Note: This is the long chapter and there's some Ed/Az hints and angst, then some random stuff. So yeah. I still don't own FMA or Chrno Crusade.

Act.3-Dreams, Reality, and Second Chances.

The place and time were all too familiar. He had spent so much time locked up in this one room that it was starting to become another home to him. On the surface, this seemed like another plain night in the basement, surrounded by familiar things. Only, what was going through his mind was different.

He glanced bitterly at the arrays he had spent so much time perfecting. None of them had worked, of course. Why had he believed anything they told him? Alchemy was dead here, why did he even try? They said that there was a way, but there wasn't. The Gate's power wasn't in this place, it was only back there, back where he belonged.

For what seemed to be the first time, his eyes trailed to a gun placed on the table beside him. It had spent days there collecting dust, ignored, but did it work? Carefully taking into his trembling hands, he inspected it. It was intact, and it seemed to work fine. If he were to use this on himself, maybe it would be a passage back to his own world. He had left that world by dying, maybe he could leave this world by dying, too. That, and the ones who were helping him here could go on with their own dreams again.

The air was eerily still as he lifted the gun and placed the front on his forehead. Right here, everything could end right here and now. Despite the sudden dash of hope, he was trembling violently on the outside. It seemed like such an easy option, to just leave, but at the same time something was holding him back. Consciously, he knew that this was the right thing to do and possibly the only thing to do.

A door's creaking faintly sounded in his ears and suddenly his body went cold, freezing its movements. "Edwa-" He heard her voice and also heard it suddenly cut off. No, this wasn't right, nobody was supposed to be here to see this! A sick feeling emerged in his heart as he suddenly forgot to breathe. Please, go away, don't watch. His thoughts were short commands, trying to shoo her away. Trembling fingers tried to pull the trigger, but they wouldn't move. Nothing would move.

Another body's warmth threw him into an odd weakness as he dropped the gun and fell to his knees. Her hands were in his, put there to try to take the gun away. As he collapsed, she caught him, slowly bringing him down. "Edward, please don't…" In his old world, he had never gone to this extreme, there was never a reason. In that world, he had support from his family and friends, although it didn't always show. Despite that, this was the first time someone he barely knew his own age clung to him.

He turned weakly and saw her eyes. She was the strange winged girl, the one who had seen both heaven and hell. This person was the one he had tried to avoid, yet she was here, crying for him and holding him. The idea couldn't penetrate his mind, but one idea could: he couldn't leave this world, not that way.

She broke the air again, this time with a groundbreaking statement. "I…I can make a contract with you." This had been stated before, but before, he hadn't intended to die by his own hand. Immeasurable desperation reflected in her eyes as she took hold of his hand again.

The next statement he made was shouted, possibly out of that same desperation. This time, it was unavoidable.

"I'll make a contract with you!"

Edward gasped for air and blinked around the train frantically. When had he fallen asleep? He blinked a few times and glanced around the car. Everyone else was fast asleep, undisturbed by him.

A hand moved from his forehead and his eyes met hers, just like in the dream. "Are you okay now?" Azmaria's voice was quiet, in an attempt to not disturb the others. Then he realized that his head was resting on her arm. He nodded and shifted slightly, causing her to wince softly.

"Oh. Sorry," He sat up and she twitched her arm.

"No, it's okay."

"I was hurting you. Really, you're too nice sometimes. If something's bothering you or upsetting you, just say it out loud so you don't have to worry about it anymore." He stared out the window and up at the moon as he spoke.

"Edward…you were having that dream again, weren't you?" It was pointless to protest, so he nodded. He felt a hand touch his, gripping it gently, lacing its fingers through his. Somehow, it felt warm and comfortable to him. There was a familiarity to it that he liked feeling. "It's okay, we're both still here." She laughed weakly. "I must have influenced you with my talking about the dream I had earlier."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm taking your soul. You're not even asking for anything in return, where's the equivalent exchange in that?" He wasn't sure where that question had come from, but he didn't need to take it back.

"I don't need to." At this point, she blushed slightly and moved her hand slightly. "Having you alive is what matters." Without warning, he blushed and turned away from her slightly. Their hands separated as he moved.

"It's not right. You should receive something for what you're doing!" He said sharply. To his surprise, she laughed lightly.

"I have. You opened up, now, didn't you?" By this time, his face was red and his back was turned to her so that she couldn't see. She couldn't get any ideas about this, that was for sure. Heiderich already had, but that was where it stopped. He didn't 'love' Azmaria!

