Chapter four

...1915...

Ed stared at the collapsed form in front of him. Mustang was undoubtedly older, his slicked back black hair riddled with grey. And he had a thin moustache of the kind that was basically just two separate, thin triangles above his lip.

It looked stupid, that was for sure. The man was also stone cold and completely pale, and if it hadn't been for the ragged breaths, then Ed wouldn't have been surprised that he was dead.

"I'll go get Granny, he needs medical help!" Al said urgently just as Dex grabbed the note taped to Mustang's chest and read through it quickly.

Then the boy swore and handed the note to Ed before he took over the task of looking after the unconscious newcomer.

And so Ed read the note quickly.

This is the rescue party from Dexter's own time. He knows the necessary array to get the two of them back home. His current state is brought on by the way that his energy is highly depleted due to the amount involved in sending someone through time. Dexter is unaffected as he was not performing the transmutation himself, but the rogue alchemist who did is dead because he used up all his energy. As Roy and Alphonse performed the transmutation together, they're alive, but they will need time to recover, especially Roy as he will need to perform the transmutation again to get back home. That means that he'll spend the next fifty-three days with you, as well as Dexter.

Roy will wake up in a few minutes, but he will be fairly incoherent and should not be considered a very reliable source of advanced information for the next twenty-four hours, especially alchemy-wise. After that, he will grow steadily more coherent and his ability to actually draw up and remember the array correctly will return in about five days from now. He will be fatigued and feverish for the next couple of weeks and be in need of plenty of rest for the next month. There is a list of the medical assistance he will need and nutritional recommendations at the back of this note, so please deliver it to the Rockbells.

We apologise for the inconvenience that this is causing.

Good luck,

Riza Mustang.

Ed stared at the note and then looked back at Dex. Only now did he notice the note crumpled up in his future son's hand. "Hey, Dex, what's that?"

The boy looked up at him, tears in his eyes. "Note from Dad. It was taped to the back of that other one. It's not important to you," then he turned back to Mustang. "His pulse is weak, but steady."

Ed looked up as Al and Winry came running, while Granny walked over to them quickly.

Ed handed them the list. "Here's basically the treatment schedule. According to this, he should wake up any minute now."

Granny looked it through, frowning, before looking up at Ed sharply. "Ed, you and Dex carry him into your room while Winry and me prepare the medical equipment. Alphonse, please get the patient's cot and bring it to them."

Ed nodded and moved over to lift Mustang under the armpits, while Dex grabbed his legs. "You ready?"

Dex nodded and they lifted him up at the same time.

"I'll walk backwards, so you just tell me if I'm about to crash, okay?" Ed said.

"Yeah, of course."

The kid seemed stunned. Stunned and tearful. "Hey, it'll be okay, remember?" Ed told him encouragingly.

Dex nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

And so they carried the first Amestrian President awkwardly up the stairs and into the guest room, gently placing him on the nearest of the two beds, just in time for Mustang to start groaning and open his eyes weakly. He sluggishly took in the room's two other occupants that were currently looking down at him with worry while he was obviously struggling to keep them in focus. "Oh... you... you're Fummmmmmeta... Like... like bofo'm..." he mumbled weakly.

"Uh, Mustang?" Ed asked. If this was the rescue party, then Ed was getting why he needed some time to get back to normal. After all, due to having passed through the Portal, Mustang was able to channel much more energy during his transmutations, meaning that this really took a lot out of the ones who performed it. Had Mustang been a less accomplished alchemist, then he'd be dying now at best. If two alchemists of Mustang and Al's calibre could get this bad over transporting one person, then there was no wonder that the one who sent Dex here was dead.

"S'been... been yearsss... Y-you're like... like young... For real..." he mumbled, blinking like it took him a lot of effort. "...So ... So it worked..." He frowned. "...So one's Dexter ... H-hi..."

"Yeah, that's me... I'm Dexter," Dex said, reaching out and grasping his left hand in his own. Ed was worried that it was because the bite was hurting more than he let on. But then he realised that it was because he still had the note clutched in his right hand.

Ed was curious about just what it said. How he would be sounding nineteen years from now. However, he wasn't going to pry about something as personal as that when the kid was obviously in a lot of emotional turmoil. Highly understandable emotional turmoil.

And now they'd have a Mustang from the future and Dex staying here for the next fifty-three days. But at least they knew now that they would be getting them home. The kid wasn't going to die here. But Ed was still worried. If this was how badly Mustang was reacting to this, then how would it be for Al? His body still wasn't completely recuerated and logically, the reaction should be worse because they'd be three people transporting two instead of two transporting one. It had obviously worked before because Al had just done it again, but Ed still didn't want to make Al sick.

