Hey guys! Here is my Christmas update. Happy holidays to all of you :D

CHAPTER 8: ARRIVAL

Friday morning Gracia was making a bouquet of tulips and lilacs someone had ordered for his wife's birthday. She was proud of her tulips. They could literally survive through anything in the current wintry temperature.

There was a ring in the main entrance of the flower shop as a tall man entered and lifted off his hat in a polite greeting. "Good morning."

Gracia met him with a smile. "Hello, sir. How can I help you?"

"I was actually looking for someone who lives here," the man answered and stopped in front of her counter. "A young boy."

Gracia turned a bit suspicious, but hid it behind her usual friendly smile. "Oh, you must be talking about Alfons. He's not here, I'm afraid."

"He isn't? I thought I was here early enough not to miss him," the man said, feigning disappointment. "When will he be back?"

"Not for a while," Gracia said apologetically. "He's gone on vacation."

"Where?"

The questions had suddenly turned more demanding. Gracia faltered a bit, but didn't lose her smile. "He didn't tell me where he went, I'm sorry, sir. Was it anything important? He might call, so I can give him a message."

"No thank you, there's no need for that," the man replied, though the polite choice of words didn't reach the tone of his voice. "Good day, ma'am." He turned away and stalked out of the shop.

Gracia took a deep breath and turned for the phone to call her fiancé to tell him that someone who was likely to be the suspect had stopped by. Good thing Al and Alfons had already left.

Al's nose was still a bit sore from the assault last night. He couldn't really believe that he had ended up under the influence of alcohol and vulnerable like that. What had he been thinking? He felt utterly ashamed of himself.

The train whistled nostalgically. Trees and houses flashed by the window as he idly rested his cheek in his palm. The suitcase stuffed with books and some clothes rested on a shelf above his head next to Alfons'. He hadn't had much time to question Alfons about their travel route before the elder had fallen dead asleep in the seat next to him. When the ticket lady had passed by, Al had carefully worked Alfons' ticket out of his hand and given them both to the lady.

She had smiled at him and said: "I hope you and your brother will have a nice trip."

Al descended tediously down in his seat, resting his foot at the edge and his knee against the back of the unoccupied seat in front of him. Apparently they were going to a city called Prague first. It was in another country, but the languages resembled each other enough to understand one another. According to Heiderich, that couldn't be said about the place they were really going. On the other hand, they spoke the main language of this world there. Al wondered if it would be difficult to learn. Though, he didn't even understand how he knew how to speak and understand German in the first place.

He gazed over at Alfons' sleeping face, thinking about their conversation last night. Alfons Heiderich did still not understand to the full extent. They couldn't just move on and give up. They couldn't simply do what was the safest. Al knew, Alfons had probably not comprehended that just yet. But Al would make him realize it sooner or later. For now he could move to another country. Al had settled with the thought that they could run away from bad people, but not from the prime moon.

Al rested his head back and closed his eyes. Like Alfons, he hadn't gotten very much needed sleep last night. It didn't take long before he dozed off for a bit. He had hardly even fallen asleep before he felt the familiar sound of a heart beating, but somehow he knew it belonged to someone other than himself. He was feeling someone else's heartbeat inside him. Or was he feeling it from inside someone else? It was the strangest feeling he had ever experienced in his life.

He tried to move and see, but he to his surprise he couldn't control his own body. No matter how much he tried to lift his arm, it didn't obey his brain. With a frown Al felt the difference within this soul, a mix of something dark and something warm. He was caught in the middle, each side pulling at him as he was tied with invisible threads. Still unaware of what was going on, he tried a little desperately to move closer to the warmer and more inviting area rather than falling too much on the colder, darker side.

Suddenly his eyes opened, though he hadn't decided that for himself. He hadn't even realized his eyes had been closed up till now. His body was aimlessly floating in the middle of an ocean of moving, black hands. Other than that, everything was white. What the...?

A groan escaped his lips and his vision swam. Al tried desperately to keep focus, afraid of losing the light despite how scary his surroundings were. The black hands curled around his arms and legs and kept him floating on his back.

My body, the soundless voice thundered inside his head. My imperfect body. Do you want your arm and leg back? I have them right here.

"My... arm and... leg..." his brother's familiar voice whispered. "Bastard..."

What will you give up for them? it asked mockingly. Any memories you don't need? I can erase him from your mind too, if you like. That should be enough for an arm. But what about your leg?

"Shut up, you bastard! I'm not giving you anything."

Al couldn't take it anymore and gasped. "Brother!"

