I can see why my granddaughter would react in such a way. He looks just like your brother."

Moving over to the two who stood somewhat awkwardly near the door, Pinako stuck out her hand towards Arthur. "I'm Pinako Rockbell. Who might you be?"

Arthur returned the handshake, responding to the question. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, ma'am. And this is my little brother, Edward."

Pinako raised an eyebrow at Arthur's accent. "You're not from the country, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I had some business to take care of, and Edward wanted to sightsee."

Accepting his answer, Pinako turned to Edward. "How old are you?" She asked, wishing to test something.

"Seven, ma'am." Edward answered, using the age that Arthur instructed him to use. It wouldn't do well to say that he was over four hundred after all. He'd probably get sent to a mental hospital or something.

"Rather short for that age, don't you think?"

Alphonse tensed, expecting the familiar short rant that never came. Edward simply thought about it, using his hand to measure his height before shrugging, a grin on his face. "I know I'm short! I'm still growing though, but I bet I'll be tall in the future!"

Another difference, Alphonse idly thought as he filed the information away in his head.

Blowing smoke out of her pipe, Pinako nodded before looking back at Arthur. "You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like."

"Thank you. Once again, we really appreciate this."

"No need to thank me. We have to house people often, especially when they come looking for prosthetic limbs." Pinako shrugged off the thanks, before returning to her workbench.

Around this time, Edward entertained himself by looking at the pictures on a cork board. Most of the pictures were recently taken, but he could clearly recognize Alphonse and Winry in the photos. Edward was sure he spotted the Führer and Emperor of Xing in a few of the photos.

One of the older ones, which was taken back in 1914, was of Alphonse and a few other people. Führer Mustang and the Emperor Yao were among these people, but all of them looked like they has been injured in a battle of some sort. Alphonse was in the center of the photo, with everyone crowding around his hospital bed. He didn't seem injured in any way, but he looked severely malnourished, as if he hadn't eaten in years.

"Oh, so you found that photo?" Alphonse asked, from where he was standing behind Edward, giving said person a fright.

"Yeah..." Edward said, before asking the question he wanted to ask. "What happened to you? And why does everyone in the photo look like they just stepped off a battlefield?"

Alphonse laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "How do I put it... Let's just say I had a little accident with Alchemy and for why everyone looked like they just stepped off a battlefield, it's because we fought in a Civil War that occurred in Central City sixteen years ago."

Edward nodded in understanding, letting his eyes trail over the rest of the older ones before he stopped, eyes wide in shock as he was frozen in place.

There, in one of the photos taken back in 1909, were two young boys. One of them was holding a fish that they had caught while the other held a fishing rod over his head. One of them, the one holding the fish, Edward recognized as Alphonse. But the other...

He looked just like Edward, right down to the cowlick that rested atop his head.

"He looks just like me!" Edward exclaimed, pointing to the photo.

Alphonse nodded. "I know he does. He's my brother, and coincidentally, he has the same name as you."

"Woah!" He exclaimed, before he winced and rubbed his head.

"Are you alright?" Alphonse asked, seeing the action.

"Another headache, but I'll be okay." Edward smiled.

"You weren't joking when you said Edward reminded you of your brother. The resemblance is rather uncanny." Arthur suddenly commented from behind the two.

"Big brother! I wonder what Uncle Francis would say!" Arthur's face twisted into a grimace. "Please don't remind me of that frog."

"Okay," Edward grinned, before adding,"But what do you think Al and Mattie would say?"

Alphonse's eyes widened, upon hearing the familiar nickname his brother always used for him. Al. Somehow, it hurt so much hearing that nickname, especially when someone who was very likely his brother was using it to refer to someone else rather than him.

"Who's Mattie?"

"Matthew! You forgot him again! Al is Mattie's twin!"

"Alfred has a brother?" Arthur asked in confusion, before a light bulb lit up. "Oh! Do you mean the Canadian person who frog face raised for a while?"

"Yes! Yay, you finally remembered!" Edward exclaimed, fist pumping the air in triumph. Arthur frowned. "You've been spending too much time with Alfred."