"Maybe I did. You did, too." She sighed.

"Then I'll leave it at gaining nothing, but for a good reason." He finally calmed down slightly and stared at her again. The girl was still smiling at him, looking oddly happy. For an unexplainable reason, he looked over at Heiderich, who was asleep with a book spread open in his lap.

"He's studying again? Doesn't he know how to take a break?" Ed said flatly.

"Isn't there a certain person who always immersed himself in his studies, too?" The reply caught him off guard and Azmaria laughed lightly. It was true, he had studied constantly two years ago, but that was before…"It's almost morning, you know." A gentle hand pointed to the window, where the first parts of dawn were showing. Suspicious eyes scanned down the finger and arm, back to the girl's small form.

"How long have you been up?"

"Umm…" She blushed and looked at the ground, laughing nervously.

"Stupid…" He sighed. "You need to sleep as much as everyone else does. Here." He leaned back. "You can use me as a pillow this time."

"But, Ed…"

"Az." She smiled slightly, nodding and resting her head on his shoulder. "Anyway, it's my job to protect you," he added softly. "There needs to be some fair trade involved."

"…and so, we arrive in London." Winry glanced out of the train station, out at the near-empty streets. "Hey, what? There's nobody around."

"Actually, there are some people…" Azmaria replied weakly. She was right, in a way. A few people were wandering the streets, but there weren't that many. In fact, Ed hadn't realized how few people were on the train until now. Even the train station was less crowded than usual, which was odd.

"If this has something to do with the reason I'm here…" she grumbled, trailing off slightly. "Come on, I'm supposed to go to the London HQ, and you're all coming with me." She took a few steps ahead and then glanced back at them. Briefly exchanging glances, they followed her as she walked along the street.

"Didn't they tell you?" Edward asked, eyes up at the sky.

"Well, no…they just say 'a situation has emerged' and give the location, then we're expected to be there."

"Sounds familiar." He had always given out details of his past sparingly, and so was greeted by glances from both Al and Azmaria.

At its core, this world was no different from his own. That didn't change his own secret yearning for that which he had lost. In most cases, when confronted with an obscure memory, he just stared to the side, not letting anything reflect in his eyes. That was what he did as sudden memories of 'those days' returned again, like a powerful wave.

That was when they suddenly realized something. "Wait, Azmaria's gone," Heiderich said, glancing over his shoulder. Edward turned and saw her staring up at the top of a building, where two white birds were perched. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw a faint outline of white wings on her back. His eyes were fooled, but his mind knew better. She had lost those powers a year ago, or at least the strength to use them. It was another thing he was at fault for.

"Hey, Az!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out to her. The girl's form twitched slightly and her head turned. Somehow, she always heard him. It was too far to read her facial expression, but he could tell she had realized that she was behind.

Quickly, she ran over to them, tripping on the way. Heiderich blinked and walked over, taking hold of her hand and helping her up. Her eyes went to the ground as she lifted something, keeping it in her fist as they walked over to join Edward and Winry.

"Are you okay? That looked like a hard fall." Winry blinked, noticing a slight tear in Azmaria's stockings. The other girl stared as well and blushed.

"It wasn't that bad, I just forgot to pay attention." The golden eyed boy glanced at her hand and then put his on top of hers, gently prying at her fingers.

"What did you pick up back there?" He asked, a little smirk making its way across his lips. Strangely enough, she pulled the hand back and put it behind her back.

"It…um, it just fell out of my pocket, that's all!" If that had been at all convincing, he would have continued prying at her. This time, however, he just stopped and glanced at her briefly before continuing on. Usually, they didn't hide much from each other, except for maybe a few stray emotions-No, he didn't like her-but this was still odd. The look in her eyes was almost shameful as they walked along. What was it that she was so afraid of? It was frustrating him to no end, but he knew better than to explode about it.

"A dragon harassing people? That explains the lack of people outside," Heiderich commented. Edward couldn't help but notice that he hadn't even questioned the dragon. After what he had told his two friends, and what Azmaria had told the boys, they were all mostly shockproof. What was classified as a 'strange occurrence' was nothing to them.

However, the dragon gripped Ed's mind. Envy had transformed into a dragon before he had completely gone through the gate. If what had happened to him had happened to Envy, then the dragon could easily be Envy. The only question was, what exactly could homunculus do in this world? Alchemy was rare, and even then it could only be used under risky circumstances. Homunculus couldn't have their powers in this world, could they? The only possibility was certain circumstances.

