CHAPTER 1: THE GREAT GLOBAL CONFLICT

Edward Elric stood on looking at the picturesque grassy field before him. The sun was out, with only a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky. A gentle breeze rustled the very green grass beneath both his feet, tickling them. His blonde hair waved in front of his eyes as a result of the moving air, but the scene was so delightful that it didn't bother him. There really wasn't much more for Edward to do but smile.

A noise from the distance snapped him back to attention. A few dozen yards away, he could see Den running full speed at him carrying a small tree branch in his mouth. He grinned some more at the realization that either Den was very fast despite the dog's old age or he couldn't throw things as far without his automail arm.

The hound ran up to the alchemist as Edward retrieved the stick from Den's mouth. The dog nudged at him playfully while Edward patted him, the mutt was obviously telling him to throw the stick again.

"Easy Den, you're going to wear my arm out if you keep this up." But old Den didn't seem to care. Edward grinned and took a step back to wind up his arm for another toss. Before he could send the wooden stick soaring through the air again, a familiar voice interrupted him from behind.

"Ed! Stop fooling around! Lunch is ready… we're having spaghetti!" Someone shouted, Ed paused and frowned slightly. Always with the spaghetti... wish we could try something new. Ed kept the thought to himself as he turned to the direction of the voice. But any frustration he may have experience quickly melted away as his eyes focused on a beautiful girl waving at him with a huge smile from the distance. Her incredible smile was infectious as another grin broke out across Ed's face.

"Okay." Ed acknowledged as he gestured for Den to follow him and he started walking back towards the residence. "We're coming Winry."

Somewhere in Northern France – July, 1943

Alphonse Elric sat quietly in the dark. It was hard to see the rest of the room, but the small glitter of moonlight filtering through the small slits in between the wooden planks managed to provide enough illumination for him to make out the half a dozen people slumbering on the dirt floor. They were all snoring somewhat heavily, and the rumbling just made Al a little drowsier then usual but a mumbling off to the side caught his attention. He moved himself closer to the source until the faint voice became more distinct and he could make out what was being said.

"Winry… Winry…" Al sighed to himself when he saw the silhouette of his brother sleeping away in the corner. Oh brother, he's dreaming about her… again. Al tucked the small blanket covering his brother in a little tighter as it had started to slip off before he moved back to his lookout position.

Al stared back out of the tiny hole in between the wooden planks. He could make out some farmland outside surrounded by a forest. Even though it was summer, the night air was cool and Al tightened his own blanket to keep the chill out. He looked at the landscape in front of him, saw no one and sat back down in a more comfortable position.

In all honestly, Al wasn't even sure where they were. Somewhere in northern France was what one of the other people told them. Far too much has happened in the last couple of years. The Elrics had spent the first three years in this world tracking the atom bomb that was stolen from their world when the Thule Society invaded. They were successful; they stole the bomb back and hid it in a location where hopefully it will never be found again.

The problem was; they brought even more attention to themselves as a result. They fled Germany and returned to England to escape the Thule, but it wasn't enough. Finally, Ed and Al made contact with a British professor who was studying their world since the Thule invasion. He offered to attempt to open a new gate so the brothers could return to their home. Since the Thule was hot on their heels, they decided to give it a try. As the old saying goes, they were tossed from the frying pan and into the fire.

Instead of returning to their world, they instead wound up back in Germany… except that it was 1942 and they were caught in the middle of the Second World War. The Elrics had developed quite a reputation among the Thule, many of whom are now ranking members of the Nazi regime. And so, the Nazis were back on the Elric's heels in no time, wanting revenge for what they did 20 years earlier and getting their hands on Ed's automail. Automail didn't exist in this world, even though it was so common in theirs. It's considered a piece of highly advanced bio-technology and the Nazis would love to obtain it. And thus, the Elrics had spent the last year on the run, fleeing and hiding from their pursuers hoping to find a way off continental Europe. Right now, they're resting at a safe house that they had luckily run across along with a few other refugees escaping Nazi persecution.

