The car soon took them to the front of the Butterfly Mansion,"Here ya go!"

"Oh, boy," Ed said, letting out a sigh as he remembered the last time he was here.

"Something up, brother?" Al asked as the door opened.

Aoi stared at Ed and squeed a little before running off to get her mistress.

"That, that's the matter, Al," Ed grumbled.

"Ah, fangirls," Al said with a nod.

Zenitsu muttered,"Of course he gets fangirls... it's the coat isn't it!?"

Shinobu looked him over with a giggle,"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, Fullmetal." She looked at his broken arm,"Oh dear, we'll have to call your mechanic."

Aoi looked Tanjiro over,"Where's Inosuke?"

"He hasn't come here?" Tanjiro asked. "We haven't found him."

Inosuke waited by his killed car, "Behold new followers, I have slain the beast!"

The young man in the yellow vest was talking to some very angry people,"I'm so sorry, I'm still kind of training him!" He said with a chuckle.

Aoi frowned,"Oh." She looked away,"I see."

Tanjiro walked up to Aoi and put a hand on her shoulder, "He'll get here, don't worry. He'll just take his time."

"Then I will personally teach him why a young girl's heart is a precious thing!" Zenitsu shouted.

Al looked at his brother,"So, do you want to face her wrath or are you sending me to do it?"

Ed was hiding in the closet, gone. Only a fake dummy of him waited on the bed.

"Ed. You can't hide from your destiny forever." Al said.

"Just distract her long enough for me to find something to trick her," Ed said.

"Fine." Al walked away.

A few rings, then a few yells, and then a few hours later, there was the sound of crashing

"Man, she must look like a real horrible witch," Zenitsu said

The door slammed open to reveal a beautiful blond girl in a tube top,"WHERE IS EDWARD ELRIC!?"

Zenitsu looked at the lovely girl, his eyes drawn everywhere along her body to take note of every curve and every inch of her beautiful body. After taking a moment he took a few steps to Ed's location, broke through the closet door, and pulled him out. Holding Ed by his neck collar, he shouted, "YOU HAVE A HOT WOMAN AT YOUR BECK AND CALL AND YOU ARE SCARED OF HER!?"

"Zensitsu you-"

"She is your mechanic," Zentisu said, closing his eyes and his fist, "Which means that she touches every single inch of your body. Do you know how many straight men and lesbians would CRAVE THAT!?"

"Well, it's the wre-"

"I don't care!" Zentisu said, walking away, grumbling before kneeling before the blonde, "My apologies my dear, your boyfriend is an idiot for not appreciating your beauty. I will leave you two alone." Then he walked out.

Winry began stammering,"B-boyfriend!?"

"Don't look at me!" Ed said. "I just met him."

Winry coughed,"You've been making strange friends apparently." She walked over to him and looked him over,"I'm definitely going to have to make a few adjustments. I'll also check your leg as well in the off chance you actually got taller."

"Hey, it's been a while," Ed said, "I most definitely had gotten taller."

Winry smirked,"What, by an inch?"

Ed frowned at her a little before saying, "At least by two."

Al clapped his hands and fixed up the cracked ground he landed in,"Sorry about that. Winry's... passionate about her automail."

"Some of our swordsmiths can be pretty bad themselves, so don't worry about it." Aoi said, crossing her arms.

"You seem disappointed," Al said.

"Figures he's taken," Aoi muttered.

Three little girls near her then said,"And he prefers blondes..."

Zenitsu groaned, "And he has bigger muscles! I work hard, I have a buff bod!"

"Wait," Tanjiro said, looking back at the hospital rooms, "Are you guys saying that they might have a thing for each other?"

As the room began to quiet, Zenitsu said, "Remember, mountain boy. Probably wouldn't know his girlfriend if she happily walked by and said hello."

Kanao walked up to him,"Hello Tanjiro."

"Oh, hello Kanao," Tanjiro said with a faint smile as he looked at her. For a moment he began to become lost in her violet eyes.

Zenitsu rolled his eyes, "point proven."

In the hospital bedroom, Ed sat on the bed and watched Winry as she worked. He had to admit, even just a little, there was magic to her working. The way her muscles and arms move just slightly as she adjusted a bolt or tightened a screw. The determined look in her eyes as she would pick out a piece of equipment for the mechanical limb. She was like an artist and was almost in love with working as he was with... reading a new book. Yeah. Closing his eyes, he watched her work, "Sorry."

"Hmmm?" Winry asked with a few tools in her mouth.

"Sorry for so often breaking my stuff and forcing you to come up here to see me," Ed said. "You shouldn't have to."

Brushing her hair from her face, Winry sighed, "Ed, I don't have to. I want to because I don't trust anybody else but me working on you. Anyone else might make a mistake."

Ed chuckled at this as he leaned back, and watched her a little more, just letting the time flow by and enjoying her company.

Back down below, Zenitsu walked to Al and asked, "So...how close?"

"Close enough that I'm pretty sure Ed defaults to the Periodic Table of Elements whenever he thinks of her." Al looked at him,"How about them?"

"They're close too, but they don't know how close they are. I think Tanjiro's too nervous to realize," Zenitsu said.

"He and Ed are real opposites, I realize." Al said,"I bet if I said something to Tanjiro right now, he won't get defensive as Ed would."

