Chapter 7: Homeward Bound

-Munich-

"Soldiers! It's a surprise attack from the Americans! Anyone not already assigned a job, go to the Japanese camp for reinforcements!"

Ed ran holding Hiruma close to him. He wanted to shield her from the horrors of war as much as possible. He ran in the direction of the Japanese camp, staying out of range.

"Elric! What are you doing with that kid?! Drop her and-!" The soldier stopped mid-sentence. Ed hid Hiruma's face in his coat and watched the soldier fall forward, blood spreading from the wound.

"War is hell!" Ed muttered, "All we can do is try to survive, but the only thing we survive to see is our comrades shot down before us." Ed ran faster, only slowing down when he could no longer hear the gunfire.

"Ed, I'm scared," Hiruma whimpered, "I don't want to end up like Mommy and Daddy!"

"You won't. Not if I am here to protect you," Ed reassured her. He finally saw the Japanese camp in the distance. "We're almost there!"

A Japanese lookout spotted him and shouted for the others. He ran to greet Ed. "Hello. You German ally?"

"I speak your language. Listen, this girl needs help," Ed urged.

"We will take her to a medical tent. Tell me, why are you here?" While another soldier took Hiruma to the medical tent, Ed told him what happened.

"So there has been an attack? I will send reinforcements immediately!" Ed watch the soldier give orders and went to find Hiruma. He found her in the medical tent with a doctor.

"Ed! The nice man said he would take me home. Thank you so much for taking care of me!" She ran over and gave him a hug. Ed was surprised at first, but hugged her back.

"I'll miss you too Hiruma." He watched the soldier take her to where shelter was and started walking through the woods as well.

As Ed was walking, his thoughts drifted to Amestris and his friends and family. He wondered if Al was all right and if Winry was freaking out. Thinking about them made him miss home that much more. Ed knew he had to find a way home, but he was starting to wonder if he would ever make it back. In that moment, a blinding light filled the forest, and then everything was silent.

-Amestris-

"I finally figured out the right transmutation! Brother can come home and Edward can return to his brother too," Al said excitedly.

"Al that's amazing!" Winry exclaimed. "Now Everything can go back to normal."

"I hope Alfonse has been okay with your Ed... I'm really looking forward to seeing him!" Edward said wistfully.

"In order to make this work, you both need to help. Winry, can you get these materials? Edward, I need you to help me start drawing the transmutation circle."

Winry took the list of ingredients Al gave her while Edward sat beside him and looked at the circle he had drawn.

"Are you sure this will work?" Edward nervously asked.

"I'm positive it will. The only risky factor is that both of you will switch places at the exact time and place as the other. That means Ed will end up here, but I don't have a definite idea of where you will be." Al replied.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Let's begin." Al nodded and the two began the outlines to the circle.

Several hours later, the circle was finished. Winry measured out all the materials; all that was left was an alchemist to make it work. Al knelt beside the circle and took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing." He slapped his palms to the ground and a burst of light filled the room. The air crackled with the alchemic energy and wind seemed to blow around them. Al clenched his teeth and held his ground. Winry had to shield her eyes and pressed herself against the wall. After a few minutes, the energy calmed and the two heard a thump. Al opened his eyes and gasped. "Brother!"

"ED!" Winry shouted as she and Al both gathered him in a group hug. "I never thought I would see you again," she whispered.

"Brother, if you EVER ignore my warning again, I am going to leave you wherever you are stranded!"

"Al, Winry, it's good to be back. That world..." Ed shuddered just thinking about everything he saw. "I know how Mustang felt at Ishval."

"There was a war going on?" Al asked.

"... It was more like a massacre. I don't think I've seen anything worse. The technology that world possessed... It makes me thankful we have automail instead."

The rest of the night, Ed told them about what he saw and what he learned from this other world.

"Did they really have machines that carried people in the sky? That's crazy!" Winry exclaimed.

"I saw it with my own two eyes! They were even working on sending man into space." Ed replied.

"I still can't believe we all had counterparts in that world..." Al muttered, lost in thought.

"I couldn't believe that world's Hughes hadn't already married Ms. Gracia!" Ed said with a laugh.

"I wish I could've seen the reactions of these recruiters to you skill," Al said smiling. "It must have been too funny!"

They laughed as Winry brought out stew. "I'm proud that you were able to save that girl. I hope she finds her family..." Winry said with a soft expression.

"I just returned her to a Japanese base, so I know she would eventually find her family. Actually, right before I was back here, I was returning to the soldiers from the Japanese base." Ed explained.

CRASH

Winry dropped the bowl she was holding and it shattered. Alphonse paled, and Ed looked at them confused.

"What's wrong? Is it something I said?" Ed asked.

"He... He's in danger..." Winry stammered.

"Who?" Ed turned to his brother. "Al, what is going on here?"

"Edward, we didn't tell you this because it honestly slipped our minds. The thing is... Edward Heidrich was dropped straight in the middle of this World War you told us about. He may already be dead."

Winry felt tears slipping down her cheeks as she recalled his eagerness to learn about automail and support to both her and Al as they tried to find a way to fix things. Alphonse was blaming himself for such a reckless transmutation. He knew the risks, but cast them aside for the chance to see his brother again.

Edward Elric cursed, finally understanding their reactions. He unknowingly may have caused an innocent person to die... again.

A/N: WOW. That is a lot to take in... So Edward finally makes it home, but does his counterpart survive? Yeah... I know I kind of ended it on a cliffhanger, but it will all be explained in the epilogue. When y'all review, tell me if I should kill him off like the cruel person I can be, or let him live and have everything be all happy. It's up to you! Thank you for my fabulous followers for patiently waiting for this! One chapter left! The next chapter will be only in Munich (the "real world") It will close up any loose ends and hopefully satisfy you, my wonderful readers. Love you all! :D

Manga-neko signing out! :3