A/N: As you might have guessed from the summary, this is an AU where the Gate in the 2003 anime (or Amestris-1) leads not to our world but to the Brotherhood anime (Amestris-2). The original idea came from Tumblr user ruinsofxerxes, so go thank her for that. I hope you like it!

"Well, well. This situation seems familiar."

Edward found himself in the same featureless white expanse he had visited not too many years ago, dominated solely by the sardonic voice of the being some called Truth.

"I suppose you're here for your brother?" Truth continued in that strange voice of his – hers – its? Never mind.

"Yeah, you know the drill," Edward snapped. "Give him back! He's not dead, so I'm not breaking any taboos or anything -" Well, at least he hoped he wasn't. He wasn't sure he could take the pain of failing again.

"You alchemists, always looking for a loophole," said Truth, though not without a hint of fondness. "That is correct. It is certainly within my power to return Alphonse Elric to the physical world. But what will you give me in return?"

"Anything," replied Edward without hesitation, showing Truth the six circles inscribed on his skin with his own blood – the very same as the ones he had drawn all those years ago. Guess he hadn't learned from his mistakes after all.

"Fine. Then let it be done." Behind Truth's seated figure, the Gate opened - wait, hadn't the Gate been behind Edward? Was this some kind of trick?

"It's not a trick." Truth's voice, brusquely interrupting his thoughts, seemed to come from far away; Edward realized with a shock that he was already halfway through the enormous doors. "Welcome to the other side of the Gate."

AMESTRIS-2

In another world, the sun was setting over Liore.

"That was a complete waste of time," grumbled Ed as he and Al walked off to the train station. "After all that hard work, we didn't even get the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oh, don't be like that, Brother," said Al. "We met a lot of people and took down a corrupt government… I'd say that was worth the effort. And Rose is right behind us, so you might want to keep your voice down."

Ed turned discreetly and saw her glaring at him from the top of the steps. Oh. Well, she'd stopped crying, at least.

"It's your own fault, you know," Al went on. "If you'd been a little less rude during your lecturing, maybe she would've liked us more."

"Those weren't lectures, Al, they were valuable life lessons. There's a difference. Anyway, I'm gonna have to buy a new coat after that fight with Cornello –"

"That wasn't his fault. You ripped it off yourself, remember?"

"It was for dramatic effect!"

A shrill scream split the air, stopping both brothers dead in their tracks. Ed whirled around, ready for another round of beration. "Rose, what the hell –"

"It's under your feet!" she shouted.

Ed looked down and suddenly noticed a massive glowing transmutation circle on the ground. He was standing barely within its rim; Al, mercifully, was outside. The unfamiliar lines and swirls began to shine even more brightly even as he watched. "There wasn't anything here a second ago," he muttered, trying to hide his growing panic. Somehow he'd walked right into a trap...no, that didn't make any sense. Someone would have set it off long before, and anyway, there weren't any alchemists in Liore.

Rose was running toward them and yelling something, probably a polite request to tell me just what in the sweet glorious name of Leto is going on, but was cut off by the appearance of an enormous, unblinking grey eye on the ground - one Ed thought he would never see again.

"It's just like...that day..." Al whispered.

Ed nodded, his heart in his throat. Sparks were flying now, enough to make his hair stand on end. It was too late to do anything other than watch. "Hey, um, Al," he mumbled, "if anything happens to me, just, just don't forget our promise, and how much I care about you, and, um, try not to pick up any cats, okay?"

"Brother!" Al wailed tearfully (metaphorical tears, of course). The whirlwind of energy emanating from the circle's epicenter grew and grew until it threatened to knock Ed off his feet. I guess this is it, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. A blinding flash of light, and -

Whump. The great eye shut, and the circle disappeared so quickly that it might as well not have existed in the first place. Ed was unceremoniously thrown forward onto a mound of desert sand. There was a short, excruciatingly awkward silence. Then Rose cleared her throat.

"So, uh, was summoning your identical twin part of the life lesson? Because I don't really see the connection."

"Whaa?" Ed sputtered, pulling himself upright. Then he noticed the unconscious, semi-naked teenager who had suddenly appeared directly in front of him and nearly choked (as it turned out, there was a lot of sand in his mouth).