Zenitsu nodded, "He most likely would freeze up or just faint at the idea."

"Definitely." Al sighed,"Being oblivious must be an older brother thing." Al placed a hand on his helmet and sighed.

Zentisu nodded, "Yeah, we little brothers need to stick together."

"You have an older sibling?" Al asked.

"Well, I mean...when I and Nezuko-chan get married and have kids, he's going to be my bro-in-law." Zenitsu laughed a little nervously,"Totally don't have anyone else I look up to as an older brother..."

Al let out a chuckle at that. He thought briefly of Nezuko's description of him but decided against saying anything at the moment. That's up to Nezuko and saying anything now would likely kill him.

Zenitsu leaned in and grinned, "So, any girls for you?"

Al's eyes widened,"Well, there is one but I don't know where she is at the moment!" The tables have turned!

"Oh, I see. Spill! How hot, cute, and does she know?!"

"Well, she is kind of cute and super into me, but certain things are preventing me from doing anything about it..."

Ed watched Winry work on the arm, her body moving back and forth as she added a bolt or fixed a screw. Occasionally, he would note that other things were moving back and forth, swaying just a bit to give Ed a tiny glimpse of a, "Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nip-Nitrogen, Oxygen. Damn it Winry why are you wearing such a low-cut top, I can practically see-"

Winry pulled back a little to get a drink of water, putting the bottle to her lips and sucking down the cool liquid. As she did, Ed's eyes opened wide a little, and began to think. "Flourineneonsodiumaluminumsiliconphosphurous"

"Something wrong Ed?" Winry asked as she finished her drink.

Thanking science for the distraction, Ed shook his head, "No, it-its nothing, really."

"Really, because you've been awfully quiet lately," Winry said, adjusting a bolt and smiling as a spark of electricity shot out and a finger moved. "I haven't even hit you yet, so I thought you would have a little control of your motor control."

"Yeah, I'm grateful for that," Ed said, "Though where is your-"

"The butterfly girls outside took it," Winry said, "Something about 'no foreplay with the patients' or something."

"Fore..." Ed shook his head. Pausing, he went back to watch Winry at her work, letting out a little sigh as he watched her.

"I don't even think I hit you that hard. I mean, you have a hard head and I've seen you take on worse. After all, you are the guy who took a year to recover from your Automail surgery. Anyone who does that can take a little blow to the head," Winry said with a laugh as she pulled out a small soldering tool, "Though, you kind of deserve it. You worry me too much."

"You shouldn't have to. I don't intend to die before I help Al," Ed said, leaning back,"Then, I won't have to leave yo-"

Ed looked at himself, covered in symbols, before breathing hard. He was going to make a sacrifice, but anything for his brother. He clapped his hands, prepared to never see his friends ever again.

"Ed?" Winry asked, waving her hand in front of him, "I said you grew an inch, you should be happy!" she said, pulling back with a warm smile on her lips.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, ecstatic," Ed said, looking down. "What was up with that...I would never abandon them. I said I would go home and I meant it."

"Ed?" Winry asked, gasping as she felt a hand grasp one of hers, making her blush a little.

"Winry, I know I say this a lot but I do mean it. I'll always come back home," Ed said, smiling as he held her hand, fingers entwining absentmindedly.

"Ed, you say that all the time. I think," Winry smiled and giggled at this, "I get the idea by now. You are just too stubborn to give up, right?"

"Yeah," Ed said, looking back into her blue eyes. warmly, "But because you are kind of my home. You remind me and Al that we have something to come home to. No matter what, you are our home and my-" he then noticed how long he was looking at her, and how long he was holding her hand, "-Our dear friend. We need you."

Winry said nothing, only smiling back at Ed as she let go of his hand and turned back to work on his arm, "Let's g-ge t back to work."

"Yeah," Ed said.

Nezuko stared at the body in the center of the circle, noticing the torn yellow haori covering it. She slowly walked over to it and touched it,"..." She let out a small whimper.

"Sorry, couldn't save him..." She heard her big brother whisper. She turned to the noise, watching in horror as she saw Tanjiro, bloodied from battle, eyes closed. Before she could utter a scream, a black nail struck her in the chest.

"Vermin." The woman's voice said.

Nezuko fell out of her box into the dark room. She slowly got up and shuddered as she held herself.

"Nezuko-chan?" Zenitsu's voice came from the door. Zenitsu was peering inside at her. At that moment Nezuko leaped into him. She sobbed as she held him close

Tanjiro sat on the porch in the mansion, a deep breath leaving his nostrils as he began to reflect on the days past. He thought about his two new companions on this journey, They seem so in sync with one another... Al is so... independent. Meanwhile, I've been letting Nezuko...

Kanao placed a hand on his shoulder,"... You are troubled?"

Tanjiro stammered out of his thoughts,"I, er, I'm fine!"

Kanao cocked her head,"You're usually so upbeat, Tanjiro. But you don't seem that happy today."

Images of the woman named Lust and Shou Tucker flashed by his mind,"No, seriously..." He gave out a few chuckles.

Kanao thought for a moment, then she nodded before giving him a hug,"My sisters say this always helps."

Tanjiro sighed and returned the hug, "It does...thank you."

Shinobu leaned over them from the door,"My, aren't we getting close?"

"Um, what? I mean, I just was thanking her for the hug and the comfort," Tanjiro said, shocked.

