The dust had long since settled. In one day, Central city had lost its supreme commander, several high-ranking officers, and two state alchemists. Only a few stationed at the northern border were expecting the coup to happen the way it did, and even they had no idea of exactly how it would play out. They were just going along with the flow, doing what they could to hold things together as they came apart at the seams, and ripping at the parts they knew needed to disappear in the shuffle. It had gotten a little out of control, not that they hadn't expected it to. Mutinies and betrayals, alliances made and severed with the tides of Central's own small civil war. At the end of the day the camps were thick with smoke, giving everything a pallid, washed-out look. The lack of colour gave the scene an expectant feel, as if soon the good-guys would be swept away into a new fanciful world full of colour and a better life. And for most, this was true. When the smoke finally cleared, a new regime would be in place in Central. A parliamentary government ruling with the people in mind as human beings rather than the potential components of the philosopher's stone. Afterwards, a contented slow existence would fall into place over Central. Without war, the state alchemists slowly began to retire from actual military service in order to follow their own research.

In one small town though, there was still a nervous unrest. Not on the part of the people in general, but in one small home on the outskirts of the town. Where there had been two small houses many years ago, there now stood one. It was used to the solitude though – it had been for years - and for now it was happily full. The coup that toppled Central's military government had done little to affect the small town of Rizembool directly. After that day, only Alphonse had returned to his hometown. It was strange to see him all by himself. No longer only a soul in armour, but still incomplete – this time, he lacked his brother, the brother that had always been at his side. A brother he only partly remembered. The people of the house didn't understand what had happened. They puzzled over it for days, but it was his sensei that finally understood.

"Equivalent trade," she'd said. "He got his body back, but Ed must have traded the years they spent together as well. And then disappeared…"

They stood and watched as he played. It was hard to imagine all he'd lost. The people he might never remember knowing, the lessons he'd learned that were now forgotten. The house had acted as a sort of half-way point for those that were lost after the coup. Rose had brought Al and Wrath back after Ed disappeared. He'd said he'd come back after he finished what he had to do, but never did. He just disappeared. Al's brother, his other half - gone. Seeing one without the other was almost unnatural. Wrath had disappeared too, after Winry had taken care of him and given him the automail she'd fitted for Edward. It was symbolic. She believed he wouldn't need it anymore not because he was gone for good, but because he was restored. He'd find his way back whole, wherever he was. She was almost more worried about Al. Memories were much harder to find again than a person. Then, Al too was gone. He followed his sensei back to the south to study, to re-learn what he'd forgotten and find a way to get Ed back. Rose stayed. She had nowhere else to go. She'd been used by Scar as a symbol of what had, in the end, caused her country of Liore even more pain and suffering. Her child took quickly to the country surroundings of Rizembool however, and soon she did, too. She didn't shy away from housework, and having her around made Pinako's existence much easier. Soon even Winry left to study. She aimed to become the best automail mechanic Amestris had ever seen.

Several months later both Al and Winry had run to the end of what their masters could teach them. They returned home within days of each other and set to work on their own. It was suggested that Al have his home rebuilt. The government would no doubt be happy to provide the money, though he had never officially been part of the military. Those who knew and cared were high enough in rank now that they could pull a few strings. Under normal circumstances, few of Mustang's subordinates would have been allowed to remain in the military. However, even though they were officially dissenters and revolutionaries, the people understood what they had worked for and finally accomplished, and chose to turn the other way and allow them to pass under the searches. In the future records it would be allowed to show that they had been promoted for their spirit and valour in the face of the most unlikely circumstances. They had changed the world, as far as Central was concerned, though few people knew exactly which among the military officers they were.

Things in Central were much easier to fix than Al, though. Through his training with Izumi he had gained back some of his memories. Her scare tactics were notorious, and curse the doctor that had told her that a good scare would get him thinking again. She also understood that what he wanted most was to understand the gate. Out of the faintest memories he could recall of his final day with his brother, he could remember seeing Ed standing there in front of it. He'd been crying, though his voice and face showed no other emotion. Just as he had, Ed had thrown himself into the gate as a trade in order to bring him back, not even sure the laws would hold, using up all the power within himself, offering as a trade anything he had. It was like a cycle. So much had been proven wrong since he'd been made into the philosopher's stone. Thankfully, he still couldn't remember how that had happened. He wasn't sure he ever wanted to.

Using what he'd learned, he'd assumed that Ed had disappeared through the gate. It must be possible to get him back. So he settled back into his old neighbours' home, now partly his own thanks to their hospitality, and began to research the gate. Occasionally Winry would stop in and try to help. She was useful for the mechanics and physics of things and understood how the energy might flow, but she understood very few of the alchemical concepts needed to actually get to the gate and command it. It seemed that only Dante, and perhaps Hohenhime, had truly begun to understand what the gate was capable of, and what purpose it served. It was obviously a connection between worlds, but why? What was its purpose? How many worlds were connected?

Al threw himself into his research. It often took Rose half an hour to get him to come out of the study to eat. The study was a sort of compromise. There was no room for all his books in the main part of the house, so they'd built it onto the back. It was almost like a new home for the amount of time that he spent in it, but only in use, never in actual words.

Things progressed slowly in Al's research. There was no precedent for research on the gate. As far as he could tell, no one had tried it before Dante and his father, and he'd only heard about their efforts second-hand. There must be something more than those eyes behind the gate, because Ed had returned. He never would have survived if it was only those eyes and black hands, grabbing and tearing at whatever they could, collecting toll for seeing the gate. So there must be at least one world connected to Amestris through the gate, where Ed and his father had disappeared to. How Dante had sent them there, however, was almost impossible to imagine. Al tried every different way he could imagine to summon the gate. Willing it to appear. Attempting alchemy that required large amounts of power, even considering taboo alchemy (though never seriously). None of it worked. It was almost as if the gate wouldn't appear for anyone who actually wanted it.