Edward frowned, suddenly becoming aware of the other's connection to him. "Al...?"

This is troublesome, it said. Go away, human.

"Brother!" Al called desperately from inside his brother's very soul. "I'll get you out of there, I promise! I will bring you back!"

He felt his golden eyes widen in terror. "Al, no!"

A huge eye suddenly showed up above him, filling his brother's vision and Al felt his soul letting go of him. "Brother!" he called out again, and suddenly jerked awake so abruptly that it felt like a hard slap in the face.

His heart raced and his breath was ragged like he had been running. His forehead even felt damp. His fingers clutched around the armrests on his seat. That dream... It couldn't have been an ordinary dream. He had experienced it a couple of times before, but never this intense. Before he had simply seen the white space through his brother's eyes; hadn't actually talked to him or heard Truth speak.

"Al, is everything alright?" Alfons must have noticed his agitated expression, because he was staring at him in mild concern.

Al nodded fast. "It's nothing. Just a bad dream..."

Alfons seemed to understand. "They come easily these days, don't they..."

"Yeah," Al agreed quietly. "They do."

"Can I get you anything?" Alfons offered. "I'm going to get some coffee or something in the kiosk in the front cabin."

"Yes, please. Something to drink. Doesn't matter what," Al replied candidly.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Alfons stood up and disappeared forward through the train cabin.

Al remained staring out the window. The environment had changed into mountains and fields, albeit hidden underneath a white carpet of snow, the sun was shining brightly from the blue sky. It wasn't as blue as the sky he remembered from home, but it was much better than the grey clouds in Munich.

His thoughts fell back on the dream again, and he felt an urge stronger than ever to get his older brother back. Al was getting more and more certain that these dreams were real. He felt it. Edward was close to his soul. Constantly. Almost like Schiller. He had the same feeling of another presence resting inside him.

His brother was merely being held a prisoner inside the Gate, his soul somehow darkened by this so-called Truth. They had to save him.

Al tightened his fists. The prime moon couldn't come quick enough. He was counting the days. Next prime full moon would be in February. February 23rd. Two months. He took a deep breath. Thinking of what place his brother was in, two months seemed like two years.

Though, he had yet to convince a certain someone of that idea.

Alfons Heiderich came back a short while later, handing Al a juice box and a bar of chocolate. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Al said. He sat up more properly in his chair and folded out the small plastic table in front of him to keep the food and drink on. "How long is it before we reach Prague?" he asked as Alfons sat back down in his own seat next to him.

"Hmm, I believe there's about four hours left," Alfons said. "We'll get there by 3 o'clock, and the plane leaves at 7 pm. It's just about the time we need to get to the airport and check in."

Al nodded slowly while drinking some juice with a straw. "Why couldn't we just fly to America from Germany?"

"There are no planes to America from Germany," Alfons replied with a soft smile. "After the war we lost a lot. The country has yet to rebuild itself before we'll be able to fly airplanes again. There are a few exceptions, but only within the Western parts of Europe. Thule Society was an exception as well. They built their own armoured aircraft in order to invade Amestris."

Al listened quietly, but with interest. He was glad they had been able to stop Thule Society. If not, Amestris would've been annihilated by bombs. Still, he didn't quite understand why they had wanted to destroy his world. "They're at fault for my brother being gone."

Alfons was slightly surprised. Last time Al had blamed someone, it had been merely him. "I guess they helped a bit," he muttered. "But to be honest, I don't really understand whose fault it is. It might be mine, or the Gate or Thule. But that's not what matters the most."

Al inwardly sighed. "What matters the most?" He knew the answer. All Alfons was thinking about was to live with the loss and move on.

"That we don't forget," Alfons said.

Al stared at him in light surprise. Then he felt a bit guilty. Okay, maybe he had been wrong about Alfons on certain things, but not everything entirely. He was still being thick in the head for not agreeing to let him use alchemy. And it was not that Al had wanted to forget about anything, he just simply couldn't remember. The memories were erased and there wasn't much he could do about it. Though, he would remember everything he could.

"I wish I remembered you," he said quietly, drawing a couple of astonished blue eyes towards him. "It was hard for me to understand at first, what you really are to my brother. But I think I know now."

Alfons regarded him with a soft expression. "To be honest, you took the news better the second time than the first."

Al let out a hollow laugh. "Oh really. Well, I guess I didn't find any sticks close enough around to hit you with."

Alfons let out a laugh as well. "Well, there was a time in Resembool you caught us a bit off guard, and you tried to punch me."

Al looked a bit disturbed. "I don't need to hear the details."