Even without seeing the kid's face, the scruffy blond braid, automail, and (as much as he hated to admit it) below-average stature were enough to identify him as an exact duplicate of Ed. Except, of course, that made no sense whatsoever. "Wait, that's not - I don't have any - he doesn't - who is that?"

Al rolled the doppelganger over on his back and recoiled; streaks of blood stained his face, chest, and limbs. "Brother... what – what happened? What is this?"

"He - he might have been injured or something," said Ed distractedly, still grappling with the sheer impossibility of what had just happened. A circle appeared out of thin air…this second Ed shows up from nowhere…and was that really the Gate?

"He looks a little pale," Al said, sounding worried. "Maybe we should rest here tonight and get some answers."

"Let me guess," muttered Rose. "You want to stay at my place."

Both brothers immediately gave her their best pleading expressions - a bit of a feat, considering only one of them had a face. "Aw, Rose, I know I got carried away earlier," said Ed, "but you can't take it out on this poor guy, right?"

"If he's anything like you, I definitely can."

"Pleeeeeease?" begged Al in his good-little-boy voice. "We don't have anywhere else to go, and it's just for one night…"

Rose exhaled loudly and ran her hand through her hair. "Okay, okay. Just so we're clear, I'm doing this solely out of the goodness of my heart, you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" they responded in unison. Al picked up the still-unconscious other Ed (for lack of a better term), and the unlikely trio trekked back into the city. Rose led them through a network of alleys and side roads, explaining that the two of them would probably be attacked if anyone saw them now. "Especially Mr. I'm-An-Alchemist-So-I'm-Way-Better-Than-You," she added snippily.

As if on cue, the other Ed moaned weakly, causing all three of them to jump. "A-Al?" he whimpered, struggling to sit up. He had Ed's voice, which shouldn't really have been a surprise, considering his appearance, but Ed found it frankly unnerving.

Al shot them a nervous glance, unsure what to say. "Uh, it's me," he said tentatively. "Just – just hold on a second, we're almost there."

"So you're…okay," the other Ed sighed with evident relief. "Listen, I… I'm sorry, this was all… my fault…" He promptly went limp again.

"What was that all about?" asked Rose as they went on.

"Beats me," said Ed.

At last they arrived at the back door of Rose's small apartment, which stood atop her equally small flower shop. "Here, put him on my bed," she said. "I'll go make some…tea, or whatever it is you like."

Ed was suddenly struck by a fantastic idea. "Do you have milk?"

"Only the powdered kind. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely," he replied with a completely straight face. Rose gave him a skeptical look but, mercifully, didn't question further as she hurried out to the kitchen.

"Brother –"

"Don't worry, Al, I've got it all figured out," said Ed as he plopped down on Rose's couch and quite deliberately turned his back on the bed. The feeling of staring at his own face was just too weird to contemplate.

Al stepped closer and examined the blood streaming down the other Ed's limbs. Then he gave a small, hitched gasp, which meant something was really important, since normally he didn't breathe. "Brother, come look at this."

"I'm a little busy facing the wall here –"

"Just come look!"

Ed rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Al pointed at the sleeping boy's torso. "See, he's not actually bleeding. The blood was drawn on."

Come to think of it… Ed squinted at the dark red streaks scattered around the chest. The marks were smudged and barely recognizable, but he could definitely see the remnants of a circle there. The blood on his forehead and flesh limbs were probably the same. "It looks sort of like the arrays I used to get your soul back," he realized. "Not the exact shape, but pretty close."

"But… why? And why is he here in the first place?"

Ed shrugged and sat back down. "I guess we'll just have to ask him ourselves."

They waited for a few minutes in near-total silence, broken only by the other Ed's slow breaths and the muffled noise of the streets outside. Then, abruptly, the slow breaths morphed into a series of ungainly grunts.

"Nnngh – mmmph –"

Ed and Al rushed over. "Hey, you alright?" Ed asked cautiously.

The other Ed blearily opened his eyes, revealing brilliant golden irises just like Ed's own. "What's going on?" he mumbled. "Where am I?"

"We were kind of hoping you could answer that first question," said Al apologetically. "I'm Alphonse, and this is my brother Edward…"

"…and you are currently in the beautiful oasis town of Liore!" Ed finished. The other Ed's eyes widened in a horrified expression, which was definitely not what he'd been going for. "Come on, the place isn't that bad…"

"Liore?" the other Ed whispered. "That's, that's not possible. And –" it looked like he was beginning to grasp the situation "– and who did you just say you were?"

