Hi, everybody! I just want to let you guys know, the older versions of the Elric brothers will be called Edward and Alphonse while the younger ones will be referred to as Ed and Al. Also, since there will be references to the end of Brotherhood, EdWin and other canon pairings will be mentioned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Ed scowled, balling his gloved hands into fists as he stormed down the concrete steps of Central Library. His boots hit the earth with a ferocity that rivaled the fierce expression of the lion statue he swept past at the bottom of the staircase. "I can't believe they kicked us out!" He didn't even make sure Al was beside him before he released a torrent of words. "We barely got a minute to research anything!"

Al wanted to point out that technically they had told his brother to leave, not him, but he knew that would only redirect Ed's outrage onto himself so he applied another tactic. "It's not their fault the library closes early today." Al tried to reason with him. "They were just doing their job."

Ed scoffed dismissively, and then grumbled to himself about transmuting the doors shut and forcing all the librarians to sleep with their cherished books or redecorating the library into something more fitting of his tastes. Most likely he was already planning out where to add skulls to the architecture.

"And you know that book is one of the last existing copies. It would be irresponsible if they let anyone check it out." Al added thoughtfully.

"So what? I'm not just anyone, I'm a state alchemist. They should have made an exception." Ed muttered darkly, practically growling while he stomped down the sidewalk. The occasional streetlamp illuminated the ire marring his face and the metal clang of his automail foot was more conspicuous in the silence of the night. "It's bad enough we had to postpone our trip to Liore, but then the hospital had to take their precious time to release me! The library was nearly closed by the time those idiots let me go."

Al had to figuratively bite his own tongue so he wouldn't mention how Ed had basically broke out of the hospital. He wished Ed had allowed himself a few more hours of recovery, but his brother was stubborn and Al had to admit that he made a reasonable argument for leaving. They did need time to find a hotel for their last night in Central, and if they waited for the hospital to release Ed, they would have found most hotels were already booked.

And though they considered asking the Hughes' for help, Al had eventually decided he didn't want to impose on the family and Ed was certain Hughes would just drag him back to the hospital after finding out he'd checked himself out. It was obvious from the little time they had spent with the man that Hughes held a strong parental instinct and soft-spot for children, and would never let Ed wander Central with only partially healed wounds.

Al sighed in remembrance, somewhat regretful he hadn't been more assertive, while Ed's boots scuffed against the sidewalk and tossed a few pebbles into the vacant streets. "The whole reason we came to Central was for that book, and now we don't have any time to read it."

Now noticing how he had been lost in thought for a while, Al trotted faster to keep up with Ed's anger-fueled gait. "Don't worry, Brother, we can always come back to the library before the train arrives."

"But I wanted to finish that book tonight!" Ed snapped his head up so fast, his braid practically flew behind him in his eagerness to respond. "It has a section on the Philosopher's stone!" Suddenly his shoulders slumped in a rare show of weariness and his pace slowed until he came to a stop.

"It might have the answer we've been searching for all these years." His voice faded off into a bitter whisper. Then he simply stood there, his eyes downcast and his hands clenched in frustration.

Al stopped beside him, bowing his head to take in the elder Elric's disheartened demeanor. "Brother..." Despite the metallic edge to it, Al carried a sympathetic softness in his voice that Ed couldn't ignore. Thus Al didn't have to wait long for his brother to tilt his head up enough to show he was listening, though it was still lowered enough so his bangs shadowed his expression.

"If the answer is there," A sprinkle of hope littered Al's words. "It will still be there tomorrow morning. After all, we've already waited four years, I think we can last another night... Right, Brother?"

It was more of a statement than question, but Al purposely left it open-ended for Ed's sake. He knew it always made Ed feel better when he came to a conclusion on his own rather than be told the answer; it was probably due to his older brother pride.

However, it took a moment for Ed to respond to the encouragement. Soon though, he lifted his gaze up by an inch, just enough to reveal a tight smile on his face. "I guess you're right-"

Blue lightning soared up from the earth a mere foot in front of Ed.

"Brother!" Al cautioned, but there was no need since Ed had already leapt back on instinct and was now a safe distance away from the light show.

Nonetheless, Ed's eyes were wide and his voice sounded breathy when he gasped. "Alchemy?" Ed asked himself more than Al, his gaze already scanning the area for the culprit. With his encounter against the Freezing Alchemist fresh in mind, Ed wondered if this was merely the beginning of an attack.