Of course, it wasn't actually an option not to do it.

"Hi... Going to be surprised... Me, that is..." Mustang mumbled, obviously getting to his senses, at least partially.

Ed would have snorted at the mental pictures hadn't it been for how unnerving the situation really was.

Still, he was enjoying the thought of how the General would look when he saw himself.

...And Mustang was getting old. Ed kind of enjoyed the fact that he was nearly fifty and that his hair was getting grey. The notorious womaniser was now a married family man.

No, Ed was going to need a-

"No ... photos... N'evidence... too risky..." Mustang mumbled.

And then the man smiled weakly, his voice a pained and exhausted whisper. "My, how you've ... shrunk..."

Ed moved to punch him, but Dex was immediately slamming himself into Ed's side, pushing him to the floor so that they landed in a heap. "Stop it, Dad! He's barely even conscious and he's actually doing you one hell of a favour by being here! So don't knock him out!" Dex said, and Ed was slightly unnerved by the amount of tears in his eyes.

Then Dex got off of Ed's chest, his lips trembling. "I'd like to be alone, I've got a note to read," he said before he ran out of the room.

Ed sat up, not knowing exactly what he was supposed to do. Which was when Mustang groaned and Winry came running into the room with a glass and a mug of water, looking very worried. "Ed, help me tilt him up, he needs to swallow some painkillers and get something to drink. He's dehydrated amongst other things. Grandma's preparing the rest of what we need, and once she returns, she's written up a list of supplies for you and Al to buy." She looked at him sadly. "And we should leave Dex alone for now, he's got a lot to decide whether or not to forgive us for..."

Dex sat down in the corner of the attic, wiping away his tears with his left arm, sniffing. He didn't get to read the note back in the hallway, but now he could at least get some privacy. The second he had seen Dad's handwriting with the 'For Dex,' written at the top, he had felt like shouting.

But now he was unfolding the note and was reading it in the light from the windows, and he sniffed again.

For Dex

I know that you're angry with me and your mom right now, and I don't blame you. We never wanted to send you here like this, but time-travel alchemy is a very, very dangerous thing and we couldn't risk toying with it and changing history, especially as it would be putting your life at risk.

We're so, so sorry about this. I know that this is hard and that you're scared, but please believe me when I tell you that this is to keep you safe and get you back home. Changing the past will mean that we risk not getting you back, and that is the worst thing we can imagine. That is the main reason for us keeping you in the dark.

...Because you already know what happens when you go against the flow of the universe.

Dex swore through his tears, his stomach clenching. "Dammit, Dad! Why did the reason have to be the one I can't argue against?! I feel like a lamb to the slaughter!" His vision was blurred by tears, and he wiped them away quickly so as to read the rest. He had never felt so betrayed in his entire life.

I want you to know, Dex, that your existence has nothing to do with prophecies that needed to be fulfilled or fate, me and your mom love you unconditionally and I hope you can still believe that. I know that you're having a hard time even looking at us and talking to us, but just know that we grew to love you during your stay here and we were blessed when the time came for you to come back into our lives, because we missed you a hell of a lot when you were gone.

When we had you and your sisters, that was because we loved each other, and nothing else. And you can prove that to yourself by not telling us when your sisters were born. Because it just happened.

You mean the world to us, all of us, and please remember that.

But there is one thing I need to ask of you, because nineteen years ago, you wrote April a letter for her to read when this happened. I won't tell you why or what it said, because I trust you to write what you want to and what you feel is right. And we'll be keeping that for the next nineteen years and your mom is delivering it to her right about now.

And so I'm saying this once again: We love you so, so much, Dex. And never forget that.

So you just keep being our wonderful son and ask Al to tune the piano because we're damn well already loving the little you've played, and we'll be sitting there on the front row on your concert.

So a big kiss and a hug from Mom, an even bigger hug from me (and you know I'd kiss your forehead, but you're a teenager and it would get weird to just write a big kiss, you know?) and a big hug from Al and May too.

We can't wait to get you back and never have to worry about this ever again.

Love, Dad.

Dex blinked away tears furiously,but then succumbed to the sobs that burst from his chest. None of this was fair. None of it was fair, and even through his anger and despair, there was nothing he wanted more than to hug them right now.

Instead he thought about what Dad said about the letter to April and he decided that he'd might as well write it right now because he needed something to do.