"That's because you're usually either playing chess with the queen, having tea with her, or doing some paperwork for the president." Edward pouted. "Besides, it isn't just Al! Mattie and Uncle France come over when you're busy!"

"You mean the frog came into my house and I never noticed?!"

"Kind of. Plus, I didn't want to give you any more stress. So anyway! I'm going to go have fun outside, bye!" With that, Edward pretty much just zipped out of the room, giggling at how quick he made his exit.

Arthur sighed, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Honestly, that boy is going to be the death me one day."

"He does seem rather lively." Alphonse commented. His brother had been too, before and after they tried to bring their mother back. Only, he was much happier before the incident.

Chuckling, Arthur turned to Alphonse. "Lively, doesn't even cut it. I swear, Edward has the amount of energy only attainable by eating a lot of sweets and drinking more than six cups of coffee. The only people whom I think are capable of keeping up with him when he's like that is a certain Italian that I know of, as well as Alfred."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but who's Alfred?" Alphonse asked curiously, but paused upon seeing Arthur's eyes darken.

"Alfred, he's... He used to be my brother. We had a fight, and now I don't even think he considers me his brother anymore." He sighed, eyes distant as though caught up in some memory.

"Why don't you try and reconcile with him, Arthur? He's your brother, after all." Alphonse asked.

"We hurt each other badly." Arthur answered. "We might be able to be friends, but brothers? I don't really think so, no matter how much I wish... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pour all that out on you."

Alphonse waved his hands in a gesture to show that it was all right. "No, it's alright. You won't believe how many people ranted at me, mainly because of all the damages my brother caused."

"... I see. Well, I best go and make sure Edward hasn't gotten himself into trouble, since he has a tendency to do that." Arthur said, heading to the front door.

"Well, that's another similarity our brothers have, besides appearance wise." Alphonse chuckled. "They both get into trouble easily."

The corners of Arthur's mouth quirked up into a slight smile. "I suppose you're right."

0o0

Amestris didn't know why he was drawn to the graveyard when he was wandering around aimlessly while looking for some native animals, especially when he was so used to staying clear of said graveyards. Mainly because of those horror films America was so fond of watching, despite being utterly terrified. And it just so happened that Amestris was always there when America was scaring himself half to death, resulting in the younger nation being used a hug toy.

England was ready to go pirate on America for scaring the life out of Amestris.

Trying not to remember the horror film where the dead people pulled the living underground in the graveyard so they could take the living's place, Amestris took cautious steps, following his instinct.

He stopped. Kneeling down in order to read the words on the grave marker, he felt a pang of... Grief?

Why?

"Good job! I'm so proud of you!"

Amestris blinked, before shaking his head and continuing to read the words engraved on the stone. The voices were back again...

"Trisha Elric. 1878 to 1904. A loving mother and wife." Amestris read before standing up. "We're you Alphonse's mother? And did I know you...?"

Amestris trailed off, before shrugging. "Oh well. I hope you're happy, wherever you are."

"Edward!" England's voice called for the younger nation, who immediately began walking.

"Bye!" Amestris waved at the grave, forgetting for a moment how much he hated graves and graveyards, before running off. He never looked back.

0o0

Like they always say, time flies, and by the second day, Edward and Arthur were ready to leave. They hadn't yet finished checking out Resembool, but Arthur had explained they were running on a deadline of two months so they could only afford to have a brief look around, before moving on.

Winry, who fortunately didn't faint anymore after her initial incident, said goodbye while Pinako just took a long breath breath from her pipe while saying they were welcome back anytime.

Alphonse chose to follow the two siblings, his reasoning being, "I'm traveling the country too since I haven't been back for a long time, and it'll be nice to have some company."

As they sat in the train station, waiting for the train to Dublith, Alphonse thought back to the conversation he held with Pinako the day prior, after Arthur had gone to look for Edward.

Alphonse let out a sigh of longing, staring at the photo of him and Edward. "I miss big brother."

Pinako, at her work bench with a photo album open in front of her, closed her eyes as if debating with herself, before reopening them, saying, "You know, Ed never was related to you."

