Edward shoved me backward, his automail arm packing a serious punch. I stumbled a step or two on the cobblestones but quickly caught my balance, simply adjusting the collar of my hoodie.
Edward didn't even look back at me. He had already spun around, the dust finally settling enough to reveal the cratered street behind us.
The massive, spiked suit of steel armor was completely gone.
Sitting in the center of the alchemical scorch marks, shivering slightly in the cool afternoon air, was a teenage boy. He was thin, his golden-blonde hair long and unkempt from years spent trapped in the Gate of Truth, but he was breathing. His chest rose and fell in a steady, rhythmic motion.
Edward dropped to his knees, his golden eyes wide and completely locked onto the boy. His breath hitched. "Al...?"
The boy slowly lifted his hands. Real, flesh-and-blood hands. He flexed his fingers, staring at the dirt under his fingernails and the creases in his palms. A single tear rolled down his cheek, followed instantly by a flood of them.
"Brother..." Alphonse whispered. It wasn't a hollow, metallic echo anymore. It was the real, fragile voice of a human boy.
Edward practically threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around his younger brother in a crushing, desperate hug.
Alphonse buried his face into Edward's red coat, sobbing openly. For a minute, the entire street went dead silent, the only sound being the two Elric brothers finally, completely reunited.
I stepped forward slightly, keeping my tone gentle but entirely professional. "How do you feel, Alphonse?"
Alphonse slowly pulled back from his brother, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked up at me, a profound, overwhelming mixture of gratitude and awe on his face.
"It feels... incredible," Alphonse breathed, shivering as the wind hit his bare skin. "I'm not used to the contact yet. Everything feels like pins and needles, like electricity is just rushing through my whole body..."
He paused, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "But I feel warm. I can feel the sun. Doctor... thank you. Thank you so much."
I gave him a firm, satisfied nod. My Medical System had done exactly what it was designed to do: the impossible.
Lucy stood a few feet away, her arms still wrapped securely around the sleeping Nina. A beautiful, genuine smile lit up her face as she watched the brothers hold each other.
I walked over to Lucy and gently gestured toward the Elrics. "Give the girl to Edward," I murmured.
Lucy nodded softly. She walked over, kneeling beside the stunned Fullmetal Alchemist, and carefully transferred the sleeping, traumatized little girl into his arms. Alexander the dog padded over, pressing his large head against Alphonse's knee.
Edward looked down at Nina, then up at me, entirely at a loss for words. The legendary State Alchemist was completely completely speechless.
"We don't have the right to watch over her," I told Edward quietly, my golden eyes meeting his. "She needs someone who can protect her in this world. And you need to get your brother some real clothes and a hot meal. Take care of them, Edward."
Before he could stammer out a reply, I turned on my heel. "Come on, Lucy. Let's go."
Lucy gave the Elrics one last warm smile before hurrying to catch up with me, leaving the two brothers and the dog sitting in the middle of the street, processing the absolute miracle that had just occurred.
We walked in comfortable silence for a while, the bustling noise of the Amestrian town slowly returning to normal as we distanced ourselves from the scene.
"You know," Lucy said suddenly, looking over at me with soft, admiring brown eyes. "You're a really kind guy, Kenji."
I blinked, the compliment catching me slightly off guard. I thought about what I had done today—executing Ryuunosuke, wanting to brutally murder Shou Tucker, and actively plotting the demise of Zouken Matou. I wasn't exactly a saint. My moral compass was currently spinning like a top.
But looking at Lucy's earnest expression, I just offered a small, wry smile.
"I'm just an average human being," I replied, looking up at the clear blue sky. "But... I am going to become the greatest doctor ever."
[2 Hours Later]
"Well," I sighed, leaning my head back against the cold, solid iron bars. "This is certainly a development."
"I can't believe we're in jail," Lucy groaned, burying her face in her hands. She was sitting on the rigid wooden cot across from me, her celestial keys jingling faintly as she sulked.