Alfons grinned and jokingly rubbed Al's hair. Sometimes Edward had done that, though he didn't really think about it until he'd already permanently accomplished it. But Al simply brushed him off with a laugh the same way he would've done if it had been Edward. It made him feel relief. Al accepted that they were closer now.

It felt a bit odd, feeling his own lips grinning like that. Alfons hadn't felt this light in his heart since the last time Edward had been in his arms. How he missed it. But maybe he was able to smile again because he knew they were on their way towards better times and a new, fresh start. Even without Edward, this seemed better than to just sit around in Munich in the old apartment that was practically whispering Edward's name all around him every day.

He took a deep breath at that thought. Was he out of his mind, or was there more to it? He didn't even know anymore. Still, Edward's presence was welcome inside him anytime. He really hoped the Edward living inside his heart came with him to America and wasn't stuck back home to haunt the apartment. There was something strangely soothing about having him around. Alfons closed his eyes and listened to his own heartbeat, trying to search for Edward in there somewhere, but for now he couldn't hear anything. Maybe he was sleeping.

As the train ride finally came to an end, Al's first choice wasn't really to get to an airport and continue the afternoon there. But he guessed he had no choice. The schedule was tight despite that they had four hours. They took a taxi to the airport and waited in line to check in. By the counter someone's luggage was being opened by security guards to be checked.

Alfons started to feel nervous. If he was caught with a gun at the airport he would definitely not even make it to America. He started to regret bringing it in the first place. When in the hell would he need a gun anyway? He had used one once, but never really planned on using one again. Unless it was a matter of life and death, of course. Besides, he had been shot once so he knew perfectly well how that was like.

The security guards didn't seem to find anything suspicious in the suit case they had been rummaging through, and the owner was free to go with his tickets. The next one in line passed through without being checked. So, they at least did not check everyone. But did they do it randomly or strictly to every other person in line? Since there were two of them, did it mean that one of their suit cases would be checked either way?

"Are you okay?" Al asked, having noticed Alfons' anxious look.

"Yeah, of course," Alfons said and forced a smile.

"You're lying."

The statement was so confident and true Alfons was almost thrown off his feet. He laughed nervously. "It's nothing to worry about."

Al scowled at him. But he didn't get to ask more before it was their turn to hand in their suitcases. It was too late to change their minds, anyway.

"Passports, please," the lady behind the counter said.

How did one not look suspicious? Alfons had no idea.

Al scowled some more as he regarded the two passports Alfons handed to the lady, his hand shaking a bit, and he remembered he had forgotten to mention the passports to Al. Oh well. Everything concerning that was in order at least.

"Are you all right, sir?" the lady asked.

"W-what?" Alfons got knocked out of his trance.

"You seemed a little worked up." She looked at him in concern.

Alfons tried to ignore the looks for the security guards behind her. "Yes, thank you, I'm alright. Just a bit nervous of flying," he lied.

"That's alright, it's perfectly safe," the lady reassured him. She took their suit cases and marked them with a sticker that had a number code on it. Alfons hid his nervousness behind a mild façade as their luggage was passed through the security without being checked.

"Have a nice trip," the lady said and smiled at him.

"Thank you," Alfons said as he received their boarding cards.

As they stepped away from the counter he let out a relieved sigh.

Al knew he had lied, but he didn't seem to care anymore. "I didn't know I had a passport," he said sullenly. "So that's what we were at the police station for the other day."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you about it," Alfons said.

"It would've been nice if you had," Al muttered.

"We should get some dinner," Alfons said, gracefully changing the subject. "Are you hungry?"

Al sighed a bit. Actually he was starving. "Yeah."

After going through another security check without any trouble, they found a small restaurant by the gates. When they had filled their stomachs, the hours crawled by a bit slowly, but they used their time to explore the bookshops and souvenir stores. Al also made the time go by observing the people walking past. There were people from all kinds of countries, he could tell, which was probably natural since this was an airport. He heard them talking, but he mostly couldn't understand much of what they were saying.

Some languages sounded merely like people were angry, while other sounded more elegant and sinuous. Al thought it was funny how each letter of the Latin alphabet could be pronounced in so many different ways. He picked up some words he recognized from German, but he didn't know if anything sounded like Amestrian. Sadly, he didn't remember at all how Amestrian sounded like.

It was soon time to board the plane as Alfons Heiderich returned from a short errand while Al had waited for him on a bench.

"I bought something for you," Alfons said with a smile. "Here you go." He handed Al a book.