Shinobu giggled before stepping away, I'll give him the talk later!

Tanjiro stayed frozen for a moment, unmoving.

Al waited outside the room for Ed.

Winry stepped out, "Now remember, be more careful this time. This is one of the best models I made, so try not to destroy it."

"Yeah Yeah," Ed said, waving her off. "Tell Al to come in, I need to plan."

"Ok," Winry said, before looking back at Al, "Your brother is so hard-headed sometimes."

"Yep." Al said, before going in,"... You know what we might have to do." he said.

"No, what?" Ed asked.

"That woman mentioned Izumi." Al said,"We need to go to Dublith. And talk to her."

Ed frowned, "No, we don't Al."

"Brother, it's our only lead!" Al said,"B-besides... we have to rip off the bandage. We were going to have to talk to her sooner or later..."

"I'd rather have it be later," Ed said.

"Brother..." Al said.

"Don't look at me like that," Ed said.

Al loomed over him. Just staring.

"Al, I told you not to give big brother that look!" Ed said, frowning.

Al just kept staring, this time stepping a little bit closer.

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be?" Ed said, glaring right back into his red-white eyes and pressing his forehead against Al's. He then stuck his tongue out at Al.

As the two brothers began to stare each other down, eyes locked onto one another in a demonstration of power, Tanjiro opened the door, "Hey guys, I was wondering if...you..." He had to pause looking at the two as they stared.

"Tanjiro, please tell the little brother that we don't need to see the dragon in order to save the world. Our lives are not worth it," Ed said, keeping his eyes on Al.

"Don't drag him into this." Al looked at Tanjiro,"If you had to see one of the scariest things known to mankind in order to save the world, wouldn't you do it?"

"Um, yes I would?" Tanjiro said, a questioning tone in his voice.

"I win," Ed said

"No fair, I was talking!" Al shouted.

"Totally is fair," Ed said with a grin

Winry popped her head in, and sighed,"I'm getting my wrench..."

When Ed heard Winry threaten to get the big guns, he held up his hands and said, "I give!

Winry popped her head in again,"Good." She smiled,"That's mean we're all heading to your teacher!"

"... We?" Al asked.

"I... I really want to see if your teacher is as bad as you say she is..." Winry rubbed the back of her neck.

Ed frowned, "Winry, we'll be taking you to the lion's den."

Winry smiled,"Hey, I don't mind!" She then muttered,"Also Dublith is near Rush Valley so..."

"Ah, so the truth comes out," Ed said.

Winry's eyes sparkled,"Rush Valley is a holy place for all automail engineers!" She clasped her hands together and twirled around,"It's a wonderland filled with more marvels of mechanical engineering than I could ever dream of!"

"Ah, see," Ed said.

Winry ran out,"I need to tell Granny then I'll be right there."

Kanao walked up to them,"Coincidentally, I have to run an errand for the Mistress in Dublith."

Ed, upon hearing this, could be heard shouting, "Does everyone have business there? Is the colonel going to show up and say 'Oh, I need to head to Dublith to give Izumi her adoption paperwork for you and Al?'

"Don't give them ideas," Al said.

Tanjiro sat down as the two brothers talked and looked back at the box where Nezuko slept. Sighing, he began to talk to himself, "You know, if I was honest with myself...I'm a little jealous of those two. They act so in synch with each other, act so...brotherly it's weird to see them like that. You can tell that even when they fight, they are close to each other."

Walking towards the box where his little sister was, he ran a hand along the side, closing his eyes and frowning, "I wish me and Nezuko could have something like that. Where we could argue, fight, and just be free to be mad at each other without a care in the world. But, we can't, and I would give anything to have that again." Leaning against the side of the box, he said, "Or at least I could know if you hated me...for abandoning you."

There was a small scratching sound on the inside of the box.

Zenitsu came in,"So... please tell me we're heading somewhere filled with fewer killer armors."

Al then said,"No, just our teacher, a few chimeras, and a greedy homunculus."

"So, worse then?" asked Zenitsu.

"Only a little." Al said,"Though, we're gonna get the worst of it from Teacher, so don't worry."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Zenitsu said, patting Al's shoulder, which took some doing on his part.

"Thanks..." Al said.

They soon boarded the train to Dublith.

"Any bets on this train getting attacked?" asked Zenitsu.

Al sighed,"I hope not. It happens way too often."

Winry whispered over to Tanjiro,"Did you ever find your little sister? I don't see her here."

"Um, she's gone on ahead," Tanjiro said, "We'll catch up later with her."

"Okay..." Winry raised a brow.

"I think it worked," Tanjiro thought

He's a terrible liar. Winry thought.

Nezuko facepalmed inside of her box

Hughes held a book in his hands as he went through the records,"Pretty strange what happened to Laboratory 5. Why would anyone destroy it?" He thought about the boys that came from that direction,"Okay, but why would Ed destroy it?" He muttered,"He is infamous for being reckless but not that reckless..." He sighed again as he closed the book,"I'm talking to myself, maybe I should consider early retirement." He got up with a mutter.

"I can oblige." A deep sultry voice said from the shadows.

"And now I'm hearing ghosts!" Hughes spun in the direction of the voice. And then a nail hit his shoulder,"Gah."

"I don't know what you did but I was told to kill you." Lust came into view,"Perhaps you got too close to the truth?" She retracted her nail.