We were currently locked inside a holding cell at the local Amestrian military police precinct.
As it turned out, my newly acquired alchemy skills were incredibly fun to use. So fun, in fact, that I had gotten slightly carried away while walking through the market with Lucy, using circle-less transmutations to casually fix a vendor's broken cart, reshape a dented lamppost, and turn a pile of scrap metal into a small, intricate statue of a dragon just to see if I could.
Unfortunately, Amestris had very strict laws regarding the unauthorized, unlicensed use of alchemy. A patrol of military police had spotted the blue lightning, immediately surrounded us with drawn rifles, and demanded to see my State Alchemist pocket watch.
When I didn't have one, we were promptly arrested.
I didn't struggle, and I specifically told Lucy not to summon any of her spirits to fight back. We went quietly and peacefully.
"Don't worry about it too much," I told Lucy, casually inspecting my fingernails. "We won't be in here long. I know exactly who is going to come get us out."
After all, the military's top brass was going to find out about my arrest very soon. And I highly doubted the Fullmetal Alchemist was going to let the doctor who just completely restored his brother's soul and body rot in a standard holding cell.
"So," I said, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees, trying to break the gloomy silence of the holding cell. "Aside from the... everything that happened today. How's Magnolia? Have you gone on any fun missions with your guild lately?"
Lucy sighed, leaning her head against the stone wall. "Well, Natsu completely destroyed half of a port town while trying to catch a single thief last week. So, we've mostly been doing odd jobs to pay off the property damage. That's actually why I was so excited to get invited to the chat. I thought maybe I could learn some new magic and actually be useful..."
She trailed off, looking down at her boots.
"You are useful, Lucy," I told her firmly. "You handled yourself incredibly well today, especially considering you just got dropped into a totally foreign world with zero warning."
She looked up, a faint smile breaking through her gloom. "Thanks, Kenji."
Before we could continue our small talk, the heavy iron door at the end of the corridor groaned open. The sharp, rhythmic clicking of military boots echoed down the hall.
I stood up, brushing the dust off my jeans as two figures stopped in front of our cell.
The first was a tall, dark-haired man wearing the blue uniform of the Amestrian State Military, a white coat draped casually over his shoulders. His dark eyes were sharp and calculating. Standing half a step behind him was a blonde woman with a fiercely stoic expression, her hand resting naturally near the holster at her hip.
Colonel Roy Mustang and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.
Mustang looked at me through the iron bars. For a long, tense moment, the Flame Alchemist just studied my face. Then, completely abandoning his usual arrogant, commanding aura, he stepped back and bowed to me. A deep, perfectly rigid, and entirely respectful bow.
Hawkeye's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, clearly stunned to see her commanding officer show such absolute deference to a teenager in a holding cell.
"I don't know who you are," Mustang said, his voice completely stripped of its usual snark. He kept his head bowed. "And considering the laws of Equivalent Exchange, I cannot even begin to fathom what you had to sacrifice to pull Alphonse Elric's physical body back from the other side."
He slowly stood upright, his dark eyes filled with a profound, quiet gratitude.
"But you gave those two boys their lives back. They can actually be kids again. For that... you have my absolute, eternal thanks. I apologize that my men locked you up in here, but considering the ungodly alchemical discharge you caused, bringing you in was the right protocol."
"It was nothing at all," I replied smoothly, waving a hand in casual dismissal. I wasn't about to tell him that the only thing I sacrificed was some system MP. "I'm just a doctor doing his job."
Mustang offered a small, respectful smile. "A miracle worker, more like."
I stepped closer to the iron bars, lowering my voice and gesturing for Mustang to come closer. "Speaking of miracles, Colonel. Come here. I have some highly classified, vital information for you."
Mustang's expression instantly hardened into strict military professionalism. He stepped up to the bars, leaning his ear close to listen to my whispered intel. Hawkeye narrowed her eyes, watching me like a hawk.
