Summary:

Edward Elric finds himself pulled back through the Gate, his brother left alone on the other side. Once again, he finds himself fighting through hell and fire to get his brother back, enlisting the help of an ex-State Alchemist, searching for a less bloody way of opening the Gate. Gaining knowledge of the Key, Edward begins searching for a way to locate the Key, his new companion, Violet McCloud, constantly pulling at his curiosities.

Disclaimer:

I do not own FullMetal Alchemist, but this plot is purely my own design.

Chapter Two- Train of Thoughts

Edward Elric raced through the streets of Central, his watch reading five minute before nine. He hated his habitual knack for being late. For the past two days, all Ed could think about was the words Mustang left him with in his office. Violet knew his brother. She made a Blood Oath with him. Something happened. Something must have happened that caused Al to actually perform such a ritual. What was the oath? What could Al possibly swear to a strange girl who seemed rather creepy in the most part?

Arriving at the station, Ed was relieved to see people still boarding the train. Sweeping his gaze over the crowd of people, he eventually caught sight of the familiar petite girl. She seemed to be speaking on the phone just next to the ticket booth. Her silver-violet eyes met his own and as he approached he barely caught her telling the person good bye and hanging up. The girl was still dressed the same as before, but a hooded trench coat draped over her clothing.

"Good morning, Edward," she greeted passively, her silver-violet eyes looking him over briefly, "Let's get on board before the train decides to leave without us."

Climbing aboard the train and finding their seats, Ed was surprised to find himself in the First Class section, each set of seats arranged within their own private cabins. Entering their cabin, Ed placed his belongings on the rack above their heads, Violet mirroring his moves behind him. Taking their seats, Violet didn't bother striking up a conversation as one of the train attendants came to their cabin, requesting their tickets. Violet instantly handed the man two tickets, to which the man punched them before handing them back.

As the compartment door slid shut, Ed turned his gaze on the girl, "Where are we headed exactly?"

The girl's eyes moved to the ceiling of their compartment, "We are heading to Puenimos. It's a trade-market town. While we are searching for a way to get your brother back, we also need to keep in mind, that someone pulled you through the Gate with a purpose. Now, while I am aware you care little about anything other than bringing your brother back, I cannot begin to allow myself to ignore the fact that someone opened the Gate. Someone must have spilled innocent blood in order to do so and I intend to find out who it is."

"Why?" Ed found him gaze locked with her own once again, "I mean, the Gate is the over-seeing deity to us Alchemists. It knows far more than humans ever could. So why do you feel the need to...protect it."

The gaze he found himself locked with turned to stare out of the window, the lurch of the compartment giving them to knowledge that they were now moving, "Do you know what my main job was for Mustang?" Ed shook his head, even though she wasn't watching him, "Mustang, he seems to know when people have special traits that allow them to succeed where others will fail. My ability to retain almost all knowledge bestowed upon me is a major asset to the Military. While other branches wished for me to be used for their advantages, Mustang was my lead commanding officer and as such he issued that my job was to ensure that the Gate was never opened again."

Ed's eyes widened with shock. Remembering the final moments between the invasion of Amestres, and him going back to the other side to shut the opened Gate, Mustang had taken his brother's place to shut the Gate on this side. Of course Mustang would find a way to ensure that there wasn't another way for someone to open the Gate.

"You must be a powerful Alchemist," Ed watched as she shrugged with a sense of indifference, "Why did you leave the Military if you were such a renowned State Alchemist?"

Something unreadable flickered through her gaze once more, "I'm surprised a protegee such as yourself didn't realize it before now. Three years ago, there was an accident I was involved in and my sight isn't as strong as it used to be. In fact, I can only see where people are depending on their auras."

"You're blind?" Ed exclaimed, his eyes meeting her eyes once more, "What do you mean aura?"

"Every person has their own personal aura. Families tend to have the same colors, only different accents of color pertaining to their individuality. Your brother, his aura was over all flanked with gold, but there was a rich red embedded into his aura. Your aura is a mixture of silver and gold. As a person experiences more things, new colors mix into their aura," she explains, Ed picking up on the silent acknowledgment that Violet did in fact know his brother.

"So, Mustang wasn't just fucking with me. You do know Al," he states, watching as her gaze moves back out of the window.

Her stoic face softens, a small smile forming on her lips, "Alphonse Elric is an enigma wrapped within mystery." As if she already knew Ed was going to ask her the reasons behind her words, she continued, "Red is mostly known for more dangerous experiences, but he always seems so naive in his mannerisms that throws me off quite a bit. Alphonse practically saved my life a few years ago, the two of you having been split up at the time. The stark differences between his personality and his experiences led me to believe that for someone so young, he had done something very dangerous at one time."

Her eyes seemed to soften as she paused, whatever thought that raced through her mind being a complete mystery to him, "A few years ago, after I was pretty much dismissed from the Military, I began traveling. I was actually on a rather self-destructive path. How could I not be? I sacrificed so much and it didn't seem as though Equivalent Exchange was on my side. A friend of mine and I were in the midst of a fierce fight with two other Alchemists. I...I almost lost it that day, remembering everything that had happened, and now I was about to watch one of my only companions die before my eyes." Her eyes slid shut, "Then, that little brat came out of no where, shielding her from the attack."