"I doubt it'll be difficult to contain, but still…have you ever heard of the Thule society, by any chance?" At the mere mention of the name, Azmaria and Edward glanced at Al. A moment later, they all turned to look at Winry.

"What about them?" Ed was the first one to regain his composure after the slight shock. Winry cleared her throat and lifted a piece of paper.

"Apparently, they're an underground occult society in search of something involving Astral Lines. You at least know what those are, right?" The couple locked eyes briefly as she spoke. Their current status was proof they knew and understood. "I think that they want to somehow gather Astral power to open the portal to another world. That's the only explanation." She trailed off. Edward immediately shot Azmaria a glance. The girl blushed, trying not to look as if she was hiding a secret.

Fortunately, she didn't need to keep the charade up very long. He felt her body fall against his and tried to cover up any visible annoyance and worry. "She didn't sleep at all." His voice was deadpan and somewhat angry. Not only had they used some of the power, but she hadn't let her physical self rest in a while.

"We can find a place for her to sleep for now, until she wakes up again." Thinking over things quickly, Winry glanced at the door. "Here, carry her and come with me, we'll find somewhere." Edward nodded and slowly shifted her weight so that he could carry her in his arms.

"Edward, is it okay if I take her instead? Please?" Quickly, he turned his head and saw Heiderich standing beside him, glancing down at Azmaria with a heartrending expression. Again, Edward nodded and allowed him to lift her motionless body. Something wasn't right with him, did that dig up memories or was he just worried? Even though the blue eyed boy tried not to show much emotion, besides happiness, it always found a way to manifest itself in his eyes. Azmaria and Al were both guilty of excessive worry and Ed was convinced that it would one day kill them both.

While he waited for someone to return, he glanced around the office. It was clean, and this part didn't really resemble a church. This place, he knew, would bring back memories for Azmaria. She had been with her friends in the Magdalan Order HQ of New York. It was easy to remember because most of her stories revolved around Chrno and Rosette. Chrno was gone, but Ed had met Rosette once. They had had a brief dispute over 'when Ed was going to marry Azmaria' as Rosette had put it. This world's Winry resembled Rosette in an odd, twisted way.

Odd, he was getting help from a nun. It wasn't a bad thing, just one that was unexpected. Who ever knew that there were nuns that shot the living crap out of monsters? It was an odd thought that didn't seem to piece together. Maybe if he put a lot of thought into it, it would start to make better sense.

"She's okay now, Ed." Winry reentered the room, yawning. "Something's strange. Why is Alphonse so adamant about being with her?" Honestly, that wasn't a question that Ed could fully answer. He did know enough, however, to generate a truthful reply.

"He's afraid to lose people he's close to." While saying this, Edward had to cast his own eyes down. That was not only a reflection of Heiderich's soul, but also a reflection of his own. Now that he had spent two years growing close to those two, he had become intent on protecting them both from whatever could happen. The mere thought of having to leave them and return to his own world was nerve-wracking. This was exactly what he was hoping wouldn't happen. This was what tore his soul between two worlds.

"Then he doesn't have many friends," she added as an afterthought to herself. He shrugged and glanced over at that door again, wondering if Heiderich would need to be dragged out of the room.

Fortunately for everyone, he emerged only a few minutes later. There was still a dullness in his eyes, but his hair was slightly messier than before and he walked as if something might jump out and attack him at any given second. In Edward's eyes, this looked just like the typical worried expression of Alphonse Heiderich.

"Welcome back, Al," Winry said in forced cheerfulness. The boy nodded halfheartedly before taking a seat beside Ed. Almost immediately, Heiderich opened his book again and faked an interest on what the pages were saying. Discreetly, Ed glanced up at Winry, who took the hint and walked away for a moment.

"If you keep worrying like this, you're going to kill yourself," Ed commented bluntly, pretending to lack concern. Distressed blue eyes glanced up at him momentarily before the boy started to speak once again.

"She's sick again," he said softly. "I get scared whenever she gets sick, I don't want her to die like…" Apparently he was saying more than he had intended, and so the boy's mouth shut rapidly.

"Like? Al, I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't tell me." The older boy glanced over and was slightly surprised to see the sadness etched on his face. This sadness reflected something that went far beyond what was currently happening.