"Who could have initiated it?" Al asked a good question over the crackle of the transmutation, but Ed had little time to wonder before the brightness reached a blinding climax.

The fifteen year old raised an arm to shield his sight when the intensity of the flashes became too much, and despite it calming down within seconds, Ed still lowered his arm as if expecting the transmutation to flare up again. However, instead of the transmuted pavement he expected to see, all he saw was the same empty streets and deserted sidewalk from before. Only the occasional streetlamp brought life to the shady surroundings-

And to a collapsed person lying flat on their back before them.

Al must of seen him too because he let out a small gasp that shouldn't be possible when he had no lungs. Yet Ed recovered from his surprise first and took the initiative to rush forward and crouch beside the man -no, boy- because this guy couldn't be much older than himself with such a youthful face. His boyish looks were only tamed down by the way his skin clung unnaturally close to his jaw and cheek bones, making them appear more angular than they should be.

"Where did he...come..." Ed trailed off at the remembrance that this boy was laying in the exact location he had been when the transmutation activated. His mind automatically dove into a million questions over what had caused such a violent transmutation and how could it have possibly led to a person being here unless this boy was the alchemist who started it. If that were the case, how had this boy transmuted without a circle? Regardless, it must have failed or rebounded-

A gauntlet hand landing on Ed's flesh shoulder drew him back to the present. "Is he okay?" Al asked timidly, and Ed felt a tinge of shame when he realized he hadn't even checked if the boy was alive before wondering about the science behind his sudden appearance.

"He's breathing." Ed assured Al as he observed the lightly rising and falling of the boy's chest. To be certain though, he pulled off the glove on his left hand, and lowered two fingers onto the guy's neck. He waited a few seconds before declaring, "His heartbeat is steady, but I'm not a doctor or anything. We should-"

A low moan diverted the brothers' attention back to the young man, whose head shifted so his cheek fell onto the sidewalk.

"Hey, are you awake?" Ed called down to him, leaning in right as the boy's eyelids peeled apart.

And brilliant golden eyes stared back at him.

Ed choked on whatever words he planned to say next because those eyes were familiar in a way they shouldn't have been. The guy didn't seem to notice his shock, however, but rather looked like he didn't even register Ed's existence if the glazed tint to his eyes said anything.

But soon his eyes cleared and when they registered Ed's face, they widened in recognition and his lips parted. "B-Brother?" For a moment, his face brimmed with hope or maybe relief, but then his eyes fluttered close and the boy fell silent, likely unconscious once more. Yet Ed made no move to help him as that voice, a fraction deeper and lacking the metallic echo but recognizable just the same, reverberated in his head.

"What are we going to do?" Al's tentative question helped Ed to unlock his frozen body and he got to his feet unsteadily. He didn't dare look up at Al though, his gaze stuck onto the boy whose hair was bleached a pale blonde under the lamplight. Although something told him it was probably just as vibrant as his own golden hair under natural lighting. Mix that with those golden eyes and he almost looked like an older version of someone whom he hadn't seen in the flesh for four, long years. Moreover, he had honored Ed with the one title he wore proudly every time Al said it.

But surely he was wrong.

A lot of people called their sibling "Brother", it wasn't like Al was the only one. Even Ed called his younger brother that when he was feeling especially affectionate. Besides, the boy was barely conscious when he deemed Ed his brother, it might have been a mistake.

And maybe there were other people who had golden hair and eyes; just because Ed had never seen anyone besides Al and their fathe-Hohenheim with such an appearance didn't mean much. He was from a small town after all... Then again, they'd been traveling all over the country for years now and they hadn't once ran into someone with gold anything. As a matter of fact, Ed had noticed a few people staring in disbelief at his appearance before the Fullmetal Alchemist became popular-

"Brother?" Al asked worriedly, having not received a reply for over a minute now, and Ed forced himself not to flinch when his mind automatically compared his voice to the sound of the boy's. Therefore, with great effort, Ed shoved his questions aside and concluded there was only one way to learn the truth.

"Pick him up." Ed told his younger brother, and he felt rather than saw an inquisitive glance sent his way. "We'll take him back to the hotel and then I'll figure this out." His voice was flat and his mouth was drawn into a thin line, if only because if he allowed any emotion out he wasn't sure he'd be able to control them. And he didn't want to worry Al without knowing for sure.

