Chapter 2
Life Goes On
The skies over Central are calm, blue, and sunny. It almost seems like nothing could disrupt this peaceful day. The introduction ceremonies quickly break into talks. Ishbal's leader talks to Mustang, behind closed doors, to represent his people and their pleas. Meanwhile... Winry and Sheska walk the streets of Central, and they happen across the construction site for the new Central Library. Perhaps is was Sheska's own desire to see it, but it seems more like happenchance even to her. They stop in front of it and just stare. Winry smiles and turns to her friend. “Why did you keep your job with the State?”
Sheska blinks out of her trance to look at the blond mechanic. “Huh?” Winry giggles as she indicates the library with a slight nod of her head. “You were a librarian first, right? Why keep your job with the State?” Sheska heaves a sigh as her shoulder droops. “Hughes... At first...it was my way of avenging him, to help Full Metal gather information around his death and find those responsible... Now...” Sheska's mood brightens, slightly, as she looks up to the bright sky. “I stay because of his family he left behind! Gracia and Elycia!” Winry smiles and nods, and both look back to the library. The scaffolding looks quite solid as the building continues its slow, steady growth...
Sheska's eyes slowly take on a dreamy look, thoughts of the books this new Central Library would b e filled with filling her head. Winry knows that eccentric look and gives a nervous chuckle. She sighs, however, as she turns to begin walking; Sheska immediately following or not. However, a shadow quickly passing overhead takes her attention to the sky where she sees something she'd never thought to see again... One of those winged machines flies overhead, and she feels an ominous foreboding. It's as if she could feel that neither Edward nor Alphonse had returned to this side of the gate. Quietly she whispers, “Edward...please come back.” Sheska's still enthralled with the unfinished library, so she hasn't noticed a thing.
Chapter 3
Sightings
“I think that can be arranged.” Mustang generously tells a grateful Ishbal representative. They shake hands, and the purple-eyed man has but one thing to say. “Thank-you.” Though he was called the “Hero of Ishbal”, the representative seems genuinely pleased to be dealing with the Flame Alchemist. Mustang just seems pleased to have the whole mess behind him
and the State. Just as his mouth is opening to say something else, Hawkeye bursts through the door with wide-eyes. “Unknown forces have just...LANDED!” Being nowhere near the ocean, this brings a look of surprise to both Mustang and his Ishbal guest.
“Wha...?” Mustang looks at Hawkeye, a bit dumbfounded. “Pardon me, sir. I have something to deal with.” The Ishbal representative nods as he invites the new Fuhrer to leave. Mustang smirks as he understands, perfectly. The talks can wait, and he rushes out, lead by Hawkeye. When they exit the building, they come to a halt seeing Winry and Sheska waiting for them there. They both look worried, and Mustang generally knows what that means. They are perceptive, and that worries him. He heaves a sigh. “I take it you two saw the...unknown forces?” Winry nods before Sheska blurts out... “They were some...mechanical things! Like...what came out of the Gate!” To this, Hawkeye and Mustang take a step aback. They were
barely able to drive flying craft the last time, and it took Full Metal and Al to do that!
“What's going on, Flame?” Hawkeye eyes Mustang thinking back to the incident not too long ago. It's been months, but that scrap heap of armor is still fresh in everybody's mind. He sighs as he tries to come up with an answer. “I don't know, Hawkeye. I just...don't know.” “Uh...Roy?” Winry waits for Mustang to look at her before continuing. “They landed, and some people started getting out. They haven't attacked...maybe it's diplomatic?” Mustang gets a nervous look on his face. “I hope you're right, Ms. Rockbell... I hope you're right.” Heaving a sigh, he straightens his uniform and begins to walk in the direction the three ladies indicated the flying machines had landed. Hawkeye and Sheska follow him, but he makes sure to have some MP officers keep Winry from following. He almost has to chuckle. She'll find a way to follow if she really wants to.
Chapter 4
Dangerous Dance
The Gypsies Ed and Al are traveling with make it through checkpoints easily enough, especially after they started traveling with a circuses. Several Gypsies get on and off along the way, some staying to perform at various circuses or to make some money in street performances. Ed, Al, and Noa are the only three staying on a pretty straight track, even if they do have to hop from one transport to another from time to time. “We should be reaching Germany in a few hours.” Noa sounds confident in telling the brothers this, but she is slightly discouraged when she sees Ed so lost in thought that he didn't even hear her. When Al sees her looking, he can only shrug in response. He has no idea what's going on.
“I wonder how...Winry's doing?” Ed speaks absentmindedly as he looks into the sky, blocking the sun from his face with his right arm. The automail, covered in synthetic skin, just reminds him of his mechanic. She's the only one who ever made automail he could appreciate, and her repairs were top-notch. This one he's wearing wasn't even on par with the worst, certified automail mechanic because of the clashing technology of this world. “I'm sure she's fine, brother. She probably misses you, though.” Ed blinks as his attention is drawn away from his daydream. He looks at Al with a confused look on his face. “She hasn't seen you in quite some time, brother.” Ed sighs at Al's latest response.
“You know we can't go back, Al.” Ed seems to know this as if it were absolute fact. Noa sighs and looks down. She wanted to go to their world too, but her look betrays something else. There is a light glint of jealousy in her eyes, but she remains silent. She'd let the brothers talk. “You're wrong, brother!” Al almost slams his fists into the bed of the transport. “I know you, brother! You'll find a way back!” “Al... Don't you think he feels bad enough?” Noa looks surprised that she said anything, especially as she covers her mouth with her hands. Ed sighs as he figures he may as well answer the accusations. “No. He's right, Noa. I'm just letting him down, but I really don't know how we're going to get ba...”