"Ed…you know I had a brother, right?" Ed nodded. "He…well, he died…three years ago and before we met…um, Azmaria was the only person left. She can't just die like that, it wouldn't be fair. She was there when he died and we started living together, just us, because I died when Brother did." Tears were forming in his eyes and Edward was violently reminded of Al, his real brother Al. When Al returned, if Al returned, he had friends to care for him, he had so much support even though he would be living with the fact that his brother had supposedly died. This Al only had a destroyed life where one person had made incredible sacrifices just to keep him moving. This Al was broken and only had one pair of hands helping him pick up the missing shards.

"Al, you love her just like you loved him…" It was ironic, how that was coming from Ed. Maybe these years had changed him. Kindness and gentle persistence had given him an understanding on love, although he wasn't capable of the feeling yet.

"No. I love her differently." A slight blush came to his cheeks, accompanied by a sad smile. Alphonse Heiderich, one person who shouldn't have been capable of loving, was. Despite watching those close to him leave and not having many others, he still allowed himself to feel things. That could be looked upon reverently, and that's how Ed viewed it. Maybe it was because he had always been cold toward people until these two had pried and chiseled at his broken self and put it back together.

"So that makes two of us." The thought didn't even pass through his mind, it just came out of his mouth. As soon as it was stated, he tried to take it back. "N-no, I didn't mean that! I don't like her at all that way!" The angry face returned and he crossed his arms.

"You do, Edward. That, and you also need her, don't you? You're not as strong as you claim to be." On impulse, Edward glanced down at his right arm. Hadn't it been broken before Azmaria's friend found a way to fix automail to operate in this world? No matter what front he put up, the remnants of his old self still remained. That self was stronger than this one. Did that mean that his soul was the same as his automail? "If you need her, you should have her, right?" Ed couldn't hide a frustrated sigh. Why was he pushing her on him again?

"You need to stop doing that," he said sternly. "Anyway, why are we fighting over her when she's obviously yours and there are much bigger problems at hand?" Heiderich opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again.

At that moment, a large crashing noise interrupted their trains of thought. The earth shook slightly, but then stopped. A few started people rushed to the windows, but Winry ran over to them.

"Sorry to interrupt your bonding time, but you both might need these," she said frantically. With that, she handed both of them a gun and then took her own. "It could be an attack, but so far I don't think anyone knows what's going on. Whatever it was, it's somewhere on the southwest side of this building, maybe by the dorms. We need to get ready to attack, and I'm sorry for pulling both of you into this."

"No, it's okay," Edward replied as he ran to one of the windows. "Dammit, half of the building caved in!"

"We better hurry up, then, before anything else happens!" Winry turned and started off in one direction. Ed and Al followed her through the hallways and out into the open space between the buildings. Strangely, there was nothing malevolent there. Whatever had attacked had left as quickly as it came.

Then a thought came to Edward's mind. "Azmaria!" Impulsively, he rushed forward and closer to the mess. Wasn't she in the dorms? Where was she? "Azmaria!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting as loud as possible. As he drew nearer, he saw a small figure among the debris. "Damn…" He rushed forward and kneeled beside her. "Azmaria, are you okay?"

"You're…you're okay!" Strangely, she was acting as if he had been the one in danger. Weak arms wrapped around him as she pulled him closer. Her trembling body clung to him, either shocked or afraid. This was enough to position him to see a few other people who were injured. Other nuns and workers were already there and trying to assist in whatever way possible, helping those who were injured. Too bad Edward wasn't the type to trust this world's medical personnel.

Azmaria let go and turned to the others who were injured and Ed saw red stains through her dress. Her thoughts were evident in her motions, but he quickly held her back. "Az, you're hurt. Don't try to help them, you'll hurt yourself." Carefully, he lifted her. If she were more coherent, he would ask her about what had happened. By the look on her pale face, he figured this wasn't the best time to fish for an answer. That, and he wasn't exactly coherent himself.

"Ed, let me use the watch, you can at least repair it…" she said. Stubborn, wasn't she? Shaking his head, he managed to grin at her despite the worry that was taking over his mind.

"This job can be done by hand!" The smaller girl couldn't even manage a smile, she just leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Here, we can take her from here!" Winry said. Edward glanced at them and brought her closer for the shortest second. Then after a thirty second standoff, he surrendered her to the care of the Magdalan Order. Walking back to the debris, he wondered. He wondered about what had happened only a few moments before, he wondered about sacrifices, and for an unknown reason, he started to wonder about second chances.

A/N: Ok, wow. This chapter kinda sucked. Next chapter, though, you get to see more of Heiderich and then…yes, ROSETTE! So review, because…uh, it's the right thing to do and it generates love.