"Oh, okay." Al sounded uncertain, but he trusted Ed, and his hesitation was barely noticeable when he gently scooped the boy into his arms. Though that was because Al didn't want to accidentally hurt the stranger any more than he might be already, not because he wasn't sure he should listen to his brother.

"Come on." Ed kept his eyes trained ahead as he took the lead at a much more reserved pace than when he had stormed out the library. Yet while his feet pulled him forward, his mind couldn't help but reflect back on a time long passed.

"Brother?" Al looked up from the science textbook, his golden eyes round like their mother's-

Ed shook off the memory with a sharp jerking motion, and though he heard his brother's clanking steps briefly pause in concern, he was grateful when Al took the hint and made no comment.

"What did you do?!" Edward gripped the alchemist by his cloak collar before slamming him against the concrete wall. "Tell me what you've done." The growl was hardly above a whisper, but carried all the threat of a viper poised to strike.

"I-I, um, he's..." The man stuttered, unable to find his former confidence in the face of those piercing golden eyes, which seemed to burn like a flame through the shadows. With no light source in the dank basement, those narrowed eyes and clenched teeth -uncannily resembling fangs right now- were all the man could make out of his assaulter. He would of been shocked if he could see past his own fear and hear the slight youthful lit to his assaulter's voice, revealing this beast of a man to be quite younger than he seemed.

"Where is my brother?!" Edward tightened his hold, causing the collar to choke the hooded figure. Then the Elric pulled back his left arm, knowing it was stronger than his right despite all the physical therapy he had been doing to regain its strength.

"I swear if you killed him..." His hand curled into a fist and shook with rage, at least the man thought so. For how was he to know of the despair and terror hidden beneath Edward's untamed fury. The mere thought that his little brother was dead, after everything they'd been through to get his body back...just to have it end like this...

"Wait!" The knuckle stopped an inch from the alchemist's eyes, and the man practically swooned in relief. Edward gave him a mere moment to recover, his pupils dilated in fury while his impatience grew by the second."I- He's fine!" He continued, hoping this would calm down the raging man if only by a smidgen. Edward's tension did ebb away a bit, but his grasp on the collar didn't lessen in the least.

"Then why isn't he here?" Edward hissed, very much so wanting to break the man's jaw but the rationale side of him knew he needed that bone intact in order to speak.

"Because that was the whole point!" The words came out like water freed from a dam, the weak-hearted alchemist unable to contain himself in the face of physical harm. "The transmutation, it's supposed to transport things. He should be just twelve or so miles away."

Edward rose an eyebrow, skeptical, but as he took in the figure's quivering body and pathetic pleas, he knew he must have spoken truth and his little brother was more than likely okay.

His gaze become blank at this, overwhelmed from sheer relief that he hadn't messed up, hadn't failed the only family he had left, and he would see a very alive Alphonse very soon.

A thump shattered his moment and his mind refocused enough for him to realize he had unconsciously released the man, who immediately collapsed without Edward's hand holding him up.

The Elric gazed down at the so-called alchemist with a tamed anger, intended to pin him in place, which is exactly what it did. "So you're not a complete idiot." He chuckled darkly, not at all kindly. "Where exactly is my brother supposed to have shown up at?"

"Fourth Street!" The man blurted, wishing he could crawl into the darkest hole and never have those demonic, golden eyes look in his direction again, but aware that any attempts on his part would be thwarted. "I don't know the exact location, but he should be-" Edward took a threatening step forward that implied his brother better be where he said he was or there would be no questions, just pain, the next time he saw Edward. "Is! He definitely is in one of the abandoned buildings on Fourth Street!" The terrified alchemist held his hands up, anxiously waiting for retribution to be served upon his body.

He never observed the way Edward's face twisted in disgust at the man's obvious lack of a spine. It sort of reminded him of Yoki, but at least Yoki had eventually proved himself to be a somewhat useful and decent man. "And let me guess." Edward pushed his thoughts aside, knowing more information needed to be confirmed. "Your goons are waiting for him to show up there, so they can tell you if your half-baked experiment was a success."

"Yes, yes!" The man nodded vigorously, practically groveling, and Edward rolled his eyes. "There's a radio upstairs. You can call them and ask them yours-" The man made a choking sound as metal collided with his stomach and smacked him harshly against the wall. His head hit the concrete with enough force to chip away at some loose pieces and he was out in under a second.

