Fall was settling over London. The days were shorter, and the nights were cooler. Alphonse was studying in his room, and Edward was cooking dinner. He noticed the daylight was fading into the night sky.

Edward glanced at his pocket watch and was surprised by how late it was. Winry wasn't home yet which was unusual. Sometimes, she worked late if a plumbing emergency happened, but this was abnormally late for her. He missed her greeting him when he came home today. Her smile beaming at him as he walked in, setting down his briefcase, and taking off his coat. And his favorite part of the day would be when they kissed after her initial 'Welcome home' greeting.

Alphonse came out of his room when the smell of food spread throughout the apartment. He searched the apartment but couldn't find her. "Where's Winry?"

"I'm not sure. I'm starting to worry," Edward admitted.

"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she went to the market, and missed the bus on the way back," Alphonse replied.

Edward took dinner out of the oven, and he heard a sliding sound from near the front door. He investigated the cause of the noise and found an envelope on the floor. It seemed like someone had just slid it under their front door. Edward picked up the envelope and opened it. He began reading the letter that it contained.

"What the HELL?!" he shouted.

Alphonse heard Edward's reaction and walked hurriedly. Edward gave him the letter and rushed to put on his coat. Alphonse couldn't believe what he read.

"I'm coming, too," Alphonse demanded.

"No, it says I need to go alone. However, if I'm not back in 2 hours, call the police, and have them meet us there. I knew that damn woman couldn't be trusted," Edward stated as he ran out the door.

Edward ran down the steps and onto the street. He took a cab, and had it stop near the textile factory where Lynda and her flatmates worked at. The letter said that Winry was being held there, and that Edward should come alone to bargain for her release. He felt his blood begin to boil. What could Lynda want from him? Was it money? She had a job, but manual labor didn't offer the best pay.

Edward arrived at the textile factory, and he was escorted in by two people in hooded robes, so their faces were concealed. They patted him down for any weapons but found nothing. He hated this shit already. It reminded him too much of the Thule society his father had been involved with that ultimately lead to his father's death.

The two concealed figures escorted him to a large room in the back of the factory. There was Lynda standing behind Winry, whom was kneeling on the floor gagged and hands tied behind her back.

Edward's heart pounded as he felt the adrenaline rush. He yelled "What is the meaning of all this?"

"Hello Mr. Elric. I see you are not one for salutations," Lynda said.

"How do you expect me to react when I see this?! Winry, are you okay?" Edward asked.

Winry nodded and mumbled through the gag that she was alright. She had a look of relief in her eyes at him being there.

"Don't worry, Edward. No harm has come to her yet. As long as you help us, then she will remain unharmed," Lynda stated.

"What do you want?" Edward said through clenched teeth.

Linda explained "Straight to the point, as expected. You have traveled between Amestris and Earth multiple times. You told me that you didn't know how to traverse between the two worlds. However, Winry told me that you do know how to draw the transmutation circle. My Cretean alchemy is powered by machinery and since I don't have the machines here, I need your Amestrian transmutation circle."

Edward grumbled. He could see where this was going. Lynda would want him to draw the transmutation circle so that she could return to Amestris. This world was not a kind place, but Amestris also had a history of violence and bloodshed. It seemed no matter which world you were thrown in, it would be like drawing straws to see if you had a good life or one filled with misery. Even a good life would have moments of hardship.

Edward hoped that Lynda may not know of the other requirement of leaving this world.

But Lynda revealed that she did. "You also told her that Amestrian blood is required to open the portal."

Edward groaned. He thought 'Damn it, Winry. Why did you have to tell her?'

Edward could see he was outnumbered greatly as more people in robes gathered behind Lynda as she explained. "My coven is mostly women, and we are tired of being treated as less than equal as the men that run this country. We earn less wages even if we are hired for the same job. There is no respect for us, and the only reason being that we are born with different genitalia."

Edward understood her point of view. He remembered informing Winry how society didn't value women in the workforce. He hated seeing that look of disappointment in her eyes. And to see her career as an automail engineer being unusable here was heartbreaking. Now she was helping an older man take care of an apartment building. Her skills were not being used here as they could have been used in Amestris to help others. However, he did not pity Lynda as much because she could have approached this differently other than taking Winry as a hostage.