Al accepted it slowly and looked at the cover. It was a German-English dictionary.

"I don't know if you'll need it or not, but it might come in handy," Alfons explained. "Edward didn't have much trouble with learning languages fast, and I doubt you will either. But just in case. You can prepare yourself on the plane."

"Thank you," Al said with a smile. A good place to start knowing this world was learning how to speak its international language, after all. He let his thumb flip through the pages of the thick volume, briefly scanning through the words, grammar rules and phrases.

Soon after, the announcement came that they could start boarding the plane. Al felt a bit excited, but nervous too. He remembered he had flown before with his brother not long ago, but this would be very different.

Compared to the flying machine Thule Society had used in his world, this flying machine was small. Al got anxious the minute he saw it. Was this small machine going to fly to America? It had space for about a dozen people. The hall with seats had to be at least less than half the size of a train cabin, and Al felt slightly claustrophobic. The rows of seats were placed very close to each other, making the space for their legs too narrow to be very comfortable.

Still, Al sat down in his seat without complaining, seeing Alfons struggling even more to get comfortable taking his longer legs into account. Staring out the small, circular window, Al could mainly see the right wing spreading out from the body of the plane. He fidgeted a little and held onto his German-English dictionary for the sake of comfort.

A female voice announced a lot of information where the voice got muffled and noisy through the speakers. Al could hardly understand a word of what she was saying. As the announcement ended and the engines started to come to life, Al knew he would've preferred to take a boat rather than fly. The engines made so much noise, Al could hardly even concentrate on reading the cover of the book. He considered alchemy a much better direction of science than this thing.

The plane started to move and his heart jerked inside his chest. Last time he had flown hadn't been nearly as scary, despite the fact that he had been on board an enemy vessel. This flying machine seemed so fragile and simple in comparison, and Al felt much closer to the ground underneath him as the airplane drove towards the tarmac.

Next to him Alfons sent him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Al wasn't so sure, but before he could reply the plane sped up straight forward and the force pressed him back into his seat. He closed his eyes shut as the wheels lifted off the ground, and his stomach made an uncomfortable twist. At least this thing could fly.

It got a bit better as the airplane went higher into the sky, and Al dared stare out the window again. He could see a spot below the wing, the city of Prague disappearing and being replaced by the trees of a large forest and fields. From that moment, Al couldn't take his nose off the window and forgot about all the edginess. Seeing the world from the sky was just too beautiful to miss. He could even see the shadow of the plane sailing over the country like a giant eagle.

The view from the airplane, from the sky, Al mused, created a new and much more accurate geographical dimension. Better than his own world had ever had. There was a navigable ocean of air blanketing the whole surface of the globe. It was like there were no distant places any longer. It proved that the world was small and the world was one.

"When will we arrive?" he asked Alfons.

"We'll arrive at Lyon in France by midnight," Alfons said, leaning back and reading a book in English he had found in the bookshop. He needed to practice some as well. "We'll have to spend some of the night there before the plane takes us further."

Al nodded and stretched for a bit, as far as he could come in this narrow space. "Alright."

The airplane had reached the clouds by now, and he was no longer able to see the earth. Though, it was still interesting to watch the white clouds below the plane. Al rested his elbow on the window sill and his cheek in his palm.

Wherever you are, Brother, whatever you're going through, I will make sure to pull you out of there alive. Trust me and don't give up.

Al smiled softly and dozed off to sleep in his seat.

Alfons was relieved when they arrived at Lyon, which allowed him to stretch out his aching legs. The worst part of the trip was still not over, but at least they were half-way done. It was late and most of the stores and restaurants at the airport were closed. Only some kiosks were still open. They settled on a bench in the terminal to wait for morning.

Al looked a bit worn. He had spent the plane ride switching between reading and sleeping every once in a while. Alfons felt a bit proud of him, how well he handled all these circumstances despite that he had practically forced him to go.

"Just rest if you want," Alfons said. "I'll stay awake." It was risky to sleep in a public spot like this, but he didn't mind if Al slept. It was enough that one of them stayed awake.

"What about you?" Al said unsurely.

"I still have my book," Alfons reassured. "Besides, I slept a lot on the train."

"Alright," Al sighed, and not long after he was fast asleep again, curled up on his side next to Alfons on the bench, using the German-English dictionary as a pillow.

Alfons smiled at the sight and returned to his book.

He thought it was sad that they were here in France at such stupid time period. Had it been daytime they could at least have explored Lyon for a while before leaving again. But he figured there would be time to explore more of the world later. Before that there were other things to be done.