Hughes held onto his bloody shoulder,"Well, maybe I'm just too nice of a guy!" He threw a small knife at her, hitting her in the forehead,"How do you like that, Demon? Wisteria!"

Lust's head flew back from the dagger. Red energy flowed from the forehead as the knife began to eject itself,"I'm no demon..." she leaned forward.

"Oh." Hughes nodded,"Well... goodbye!" He spun on his heels and ran out the door.

He stopped at the secretary,"I need a-" He stared at her for a few seconds.

"Lt. Colonel?" The woman squeaked, seeing his bloody shoulder.

"Nevermind, you never saw me!" He ran out the front doors,I don't know how that woman got into the Records office... unless someone let her in. I'll contact Roy through a phone booth then. He saw a red booth nearby,"There!" He got inside and began to dial.

"Maes." Gracia's voice said as an object was pushed into his back.

"... You're that Envy Ed mentioned, aren't you?" Hughes said without turning.

"Aw, that pipsqueak ruined that surprise as well." Envy chuckled. There was a gunshot that pushed Hughes forward,"So you did wear armor. Guess I'll aim elsewhere." Hughes felt a bullet hit his leg causing him to scream,"That was because I like hearing you scream." They aimed toward Hughes' head,"A good shot to the head'll do the trick."

Two swords struck Envy, cutting their head and arm clean off. A white-haired man landed next to them, a grin on his face,"Just in time." He turned to see the enemy standing.

Envy's body began to glow with red energy. The severed body parts began to slowly regenerate bone, muscle, and skin.

"That's not supposed to happen..." The man twirled his swords with a frown.

"Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira." Envy laughed as they returned to their green-haired form,"Well, Exterminator, wanna try that again?" Envy ran at him with a kick.

Uzui blocked the kick with his blades. The force of the blow sent him skidding back,"Gah, you're stronger than you look... whatever you are!" he deflected them before running off to the side,"I don't feel like fighting you right now so I'll make a flashy exit." He threw something at Envy's eyes.

"Oh is that a flash-" Envy let out a scream as a flashbang struck their eyes,"Gah!"

A few moments later, Hughes lay in the hospital room with a sigh,"I can't believe I got popular all of a sudden..." He muttered. He looked at Uzui, who stood in the room with him,"Oh, you're still here?"

"Only until your Colonel shows up." The other man said,"I don't want that thing to trick its way in here, so I'll stay here and keep an eye on ya."

"Well... while you're here, there's something I need to tell you." Hughes frowned.

Uzui walked closer," Yeah?"

Hughes brought out a picture,"This is my daughter at her 4th birthday party! Isn't she just precious!?"

Uzui's eye twitched I made a terrible mistake...

Al stared at the door,"You do it." he said.

"No, you do it, Al," Ed said.

"No, you," Al said.

"I did it the last time, you do it!"

"I had to fight Barry again, so you do it!" Al said.

Ed frowned, "Alchemical paper, rock, scissors?"

Al nodded, clapping his hands together at the same time as his brother. The two then slammed their hands to the ground, allowing the ground to erupt in a flash of lighting and energy. When it was done, two walls stood, "HA! Allumnin Oxide beats Silicon phosphate! You have to do it."

Ed frowned and began to knock on the door. As he did, Tanjiro stepped up to Winry, "Um, Winry, I couldn't get a straight answer from Ed and Al. How do you play Alchemical rock, paper, scissors?"

"Beats me. They started this game when we were kids," Winry said with a shrug, "when I asked..."

"It's Alchemy stuff," young Ed said with a shrug, holding up his hands.

Al crossed his arms over his chest, "Indeed. A person who doesn't know Alchemy would never understand the complex laws of this. But trust us, it's a very complicated game."

"For all I know, they're making up the rules as they come up," Winry said as Ed knocked.

The door opened and a large man in a green shirt came out. His bearded face looked down at them, before rubbing Ed's head,"... Hello Ed. Shall I get Izumi?"

Ed nodded, "Yeah, please get her. We need to talk."

Zenistu let out a gasp, "T-that isn't a man, that's a landmass!"

"I know, Seig is a very nice husband," Al said under his breath.

"...HOW DOES HE COMPLETE HIS MARITAL DUTIES WITHOUT BREAKING HER HIPS OR TEARING HER IN HALF!?" Zenitsu asked.

"Martial...duties?" asked Tanjiro innocently.

Al sighed, "Teacher is very strong and limber."

"HUMANS HAVE LIMITS!" Zenitsu said.

Sig looked up at the house,"Honey, Ed, and Al are here."

"Okay, give me a minute. It looks like I'm feeling well enough to get up today..." a female voice said.

A few footsteps could be heard that started out as walking before slowly speeding up. Sig moved to the side as a sprinting woman in a white outfit kicked Ed straight in the face,"State Alchemist!?" The black-haired woman snarled.

Al sighed. He put his hand out,"Just get it over with, Teacher."

"Thank you." Izumi grabbed Al's hand and judo threw him to the ground.

Ed stood up and sighed. Walking over, he quickly gave her a hug, "We're sorry..."

Izumi blinked a few times before hugging him back,"Just so you know, I saw that clap alchemy outside my window..." she whispered to him.

"Yeah, I had a feeling," Ed said.

