THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS!! You have been warned!

Hello again :) Thank you for reading so far, I admire your patience!

"Edward."

"Roy."

The Colonel glared at the stubborn teenager. The blonde glanced cautiously at the doorway, determined to enter when he was ready, not when his superior ordered him to.

"Ed, stop being childish. I know you can act your age when you want to, so just do yourself a favour and go in!"

"Childish?" the blonde grinned, "would I ever do such a thing?"

"Just go in! Or I do I have to drag you myself?"

"I'd like to see you try old man" Edward grasped the handle tightly and craned his neck to look back at the man. "I hate to break it to you Roy, but I'm immune to threats"

The Colonel forced a smile, watching the teen open the door without a trace of nerves or guilt. His expression remained calm and collected, as if he had just returned from a normal walk. Despite putting on a brave face, Roy could guarantee Ed was a bag of nerves. He always managed to see through the mask the blonde displayed, and after many years it appeared to be crumbling. If anyone looked close enough, it wasn't hard to spot the true emotion seeping through.

Edward growled in irritation.

As soon as his foot stepped through the door, everyone's attention shifted, almost as if he were a magnet. It was beginning to irritate him. He felt like a caged animal being peered at through the bars. If the stares didn't cease eventually, Ed would have to remind them just how much of an animal he could be.

Glancing around the sitting room the blonde noticed the absence of his brother. Sighing, he collapsed into his favourite armchair and ran a hand through his hair.

"Al, I know you're listening just please... sit down, I promise I won't scream at you" the brunette sheepishly emerged from the stairway, his attention fixed on the floor as he approached his brother.

"I think it's safe to say you've been wondering where I've been..." he smiled, "I'll tell you, all of you, but you have to promise you'll listen to everything I have to say first" Ed motioned for the other to join him, sighing as he rubbed his temples. He had no idea where to start. Was the blonde wasting his breath? What if they thought he was stark raving mad?

"Brother?" the teen was interrupted from his thoughts by a hand shaking him lightly on the shoulder. Stretching his back the blonde rested his head in his hands, elbows digging into his lap.

"No questions until I'm done, okay?" The group replied with a silent nod, waiting for Ed to begin eagerly, relived that their questions would finally be answered.

"Something wrong chief?" Jean asked after a long silence, dropping his shrivelled cigarette into the glass ashtray.

"I... Don't know where to start..."

"From the beginning" the Colonel wore his usual mocking smirk, one that Edward knew all too well. Ignoring Roy's cocky comment the teen ploughed on nervously.

"Al, how much do you remember about the night I went missing?"

"The last memory I have of you is... when we tried to bring back Mom"

The blonde groaned. This sure wasn't making it any easier.

"The night I disappeared Envy killed me."

The same thought plagued all of their minds. Had the Elric really been killed so easily? He'd had so many brushes with dead before, but it surprised them that the homonculus had succeeded.

"Al used the stone to bring me back. When I woke up, he was gone, and I had my limbs back..." the teen was distracted by a brief memory, when he admired his flesh limbs. The moment had only lasted seconds, but it had truly felt wonderful to be able to feel the fabric of his clothes against his skin. But to Ed, his brother's life was worth more than a measly arm and leg. He'd learnt to live without them for so long the thought of a few more years didn't bother him.

"I tried to bring him back, and the gate took me... again."

"That's where you've been? The gate?" Edward couldn't help but notice the disappointment dripping from Risa's voice.

"Not in the gate, the other side of it"

"What's on the other side?" Al asked confusedly. Why hadn't his brother seen it for?

"A... another world, a parallel one" an uncomfortable silence followed. The blonde had been expecting this to happen. How could he have been so stupid? He made a mental note to try and salvage any dignity he had left. "Great" he thought, "now they think I'm skitzo"

"But.. That's not possible" Winry stuttered, looking at the teens as if he wasn't quite there in the head.

"Well I've got news for you, it is, I've been there. Whether you believe me or not is up to you... but don't look at me like I'm nuts, it's not very flattering" "The other world, it has doubles of the people here, they have the same names and personalities too" there was yet another unwanted silence. Edward sighed fustratedly.