The hours went strangely fast despite the fact that there wasn't much to do but sit and wait. The plane would continue on at 6 am in the morning, and would arrive at the airport in Boston in the evening.

The second plane ride was one of the worst Alfons had been on. Even if he had flown before, he had never been in the air for this long with so small space and so bad tasting food. But still, he told himself that it would be worth it once they arrived.

On the most part he was right. He felt unbelievably relieved once they were allowed to step out of the plane, onto American soil.

Al blinked a bit at the lights of the terminal hall they entered. This place was considerably much bigger than the ones in both Prague and Lyon. His eyes went in all directions to be able to drink in everything, but it was nearly impossible to notice it all. Still, Al couldn't help his urge to have to observe every single thing in his eyes' range. It was starting to become an annoying habit of his.

He was almost relieved when Alfons urged him onward to get their luggage from the rolling bands. Alfons fetched their suitcases off the band since it was crowded and difficult for them both to get through to the luggage. He returned to Al's side and handed him his case.

"Thanks," Al said. "But now what?" They had nowhere to actually live yet. "Who is this person you're going to visit, by the way?"

"First," Alfons said, "we'll check in at a hotel and eat and sleep in a bed. Tomorrow, we'll take a cab."

Al had to agree that it sounded like a pretty logical plan.

Neil Oscar Cotton lived in a small house in a central suburb. He didn't seem to drive a car, so he lived central enough to walk anywhere he needed. Like Vato Falman he appeared to live alone, because Alfons could only see one name on his mail box. He felt a bit nervous of just showing up here on New Year's Eve without even calling first. Still, he stepped up to the porch anyway, followed by Al.

"Is this okay?" Al whispered behind him. "What are we doing here?"

"What I'm hoping is that he might be able to help us," Alfons said in a low voice. "He knows people in my field, so maybe he can introduce me to some of them. It might make it a bit easier for me to find a job."

"Oh," Al said.

Alfons knocked on the door. It was only 1 pm, so it was neither too early nor too late for a visit. Not long after the door opened, first only a little bit of crack, so a suspicious eye could regard them both for a moment, before the man hesitantly opened the door a bit further. "Can I help you, boys?"

"Hello, yes," Alfons said. "Are you Neil Oscar Cotton, the aerospace engineer I've heard of?" He spoke in German and was relieved when the man replied in German as well.

"That's right, and who might you be?" Cotton asked curiously.

"Alfons Heiderich, sir," Alfons said and offered his hand. "And this is my half-brother, Alphonse."

Cotton nodded and shook both of their hands. "Really, really. So, what can I do for you?"

"I've heard about you from my colleague and mentor, Vato Falman," Alfons explained.

"Oh, you're Falman's co-worker?" The man brightened up. "He has mentioned a young and talented boy, that must be you. How is my friend doing?"

Alfons' eyes darkened. "Sadly, I'm bringing some bad news with me. He was murdered on the day after Christmas."

Cotton's jaw went slack in shock and stared at him for a long time.

"I'm sorry," Alfons said. "I know you were good friends."

"This is quite a shock," Cotton said, coming out of his trance. "Please, both of you come in."

Alfons and Al stepped inside and took off their shoes, and the older man led the way through a hall to the living room. "Just sit down, I'll bring you two some tea."

"Thanks." Alfons sat down in the sofa and Al sat down next to him, still quiet. Alfons noticed a trace of uncertainty in his bronze eyes, but he answered with a reassuring look.

"Don't tell me you two have come all the way from Germany to bring me this sad news?" the man said as he re-entered the living room holding a tray with three cups and a tea pot. "Did you take the boat across?"

"We flew," Alfons said. "And no, that's not the only reason. We've come here to start anew."

"Ah, like so many young Europeans before you," Cotton acknowledged. "Did you go to university in Romania?"

"Yes, together with Alphonse's older brother," Alfons said. "We worked with Falman together."

"I see." Cotton sat down in a chair and poured some boiled water into each of the three cups. "He was a great and intelligent man, Vato Falman. We decided long ago that we would keep my old father's memory alive by developing this special science further, in each part of the world."

"He was like another father to me," Alfons said. "I lost my biological father in the war."

"Tragic," Cotton muttered. "Tragic, indeed. Tell me, how is it working in the field over there now?"

"We were progressing on a new advanced prototype when the sad event occurred," Alfons explained, and added mournfully: "When Falman died, the project stopped."

"That's sad, indeed," Cotton said. "I know it wasn't up to you, but I hope the others will continue that project in Falman's memory."

"Yeah, so do I."