Al got up and hugged her as well,"We're sorry."

Izumi muttered as she wrapped another arm around Al and sighed. She then pulled back,"Well," She smiled,"Come on in then!" She looked at the others,"Oh, and you brought guests! I'll get a bigger- Blegh!" She coughed up some blood from her mouth.

Sig ran to her,"Don't exert yourself too much!"

Tanjiro whispered to Winry, "She doesn't look like a demon."

Winry nodded,"No, she just seems like a normal housewife..."

"She's scarier than a demon..." Zenitsu muttered.

They entered the house to a large table that got set up. Izumi sat in front of Ed and Al,"I assume you didn't just risk death just to say hello."

"No, we got some questions we need to ask," Ed said, taking his seat and waiting for his friends to sit with him, "What can you tell me about your old teachers."

"Well, I told you about Silver Steiner, the martial artist I mistook for his brother." Izumi said,"But... I don't think I ever told you about Dante, my other alchemy teacher." She leaned back,"I suppose I can tell you that story now..."

About a year after my month of training in the mountains, me and Sig moved here to Dublith. While I was shopping for groceries, someone's car had broken down...

A man moaned as a tire fell out of the old car,"Come on, I just got you! You're brand new!"

"Talking to cars, now I've seen everything." Izumi held a bag in her hand as she watched the man freak out. She pulled out a piece of chalk from her dress,"Well." She was about to go help him when she saw a middle-aged woman walk towards it.

"Here." The woman clapped her hands and placed them onto the car. In a flash, the car was back to normal.

"Without a circle..." Izumi whispered, her eyes wide.

"No thanks are necessary." The woman turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Izumi ran towards her,"Miss, you're some kind of alchemist, aren't you!?"

The woman stopped,"I'm just passing through."

"Please... teach me! I know a little bit about alchemy but seeing you do it without a circle showed me I still had much to learn!"

"..." The woman turned to her, eyeing her up and down,"Indeed? You're eager, I'll say that..." she smirked,"Well, I have been looking for an apprentice. You can call me... Dante. Of the Deep Forest."

She started off by asking me if I trained my body well. I told her of my experiences in the mountains of Briggs.

Dante read from a fairytale book as she dodged Izumi's attacks,"All is one and one is all. You've learned the first lesson already." She grabbed Izumi by the wrist,"You must learn the balance of power as well." She tossed Izumi to the side with little effort,"The foundation of power is the circle. The circle shows the nature of power and you activate that power by writing alchemical formulas within the circle." Izumi kicked at her, only for Dante to grab the leg and pull it away,"By understanding the flow of power and the laws of nature, you apply that to everything." she elbowed Izumi into the ground.

She was harsher to me than I was to you boys. Don't look at me like that, it's the truth! Something always felt off to me about her, though.

"So," Izumi asked, rubbing her back,"Why is human transmutation forbidden anyway?"

Dante sat in her chair, smiling at the ground,"... because humans fear trespassing into the realm of God. They fear the idea of being more than human. " She looked at Izumi,"And yet alchemist still exists to spit in the face of God and religion. How many times have we explained away phenomena as something scientific? How many times have we seen something that's supposed to be magical explained away with science? Lightning used to be explained as the hand of God, only to be explained as the product of atoms rubbing against each other. We used to think that there were only four elements, only to find out that there are so much more out there. And our Sun. That which protects us from the monsters of the night is not a magic ball in the sky but a large gas giant that emits heat and ultraviolet radiation. Simply put, humans fear what God may do to them if he does exist, and they attempt to bring back a human in His presence."

Izumi raised a brow,"That... was a lot of words."

She never forbade me from using human transmutation. If she had...

Anyway, we parted ways after I had some news.

"Me and Sig are expecting!" Izumi said with a skip in her step,"Isn't that great!?"

Dante stared at her for a brief second, before smiling,"Yes... it's great." She got up from her chair,"I must now tell you... I'm leaving. I have nothing left to teach you."

To this day, I don't know why she left so abruptly.

"Any reason you wanted to know about her?" Izumi asked.

"Oh simple, she may be a dimensional hopper from my world which is similar to this one which might be merging with another that involves my new friends over there and I may be able to change everyone's destiny. More coffee?" Ed thought to himself, only to shake his head at the thought. Looking back at her, he said, "I think she might be involved with something big and something very bad."

He then went on to explain much about what had happened in the past few days, with Al and Tanjiro adding to what they could.

"..." Izumi crossed her arms,"This is a lot to take in." She frowned a bit,"Are you sure you went to another world and Dante didn't just transmute the worlds together?"

"I've been thinking about that, but to do that," Ed paused and then looked back. Then he asked Izumi, "Can we talk a little more privately?"

Izumi leaned back,"Sig, dear, can you take Winry out grocery shopping?"

Winry looked up as Sig leaned down and placed a hand on her shoulder,"He, uh," She noticed a glint in his eyes,"He's looking at me like a future daughter-in-law..."

"Why is he..." Ed shook his head as some of the others left. He then looked at her, "I've been thinking about that. What do you know about multiverse theory and memories?"

"Memories are a fickle thing." Izumi said,"As time goes on memories can blur together or become lost. As for multiverse theory, well, I know that every choice would have a possibility of creating a universe where a different choice was made."