Lynda continued "In Amestris, I was a respected alchemical engineer. I was important in society. I had a purpose! I made more than enough money to support myself and have a good quality of life. Then, I came here, and I lost everything. This is not the world I want to be in. The secrets of their aviator technology are still far away from me as I am unable to acquire the knowledge. I can't go to the university because of my socioeconomic status. I can't speak to engineers here because I am only a woman! I want to go home, and my coven wants to come to Amestris to be free from these shackles of poverty and sexism."

Lynda looked down onto Winry in pity. "I'm sorry it came to this, but I doubt your man would have cooperated if we had asked nicely. As you told me yourself, he can be quite stubborn."

Winry shouted into the gag. It was too muffled to understand what she was saying but it was easy to see by her facial expression that she was livid at Lynda's betrayal.

"No, I wouldn't have. There's a price to pay to go through that gate, and I sure as hell am not paying for it again," Edward countered her. His patience was beginning to thin as this dragged on.

Lynda commanded "Edward, I need you to draw the transmutation circle, or Winry will suffer the consequences."

A figure in robes came behind Winry and held a knife to her throat. Winry squealed in terror.

Edward put up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Just don't hurt her."

Another figure gave him the chalk, and Edward began drawing on the floor, concentrating on the details. He knew this circle by heart, and it was obvious as he drew the curves and angles. Then he worked on the intricate details of the written part in a language that was older than his father.

Lynda and Winry observed Edward as he drew the transmutation circle. It was comparable to watching an artist at work. The way his arms moved as he drew the circle, making his vision come to life, made Winry look at him in awe. She wondered if she had the same intense air around her when she used to sketch automail designs. Edward stood up when he completed his work. He checked it twice to make sure it was accurate.

"It's done. You already paid a toll once with your eye. Do your people know the toll of the gate? It varies from person to person. It could be an arm or a leg. It could even be a whole body. What guarantee do you have that you will even survive going through again?" Edward asked.

Lynda gave a hand signal to her people, and the two figures that had escorted him to the room encircled their arms around his. He struggled to free himself, and panic came over him. "What are you doing?!"

Lynda explained with an evil grin. "We need to activate the circle, and we can use some of her blood."

Edward struggled against the people holding him. "DON'T HURT HER! Just use mine. We already know my blood works."

Lynda agreed to it. "Excellent point."

A person came over and handed Edward a knife. He cut a slit into his palm and squeezed it over the circle. Drops of dark red blood fell onto the circle. It began to glow a light blue as it became activated.

Edward's memory of his father came to his mind. How Envy had crushed his father and the blood splattered onto the floor. And of course, that woman, Dr. Lynda Eckart had been there. Edward hoped this small amount of blood from him would be enough to appease Lynda so that Winry would be released.

The figures took the knife away and restrained Edward again.

Lynda reminded him. "Edward, you asked about the toll. Well, Winry has something that will pay for it. Lay her on the ground in the circle. We need to see her tattoo."

The figures in robes forced Winry to lie on her side. Lynda took off her gloves that had always concealed her hands. She showed Edward the strange markings that seemed to be part of a transmutation circle. Cretean writing within several circles. Winry struggled as Lynda pulled down her skirt to reveal Winry's tattoo.

Edward realized in horror what was about to happen. Winry's tattoo would combine with Lynda's tattooed hand and make a transmutation circle. When Lynda's hand touched the Winry's tattoo, a powerful red glow appeared.

Winry screamed in pain. The heat from the transmutation was burning her from the inside. It seemed to radiate throughout her body.

The bright red glow from her hip shone, and Edward saw something rather familiar. He shouted when he realized what it was. "Is that a philosopher's stone?!"

Lynda laughed maniacally. "Yes, it is! This will let us go through the gate without paying with our bodies!"

Just then, long black strands came out of the transmutation circle. The occultists watched in awe as small hands formed on the tendrils. Suddenly, a handed tendril grabbed an occultist and pulled it into the circle. The occultist shouted in surprise as she was pulled into the portal and disappeared. The awes of the other occultists soon became screams of terror as tiny hands pulled more people into the portal. Lynda rose from Winry's side, and waited for the hands to take her through the portal.

The occultists that were holding Edward released him and ran away. Edward ran around the circle. A tiny hand tried to grab him, but Edward back fisted it away.

