Chapter Text
'Something is wrong,' Ed thought, watching in mounting horror as the gate seemed to glow a fluorescent green, yellow, and purple all at once in a color he could not describe, before the world burned a hot white.
Ed felt as if he were floating, then he felt hot; too hot, way too hot as the heat began to climb and reach an unbearable temperature engulfing his entire body and then…
It stopped.
He opened his eyes.
“Edward!” He felt hands on his shoulders, gently shaking him. His own golden eyes met the mirroring golden eyes of his younger brother.
“Al?” He gasped and reached up, grasping his brother’s arm. He scrambled into a seated position, not letting go of his brother. ‘He’s real,’ he thought. ‘He’s alive.’
There was a noise behind him, and he turned and saw…
“Mustang? What-“ He paused and looked around the darkened room. They were still in the Thule Society headquarters. Except it was different. It wasn’t obvious immediately to Ed in his disoriented state.
“Care to tell me why I’m not in Amestris right now?” The patch over his eye askew, Roy rubbed at his right before adjusting the patch on his left.
Ed turned back to Mustang. “I- I’m not sure, to be honest. This is where Al and I were but it’s… not the same. It’s dark and musty and the rubble that was just here is gone.”
Roy frowned. “What were you doing before we ended up here?”
“Brother and I were trying to close the gate. I guess that’s what you were doing as well, Brigadier General?” Al picked himself up and dusted off his pants. Al offered Ed a hand that he gratefully accepted as he stood, testing his automail.
“Yes.” Roy Mustang was at an uncharacteristic loss for words. “Was the gate… did you see anything odd…?”
“Yeah. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know what happened except the gate was a really weird color and everything was white and burning suddenly.” Ed paused, a sudden thought occurring. He ran his hands down his body. “I feel fine though. How long have you been here?”
“Alphonse and I have been conscious for only a few minutes. It sounds like what I experienced when I tried to close it on my side. Where are we?”
“The Thule Society. It’s where the gate to Amestris was developed but,” Ed looked up. “It looks like the gate is gone.”
“What is the Thule Society?”
“It’s basically a cult. We’re in a country called Germany. Germany lost a world war and the Thule Society wants to empower the country by blood purity for what they consider the ‘Aryan race’. They say it’s for the worker’s party but really they want to take over the government through a show of force.” Ed clenched his fists. “Eckhart thought she could turn Amestris into their promise land, until she decided it was a threat and needed to be destroyed.”
Mustang crossed his arms, brow furrowed. “That still doesn’t explain why we’re here.”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. This place looks deserted.” He walked over to a railing, sweeping his left hand across it, dust and grime covering his fingers. “It was not like this before we were knocked out.”
Roy was quiet for a moment, pondering Ed’s words.
“Honestly I don’t think we were knocked out so much as absorbed by the gate. Or I was, at least. But if this isn’t the same place you were at, then maybe you two were pulled in as well.”
“That doesn’t explain why we are still here and why everything is so different. Besides, in the past when I’ve gone through a gate, I’ve seen the Truth. It was, well, the experience wasn’t the same.”
“BROTHER!”
Ed whirled around towards Alphonse’s cry. He called out panic flooding him as he oriented himself. “Al?! Are you okay?”
“I found this over here by my armour!” Al stood next to what was formerly his suit, rusted and covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It was positioned in such a way that it appeared to be holding out three large gold coins. Al held up what looked to be a thick well-aged parchment envelope. Written on the envelope in emboldened, clear letters above a large print of a Flamel were the words:
TO ALPHONSE ELRIC, COL. EDWARD ELRIC and GENERAL ROY MUSTANG.
Mustang stared at it, incredulous. “I- before I woke up here, I was just a Brigadier General… General is three ranks above where I was and a step below Fuhrer.”
Ed was quiet for a moment before he stepped forward, his face grim. “I was definitely not a Colonel. Normally this kind of rank increase is awarded posthumously,” he stated, remembering Maes Hughes. “Go ahead and open it, Al.”
Roy and Ed made their way to him, and as Alphonse read the letter silently, a range of emotions crossing his face before settling on confusion. He looked back at the armour, his gaze drifting to the coins held in its hands. He handed the letter to Roy and Ed.
I am thrilled you have made your way back here. If I am still alive at the time you discover this, I would like to make up for lost time and discuss with you our next steps. If I am not, one of my beneficiaries will do the same. I hope too much time as not passed; I have eagerly awaited your return. Should you each be alive to find this letter, please individually pick up the golden coin with your name resting on Al phonse ’s suit of armo u r when you are done reading this letter. The are what we call ‘portkeys’ and they will take you to my estate. Perhaps it sounds fantastical, but it will make sense shortly.
Regards,
Von Hohenheim of Light
“He couldn’t be less clear if he tried.” Ed grumbled. “What the hell is a portkey and how is it going to get us out of here?”
Al reached for a coin. “I’m not sure, Brother. But they each have our names on them and-“
And then he was gone.
“AL!” Ed threw himself to the spot his brother was the moment before. “Where did he go?!”
“It was the coin!” Mustang called to him, holding the letter in his hand. “Look at the letter. ‘They will take you to my estate.’ It had to be the coin, as soon as he touched it, he disappeared.”
“How the hell can a coin do that?!” Ed took a breath, trying to calm himself.
“I’m not sure, but I suggest we do the same and see if we follow Al to wherever he went.”
Ed steeled himself. “Well, there’s one way to find out.” With his left hand he reached for the dust covered coin with his name engraved into it. As soon as his fingers touched cool metal, he felt a wave of nausea and when he opened his eyes…
He stumbled in front of a large stone cottage, falling to his knees, dry heaving until the nausea left him. Al knelt next to him, a hand resting lightly on his back.
“It will pass in a moment, Brother. I did the same thing.”
A door opened and golden eyes met surprised green as they stared into the face of a very elderly Trisha Elric.
Ed paled and dry heaved again.