Al sighed again. He didn't like thinking about their situation, and even though his brother had kept their spirits up, the older Elric was beginning to wear out. Al shook his head, he would slap himself but his face was already red and sore from doing that all night long to keep himself awake. He took a glance at Ed's State Alchemist watch and noticed that it was nearing four in the morning and nearing the end of his shift. Thank goodness, I can catch a few hours of sleep soon. Al's relief however, was interrupted by the growling of machines in the distance. He immediately snapped back up to peer out the small view hole. He couldn't see anything beyond what he saw before. He waited another minute and noticed a number of headlights approaching. Oh crap! He didn't need to see anymore, his instincts already told him what was coming.

Al quickly turned and went to his brother who was by now, mumbling something about spaghetti and how awful it tasted. Why doesn't he ever dream about her cooking something else? Al allowed himself a chuckle before he started to shake his brother awake.

"Win… wah what?" Ed muttered sheepishly as he started to come back to reality.

"Brother, I think we're in trouble." Al whispered and pointed to the view hole. Ed crawled over to the small hole and peered outside. It was difficult to see, but he was able to make out several trucks offloading a number of soldiers and even an armoured carrier armed with a machine gun nearby. Damn, how did they get caught up so fast? But this wasn't the time to panic. Al had already started waking up the others as Ed jogged his brain to come up with a plan.

"How is it?" He heard Al whisper from the other side of the room.

"Not good, not good at all. I count 20… maybe 30 of them. And they've got an armoured carrier with them." Ed reported, and turned back in time to watch a squad of soldiers approach the house.

"We have to get out! We have to make a run for it!" One of the others suggested, fear clearly in his voice.

"We'll never make it." Ed quickly shot the idea down. The sound of army boots tromping on the wooden floor of the house could be heard, pounding on the basement roof. The house was abandoned long ago, and a hidden cellar was often used by refugees or freedom fighters as a temporary haven. "Everyone just be quiet, hopefully they'll just pass over and move on." Ed said, motioning for everyone to be silent. Ed and Al exchanged looks, knowing that there wasn't much more they can do but wait.

Several minutes passed by, as the group intensely followed the footsteps that rang from upstairs. Ed took another peek outside, and noticed that the soldiers had surrounded the building. The footsteps from upstairs suddenly stopped, and someone speaking German could be heard very clearly.

"The house is secured. It's completely empty; I don't think they're here sir." Although Ed and Al's German weren't great, they could just make out what was being said.

"Very well, deploy the other two squads to search the surrounding area. We received reports that the Elrics were seen passing through here not long ago. See if we can dig up any leads." Another voice replied, most likely belonging to the commanding officer. Good, if we wait patiently they won't find us. Ed thought to himself. He looked at Al again, who was probably thinking the same thing.

"Just keep an eye out, they could be anywhere. Remember, we want them both alive if possible, especially the older, short one." Al's eyes flared up at hearing those words. Oh crap! Brother! He thought as he quickly rushed towards the older Elric but he was too slow. Edward Elric's face went from normal to blood red in the blink of an eye.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SHORT YOU STUPID IDIOTS!" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs while flailing his arms wildly in the air. Before he could continue his angry tirade Al had reached him and tackled his brother to the ground and cupped his hand over his mouth.

"Quiet!" Al ordered, glaring at his brother. Edward however was still throwing a fit and pushed his sibling off of him.

"They called me short! Short! What the hell is that! I'm taller then you!" Edward yelled again.

"Damnit brother! This isn't the place or time!" Al replied, exasperated.

"BUT THEY CALLED ME SHORT!" Ed was totally losing it, again waving his arms in shear anger.

"GROW UP BROTHER." Al replied, showing some cracks in his usual calm demeanour.

"Grow up? Are you saying I'm small Al?"

"Ahem." Both Elrics suddenly snapped towards the source of the cough, and noticed a German Wehrmacht officer standing by the door with a rather confused look on his face. Ed and Al then looked around and noticed that about ten German soldiers had somehow made their way into the room, surrounded the brothers and their fellow refugees with their Mauser rifles trained on all of them.

"Since when did you guys get so good at sneaking up on people?" Was all Ed could muster, along with a bemused look. Al just slapped his forehead in frustration.

"By the orders of the Fuhrer, Edward and Alphonse Elric, you are hereby placed under arrest by the Third Reich. Surrender yourselves or we will shoot." The officer recited monotonously. Al gave Ed a stupid brother look as Ed frowned in response. But both knew that they had no other choice and raised their hands up in defeat. Ed had to grit his teeth in annoyance but allowed himself to mutter a curse.

"Damn…"

To Be Continued…