And he knew why April needed that letter.

...Because his little sister needed her big brother to talk to her because she would be blaming herself for all of this. And if he was stuck here for another fifty-three days, then she was going to be crying a lot. After all, the last time they spoke, they had been arguing. And that was about two weeks before Dad and Dex had left for Resembool. She had simply hugged Dad goodbye and then left for her room without a word to Dex.

He was still angry with her. He was angry and part of him wanted to punch her. Because she had been annoying and had mocked the thing that was his greatest passion.

"But she's still my little sister, dammit..." Dex whispered, slamming his left fist on the floor in bitter hurt. "My stupid, annoying, thoughtless little sister... And now I'm not gonna get to see her for nearly two months and I'm gonna miss her... That idiotic brat."

And so he wiped away his tears and got to his feet.

He stomped down the stairs from the attic, and realised that just grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil could make it seem forced.

Which meant that he needed to talk to Dad or Uncle Al.

He heard talking downstairs by the front door, instantly recognising it as Dad and Uncle Al, and the door was being opened.

And so he began running instead. "Hey, Dad! I need to talk to you about something!" Dex shouted.

He met Dad halfway down the downstairs hallway, looking at Dex with worry. Embarrassed worry, most likely because Dex had called him Dad again. "What's wrong, Dex? Granny sent us to grab some supplies, so if it's gonna take long, I should tell Al to go ahead..."

Dex nodded, taking a few deep breaths. Having run at the top of his speed after having been sobbing and crying, had now left him without as much air as he'd optimally have, and he couldn't help but rub his chest slightly with his left hand. "Yeah, tell him that... I need your help with something."

And so Dad disappeared for about half a minute, before returning to Dex who had spent the time catching his breath. "Okay, what did you want me for?"

"I need to check that I remember correctly about a particular transmutation circle."

Dad's eyebrows shot up at that. "I thought you said you gave up on alchemy almost eight years ago?"

"Yeah, but there's something I need to do for my little sister..."

Dad's eyes filled with understanding. "Wanna tell me what it is?"

Dex scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Dad's note said that I wrote her a letter, and I figured I should do it now because otherwise I won't be able to think clearly until I do it... You see, when I called her an idiot, it was because she's been really stupid about this guy who makes bad songs and plays bad guitar who's all the rage among other stupid teenagers like herself... Anyways, she doesn't like my "geezer music" and plays her albums as loud as possible, which messes with my rehearsing and we had a big argument two weeks ago and we haven't talked to each other since..."

"I see," Dad said. "Let's go find some paper, pen and chalk then." He nodded towards the living room.

Dex followed him and sat down on the couch while Dad found the needed supplies and then joined him. "Uh, should you really be writing with that arm, though?"

Dex shook his head. "That's no problem, I'm ambidextrous. Well, actually, I'm left-handed, but then I became ambidextrous as a result of playing the piano so much... It's what made Dad think that I might not be into alchemy, 'cos those that are left-handed tend to be more creative because the right part of their brain's used more or something... But I don't really wanna get into that stuff 'cos it's kinda taking the magic out of Dad's speech." Dex sighed and picked up the pen, bringing it to the sheet of paper in front of him. "So what I wanted to know about is that I kinda wanted to transmute the letter, but with a certain pattern with transmuted grass so that looks like this..." He began quickly drawing up a lot of sheep along the edges of the sheet of paper, all of them grazing along some small lines of uneven patches of grass. "Figured it fit 'cos we're in Resembool..."

"So you know how to draw too, in other words?" Dad said, looking at the sketch.

Dex shrugged. "No offence, but being your son and looking so much like you made me wanna try to figure out just what I wanted to do. I found out that I could draw when I was nine, and I kinda enjoyed the way it made me a bit... you know... not you. I'm proud to be your son, so please don't get me wrong, but it's just that I want people to see me as Dexter Rockbell Elric instead of Edward Elric's son..."

"Yeah, I get that, don't worry... And I'm sorry that it is that way... That's gotta put a lot of pressure on you..." Dad looked awkward and guilty about it.

Dex smiled weakly and looked up at him. He still felt his stomach clench at the thought of how this had been kept secret from him for all these years, but this Dad was also not yet guilty of doing that. So he shouldn't be angry with him.