Alphonse whirled around, eyes wide. "Ed... Was never related to me? What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that." Pinako answered, letting her eyes linger on a photo in the album which displayed Trisha and Hohenheim with each other. "I was there you know, when Trisha found him and took him in as her own son. That was before you were born."

Alphonse's mind seemed incapable of processing this new information as choked noises escaped his throat before he finally regained his bearings. "W- why didn't you tell us, granny? Why didn't mom tell us?"

Pinako gave him a sharp look. "How do you expect a mother to explain to her child that he's adopted? Besides, Trisha never had a chance to decide, since she passed on before you two were old enough. When I wanted to, you boys went and nearly got yourselves killed in 1911." Alphonse winced at the reminder. "I didn't want to tell you both, seeing how hurt both of you were. I ended up deciding to tell you and Edward after you returned to normal, but then that idiot of your brother went missing."

Alphonse didn't say anything, so Pinako continued talking, dumping the ash in her pipe out on a tray. "I considered taking this to the grave with me, but when I saw that boy- Edward Kirkland, I believe his name was, I decided that I'd at least tell you."

Pinako looked directly at Alphonse, her eyes staring straight into the youngest Elric's own eyes. "I don't know about you, but I know that boy is Ed, even if he doesn't remember. Only he had that spark in his eyes. But I do want to know. What will you do now, even while knowing Ed isn't really your brother?"

Alphonse looked down for a few short moments, before looking back up again, his eyes meeting Pinako's. "It doesn't matter. Whether we were really related or not, I've spent my entire life calling him brother. We don't need to be related to be brothers." He answered, determined.

Pinako smiled, taking yet another long breath from her pipe, blowing out smoke. "When that midget of your brother remembers, remember to tell him to come see me. I have something I want to say to him, mainly because he broke my granddaughter's heart with his disappearance."

As soon as the replay of the memory in Alphonse's head ended, the screech of the train's brakes signaled its arrival.

"Finally..." He heard Arthur mutter under his breath, picking up his luggage as he prepared to board the train.

"Big brother, is Al, Mattie and Uncle Francis going to come along on our trip?" Edward asked innocently, quite literally bouncing on the soles of his feet because of the energy he had stored up in him.

"Of course not! Times like these are rare, when I am able to spend time with you without the git, as well as that frog," Arthur spat out the word frog as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Bothering me! Why do you ask, anyway?"

"That's because I may or may not have just felt-" Edward was cut off as a certain French man bounded off the train, followed by a certain North American pair of twins.

"Ohonhonhonhon~ Bonjour, Angleterre, Améstre!"

"Sup dudes! The hero has arrived!"

"H- hello, Arthur, Edward. How have you been?"

Edward giggled at Arthur's dumbstruck expression. "As I was saying, I felt them cross over into my borders. Hehe! Your face looks funny!"

"BLOODY HELL!"

[A/N Annnnnnnd here comes the rest of the FACE family. Although now that I think about it, I ought to change it to the FAACE family, since we're including Amestris/Ed. So Ed met Winry and Pinako! I really had a lot of scenes for how that would have played out, but I really didn't know which one to choose, so I just settled with Winry fainting. Also, sorry for her short screen time, but don't worry! We'll be seeing more of our favourite wrench thrower. And gasp! Ed really isn't related to Alphonse! Though that should have been fairly obvious. He's four hundred, so he couldn't have been related to our lovely little Elric family. Trisha, being the kind hearted soul she was, found Ed after his little deal with the Truth and raised him as her own son. Anyway, guess who's showing up next chapter! Also, I just thought of a way to bring in the G8, without it being too random, since they don't know about Amestris, apart from everyone's favourite Italian as I mentioned a while back in either chapter two or three! Yay for me! Also, next chapter is when all the real action starts! Oh! And what do you think of the cover I drew for this book? Is it good or bad? By the way, excuse if I screw up on the French speaking. I don't learn French, I learn Chinese! And lastly, have a tendency to switch between nation and human names depending on who's POV I'm doing so please forgive me.

Ok, enough with the spoilers, so bye guys!

~ Gwntan12]