"Thanks for the offer," Edward smirked to himself, dropping the silver pipe. "But I prefer face-to-face conversation." He turned away from the unconscious figure, satisfied at making the man pay -though less severely than if he had more time to spare- for going anywhere near Alphonse. However, his pleasure dimmed when his eyes caught sight of the transmutation circle covering the basement floor.

The smirk fell off completely at the sight of blood smeared onto the middle of the chalky white circle.

Al dabbed the rag into the cool bucket of water before folding it into a rectangle and lowering it onto the boy's head. The fourteen year old hoped it wasn't too cold, but since he couldn't actually feel it, he watched the boy's face for any sign of distress. When the unconscious teenager didn't even shift at the placement, Al inwardly smiled to himself over his accomplishment.

Though his mood dampened into pensiveness when he continued to observe the boy's face. Despite being a stranger, there was something extremely familiar about him. And it wasn't the "I passed by this guy at a train station once" type of familiarity. No, this was definitely "I have seen this face before on a more intimate or personal level". However, Al couldn't place where he might have met him. Perhaps he used to go to school with him back in Resembool...or maybe he was a friendly soldier who worked near Colonel Mustang's office and always greeted him and Brother.

Al shook his head, feeling that neither of his theories were quite right. Honestly, he might have dismissed the possibility of knowing this person altogether if it weren't for Brother's odd behavior.

"Doesn't make sense...shouldn't be...never read about travel... How?" Ed murmured to himself for what had to be the tenth time. He was staring out at the night sky through the window, but held himself tense. Al watched him, honestly starting to worry about the eldest because he had been acting reserved and evasive ever since they ran into this stranger. He had tried to ask Ed what was wrong during the walk to the hotel, but he had remained stubbornly tight-lipped the entire time or had waved him off, never once even glancing in Al's direction. That action in itself was a warning to Al that something must be wrong, because Brother told him everything.

Oddly enough, Ed's standoffish act really began after the boy said something to Ed before he passed out. Al hadn't been close enough to hear what was said, figuring this guy wouldn't react well to having a large, armored figure looming over him without knowing he was merely a fourteen year old kid. Yet whatever the teenager had said couldn't be so easily dismissed by Al, especially since it held some significance to Ed. Surely it was important because those words had made him appear downright spooked in a way Al wasn't used to seeing from his confident, sometimes overly so, older brother.

"Who are you?" Al whispered curiously, looking down at the young man once more. A part of him wondered if he was some criminal who Brother had stopped in the past, and maybe that was what had made Ed so uneasy, but that made about as little sense as his other theories. Ed wouldn't have risked taking a criminal back to the hotel with them, he would have just called the police and went on complaining about the librarians. Also, Al really didn't get that vibe from the boy.

Maybe it was due to the teenager's appearance because while he was of average height, his body was definitely lacking in weight. Ed and him had been thorough in making sure the boy wasn't in need of a doctor, meaning they had went so far as to check under his clothes for wounds. They fortunately hadn't found any injuries, but both Elrics had been taken aback by the lack of meat on the stranger. With clothing he appeared to be fine, if only on the skinny side, but underneath he looked frighteningly similar to one of the starved, homeless kittens Al often tried to take home. Having a thin, borderline frail body like that, Al couldn't imagine this boy could be a threat to anyone even if he wanted to. Truthfully, he looked more like one of the victims Ed had saved rather than a criminal.

Suddenly it occurred to him that this boy might have been a victim of of abuse or neglect, and Al felt sympathy well up in his heart at the possibility.

"Did you check his pockets?" Al was shocked out of his reverie when Ed stalked over to the bed, coming in between Al and their guest. "Was there anything in them?"

Al looked at Ed curiously, wondering why his brother was so anxious for information on this apparent stranger -if he was that- but Al relented regardless. "No, I couldn't find anything. See?" Al lifted the sheet he had placed over the boy, and Ed looked over to see how both of the boy's pants pockets were turned inside out.

Al then lowered the sheet back down, but his brother abruptly placed a hand on his arm to halt the motion. Ed was staring critically at the teenager, particularly at the off-white hoodie he wore.

"Brother, what is it?" Al questioned, also allowing his gaze to wander the youth if only so he could see whatever detail his brother was entranced by.