"Why am I bothering? You know what? I might as well go and talk to Den!"

"Look Ed, what you're saying is a little... hard to take in" the Colonel said, remarkably without a hint of sarcasm.

"Wait a minute" the blonde rummaged through his trouser pocket, emerging with a brown leather wallet in his hand. He began to plough through the notes and scraps of paper, until at last he found what he had been looking for. He shoved a photograph in Roy's face, determined to prove himself. He grinned triumphantly when the Colonel took the picture from his gloved hands and began to examine it closely.

"Is that enough proof? Or are you going to send me to an asylum now?"

"It's... Hughes..."

"Officer Hughes" the teen corrected, "from the other side"

Roy's black irises scanned the image repeatedly, his brain recognising the familiar figure on the glossy paper. He was trying hard to control his emotions, constantly reminding himself it wasn't Maes. Not the Maes he'd known. It wore the same smile, but after so many years of friendship, Roy could clearly spot the faults in the man's expression. His gaze shifted to Edwards. Handing the picture to Jean he opened his mouth to speak, but the teen interrupted him before he could.

"Forget it" Edward snatched the black and white image from Havocs grasp, he stood, but before he could leave, three words stopped him.

"I believe you" The blonde slowly turned, looking at the Colonel questioningly. Was his hearing deceiving him?

"Excuse me?"

"I... believe you"

Ed sighed with relief, a weight lifted from his mind. He smiled, feeling that he no longer had to prove himself. Back in Germany, it took much persuasion to convince his good friend Alfons that he wasn't stark raving mad. Luckily for Ed, Al was open minded about the idea.

"Thanks... I mean it"

"You said something about a war..." Alphonse muttered, his gaze fixed at the floor.

"The Second World War" the blondes smile faded. Roy could clearly see Alphonse had hit a nerve. He knew just how terrifying war could be, and experienced it firsthand.

"I... It was..." the teen felt a hand on his shoulder.

"In your own time... FullMetal"

"I was a scientist at the time, Physics, with a friend of mine... Alfons" the blonde glanced at his younger brother. "I guess it wasn't surprising we got on so well, he was just like you Al, sometimes I couldn't face him because it hurt so much. I tried going for walks to get away from him, but I just kept bumping into other people..."

"On my 17th birthday a letter arrived for me" he paused. "I knew what it was, but I couldn't bring myself to open it. Al got one too... Not exactly the best gift I've ever had" he laughed, in a desperate attempt to liven the atmosphere. The blonde didn't go into much detail about the letters contents; he avoided the subject as casually as he could. The others understood, hoping they had guessed wrongly. They didn't have the heart to question him about it; fearing doing so would trigger unwanted memories and emotion for Ed.

The teen wasn't sure what to talk about next. His gloved fingers drummed on the armrest.

"What happened to Alfons?" the blonde's eyes widened at the sudden question.

"W-what?" the teen tried to hide the unease in his voice, his efforts were useless. The Colonel could see Ed's mask crumbling, his expression clearly displayed sadness.

"What happened to Alfons?" the younger Elric had taken a sudden interest to his apparent double from the other world. Before the words had left his mouth, Ed knew he couldn't last much longer, he was bound to crack. Of course he had been expecting it; he had prepared himself for this conversation many hours ago, when he'd chosen to take comfort outdoors away from the questions.

"We were sent to the front line... I-it happened so quickly... before I could tell him, it was too late!" the blondes shoulders began to trembles slightly, he struggled to suppress the tears blurring his vision. "He said he hopes I'd make it home someday, and I... was like a brother to him...."

"And then he was gone, right in my arms! I should have paid more attention to the attack, but I couldn't leave him!" "When I turned around... It was too late"

The tears fell, soaking his porcelain cheeks with a salty river. It was the first time Ed had cried for many years, and it was just as painful as the last.

"S-sorry" he sobbed as quietly as his voice would allow, "I'm sorry... I c-can't talk about it, not now..."

I know some people are bound to pick on me for making Ed cry, it happened in my last fic.

I'm not going to make it a habit! Even tough guys have to open the waterworks sometimes!

See you next chapter, when I'll be dropping a bombshell....