Dimensions
By: Kurama-Sweethart (Moe)
Warning(s): Spoiler for the SERIES AND MANGA. It isn't really based on either one alone, per say- but my own crazy rendition of the two. For example, the timeline is manga formatted- Cornello happened before Nina, and Ed is 15. However, the events that take place are in the anime format, when it comes to dialogue and happenings. Also, Mustang is Colonel as opposed to Major, as shown in the series. Obviously, in the beginning it is set before the death of Maes Hughes. Blah blah, I'm sure you get the idea.
Pairing(s): Blunt Roy x Ed in later chapters. Yaoi, Shonen-ai and probably some sex/smut along the way.
Author's Note: I would like to thank hakubaikou-chan for being my inspiration to write fanfics in the Fullmetal Alchemist Fandom. Also to Paperback Rider because their EdxRoy drabbles are fucking hysterical. Also to Trans because she inspired me hella to write this. So thanks to everyone! This is my first attempt at writing in this fandom.

He gripped the cold stone, her blood running through his fingers. She had been alive just moments ago. He had seen her with his own goddamn eyes. She had been sitting in that murky lab of Tucker's, staring at the floor with this forlorn gaze that had made a shiver skitter up his spine.

"Nina... " He whispered against the rain, the muscles in his fist wrenching painfully shut.

"Brother," Al said from somewhere behind him. "Sitting here won't bring her back."

"Your brother is right, you know." A cold voice said behind him. Edward didn't look up. "You can't go running around trying to bring everyone back to life. You just have to be glad it wasn't you and move on."

"Shuddup, Colonel."

Roy shrugged and walked away. Fullmetal was still a child, after all, no matter how he tried to hide it. True, he had seen a lot of things that children his age shouldn't, but that didn't suddenly make him wise. In many ways, it had only added to his immaturity.

"Sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye muttered. "You can't just leave him here."

He shook his head and glanced back at the alchemist, still slumped against the wall. "He needs to understand."

"With all due respect, sir," she started; climbing into the car provided by the state, followed by the Colonel. "That is the logic of an adult, but those boys... they're just kids."

Roy looked from the window. "We can't shelter them anymore, Lieutenant. They have to grow up someday."

"Al, I've been thinking." Ed said as they walked. He had his hands buried in the pockets of his pants, and his mood was at an all-time low.

"Yes, brother?" The armor responded, looking down upon his older sibling. "What is it?"

"In Tucker's library," he started, golden eyes not leaving their spot on the pavement. "He wrote about this sort of alchemy used hundreds of years ago. I can't remember the name, but it talked about..." Suddenly he trailed off and frantically gazed back up, smiling reassuringly. "You know, never mind. It was kinda stupid anyway."

If Al had eyebrows at the time, he would have raised them suspiciously. However, he reasoned that speaking his doubts would be too blunt, and chose to keep quiet. His brother was like that. Ed thought about things too much- and didn't like to talk about what was on his mind. He'd come through in the end, once he thought he'd figured it out. Al expected to hear more by dinner.

"It was intriguing, though." He started again, suddenly. The younger of the two was caught a bit off guard. "What he wrote in those journals. Something about being able to bend space and time."

"Don't be ridiculous," The armor threatened. "We both know that it's not possible. The laws of alchemy are based on science- that sounds like something from a fairy tale."

"Still," Ed looked back up into the sky, letting the rainfall freely against his face. "It got me thinking that maybe..."

"You're still looking for a way to get her back, aren't you? Nina, I mean."

Edward shook his head violently. "Of course not! I was just curious to whether it was based on true fact. I thought maybe we could do some background research."

"I'll only help if you promise not to try anything stupid. Nina's dead, and there's nothing we can do about it."

The Fullmetal Alchemist nodded and frowned. "Yeah, I promise."

Ed sat cross-legged in one of the many labs in Central Headquarters, flipping through one of Shou Tucker's research logs. They, being he and Al, were given the job of organizing all of the alchemist's diaries and findings. It would have been easier, if it had not been for the large amount of caged chimeras growling around them, or the nagging thought that refused to leave his mind.

To 'marry' two genetically dissimilar life forms, the space/time continuum must be warped to much lower levels of energy, causing a vortex of 'dead time' allowing the fusion of DNA and mass.

Ed made a low noise in the back of his throat, flipping a few pages.

Through the created vortex emerges the product- Chimera. Theoretically, using humans in the transmutation, they will gain humanoid intelligence while fusing the instinct of the beast. Using this process, the creature created will be evolved enough as an Elite, gaining telekinetic abilities ("Advanced Alchemic Theory" by Shaun Rosck, page 873) and power to freely twist the previously mentioned continuum.

More pages. Nothing but graphs and tallies of failed transmutations, scribbled notes, dates and theories. All of which, Ed mused, must have ended in failure. He thought back to something that Tucker had said to him before: I'm supposed to be the authority on chimeras, but in reality, it's never easy. Lots of failures... lots of false starts.

Could it be, then, that even Tucker himself didn't fully understand how to create the continuum? The way he wrote in his diaries and journals, it seemed as if he was just rambling on, as if trying to understand it himself. What if Nina hadn't been the Elite he spoke of? She hadn't seemed very intelligent, just capable of parroting things that her father said to her or voicing memories from her childhood.

"And yet..." he mumbled, flipping back a few pages.

"Brother?"

Ed shot up from his book and shot his brother an irritated glare. "Don't scare me like that."

"I'm sorry. I thought you said something." Al reached up for another book off the shelf, putting small notes of their contents and organizing them as needed.

The older of the two went back to his book. And yet... what was even the definition of the "Elite"? Tucker never wrote what it truly was- just mentioned it a few times.