"But what if someone were to fuse the two worlds together, but she ended up mixing another timeline with that?" Ed said, looking at his automail hand, "I've been having memories in my head. Of a world that was like this one but different."

"Really?" Izumi asked.

"We both have," Al said.

"That may be because Dante didn't exist in the world you came from." Izumi said,"She may have inadvertently fused her world with yours. Those memories may just be residue from that world. From that version of you."

Ed looked down and away for a moment. He saw some of the things he was like in that world, how he acted. He felt like that version was a coward, someone who abandoned others when it became time for him. There was a part of him that was scared of that part and how easily it could become him. Shaking his head, he asked, "Do you think this fusion is permanent or if we stop Dante we can fix all of this?"

Izumi frowned,"I doubt it could magically be fixed if you defeat Dante. You would have to split them up the way she brought them together. But that leaves the question... do you want to?" She looked at him,"When Dante fused the worlds together, she did it without anyone realizing it. She inadvertently changed the lives of several people without their own knowledge. Do you want to make the same decision?"

"I...don't know if I could," Ed said, stepping away to look out the window, "I tried an experiment earlier, to see if I could change history. I don't know if I did or I didn't but if I did."

"Brother," Al whispered.

"How many more lives are saved because of this, or new ones that were born because our worlds are mixed? If, if I changed that, I could cost lives that were never born or kill more people." He looked down at his metal hand and clenched it, "The last time I stepped too close to the sun, I got badly burned and took someone with me because I was an arrogant bastard. I can't make that mistake again. I don't know if I want to, not right now. And besides, maybe I can help them too."

"I'm certain they have people they lost before the worlds changed," Izumi said. She got up and placed a hand on his shoulder," Ed, I'm glad you're trying to find a way to save people you couldn't before... but you're still only human, you can't save everyone."

Al looked away,"Ain't that the truth..."

"But I'm proud of you." She smiled,"You're thinking things through!"

Zenitsu stared at the open window,"Hey, Tanjiro? What's Nezuko's ring size?"

"Ring size?" Tanjiro frowned,"Why are you asking?" He put his hands on his hips.

"It's not an engagement ring!" Zenitsu shouted,"There's no point in that anyway, she can't say yes if I ask now!"

Tanjiro sighed as he walked over to Zenitsu and looked inside the window, seeing a small silver ring with a pink jewel inside,"It's just something nice for her, you know, all she has is that little bow in her hair." Zenitsu said.

Tanjiro stared at the pretty kimono in the window,"If I save enough Y̴̭̱͉͇̜̿͂͊ȩ̷̼̲͍̖̤̀͆̈́̆͛̐̚͘ͅn̵͈͗́̾̔̕͝͝ Sens, I could maybe buy that for her... "

Before Tanjiro could say anything, Zenitsu had already run inside the store. A few moments later he came out with a small box,"You know, this job of ours has its benefits!"

"Zenitsu..." Tanjiro began,"What do you remember of our previous world?"

"... you guys keep talking about that, but I have no idea why!" Zenitsu frowned,"This is the only world I've known." He then noticed Tanjiro staring at him,"Why do you have that look?"

"Do you know where she used to live?" asked Ed.

"No, I do not." Izumi said,"She just said she was wandering."

"Brother, do you think Greed might know?" Al asked.

Zenitsu ran after Tanjiro,"Tanjiro, where are you going!?"

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he ran back towards Izumi's, We're losing our memories. This is bad.

At that point, a large man with white hair stood in front of him,"Tanjiro Kamado."

"Um, yes?" asked Tanjiro, looking up at the man.

"Come with us." The man said.

Zenistu looked at him from behind Tanjiro, "Um why should we?"

The man cracked his knuckles as a blonde woman appeared to Tanjiro's right. A black-haired short man appeared to his left and a hunched-over bald man behind them,"The Boss needs you. Are you going to come quietly or are we going to get rough?"

Zentisu looked at the woman,"If she grabs me, I'll have to resist! I'll fight her hard, she'll have to beat me like the bad boy I am."

The woman laughed,"You're a bit too young for me, kid. I'm not a pedo like Bido."

The bald man yelled,"Hey, I'm not a pedo! I've never even been to a playground!"

The black-haired man walked towards Tanjiro, putting a hand on his katana,"Well, Demon Slayer? Are you gonna fight?"

"I don't want to fight if I don't have to," Tanjiro said, putting his hand on his katana. "I would prefer if you just let us leave and go back to our friends."

"Wrong answer there, buddy." The man pulled out his katana.

Deku took a step. Zenistu slowly brought out his own katana.

Before the man could raise his sword, the large man brought out a cloth a few feet in front of Tanjiro,"Chloroform works even better on a boy with an enhanced sense of smell such as yours, right?"

"That's not..." Tanjiro began to sway back and forth, his body losing focus, "Oh, this drug is quick. Can't..." he then fell to the ground.

"Roa!" The man shouted,"We were gonna have a sword fight!"

Roa looked at him,"In the middle of town, Dolcetto?"

"Yes! I hardly ever get to have a sword fight!" Dolcetto shouted.

Roa looked at Zenitsu,"You gonna fight back?"

"Don't ignore me, asshole!" Dolcetto shouted.

"That depends," Zenitsu said in answer to the question. "IS she going to be attacking me?"

Roa looked at the woman,"What do you think, Martel?"