It wasn't entirely unusual for people from Central to drop by and visit Al, but it was very rare for them to do it alone, which is why about a week after his return Al was startled to see Havoc standing at the back door to his study in civilian clothes, smoking of course, and looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Good morning, Major Havoc," Al said as he welcomed the man inside. Havoc winced at the title. People at the office had been giving him grief over it since he'd been promoted. It wasn't his fault people at the top thought he deserved it. They were probably mocking him, too. On top of all the mocking, Armstrong had taken it upon himself to show him the ropes of being a Major. Thankfully Armstrong had also been promoted, so he wouldn't have to deal with him on a regular basis. The lessons on being a Major had been bad enough, involving more sparkling and shirtlessness than he'd care to witness from anyone ever, especially Armstrong. He now realized how Mustang must have felt chasing after the next promotion. He needed a new rank. Now, if not sooner.

"Hello Alphonse, may I have a word with you?"

Al looked slightly concerned at the formalities. It wasn't like Havoc. He'd even put his cigarette out before coming in. Though, perhaps he had stiffened a bit at the title. It was unfortunately amusing, though it was a little mean to rub it in.

"Sure, sit down Major."

"Thanks." Havoc took a seat across the study from Al. "Sorry to just appear out of nowhere, Al. But I've got to ask you some questions. They found out in Central that we've been pulling some strings to fund you here, and though they're not insisting that you become a State Alchemist like I thought they would, they want a share in the research. We don't know what to tell them. Obviously, we don't want to tell them what you're really doing."

"Oh…" Al looked down at the pattern of the carpet, then over at the books on the walls. There was no denying that the money from Central had made all the difference in the world… at least when it came to comfort. With or without Central's money, he was still stuck as far as the actual research went. No amount of books would get him around that.

"Have you made any progress?" This time Havoc showed genuine curiosity. The situation with Central would take a lot more thought, so it wouldn't hurt to fill in the intervening time with other conversation.

"Honestly, no. I don't feel like I've gotten anywhere. All I know is how people get to the gate the first time by attempting human alchemy. After that there's got to be a loophole, but I can't figure out what it is." Havoc couldn't pretend to understand, but he listened anyway, knowing that Al would be willing to tell anyone he trusted about his research, and maybe putting it into words would help straighten out all the concepts he had in mind. "There must be some way to weaken the bridge to the gate, but I'm not even sure where the gate itself is. My best theory right now is that it's inside of us, because that's where we pull alchemical power from. If it was outside, we'd have to pull power from there and that feels unnatural to me. But no amount of introspection brings it out. Maybe there are different kinds of people where the link to the gate is weaker… surely more powerful alchemists and people who have seen the gate before. I imagine in anyone not familiar with alchemy, the barrier to the gate must be fairly strong. Then I run into the problem that no matter how hard I study or what I try, I can't get any closer to it."

"And you're sure this is the key to getting your brother back?"

"It's the last place I saw him. The only lead I have."

"So, do you think maybe…"

"You're worried about the Brigadier General?"

"It's strange not having him around to lead us. It's not the same, having Hawkeye boss us around. I was just curious…"

"I don't know, Havoc. It's possible. It seems almost probable, considering that he was an alchemist. Then again, he didn't know about the gate at all. There would have had to be some sort of activity there to draw him through, to make its pull stronger…" Al hesitated and stared off at the top shelf of books for almost a minute. Havoc waited politely for him to continue. It seemed that all alchemists would inevitably zone out in the middle of their thoughts. Roy had done it while giving orders, occasionally. It was why most people pegged him as lazy. Al smiled. "Maybe… maybe that's it. It doesn't have to be you that's closer or farther from the gate, as long as something else nearby is active at it. But what kind of person would be that close to the gate all the time?"

Al trailed off again and started writing down notes on the papers scattered on his desk. A few minutes later, Rose knocked lightly on the door.

"Excuse me… lunch is ready if you'd like to join us."

She motioned for the two of them to join them out in the main house, but as soon as she noticed Al scrawling notes down on the paper she turned away.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

Havoc thanked her and watched as she closed the door gently behind her. Obviously she'd grown quite used to Al's intense moments of inspiration. He was getting a bit hungry himself though, so he hoped that Al would come to his senses soon.

Al looked up from his work.

"So, it looks like what we really need is…" he paused and shook his head. "No, I can't even say it. It's too strange."

"What is it?"

"We need… an alchemically charged baby."

"A what?"

"I think children would be much closer to the gate than adults. They haven't built up their ideas of what's true and what's not, so it's easier for them to get closest to the truth. This would be especially true for babies."

"You're going to draw an array on a baby… and use that to summon the gate?" Havoc looked like he wasn't sure if he should laugh or be afraid. "Is that humane?"

"I don't think it would do the child any harm, in theory." Havoc was wary of in theory. Mustang wouldn't roast him for not doing his errands for him, in theory. Hawkeye wouldn't shoot at him for sneaking a smoke inside the office, in theory. Al continued. "When I think about it, the idea seems vaguely familiar. I think Dante may have used the same concept to send my brother to the other side of the gate."

"I… see," Havoc lied.

"Umm… maybe I've just been thinking too hard lately." Al smiled apologetically. "Let's go find some lunch."

Al stood up from the desk and walked over to the door and Havoc stood to follow.