"What are your plans now?" Cotton wanted to know.

"Find somewhere to live here, and a job," Alfons said honestly. "I know it might be difficult because of my origins, but I was hoping you might be able to give me some advice."

"You're right about that," Cotton said. "They don't trust Germans as much as other immigrants. Though, I've been in this field since before the war. I spent the war here in this country. I won't say I wasn't bothered by people's despise against my country, but I accepted it. I knew within myself that I was not a part of it in that way. I was rather helping the States to progress in developing technology that could be used to make the war end and I settled with that."

"I see," Alfons said. Those words didn't actually help him foresee his chances of succeeding in this country as good, but then Cotton continued.

"This field needs talented, young people like you," he said with a smile. "You shouldn't be worried, no matter what country you are from someone will always accept you."

"Thank you," Alfons replied mildly. "I will do my best."

"I'd like you to come with me to my workplace after the holidays, if you'd like," Cotton suggested with a smile. "I'll introduce you to my workers. Maybe that will help as well?"

Alfons visibly brightened up. "You would do that?" That was the best opportunity he would ever have in this country, probably. If he could prove himself and his capability well enough to convince them to hire him, a tiny part of their problems would at least be solved. It was always better to be recommended than to just show up without knowing a soul.

"Of course, lad," Cotton said. "Our craftsmanship is rare, after all, and good rocket engineers are hard to find. It's the least I can do for Vato Falman's memory; make sure that his apprentice moves on."

"Thank you so much, sir," Alfons said gratefully. "Building rockets is the only thing I'm still good at."

"You're welcome," Cotton waved him off. "So, that's settled then. In the meantime, where are you staying?"

"Only at a hotel for now," Alfons answered.

"Oh, that's perfect." Cotton stood up. "Come with me, I have something to show you both."

Wondering what the man was talking about, Alfons and Al followed him out the front door and outside to the front of the house.

"You see, my house is parted in two, one ground floor part, and one separate flat on the 1st floor. I only use the 1st floor as an attic, even if it's well suited for someone to live there. I've been thinking about renting it out for a long time, but I've been too busy to make it ready for that purpose."

Alfons stared at him in shock. "Are you offering us...?"

"For a decent price of course," the man said. "I'm not greedy. I'll offer you a lower price than any other house owners in the central parts of the city."

"You don't have to be so humble, sir," Alfons said. "We have money..."

"That's alright," Cotton brushed him off again. "I'll show you what it looks like up there."

They went up a stair on the outside of the house, on the right shortest wall. There was a separate entrance to the 1st floor above Cotton's flat. He unlocked the door and entered.

Al and Alfons followed curiously after him as he turned on the lights in the ceiling. They came directly into a spacey living room with a wooden floor and a small kitchen counter in the left corner innermost in the room. Everywhere there was old shelves, desks, tables and an old sofa standing around.

"There are two bedrooms," Cotton said. "It needs a bit of work, but I'll leave that to you two. You're free to use anything you want standing around up there. The things you don't need, you can simply put outside in the back yard. I was planning to throw most of it away anyway, I just haven't found the time."

"This is great," Alfons said in awe. "It's exactly what we need. Are you sure it's alright, sir?"

"Of course, lad," Cotton beamed. "And you can call me Oscar, by the way."

"Thank you so much for helping us," Alfons said appreciatively. "All we need to do now is to get our luggage from the hotel room."

"Feel free to do as you like," Cotton smiled and patted them both on each of their shoulders. "If there's anything you need, just ask." He removed the key to the 1st floor from his key chain and handed it to Alfons. "Here you go. I only have one key, but there's a place nearby where you can copy it so Alphonse also can have one."

"That's great. We'll manage with one key for now," Alfons said. "But, how much do you want for rent?"

"We'll talk about that later," Cotton said easily. "You're welcome to eat breakfast at my kitchen tomorrow, we can discuss those kinds of things then. I won't be home tonight though, since it's New Year's Eve after all and I'm invited to a party." He laughed heartedly. "If you want to see the fireworks, my roof is a good spot. You can get up using the fire escape next to the stair by your front door."

Alfons was completely overwhelmed by the kindness of this man. He reminded him a lot of Vato Falman himself. He understood why they had been such good friends. "Thank you so much for everything, Oscar."

"You're welcome!" the older man replied and moved towards the door. "I'll be going back downstairs to get ready for the dinner party. I have some food in the fridge as well if you're hungry."

"We'll manage," Alfons said humbly. "See you tomorrow, sir. I hope you'll have a good time tonight."

