Disclaimer: I... don't own FMA, sadly. sarcastically bursts into tears

A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone, but here it is! Chapter 8!

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Déjà Vu

"No way, big brother! Easy... as... PIE!!!"

Dorchet scoffed as Al and Ed stormed towards him. When they were around three feet away, the chimera dodged them and ran away into the forest. This'll give me some leverage. I've never climbed trees much, but... these are so close together, I should be able to use guerilla warfare easily. He started climbing up a tree and noticed that Ed was conferring with Al, trying to devise a strategy.

"Like you'll ever catch me, you two-bit idiots!" the chimera yelled gleefully, jumping from the first tree and into the one to its right. The dense foliage covered him up, and only the rustling of leaves would ever reveal his location. Now, it's time to get this party started! He pulled his sword that he had received from the police HQ out of his holder and peeked through the tree. Ah, perfect setup.

The half-canine steadied the hold he had on his two foot long sword and carefully jumped down onto the ground behind the tree. The Elrics were on the other side, still searching for him. His landing wasn't all that 'careful' as he had assumed—he wasn't a cat, after all. Alphonse had seen a flash of fabric and warned Edward in a whisper. Too bad for the Elrics that Dorchet had a very good sense of hearing, because with the space of time he had, the chimera was able to see Edward's attack and he dodged it once more. The only thing different was that this time a round, Dorchet took the liberty of stabbing Ed in the arm with his sword.

"Shit!" screamed the Fullmetal alchemist after being stabbed. He grabbed his arm and winced in pain as the blood flowed down his left arm. He cursed a bit more, and lunged at Dorchet, who was surprisingly still standing there, taking in the image of Edward in pain. Without thinking, Alphonse lunged at the chimera at the same exact time and they all ended up on the ground.

Dorchet grunted and pushed both boys away from him. Standing up, he laughed manically at the boys, astounded by their foolishness.

"At least time your attacks separately, dumbasse—" He was cut short by the pain he had just noticed. He looked at Alphonse, then at Edward... then, his lower stomach. Oh sweet heavens, thought the chimera. To his horror, his own sword was inside his intestines.

"How? How the...?" he croaked, falling to the ground while holding his bleeding stomach region. He looked up as Edward smirked at him, giving him the bird. And just then, he realized. Damn it all. I lost my train of thought, wandered off into la-la land... and, shit! I've never done this before, so why does it happen now?

"You weren't paying attention to your surroundings, Dorchet," Alphonse remarked while slightly smiling. This normally wouldn't be how Al would react to his brother giving another person a fatal wound, but... he had changed ever since arriving on Earth. The brunette had learned to be somewhat a mixture, par says, of him and his older brother. Alphonse still had manners though (unlike where Edward had next to none), but for this situation, he didn't really feel sorry for Dorchet. All he knew was that Dorchet being here was delaying their return to Munich and then home. He was just wondering one thing though, but Edward got to him first.

"One thing before you die, chimera. How did you reach the other side of the Gate when you died? I thought Gluttony ate you alive..." Edward asked.

Dorchet blearily looked up and laughed. Then, he pointed to his stomach. "You didn't know, did you? That Gluttony, when he 'ate me alive', I was transported to a fake Gate! Ha... haha! Oh, God... it's a long story. Maybe I'll just let you all figure it out..." his breaths were slowly becoming more and more rigid, "... on your own. That fat bastard is here after all, you'll just have to find him. Good luck... Fullmetal... ha... haha..." And, that was all he wrote.

The two brothers hastily picked Dorchet up and placed him inside a clump of bushes—they didn't have the time or patience to give him a proper burial. A fake Gate? How is that even possible?? Edward thought.

"Brother? Do you think Dorchet was telling us the truth?" Al asked.

"I don't know, Al. He seemed a bit mad when he died, with all that laughing. But, if Gluttony's here, we need to get rid of him before we go home. This world needs our help. We've lived in it, taken food from it, and formed relationships with its inhabitants. We need to pay it back before we go back. Equivalent exchange, remember? They all can wait a little longer, eh?" the blonde replied.

Al hesitated for a moment, remembering Winry. She always hated waiting for us. But, maybe... no, I'll ask brother.

"No, we can't! Don't you remember Winry? She hated waiting for us!!! B-Brother..." Alphonse shook as his thoughts consumed him. Edward's eyes widened as he, too, realized what Al was getting at. But, we owe this world for what we've taken from it. Dammit! How can I decide!? I can't put everything on a scale and weigh how much it means to me! ... Wait, I have an idea.

"Al?" Edward said, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder, "I think I have an idea." Alphonse looked up at his brother and nodded, telling him he was listening to his every word. "Maybe if we continue our journey, we might run into Gluttony on the way. We can keep on course, and not look for him, but in turn, we might find him, or vice-versa. That way, we won't be wasting any time. What do you say?"

The brunette pondered this idea for a moment when the two girls finally came back over from their hiding place. Ed glanced over to them and kind of smiled, motioning them to come on over while his breaths started becoming more rapid from his wound.

"It's safe now, you two. That guy—Dorchet's dead. He was... a chimera from our world. I know, Isabelle, that you're most likely thinking of running off now, but... please, believe us," Edward said blearily looking at the girls. He was really fatigued from that fight.

"You mean, you're... from a parallel world? Like in that book that some American wrote about?" Isabelle said, her eyes lighting up like she had just received the best gift anyone could ever get. By now, Ed had set himself down in front of a tree, leaning himself and his injured arm against it.

"Yes, that's what we mean," Al said in place of his brother, "You... believe us?"

"Ah, yes! I-I'm sort of a bookworm about this kind of stuff. I enjoy reading fantasies such as that, but... you mean it really does exist?"

"Yes! Yes, it does. We're on our way back now."

"You are? Can I come???" Isabelle pleaded like a beggar.

"Will you two be quiet!!? Ed's hurt over here! We need to get him to a doctor, and quick! He's still losing blood!" Noah screamed from her position by Edward.

Al and Isabelle turned on their heels. Al dashed over to his brother and bent down beside Noah. Isabelle was right behind him.

"Brother... Brother? Can you hear me?" Al asked, putting his hand on his brother's head concernedly. Edward opened his eyes somewhat, and smiled faintly at Alphonse. He whispered something only Al could hear.

'I love you, Al. Give Winry and the others my regards.'

And then his eyes closed. Al scampered backwards in haste, his eyes watering up. No, no. This can't be happening. Ed's not dead! He's not dead!!! As tears flowed from his eyes, Alphonse made a quick decision.

"Isabelle, Noah! We need to get Ed to a hospital... NOW!" he yelled, picking Ed up on his own. Al put his brother over his shoulder and motioned for them to come with him. He saw a road not too far away, and all he could was hope that he wasn't too late. The two women followed; with anxious faces... no one knew what was going to happen.

Oh please don't let me too late, brother! Please just have fainted... I can't lose you!!!