Martel smirked,"Hmm, indulge in a teenage boy's fantasy, or just let you handle it?" She walked over to him,"I'll hold you if you come quietly."

Zentisu fell into her arms happily.

"Too easy," Martel said.

Tanjiro would soon wake up, his hands bound by rope, with Zenitsu in a basement. The four criminals were looking over him,"Ah, you're awake." Said a fifth voice from behind them.

"Who's there, and why did you kidnap us?" Tanjiro asked, looking for his weapon and his box.

Their weapons were on a table far from them. Next to it was Nezuko's box, surrounded by wisteria.

Nezuko grumbled inside her box, Stupid wisteria flowers!

Zenitsu's eyes widened,"Uh, Tanjiro, I think that might be one of those homunculi Ed and Al were talking about!"

A man with a black jacket that had a tuff of fur lining it walked up into view,"Ah you got it right! Can't tell you how many demon slayers come by assuming I'm a demon and try to kill me!"

"You do look like a demon, sir," Roa said.

"True, but it is pretty annoying." The man smiled behind his shades,"My name is Greed and I kidnapped you to get the attention of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his little brother."

"What? What do you want with them?"

Greed grinned,"I want a secret from them. I want to know how Ed put Al's soul in that suit of armor!" He laughed,"You see, I kinda want immortality!"

"Why? What would you do with it?" asked Tanjiro, "Doesn't that take away from enjoying the beauty of life?"

This caused the entire criminal group to laugh,"What, you some kind of philosopher or something!?" Greed grinned,"I just want immortality like I want everything else! Money, power, sex, I want everything!"

"And does that make you happy? Why do you need to use other people?"

"Of course, it makes me happy!" Greed said. He leaned his head onto his hand,"Well, why not use the help of other people? After all, I can't necessarily make up how to switch souls on my own."

"You shouldn't be switching souls anyway," Tanjiro said.

"Who says?" Greed asked

Tanjiro looked at him, with a pitiful stare, "Most people. Can't you find fulfillment in the life you have now?"

"Nope. Hence the name Greed!" He laughed.

"I pity you, I feel so sorry for you," Tanjiro said.

Greed blinked a few times,"Man... you pity me... I mean... what should I do now? My greed can never be satiated..." He then shrugged,"Eh, I'll get over it."

At that point, a couple of henchmen flew out the door.

"Ah, there's the Full-" Greed turned only to see Kanao standing in the doorway.

"That's the second time I got confused for someone else. Strange." Kanao said with a cock of her head.

Greed grumbled as he walked up to her,"Look kid, I wasn't waiting for you, so scram!"

"You won't fight?" Kanao asked.

"I don't fight women, that's a rule." Greed said, then his head was cut off.

"Sexist," Kanao said.

Greed's head regenerated as he put a finger up,"Not a demon, that won't work. I'm also not a sex-" His head was cut off again. He then regenerated,"Now that was rude." He pointed... at nothing.

In the time that Greed was headless Kanao had run over to the table, picked up the two Nichirin swords and Nezuko's box, and ran towards Tanjiro and Zenitsu.

"Damn it." Greed muttered.

Tanjiro smiled, while Zenistu muttered, "Lucky."

Kanao sat the box down before turning to cut the bindings.

The group of chimeras took a step back as the box's doors flew open to reveal Nezuko.

Dolecetto took one look at her as she glared at all of them, and then turned away with tears in his eyes,"I can't fight her! She's too cute!"

Martel nodded,"Indeed, she is kinda adorable."

Roa frowned a little,"Really you two?"

Greed grumbled,"Well great, now you're all free!"

Tanjiro looked at him, "So, what are you going to do?"

Greed walked up, his hands becoming pitch black with claws,"Probably put you back in your bindings."

Roa flew passed him,"That little girl's stronger than she looks!" He shouted. Nezuko pumped her fist in his direction.

Kanao looked at Zenitsu and took out a piece of paper with a transmutation circle,"We need you asleep." She put it near his nose.

Zentisu looked confused, "how is that going to put me to sleep?"

"It's Chloroform," Kanao said.

"Wait wha-" Zenitssu plopped down, while Tanjiro ran at Greed.

Greed held up his blackened hand to block the oncoming sword. He smirked,"Wanna try that again?"

At that point, Bido flew passed him,"I think that's yours." Al said from the doorway.

"..." Greed sighed,"My men are not having a good day."

"Stop the fighting, I'm coming in," Ed said behind another wall.

Dolcetto looked at that wall,"What, you're not coming in!"

"Oh yes, I'm coming in!" Ed said, clapping his hands. And in a surge of alchemical energy, a giant fist with Ed's head came busting through the wall.

This sent Dolcetto flying.

Al sighed,"You didn't have to make that flashy of an entrance, brother."

Greed groaned,"Can you guys not bust up my bar!?"

"Al, you remember what teacher said?"

Al shook his head,"If you want to make an entrance, you have to make sure it's flashy."

Greed sighed as he looked at them,"So, now that you're here..." He looked at the freed demon slayers,"I really got nothing, I did have a bargaining chip, but now I don't know what to do!"

"Surrender with diginity?" the group asked in one voice.

Greed sighed,"I suppose so."

Ed began to look around, "Ok, where's the twist? I know something bad is gonna happen."