"You two, lads!" Oscar said and disappeared down the stairs to ground floor.

Alfons turned to Alphonse with a bright smile. "Isn't this great?"

"Yeah, unbelievable," Al agreed in wonder. "I like this house."

Alfons smiled. "Me too. I'll like it even better when we've cleaned it up though."

"True," Al chuckled.

"Let's go get our suitcases, then we can start cleaning up this place afterwards," Alfons said.

Al nodded. "Alright."

The rest of the day went to getting their things, shopping for some food, beginning to tidy up the apartment, picking beds and watching the fireworks from the roof. Even if it was in an unfamiliar bed, Alfons fell fast asleep late that night.

It was actually pretty comfy and warm in his new bed. Ever since he came back to his own world, he had never awoken, feeling like this. He took a deep breath, sensing the familiar scent of another person lying next to him in bed, and he drew immediately closer like a magnet. Roused out of sleep, blue eyes opened and blinked a couple of times as he noticed a stack of beautiful golden hair lying sprawled out beside him, hugging around a serene, sleeping face.

Alfons' eyes widened. "Edward!" he breathed out. His hand lifted to touch him, first quick, then slowly, as he would disappear like a ghost if he startled him. Then his hand froze in thin air and his vision cleared.

The one lying next to him wasn't Edward. What Alfons had seen as golden hair, was a shade darker than Edward's, his frame much smaller. Alfons backed off abruptly and performed a clumsy fall out of the bed on the other side of the frame. He landed on the cold floorboards with a loud thud and groaned a bit.

It was then that he remembered. Oh. New Year's Eve had just passed, and after they had watched the fireworks and gone to sleep that night, Al had come into his bedroom.

"You screamed… in your sleep."

"I'm sorry I woke you," Alfons apologized. "You should get back to sleep."

"I was already awake," Al said, his gaze averting his. "I can't sleep."

Alfons sat up in a more comfortable position and gave the other a weak smile. "I see."

Al made no motion to leave. "Can I… sleep here next to you?"

"Here?" Alfons stared at him in baffled surprise. "Sure, Al. Of course."

Al's copper eyes danced back at him again, somewhat lit up. "Thank you."

The racket of his ungracious fall had made Alphonse stir and sit up in bed, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes. "Heiderich? What's going on?"

Alfons climbed a bit awkwardly back up to the edge of the bed and rubbed his aching forehead. "Nothing, it's nothing."

Al stared at him and couldn't help letting out a short giggle. "You fell out?" Then he suddenly looked a bit guilty. "Sorry, did I take too much space?"

Alfons chuckled warmly. "No, you couldn't even if you tried."

If Al had been Edward, he would probably have barked at him for calling him small, but Al simply smiled and rested his head down on the pillow again.

It was the first time he had actually seen Al smile like that since they came to this world, Alfons mused. As he sat up and lay down again to calm down the erratic beating of his heart, he came to think of that familiar presence he had felt in Munich. He had yet to feel it again, and he found himself missing it dearly. It hadn't come to him since that last night in Germany.

He didn't really know what to believe. It had obviously been something ghostly and spiritual; something only his heart could feel. The only thing he knew was that with it came a feeling that warmed and soothed his damaged heart, a feeling so inviting and pure that he would do anything to hold onto it. He hoped it would come back soon.

Edward, are you really here somehow? Or was it all in my mind, after all?

"Are you thinking about something?" Al asked, noticing the distant gaze Alfons provided out in space.

"Actually, I am," Alfons confessed quietly. "It's difficult to explain, but sometimes it's like Edward isn't gone at all. It feels like..."

"... like he's right there," Al finished.

Alfons shifted and stared at Al in wonder. "Do you... feel something too sometimes?"

"I feel it every day," Al said, sitting up in bed again and putting a hand against his heart. "That's how I know he's not really gone." He looked down into the sheets. "There's something I should've told you about sooner. I don't know how much you know already, but..."

"Go on," Alfons urged softly.

"In my world I knew of alchemy that I think is quite uncommon to other alchemists," Al explained. "You know I could transmute a portion of my soul into something else. And here I can somehow recognize this feeling I had whenever I used soul alchemy, especially near full moon. It's like a portion of my brother's soul is resting inside me."

Alfons' eyes widened. "Is that... possible?"

"Theoretically, it could be possible," Al said. His brows formed into a scowl. "What if I actually did this?"

"What?" Alfons whispered.

"What if I drew a portion of my brother's soul out of him and placed it inside the both of us?" The more Al thought about it, the more this feeling he had felt from before made sense. Was that the reason why he could see through his brother's eyes in his dreams?