"Did you check the hoodie's pockets?" Ed didn't wait for the answer before he randomly picked the left one and started rummaging through it. When he lifted his hand, there was a manila envelope held in his fingers and a triumphant grin spreading over his face.

"Perfect!" Ed cheered, and after noting that the seal had already been broken, he easily lifted the flap and pulled out a letter.

"Brother!" Al admonished, slightly distressed by the lack of privacy being given to their guest.

Ed waved him off though while scanning the letter in a feverish manner. "Come on, I'm just looking for a name." His eyes eventually fell towards the top and lingered there. Then his eyes widened and his jaw went slack for a minute before he snapped it shut.

"What is it? Do you recognize the name?" Al took a stab at the dark, based on Ed's reaction.

Though Ed didn't seem to have heard him as he scanned the letter's contents again, eyes reluctantly dropping from the top to skim the rest. Al couldn't see what it said as his brother hunched over it protectively, but from the way Ed had paled, his former concern was flaring up again.

"Brother?" His voice was a soft inquiry, but Ed reacted as if a shotgun had gone off. His head snapped up to meet the red glow of Al's helmet, and lingered there for a minute, before he slowly looked back down at the resident in the bed.

Ed took a deep breath, still and stiff, before cautioning, "Al, I'm not sure you're going to believe this." He kept is head tilted low, and in a manner far too gentle for Ed to have intentionally done it, his flesh hand landed on top of the boy's.

"Believe what?" Al tilted his head in confusion as much as one could tilt a metal helmet.

Ed sighed, ran a automail hand down his face and the hand resting on the stranger's suddenly curled around it. It reminded Al of the way he used to grasp Brother's hand when he was young and easily startled by the monsters under the bed. Back then, it was as if Al had wanted to draw courage from his older brother who never once seemed afraid.

Yet Al questioned why his brother would ever display such affection to anyone outside the Elric or Rockbell family -to a stranger no less- but suddenly Ed tensed further like he was bracing for an incoming attack. He didn't dare look up as he admitted, "This is Alphonse." The words were rough, like a harsh gasp mixed with a squeak. Then again, maybe it was just puberty making an appearance at a very inopportune time.

Surely it had to have been his brother going through these pubescent changes because what he had said was nothing serious. "So his name is Alphonse too?" Al drew out the "so" to convey his confusion over why this name was so important. Sure it was an odd coincidence to meet another guy named Alphonse, but it wasn't exactly a rare name in Amestris.

However, Ed didn't calm down and still refused to face Al. His brother only allowed a harsh bark of a laugh to escape him, a borderline hysterical edge to it, before quieting. "Yes, this is Alphonse..." Ed's voice was low, brittle as wood crumbling in an inferno. "Alphonse Elric."

The silence become so heavy that Al wondered if his metal body would be able to withstand the pressure without being crushed.

"I-I don't understand." Al looked down at the boy, then his brother, and then repeated the process out of sheer disbelief. "What are you saying, Brother? There's only one me." Baffled was an understatement to describe Al's feelings, even as he admitted in the back of his mind that this stranger's hair was more golden than the typical blond. And wasn't it possible this boy was so familiar because sometimes when he daydreamed about what his body would look like, aged fourteen like himself, this teenager was the spitting image of that imaginary body.

Ed didn't reply to the disbelief from Al, merely held the letter up for Al to grab, which is exactly what the younger Elric did. "At the top." Ed's voice was flat, almost resigned and his hand grasped the boy's -Alphonse's- hand a little tighter.

Al cautiously held the letter, hyper aware that it wasn't his and he had no right to read it, but his concern over the invasion of privacy was dimmed by his yearning to understand. Quickly he allowed his red eyes to scan the letter from side-to-side until they landed on the date.

And if he had a body, he would of stopped breathing.

"I think this is a mistake." His voice quivered, despite how he tried to be stoic.

Ed finally turned away from the stranger lying in bed, his mouth drawn into a straight line and his eyes vibrant with anxiety. "Which part? The date or the name?"

Al glanced down at the letter, and he barely registered the To my dearest Alphonse Elric, as his eyes lingered on the one incomprehensible line.

April 9th, 1915

I'm not entirely sure when I'll update this, but the next chapter is still being written so don't expect it too soon.

Anyway, expect to get more of Alphonse's perspective and an explanation for how he time traveled in the next chapter.

Until then, bye!