And so instead he just reached up and waved his plait a bit. "Does it look like I don't like being your son? I am proud to show who my Dad is. But it's kinda liberating not to be everything that you were so that I won't just constantly be living in your shadow." Dex returned his focus to the sheet of paper. "So anyways, my question is if this..." He drew up a quick transmutation circle, still recalling a lot about how it worked. Especially as the house had usually been riddled with April's various transmutation circles for the past eight years, so she hadn't ever really given him an opportunity to have forgotten it. "...Would work?" he finished, looking up at Dad, seeing that he was obviously impressed.

"Yeah, that should work... You really seem to be an all-round prodigy..."

Dex looked down at that. "Well, I'm the son of two prodigies, aren't I? I performed my first transmutation when I was about four-and-a-half... But I never got the same joy from it as I do from playing the piano. I understand it pretty good, but I don't really care about it much..."

"I understand... Well, I'm happy you've found something you enjoy, then."

"Yeah. It also fits 'cos I'm asthmatic... Not emergency inhaler-worthy, but more like I get pretty wheezy easily during cold days and I don't like hiking trips in the mountains and stuff 'cos my chest hurts and sometimes get blood flavour in my mouth from it. And I'm not good at running for long. Or jogging, for that part. Probably got it from Mom's dad, he was like that too."

"So that's why you got out of breath so easily earlier?" Dad asked with a slightly worried frown.

"Yeah. PE is my worst subject by far now... Began noticing the signs when I was eight, actually, which really crushed that whole 'I'm gonna join the military'-thing... So basically: Edward Elric's son is an asthmatic pianist."

Dex couldn't help the slight chuckle.

And the way his stomach was clenching and his body was hurting with an overwhelming amount of emotions that he didn't really know what he was supposed to do about.

Roy walked up the front steps of the Rockbells' house. He had been spending the past fourteen hours with a steadily growing sense of foreboding and honest dread. Time-travel alchemy was dangerous and definitely not a branch of alchemy that should ever be encouraged. It was toying with lives in a disgusting manner and it went against every rule of alchemy there was. Because it wasn't just toying with lives, it was toying with time itself. Which was probably why they had only managed to find a total of three folders on the matter, and those mostly consisted of notes on how it shouldn't be attempted or researched.

Which meant that they came highly unprepared for whatever this was at about half past three in the morning, while running purely on anxiousness and coffee.

Roy knocked at the door, which was soon opened by Alphonse who smiled slightly at him, looking tired with bags under his eyes. He was taller than the last time he'd seen him, his face was fuller and his skin was looking a lot healthier than it had done back at the hospital. "Thank you for coming so quickly, General... We've already prepared some coffee for you and Captain Hawkeye," he said, stepping back to let them through. "Although there have been some unexpected developments..."

Roy stepped inside, wondering about just what those 'unexpected developments' might be as Hawkeye followed him inside.

"Can I just say that I'm not Envy before you go all worried and strangle-y on me too? 'Cos those flames are pretty scary..." came a voice that sounded a lot like Edward's, but was just a bit off.

Roy froze.

Then a kid looking very much like Edward Elric stepped out from the hallway, but with a lot less muscle and height. He also looked a bit younger. Roy was getting why the kid wasn't exactly too keen on being thought of as being Envy, because that was Roy's first thought when seeing him.

But if time-travel was involved, then Roy would venture a guess. "You're Edward's son, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm born in four years... Name's Dexter Rockbell Elric..." the kid said with wide eyes like he was amazed at Roy for some reason.

Roy got a feeling of both relief and an odd kind of dread at just what that might imply. Because it probably meant that Roy had completed his goals and was dead nineteen years from now. "I'm dead, aren't I?" he asked with a heavy sigh.

"Uh, it's just that... Wow, you're really baby-faced... I mean, Dad told me what you used to look like, but wow..." Then his eyes widened, and Roy could see a smirk in his eyes. "But anyways, the one who actually knows about time-travel stuff is in the guest room, I'll show you."

"Thank you, Dexter," Roy said, feeling very much out of his depth as he followed the boy, Hawkeye behind him. "So, how old are you?"

"I'll be fifteen in little over two weeks."

"And you're Edward and Winry Rockbell's son?"

"Yep, they've been blushing a lot since I got here."

Roy couldn't help the smirk despite the situation. "I bet they have." Then he paused as he got closer to the kid and noticed the faint bruising around his throat, which wasn't a good sign paired with the wariness that had been in the boy's voice and the words he had said when he had first spoken. Roy felt his stomach clench at the thought that Edward had obviously strangled his son before he had known Dexter's true identity. That kid was going to feel guilty about that probably for the rest of his life, knowing him.