Greed looked at Ed,"Kid, I don't have any twist for you. I just want one thing, and that is how he got his body!" He pointed to Al,"Unfortunately, I don't have anything to exchange for it!"

"Actually, you do." Al said,"You have information we need."

"..." Greed grinned and clasped his hands together,"I'm listening."

"What can you tell us about Dante?" Al asked.

Greed frowned and leaned back,"... You tell me about your body first. As much as I dislike that old bitch, I don't give up anything for free."

"It's not immortal," Al said. He looked at his hands,"Eventually this body is going to reject my soul and I'll head back through the Gate. So it won't matter if Ed tells you, it's not immortality."

Greed stared at him,"Really!?" He groaned.

Martel blinked,"You believe him, sir?"

"They wrecked my place, wrecked you guys, and they need information. They wouldn't lie to me after all that." Greed sighed,"Was really looking forward to a cool armor body too..." He looked at Al,"Fine, I'll tell you a bit about the Old Lady. Not much I can tell you, though, I left shortly after she took over from Pops." Greed sighed,"Simply put she's some kind of immortal alchemist who found a kinship with Dad over their shared hatred of this guy named Hohenheim. I don't know where she is, as for all I know she's moved her base somewhere."

"...Did you just say, Hohenhiem?" Ed asked with both shock and little bit of anger.

Al looked away for a minute.

"Yeah, why?" Greed cocked his head,"You know that name or something?"

"Just an asshole that I really loathe," Ed said.

Greed smiled,"Know that feeling. Now if that's all you need, you can get out of here now."

"Do you promise not to cause anymore trouble? "asked Tanjiro.

Greed thought about for a second before shrugging,"Eh, sure."

"Good," Tanjiro said. and then he asked, "Ed, if you could please."

"What?" Ed asked.

"Well, it's just that all he wanted was information and he went about it wrong, but no one got hurt..."

As Tanjiro began to talk, all Ed could see for a moment was a little baby brother holding a precious cinnamon roll. Sighing, Ed clapped his hands and fixed the bar...granted with a little flair.

Greed watched this..."Wow, kid... you've got a great sense of style!"

Ed took a bow to Al's disappointment

Al sighed,"Of course, he'd like it..."

As they left the bar, it soon came close to nighttime. Al looked back at the Devil's Nest,"Brother, should we try to save them too?"

Ed paused and looked back at the bar. For a while he stood there, thinking about the homunculus inside of it. Deep down, he could feel the two sides of him fighting for control. Logic that told him that it was a homunculus, he wasn't real. The other told him that Greed had a soul, a persona, and memories; if he could throw Greed away so easily then what did it say about Al?

"Come on man, you are the ultimate shield right? You could take it." Ed said, sitting over the dead homunculus, eyes wide in horror as he realized that he had taken a life.

("Damn, not now." Ed thought to himself as the bleed began.)

The Ed of the other world shook his head and let out a scream of anguish, realizing what his fight had led to.

Ed blinked for a moment, shaking his head "What was he thinking was gonna happen. These are creations who want to use us. A death is gonna happen. And yet," he looked back at his brother, the one he swore to save. After another thought, he said, "I want to Al, I really do...

"But," Al asked.

"There are so many differences between then and now," Ed said, looking back, "That's why I wondered about the twist. I was expecting something to come along and take the place of the military that came in the last time, or the fuhrer, but nothing like that happened. Who's to say we didn't already change things for him."

"..." Al sighed,"Maybe you're right."

Ed frowned and said, "For once, I hate being right."

Zenitsu(Who had woken up) spoke up, "So, anyone for heading back to Izumi's? Maybe she has some supper waiting for us!"

"Yeah," Tanjiro found himself taking Kanao's hand, "Want...um, that is..."

The demon slayer, not noticing the hand, smiled warmly and nodded.

Ed watched as the little group walked on ahead, and chuckled. He placed his left hand behind his head and ran it through his golden hair, "You know Al, with all that we got to look at and everything going on? It almost makes me forget how young we still are." Pulling is hand away he looked around and then saw Al sitting next to the wall. For a moment he crossed his arms and tapped his right foot. Upon hearing this, Al shot up and chuckled a little before joining his big brother to follow the little quartet. Eventually, the older brothers walked ahead letting the little siblings to walk with each other.

The sky was beautiful following their walk, with only a little bit of clouds overhead following them as they walked back to their home. As they arrived, Izumi was standing there with her arms crossed and looking down at the young teens. Ed was the first one to walk up and talk to his mo-teacher while the siblings mimetically walked in and began to enjoy their meal. Zentisu quickly began to eat the steak and ribs while Tanjiro happily ate the fried chicken and shared with Kanao. Winry sat with Ed and began to talk his ear off while allowing Ed to calmly listen to her.

Omake Theater:

Shipping and Handling:

Ed smiled as he held Winry's hands.

Tanjiro laid his head on Kanao's shoulder.

Zenitsu held Nezuko close.

Aoi cried as she held a long pillow that had Inosuke's picture on it.

Zenitsu's Burning Question:

Zenitsu looked at Al," Okay, I gotta ask. With your alchemy have you ever... you know, made one?" He indicated with his hands a long, thick, cylindrical object.

Al gasped,"I'm appalled! I try to be a very responsible person with no inclinations towards such perversions!" He then sighed,"I'm also a 14-year-old boy, so yeah, I've thought about making one."