Winry was lying on the ground in a fetal position with her hands grabbing her head. Her forehead was scrunched, showing how much pain she was in.

Lynda saw Edward running towards her. She braced herself and put her arms up to fight. She needed Winry's stone as a toll to go through the gate. Lynda stepped in front of Winry to block Edward from reaching her.

A few tendrils tried to grab him but Edward batted them away.

Edward yelled "I just got her back! You're not taking her away!"

"You can't have her! I need her for the toll!" Lynda shouted.

Lynda punched but Edward dodged. He punched her in the stomach. She keeled over onto the ground. When Lynda opened her eyes, she could see Edward kneeling over Winry. The concern in his eyes, and the gentleness of his hands as he checked her over.

Then the tendrils from the portal grabbed Lynda and pulled her into it.

A few tendrils tried to grab Winry but Edward batted them away. He took off the cloth that served to gag her and undid the knot on the rope that bound her hands together.

"Come on Winry. We need to get out of here NOW!" he shouted.

"It hurts so much!" Winry cried out, causing her headache to intensify but she managed to sit up. Edward put his arm under her shoulder, supporting her as they stood. He batted away more of the tiny hands.

"Leave us alone!" Edward shouted. Though it was tempting to return to Amestris, he and Winry could not pass through the gate. Edward thought of his brother being left all alone in London. Edward knew what it was like to be in this world by himself. It was too cold and lonely. A tiny black hand grabbed his foot, but he managed to shake it off. They finally made it far enough away from the portal so the hands could not reach them.

Edward turned to look at the portal as it was closing. The hands were retreating into it, after claiming several occultists and Lynda. Edward was reminded of the first time he had seen it. He and Alphonse had opened it to bring their mother back to life. His first sin had led to so many events that brought heartache to him, his brother, Winry, and so many others. He wished that he had never opened it. So much pain could have been avoided if they had just let their mother's memory comfort them rather than drive them into doing something so taboo. But that was how life was. He had made mistakes, but he had learned from them and how to carry their burden while moving forward.

Edward turned away from the portal as it closed completely. He and Winry walked out of the building with his arm wrapped around her providing support.

Once outside, the police arrived along with Alphonse. Winry stumbled but Edward caught her. He gently set her down on the curb of the street. Alphonse rushed over and was checking her pulse and looking for any wounds.

The chief of police came up to them, and the Risembool trio were in shock. This man resembled Colonel Mustang. They hadn't seen him before, and yet here he was in this world. He interviewed Edward and Winry but Winry was crying so Edward did most of the interview. He explained how she was kidnapped by a former colleague, and almost used as a sacrifice in their witchcraft.

Mustang asked Winry if she was involved in the occult, but she denied it while wiping tears away. When Mustang seemed satisfied with the questioning, he moved on to the captured occultists.

Winry continued to cry. Edward rubbed her shoulder. He was so relieved that she was safe, and that the three of them were altogether still. Edward tried to reassure Winry by telling her tenderly "It's all over. You're safe now."

"That's not why I'm crying," she said. Winry knew Edward hated to see her cry, but she was so overwhelmed with emotions now.

Edward became more serious. "What's wrong?"

Winry glanced at Alphonse, who was also concerned. He was the brother she needed when Edward had disappeared. They had grown closer over those years as she took care of him. Now, he was an adult learning to take care of others as a doctor.

Winry then looked Edward in the eyes. He knew the feelings in her heart, but he also knew her body just as well. Her lover knew everything about her but now she realized that he didn't know everything. And there was so much that the amnesia had hidden from both her and Edward. All the memories came back at once when Lynda had activated the philosopher's stone inside of her hip.

Winry was worried that Edward wouldn't love her the same once he knew what she had done the year before arriving here. She was ashamed of herself, and that shame was shaking her to the core. She took a breath in and confessed to them.

"I remember everything."

Author's note: We finally made it to this point! And of course, I had to leave it on a cliffhanger. Winry's memories will be revealed in the next chapter.

As a side note, there was a coven of witches that used black magic during World War 2 to help with the war. The weird things I learn by watching Hetalia. I did verify that it's true. Now if it worked or not, that's up to you to decide.

I used that historical fact to explain Lynda's flatmates, and why a group of women would be so accepting of someone claiming they are from another world. They were also willing to be part of Lynda's transmutation.