Ed is interrupted as their transportation is slammed by something. Barely able to grasp something as the truck begins to role, he looks to see if Al and Noa are safe. He can't even give a sigh of relief as up becomes down, and they are all forced to let go as they come hard onto the ground. The transport, however, doesn't stop and barrels down a nearby slope. Ed rubs the back of his head as he tries to recover, but, as he opens his eyes, shock takes front stage on his face. He blinks, as if disbelieving his eyes. “You?!”
Al and Noa are at a loss for words. Noa had seen the creature before, but Al hadn't seen him like this. “Who is it, brother?” After a short pause, Al rethinks not asking his next question and goes ahead. “What is it?” The creature, a long, sinuous dragon, rears back his head as he lets out a loud laugh. “I am Envy, dear brother Alphonse.” Though the creature speaks, its mouth barely moves up and down. Ed looks angry as he grasps some grass. “Impossible! I saw you consumed in that alchemy reaction!” Envy almost has to laugh. “You have me wrong, dear brother. It was Hohenheim whom was the components in
that reaction. Besides, the Gate didn't hold up its end of the bargain.” Ed looks surprised as he looks up at Envy, slight tears beading from his eyes. “Wha...What bargain?”
Envy lets out a throaty laugh. “I never wanted to see you again. I never wanted you back in this world. If the Gate would do that, I would return willingly.” Ed sighs. “That's too bad, Envy. I destroyed this side of the gate, and I can promise you that Roy destroyed the other.” Envy, once more, erupts in laughter, and Ed is flustered by this. Does this Homunculus really want to just get on his nerves?! About to respond, Ed is surprised as Al does instead. “What's so funny?! It's really hurting brother that he can't get back!” Envy stops laughing as he looks at the two, Ed and Al. “Isn't it obvious? I'm still here.”
“So what?!” Ed is about ready to see if he can pull this dragon's throat out! He stands up and brandishes his automail, balling his right hand into a fist. “So...that means that the Gate is still usable.” These words are enough to send shock and surprise to both Ed and Al's faces. Noa looks at the brothers and realizes that they'd be doing whatever they could to return to the other side. “Brother! That means...” Al is stopped short as Ed nearly yells. “No! We have to stop the Uranium first!” It's becoming more obvious that Envy is finding this whole thing hilarious as he, once more, begins laughing. “You think it's that simple? The Gate is the link between our worlds. Who knows who created it? Energy flows through it to keep things balanced. Souls flow through it and are
created within it to keep time flowing forward.”
“Wait...” Ed's anger seems to have subsided. He's now more astonished than anything else. “You're saying...no force can destroy the Gate? It's...some sort of bridge between our two worlds... It's the ultimate expression of Equivalent Exchange?” If dragons could smirk, that's what Envy would be doing right now. “Precisely, brother. Without it, the worlds would become extremely unbalanced and...life would end.” Ed sighs as he accepts what quite possibly could be called defeat. “I need to find the Alchemist who brought Uranium to this world.” “No. You need to leave before I decide to eat you and not be so generous as to eat you!” Envy seems serious, but Ed simply becomes angered again. “What are you, a fool?! That is a Forbidden Element for a reason!”
“Brother...” Al tries to calm his brother, but all he gets is an angry look. Ed sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose with his left hand. “I'm sorry, Al.” Envy just laughs, and that brings the ire of both brothers. Noa's just confused. “What are you talking about?” Envy stops laughing as he looks straight at her, now explaining exactly what the brothers want to hear...need to hear. “Uranium was brought here by an Alchemist driven mad by his own ambitions. Ed wants to stop it because of the damage he has already seen, thanks to the Gate, that it will cause. What they don't realize is that...that much energy coming from Human Transmutation causes a great deal of change.”
Ed looks at Envy curiously. His attention is now caught. “What do you mean?” Envy turns his full attention to Ed. “Several Forbidden Elements are now naturally occurring, including Uranium.” Al's eyes go wide. “No!” is the only response he can give as he realizes the potential harm that could have. Envy continues to focus his attention on Ed, even as he answers the unspoken question. “Equivalent Exchange, the absolute law of your world, is about to be made into scientific theory here! That is what causes those massive explosions, the mushroom-shaped clouds, you saw in the vision the Gate gave you.” Ed slams a fist into the ground, cursing. “You're trying to say that we can't stop it...aren't you?” Envy grins, if that's even possible, as he comes to know the situation. “Exactly. The person your hunting no longer exists. His
knowledge melded with another in this world. He's not evil. He's not mad. He simply wants to help this world, and his aid will end the coming war...even if he regrets it.”
Ed sighs. “I still need to find him first! I have to stop it...somehow...” Al looks at Ed with a saddened expression. The desire to stop the Forbidden Element from making its way any further into this world is the whole reason he came back here in the first place, with every intention of leaving Winry and Al behind. Ed isn't trying to be a hero... He's just trying to do what is right. “You can't stop his dream, Envy!” Al suddenly yelling out startles both Ed and Noa, and they look at him. Envy slowly turns his attention to the younger brother. “I didn't stop it. That Alchemist's greed did. He no longer exists because he wanted war in your world, and his ambitions will now end war in this one.” Ed looks at Envy confused. That's the second time he mentioned that. “End? How can killing so many end the war?” Envy looks at Ed, and there is a proud air surrounding him...like he's smirking. “Wouldn't you like to know?