Alfons swallowed. This wasn't making very much sense to him. Parts of Edward's soul? What did that mean? Wasn't Edward's soul supposed to stay inside Edward? Was he really gone forever, after all?

"Why?" he asked, struck by sudden panic. "Why would you do such thing?" He didn't mean to be harsh, but it sounded like a terribly wrong thing to do.

"I'm sure I had my reasons," Al said, putting up a sharp defence. "Please, let me think. I don't think it's hurt him." He hoped not. "I'm certain that his voice has been talking inside my heart, calling out to me," Al continued. "At night I often dream about the white space. It's like I see it through his eyes."

Alfons froze a bit. "Me too... I have those dreams too." And what about those times he literally felt Edward being right beside him, and his voice speaking softly and his touch, ghostly as it may be, felt as real as if it had been solid? Could merely a portion of a soul do that?

"It has something to do with the time we were inside the Gate before we came here. My memories are very vague, but I remember my brother reaching out to me while being held back by black hands," Al went on, getting more eager. "There was an act of desperation, where I realized I could..." His bronze eyes expanded as he wrung his mind to force it to show him the memory. "I think I tried to make him follow us to this world. I knew he would try to save us. That's why I infused a small part of his soul into both of us. If we lost him in the Gate, I figured that sooner or later his body would be drawn back towards us. The body and soul always draws toward one another like a magnet."

"I didn't know about this," Alfons whispered. "Edward... is he really...?"

"Alive?" Al stared sharply at him. "Of course he is. If he wasn't alive, we wouldn't have felt his soul like this. My brother's soul is partly here with us, almost like when I was in the armour," Al went on. "Although, I don't know exactly what that means. As I said, it hasn't directly hurt him, but yet he is still suffering. I feel it at night." Al shivered a bit and his brows formed a deep scowl. "There's a deep darkness inside his soul."

Alfons felt his hands shaking and clutched around the quilt by his feet to make them stop. It was real...

"It could be only temporary too," Al said. "I don't know how long it will take, but these parts of his soul might disappear on their own and find their way to him, instead of the other part of him finding its way back to us."

"This is kind of confusing," Alfons muttered. Now that he knew of this, he was at an even more loss than before. What were they supposed to do about all this?

"Alfons," Al said, drawing his blue-eyed doppelganger to look at him. "Do you still believe that there's no way we can bring him back?"

Alfons swallowed, and silently he shook his head no. "But how?"

"With what we know about my brother's soul, we can make a transmutation on the next prime moon," Al said. "And open the Gate. If we do, the parts of Edward's soul inside us will do all they can to reunite with him. That way, he might have a chance to come back to this world."

Open the Gate again? Alfons shuddered just by the thought of it. But a part of Edward was or had already been right there with them. He was sure of it. It made it hard to keep denying himself; believing that Edward wasn't lost forever and that there really was a way to retrieve him. Maybe the possibility had simply seemed too good to be true? And if it failed, what would happen? Probably something fatal.

Still Alfons finally realized, any risk would be worth it. For Edward, even dying was worth it if he could come back. Maybe Edward actually was able to come back, but only not on his own. They couldn't keep waiting for him to do everything by himself. If there was anything they could do at all, of course they should just do it! Nothing could get worse, right?

All this time he had been standing in his own way of getting back what he wanted. It was time to stop running.

"Let's do it," Alfons whispered. "Let's bring him back."

Al brightened up. "Alfons, you..."

"I'm sorry, Al," Alfons said and looked up, into his deep copper eyes. "Sorry it took me this long to comprehend this idea. I've been too scared to be able to see how amazing you really are. Even inside the Gate, you provided us a chance to get Edward back. Now, we have to use it before it's too late."

Al smiled happily. "Thank you, Alfons." Finally this person understood too. Al would've gone through with it anyway, but now that Alfons Heiderich was approving he felt even more confident. A portion of Edward's soul existed inside them both, so they both needed to stay together.

"I wrote him a letter," Alfons said.

Al regarded him in surprise. "A letter? When?"

"Before we left Munich. If he returns to Munich, he will find it. When he reads it, he'll be the only one who can tell where we are." Alfons smiled resolutely.

Al's big copper eyes shone in the dim light. "You never doubted that he isn't gone forever."

Alfons nodded. "Yes, but you were the one who made me realize it." He was actually starting to look forward to tomorrow. There would be plenty of time to explore this new place, but he felt excited about starting anew. Though, he hoped Edward would stop sleeping and start talking to him again soon.