"I think you owe us an explanation first," Ed said, folding his arms. "We were just on our way out of here when the Gate randomly opened and you dropped out covered in blood. That's kind of suspicious, don't you think?"

The other Ed completely ignored him. "So… this is what Truth meant, huh?" he muttered to himself. "The other side of the Gate."

"Truth? That bastard again?" Ed stopped short. "Wait. What do you mean, the other side? You're telling me you came from –"

"What year is it?" the other Ed asked abruptly.

"Um, it's 1914, last time I checked," said Al.

The other Ed nodded, his expression inscrutable. "I'm from the future," he announced. That was a conversation killer.

While Ed and Al were processing this information, Rose came back in with a glass of milk and some damp towels. "How is he – oh. Hi there."

"Rose?" said the other Ed, staring at her. "You look kind of pale."

She gave him a bemused look. "Do I know you? I mean, I know your face, obviously, but…"

"No, sorry," he corrected himself hastily. "It's just – you reminded me of someone I know. That's all." More mysteries, huh, Ed thought.

"Uh, alright," said Rose. "Anyway, here's something to wake you up." She handed him the milk, which he gratefully sipped – and then promptly spat all over the front of Al's armor.

"Brother!" Al cried in exasperation, reaching for a towel. "I mean, uh, whoever you are."

"Nah, he's the real deal," said Ed, grinning. "We know that for sure now."

"You could have just asked," complained the other Ed as he wiped his mouth.

"But what would be the fun in that?" Ed asked innocently before remembering what the actual purpose of this discussion was. "Okay, back on topic. You've told us how you ended up here – sort of – but you haven't told us why."

The other Ed merely smiled sadly and gave Al's still-dripping breastplate an affectionate knock. "What do you think? I did it to get my little brother's body back."

AMESTRIS-1

Alphonse opened his eyes and stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He got the strange feeling that he'd been sleeping for a while, but that was ridiculous. He and Ed were far too busy putting the final touches on their theory for human transmutation – Al couldn't even count the number of nights he'd spent in that dank room at the end of the hall. But it would all be worth it to see their mother's face again…

"Al!" A female voice came down to him from above. Mom? No, this voice was different. "Al, are you all right? Can you hear me?"

Al's vision cleared, and he became slightly more aware of his surroundings; he was in a hospital room, though not in any hospital he recognized. The voice belonged to a pink-haired girl leaning over him, wearing an elaborate (if rather disheveled) ball gown and holding a baby in her arms.

"Yeah, I'm – I'm fine," he managed at last, sitting up. "Who are you? And where's Brother?"

The girl drew back, her eyebrows furrowing. "Al, it's me, Rose Thomas…don't you know me?"

Al shook his head, bewildered. "Should I?"

The girl's – Rose's – expression became somber. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Brother and I were about to bring our mom back…" He trailed off, seeing the horrified look on Rose's face.

"That was…" She hesitated. "I – I don't know how to say this, but that was over four years ago."

The words took a second to register. "Four… four years?" Al said dumbly. He felt a huge black pit opening in his head – he couldn't exactly describe the feeling, but it was empty and wrong. "No way," he said. "I'd remember something, then, wouldn't I? I haven't gotten any older – "

"You should have." Rose wouldn't meet his gaze. "You were fourteen up until yesterday. Something must have gone wrong… I don't know. I'm not an alchemist."

What happened? Al waited for her to continue, but she didn't, not for a long while. The pit grew larger.

"My mom," he blurted out finally. "Is she okay?" Rose looked up suddenly, and then he knew what the answer would be.

"The transmutation failed," she said quietly. "You lost your body. Ed lost an arm and a leg. The two of you set off to find a way to restore yourselves. That's what you've been doing these past few years."

Al studied the palms of his hands. They were in perfect order, just like they'd always been. "So then, Brother…"

"Ed's not here anymore," said Rose. "To be honest, I don't know if he's even alive. He traded everything he had to return your body to you, but something must have gone wrong…"

"…because I lost my memories," Al finished, the truth dawning upon him. His throat tightened dangerously. He hadn't cried in a long time, and he really, really didn't want to do it now in front of her, even if she was supposed to be his friend. "So I spent all that time without a body?"