"I'll bring you the coffee, General," came Al's voice as he disappeared in the direction of what Roy assumed was the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you, Alphonse," Roy said, before following the stranger up the stairs, not really knowing what to say or think because he had been expecting a recluse with lots of half-deluded ideas.

...Not Edward Elric's son who was saying that he had no idea how to travel through time, despite the fact that he had obviously just done so.

Roy's main focus would therefore be the one with the knowledge about how to perform the alchemy. That was the best place to start. At least he hoped so. "So, Dexter, are you an alchemist?"

"No, gave that up almost eight years ago... You're actually a part of the reason for that, but it's a long story. So no, not an alchemist even if I'm pretty good at it. Never got passionate about it, you know? So I'm an asthmatic pianist now." Then he turned around to look at them. "Hey, uh, do you want me to take your coats? The room's pretty warm 'cos of the ovens..."

"There's no need, Dexter, I'll hold them," came Hawkeye's kind voice as Roy suddenly felt her begin to help him out of his coat, leaving him in just his black trousers, white shirt and black waistcoat. Roy couldn't help the way that he found it amusing what with the asthmatic pianist part. "Now are you sure that your... guest isn't posing a threat?" Hawkeye asked, obviously going into bodyguard mode. Roy turned around to see her reaching for her gun just in case, and Roy moved his hand toward the trouser pocket containing his ignition gloves.

At that the kid began laughing, before opening a door to their left. "He's in through there, so you can see for yourself," he said as he stepped back to let them in before himself. "And you don't need that stuff, he's pretty harmless."

Roy went inside the room, immediately noticing the stifling heat, before pausing at the sight in front of him.

Edward was sitting there on a bed, smirking, and a stranger was lying in one of the other beds, mostly obscured by the Rockbells who were obviously treating him.

"Go right ahead, you're gonna want to have a proper look at him," Edward said and Roy suddenly realised that the father and son had obviously teamed up on Roy.

And so Roy and Hawkeye went over to the other side of the bed, Hawkeye appearing in the stranger's line of vision first.

"...Oh, Riza... Come back to bed... it's late..." came a slurred voice, and Roy froze.

Then he moved quickly so that he could potentially punch whomever it was that was making a pass on his Captain in such a way.

...Only to stop dead in his tracks as his eyes fell upon the pale form of his much older self, lying there in the bed with a weak smile on his face. "Hi there, Roy... Knew you'd be surprised..."

"What the hell are you doing travelling through time?!" Roy demanded, horror-stricken.

"'Cos I did it the first time 'round..." he said in a manner telling them that he had obviously just woken up and was getting his bearings. He moved his head to look at Hawkeye. "Sorry, Riza... That was ... inappropriate of me..."

Roy was beginning to wonder if his older self was turning into one of those old men who hit on every young, pretty woman that they saw.

"That still doesn't explain why you're calling Captain Hawkeye by her first name," Roy told him, beginning to get slightly uncomfortable at the other implications of what as to the reason behind him telling Hawkeye in his half-asleep state to 'come back to bed.'

...Because that would never happen, would it?

In answer, his older self smiled slightly and lifted his hand out of the duvet.

...Revealing a wedding ring. "Forgot where and when I was... Sorry."

Roy froze, not daring to look at his subordinate.

No, instead he strode forwards and punched his older self, feeling sick and horrified about how he had obviously chosen himself and his happiness over his plans for the future. And so he grabbed the front of his nightshirt in fury and disgust. "IF YOU HAVE MARRIED HER AND REACHED THE POSITION OF FÜHRER, THEN WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO BE SO COWARDLY?!" Roy yelled furiously.

"General! Do not assault my patients!" came Pinako Rockbell's voice.

Roy didn't really care, but instead kept glaring down at the coward in the bed.

The coward whose left eye was suddenly producing a tear. "...Leopold Maes Mustang... He's nine... By not... How could I purposely kill my son so as to mess with time itself?"

Roy froze.

His fate was to marry Hawkeye and have a son with her?

"I think you should release him now, sir..." came Captain Hawkeye's voice from over by the nightstand. She sounded slightly shaken.

Looking over at her, he understood why.

She had picked up a photograph of himself smiling warmly as he sat on a rug, playing with a few toy cars together with an equally smiling, blonde boy.

"Fulfilled the rest of my goals, though... I'm the first democratically elected President of Amestris," came the slightly slurred voice from the bed.

Roy could only stare.

And please, please, please leave a review! They inspire me to update quicker and it's a bit disappointing when I've only got one after three chapters.

(But no flames, they're very uninspiring)