Ed glared at the girl for calling his brother a brat, but the small smirk that formed on her lips caused him to lose his glare, "He introduced himself as Alphonse Elric. Raine immediately became enamored with the boy, and I found yet another person tagging along for the journey. While I resented him at first, something about him caused me to grow a soft spot for the kid."

"So, what's with the Blood Oath Mustang told me about?"

A smirk formed on her lips, "That's kind of the more amusing thing. During my time traveling with him and Raine, Al often spoke of his older brother, and how he hoped to find a way to bring him back. Even though everyone swore the proclaimed FullMetal Alchemist was dead, he was always determined to prove people wrong. I made him swear to keep my secret, and in return, I would do my best to help him find information on bringing his older brother back."

Ed fell silent. Something about all of this sounded familiar. Didn't all mention traveling with some girl named Raine? He never mentioned another girl named Violet. There was another Alchemist he spoke of. Peering up at the girl across from him once more, he narrowed his eyebrows. Didn't Al mention someone named Jack?

"Who's Jack?" Violet quirked an eyebrow, "Al mentioned a girl named Raine, and an Alchemist by the name of Jack, but he never mentioned someone named Violet."

Violet shook her head, as if a thought flashed through her mind, "The reason you have never heard of me, was the Oath between Alphonse and I was that he could never speak of Violet McCloud, and in turn, I would help him find a way to get you back."

"So, you're the one that sent him to Leore during the battle. You knew the Gate was going to open before it did," Ed figured out, his eyebrows knitting together in thought.

Violet didn't deny, or agree to the accusation, but instead tilted her head to the side, "I had some pressing matters to attend to, but I remembered reading about a massive destruction of the original city of Leore, so I sent Alphonse to see if he could find anything."

Ed fell silent. It all made sense. Al said he had arrived just in time, Armstrong and Rose having been there. Leore was where it all originally happened. Where Ed made his sacrifice. The place where the final fight with The Father happened. Everything made sense. If this girl was able to retain all knowledge, almost like Seshka, than it would make sense that she would remember the battle.

"He was sad," her voice pulled him from his thoughts, "He tried to hide it, but my enhanced senses picked up on it easily. He hated knowing he regained his body, but you were supposed to leave everything you've known behind for a world unknown to you." Ed had no idea where that had come from, but her eyes moved to gaze at his face, his mind registering the realization of her gaze unable to focus on a certain point on his face, "Alphonse would've given everything up to get you back, and I there was one point that he was considering doing so."

Ed flinched. After everything, Al would've thrown it away to get him back. The thought caused his chest to fill with a swirling warmth. A soft smile formed on his lips, but his mind registered the fact that Al was contemplating it at some point. Something had stopped him. Maybe his memories? No, Al mentioned that he hadn't remembered anything, just names and faces. Maybe out of instinct, then? Yeah.

"So, why did they call you the FinalStrike Alchemist?" Ed asked, hoping to change the subject.

Violet chuckled, her throaty laughter huskier than most of the girls he had ever met, "In the midst of a fight, I take more to hand-to-hand combat more than using Alchemy to meet my commands. I only use Alchemy to finish the fight, hence the name."

"Who did you fight during your Exam?" Ed asked, finding the girl's fighting style interesting.

A smirk appeared on her lips, a smirk he had seen once before, but it was on a different face, "Colonel Mustang," Ed chuckled, remembering his own fight against Mustang, "...and Lt. Armstrong."

Ed choked on his snickering, eyes widening with shock, "What?"

"It was originally with Armstrong, but Mustang had pissed me off before the Exam so I performed a maneuver that caused one of Armstrong's attacks to barely miss hitting the bastard," Ed didn't bother hiding his laughter, "Mustang became angry and had aimed his own attack at us, and I was stuck in the middle of still fighting Armstrong, and trying to dodge Mustang's attacks. I was able to best Mustang, just barely, but Armstrong was able to finish me off."

Ed's laughter eased into chuckles before he became silent once more, his head tilting to the side in thought, "If you lost your fight against Armstrong, how did you become a State Alchemist?"

"The judges were impressed with my abilities with Alchemy," Violet replied easily, her body shifting to allow her to lay back on the seat, her hands folded behind her head, "So, tell me about your adventures. Alphonse often said he wished he could tell everyone about them, but he didn't remember most of it."

Ed smiled before delving into the tales of the adventures of the Elric Brothers. He watched as her face transformed with each story. Some of them were harder to talk about than others, but she was insistent about listening. So, this was what Al was talking about. All those stories Al had talked about, he often said it was so easy become comfortable with the travelers. Violet had to have been one of them. It was impossible to deny. The girl didn't hold anything against him as he told her of some of his less than finer moments. She didn't seem disgusted with the things he had to do to ensure they would succeed in their missions.

His tales filled the compartment with an air of comfort and he was surprised to find that they had arrived at their destination. Gathering their things, Ed wondered how the girl, who couldn't see things the way he could, was able to move as if she could see perfectly fine. He hopped off the train, watching as Violet followed, setting her suitcase down. Stretching her arms above her head, Ed opened his mouth to ask his question when a black blur tackled the girl. Fear forced his body to tense at the sight of a wolf standing over the form of Violet, silver flecks coloring the dark coat. Watching as the wolf's muzzle moved toward the girl's exposed throat, Ed dropped his own suitcase, his hands moving wide as he readied his attack.