"Your soul was attached to a suit of armor, so you couldn't sleep, eat, or feel anything. Or cry, for that matter," she added, smiling. Al hastily reached up to wipe away the tears gathering in his eyes, but she gently took his hand before he could. "No, don't do that. You told me a while back that just being able to cry again was all you ever wanted."

Al couldn't imagine living that kind of life – you couldn't even call it a life; it was more like a cruel half-existence. The warmth of Rose's fingers on his wrist, the coolness of the thin sheets clinging to his body, even the stale breeze from the ceiling fan… what would it be like to lose all of that? He squeezed his eyes shut, and all the unshed tears reluctantly spilled out.

"I guess I have to thank Brother, if he – when he comes back," he said, sniffing a little.

"That might not be possible, Al," Rose murmured, letting go of his hand. No, you're wrong, he wanted to shout. It's possible. It has to be! But then, what did he know? He was just some country kid who'd gotten mixed up in a future he didn't even recognize. There was a little part of him that still hoped this was all just a bad dream, and he'd wake up soon and Ed would be there, and Mom too, and they'd all be happy… but it was stupid to wish for impossible things. Even Al knew that. He shoved aside those thoughts and bit his lip until the tears stopped. No matter what Rose said, it wasn't cool to cry in front of a girl.

Just then the door opened, and Al looked up to see an unfamiliar woman enter; she was wearing a casual black turtleneck, but her stiff posture and neat bun implied some sort of military position.

"I see you're awake, Alphonse," she said in a kinder tone than he'd expected. "It's good to see you in your real body. How are you feeling?"

Al realized that this was someone else he had forgotten. "I'm – I'm fine, but…" He couldn't bear to meet her gaze. "I don't know who you are anymore. I'm sorry."

"He doesn't remember anything since – the incident a few years ago," Rose said.

"I see." The woman's face grew solemn. It was silent for a moment. Then she bent down next to the bed and lifted up his chin to look him in the eye. "In that case, I suppose I need to reintroduce myself." She offered Al her hand, which he dutifully shook. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye. During your brother's time in the military, we spent quite some time working together."

"The military?" Al stammered, trying to picture the short, whiny, intermittently unwashed brother he knew marching around in a blue uniform.

"He became a State Alchemist," she explained. "The two of you decided to use military resources to search for the Philosopher's Stone so you could use it to regain your bodies."

The Philosopher's Stone… "I read a little about that back in Resembool," Al said tentatively, "but I still don't know much. Did we find it?"

The Lieutenant sighed. "It's a long story. I actually came here to check on the colonel – Colonel Mustang, that is, you probably don't remember him – but I brought you your brother's belongings." She placed a worn briefcase on the bed. "You can look through that stuff until I get back. It won't take long. Then I'll tell you everything that happened, alright?" After giving him a quick pat on the shoulder, she hurried out again. Whoever this Mustang person was, he must really have needed her help.

Al sat up, still unable to shake the strange empty feeling inside him, and opened the briefcase. Inside was a rather comprehensive collection of black clothing, topped off with a bright red coat. Why am I not surprised? Al wondered with an inward sigh. Beneath all that there were some small necessities – a toothbrush here, a comb there, some snacks and a deck of cards – as well as a battered travel journal and a silver pocket watch that Al recognized as the emblem of a State Alchemist. Nothing much, really (well, aside from the watch).

"So… he really wore this stuff every day?"

"Naturally." Rose gave him a small smile. "And he grew out his hair. It looked fine, once you got used to it, but…"

Al groaned mentally. That sounded exactly like the Ed he knew. When they were kids, long hair had been a chief topic of conversation.

"Yeah, wouldn't that be awesome? I bet it'll even make me look taller!"

"But Brother, then you'll look like a girl. Plus, won't it get in your face?"

"I could braid it. And for the girl thing, if I wear black all the time, I'll look super cool! No one could ever mistake me for a namby-pamby like Winry in an outfit like that!"

"That's kind of mean. I thought you wanted to marry her."

"Shut up!"