"Hey Al," He said suddenly, fingering the pages. "Have you found anything mentioned about something called an 'Elite'?"

"Yeah," Al responded, tossing his brother a suspicious look. "It said that it was very dangerous. Something about warping the laws of alchemy."

"Weird. I wonder if it has anything to do with that time/space alchemy he mentioned before..."

"Oh, come off it, brother. Besides, I read something about a special stone that can bypass all the laws of alchemy, and might be able to help us get our bodies back. It makes all laws about Equivalent Exchange null and void."

"As oppose to bypassing all laws of physics?"

Al shook his head. "Alchemy is physics, Brother. It's all related..."

"No, alchemy is based on something different. People can live with or without alchemy- but physics are something that aren't so interchangeable."

The armor stiffened. "If they are so set in stone, Brother, then how can they be warped?"

Ed stood up and headed towards the door. "That's what I'm gonna find out, with or without your help."

"But, Brother-"

The Fullmetal broke out into a sprint down the hall, stopping only for a moment in front of Colonel Mustang's office door. He hesitated, thinking of whether he should talk to him about the murder of the chimera that used to be Nina. Another matter sprung into his head, instead, and he burst through the door.

"Colonel-" He was met by two pairs of inquisitive eyes.

"Knock much, Fullmetal?"

The Colonel sat at his desk, gloved hands folded neatly on his knee. Lieutenant Hawkeye bowed from her position by his desk, where she always stood, clipboard in hand. "Good morning, Edward."

"Hey Lieutenant." Ed closed the door and hopped over the back of the couch adjacent to his desk. "Listen, Colonel," he started, already lounging. "I need to talk to Shou Tucker."

"And why might that be, Fullmetal?" The Colonel asked, quirking an eyebrow.

The younger alchemist smiled. "While I was organizing some of that research you so... thoughtfully gave to us to work on, I found some information, that's all. But see, some of it was a little vague, so I thought 'Hey! Maybe Mustang could hook me up with him so we could clear some of it up'!"

Roy rested his elbows on the desk and his chin in his hands. "And what, I daresay, is this important information you need?"

"Have you ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone, Colonel?"

Hawkeye made a small gasping noise and put a hand to her mouth. "Sir, I-"

"Lieutenant." The Flame Alchemist shot her an icy glare. " So, Edward. Why are you so interested in this stone? Which, might I add, is only some stupid legend. A fairy tale from a child's storybook."

The blonde cocked his head. "Oh come on, Mustang. You know that my brother and I are trying to get our bodies back-"

"Then I suggest you find some other way, Fullmetal."

"There is a rumor." Hawkeye said softly. "That anyone that even gets close to the secrets of the stone die shortly after. Which is why there is so much speculation, because no one has been able to actually figure out what it is capable of, let alone if it exists."

"Then I guess that means that you have never heard of Dimensional Alchemy, then, Colonel?"

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room turned very tense.

"Dimensional Alchemy, sir?" The Lieutenant asked.

Roy rubbed his temples. "It's more spiritual than logical. I'm not sure why they even call it alchemy at all- its more akin to black magic."

"So you have heard of it." Edward smirked, crossing one leg over the other.

"Unfortunately." The Colonel muttered. "What I'm more interested in, though, is why a realist like you, a state alchemist no less, would care about it so much."

The younger waved his hand in an 'it doesn't really matter' way. "Curiosity. I was reading about it in Tucker's research."

"Tucker? Need I remind you, Fullmetal, that Tucker used his own daughter in experiments? Or have you already forgotten about that little girl?"

"Don't you ever even insinuate that I don't care about what happened to Nina, Colonel." Ed replied darkly. It was more a threat than request.

"Then that's it, Fullmetal?" Mustang continued, leaning forward. "You're interested in Dimensional Alchemy because you want to use it to transmutate Nina Tucker back to life. Isn't that right?"

"Just get to it, Colonel. Can I talk with Tucker or not?" He felt his fist do that clenching thing again.

Mustang sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Fullmetal. Shou Tucker was executed earlier this morning."

Every muscle in the smaller alchemist's body tensed. "But, what about a trial-"

"Brigadier General Grand thought it would be... convenient to bypass the embarrassment of a trial and skip straight to the execution."

"So he tried to cover it up." Ed spat, standing suddenly. "That son of a-"

"It is not your place to question the wisdom of the military, Fullmetal."

"Wisdom my ass! If they didn't want people to know that their government is so fucking corrupt-"

The Colonel slammed his fist on the desk. "You may leave now, Edward!"

"I was just leaving." He glowered, striding quickly from the room and slamming the door behind him.

Roy let his forehead fall into his hands and he groaned. "This is not what I need right now."

"If you don't mind my saying so, Colonel." Lieutenant Hawkeye started, stepping closer to him and placing a hand over his shoulder. "Maybe we should have someone follow him?"

"I'll get Hughes to send someone down." Mustang muttered through his fingers. And then, after a long pause. "He's trying to create an Elite."

"Pardon?" The lower in command inquired. She raised her head from the stack of papers she had begun sorting through.

The Colonel stood and made his way to the large bay window behind his desk. "Alone, the Philosopher's stone is dangerous- capable of bringing human souls back from the dead. All laws of Equivalent Exchange are ignored. However- the soul brought back is just as it was. But when Dimensional Alchemy is brought into the picture- things get disastrous. Fullmetal could very well successfully create an Elite."

"What is this Elite, sir?" She asked quietly, watching as his gaze lingered on the retreating clouds above the rooftops.

"Bluntly? It's the descendant of God."

TBC.