That hadn't been too long ago – no, if this really was 1915, then it was already far in the past. Since those days, everything had changed. They'd changed. Al suddenly felt very lonely. Before, he'd never been away from Ed for more than a day or two. Now…

"Hey, Al?" Rose said, breaking into his reverie. "What do you plan to do next? Once you get out of here, I mean."

He hadn't really thought about that yet. "Well, I guess I'll go back to Resembool and visit Winry and Auntie Pinako." He half expected Rose to tell him they'd died in a car accident or a house fire or something, but thankfully it seemed that wasn't the case. "After that – I dunno. Maybe I could find some way to get my memory back?"

Rose shifted her baby from one arm to the other. "Resembool, huh," she said thoughtfully. "What kind of place is that?"

"It's really rural, and there's not really much other than farms, but I think it's nice. Though a lot of stuff's probably changed since I was there," he added dejectedly.

"It sounds very beautiful," she said. "My home doesn't really… exist anymore, so I've been thinking over some options."

"Resembool's definitely the best," Al declared. "If you want, you could move in with me. I mean, my house is pretty big, and… since Mom and Ed are gone… there's plenty of space for you and your baby."

"That – that probably won't work," said Rose, without elaborating, "but you're right, there really isn't anywhere better than your hometown. If you don't mind, I could accompany you on your way back and see things for myself."

"Yeah!" Al cheered. He didn't know why he was so excited considering he'd only met Rose a few minutes ago, but whatever.

Rose excused herself to nurse her baby; just then, the Lieutenant – he didn't know whether to call her that or just 'Hawkeye' – reappeared, looking a little more strained than previously.

"How's Colonel Mustard?" he ventured, feeling guilty that he didn't care more about this once-known gentleman.

"It's Mustang," she corrected. "He's not in good shape, which is probably good for you since he'd have toasted you for messing up his name like that, but he'll live. I'm sure everything will work out." The last sentence seemed more directed at herself than to Al. "Anyway, you want answers, right? I don't know everything, but I can tell you what I do know. Although, well, the story wasn't always pleasant. Are you sure you want to hear the whole thing right now?"

Al nodded with more firmness than he felt. "If I could live through these past four years, then it shouldn't be hard just to listen to you talk about it." I hope.

"Okay, then. After the transmutation was complete, Edward lost his leg in the rebound and traded his arm to affix your soul to a suit of armor…"

"…and a few seconds after he disappeared, you showed up in the circle, looking just as you do now." A full hour later, the Lieutenant had finally finished her tale. "Questions?"

Al's head was spinning and he thought he was on the verge of throwing up. Why he'd agreed to this, he had no idea. "So I was the Philosopher's Stone…?"

"Yes."

"And the Fuhrer was a homunculus?"

"I was surprised when I found out, too."

"And my mom was a homunculus?"

"Not exactly. If you're confused about it, there's a homunculus recovering in the room next door. Wrath, I think – "

"It's – it's okay. And Brother never grew any taller?"

"Maybe an inch or so."

Al flopped back down onto the pillow. This was all too much to take in – it was like an especially complex fairy tale. Sure, he himself featured in it at times, but this other Al, the Al that rescued chimeras and fought in big battles, seemed no more familiar to him than a character in a novel.

Hawkeye gave him another shoulder pat. "I'm sorry. I know it was hard to hear all that in one go." She stood up. "Well, it's getting late. I'd better go."

"Wait, Lieutenant…"

"Hmm?"

"Rose and I are going back to Resembool. Could you, um…" He twiddled his thumbs nervously. "…maybe loan us some money?"

Hawkeye's stern expression softened into a smile. "Oh, there's no need to worry about that. Edward left plenty of money in his research account, and I haven't officially reported his disappearance yet, so if you show the bankers this – " she picked up Ed's silver watch and dangled it teasingly from her fingers " – I'm sure they won't mind taking out a bit."

Al scratched his head sheepishly. He felt a little bad about it… but not bad enough to refuse. "Okay, I'll do that. Thanks."

"My pleasure." Hawkeye paused for a moment on her way out and looked back at him. "I hope to see you again, Alphonse. If you ever need anything, just give me a call."

It was quiet again, or would have been if the fan wasn't so creaky. Al lay back and stared out the window. The sun was still shining; that hadn't changed, at least. There was still a hole inside him somewhere, a void that wouldn't disappear, but perhaps going back to Resembool would make it a little smaller. Home is where the heart is, after all.