"Listen closely," I whispered. "If you want to boost office morale and assert absolute dominance... you need to slowly transition the female military uniform regulations. Shorter skirts. Tiny miniskirts, Mustang. It's the only way to achieve true peace."
Mustang stiffened. His eyes widened, completely blown away by the sheer, unadulterated genius of the vision I had just painted for him. A deeply serious, intensely passionate fire ignited in his dark eyes. He gave me a slow, solemn nod of absolute understanding.
He stepped back, clearing his throat and loudly addressing the room for Hawkeye's benefit.
"I see," Mustang said, his tone entirely serious. "Thank you for that incredibly valuable information regarding the attack on the Tucker family. Your cooperation is highly appreciated."
He turned to the guard standing at the end of the hall. "Open the cell. These two are vital witnesses under my direct protection. They are entirely free to go."
The guard scrambled to unlock the heavy iron door, swinging it open.
As we walked out of the precinct and back into the cool afternoon air of the city, Lucy stretched her arms above her head with a loud groan.
"Finally!" she sighed. "Jail is incredibly boring. I was starting to lose my mind in there."
"Sorry about that," I chuckled, checking the system timer hovering in the corner of my vision. "We still have several hours left on the travel ticket before the system forcibly pulls us back to our own dimensions. I'm probably going to stay here for just a bit longer to look around. You're completely free to use the interface to log out and go back to Magnolia if you want, though."
Lucy stopped stretching and looked over at me. She tilted her head, a bright, genuine smile spreading across her face.
"Are you kidding? I think I'll stay a bit longer too," she said, her brown eyes sparkling with renewed energy. "Getting arrested wasn't fun, but getting to see a whole new world is actually really awesome!"
She stepped a little closer, bumping her shoulder lightly against mine. "Besides," she added, her voice softening just a bit. "After everything I saw you do today... you're just amazing, Kenji. I want to see what else you're going to do."
I looked down at her, feeling a sudden, warm flush rising to my cheeks. Despite all the blood, the system notifications, and the sheer multiversal chaos of the day, hearing her say that made an undeniable, giddy sense of happiness bloom in my chest.
"Alright then," I smiled, gesturing down the bustling Amestrian street. "Let's go see what else this world has to offer."
We strolled side-by-side down the busy cobblestone streets, putting the military police precinct far behind us. The afternoon sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky, casting long, golden shadows across the brick buildings of the Amestrian town.
Lucy looked around, taking in the sights of the steam-powered cars and the bustling market stalls before turning her attention back to me.
"So," she asked, her tone light and curious. "What exactly should we do now? You said we have a few hours left before the system pulls us back."
My golden eyes stared straight ahead as my mind instantly shifted into tactical overdrive.
I had already completely derailed the plot by saving the Elric brothers from their worst trauma and restoring Alphonse's body. If I was going to fully break this timeline, I needed to look at the real threats. My mental hit list materialized instantly.
The Homunculi.
I needed to kill Wrath, the Führer King Bradley himself. I needed to annihilate Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth. They were the immortal, monstrous string-pullers orchestrating the country-wide transmutation circle that was designed to slaughter millions.
I glanced over at Lucy. She was looking at me with absolute trust, entirely unaware of the sheer scale of the shadow war currently brewing beneath our feet.
"You already know a few things about this world now," I said, keeping my voice low as we navigated through the crowd. "You saw the absolute worst of it at the Tucker estate, and you saw the miracle we pulled off with Alphonse. This world is beautiful, but it's fundamentally broken and heading toward a massive catastrophe."
Lucy's cheerful expression faded into a look of serious determination. She clutched the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card securely in her pocket alongside her celestial keys.
"I plan on stopping the big events," I told her, my voice hardening with absolute resolve. "Before they can ruin anyone else's lives or cause massive casualties. I'm going to rip the corruption out by the roots."
Lucy didn't even hesitate. She gave me a firm, resolute nod. "I agree. After seeing what happened to Nina's family... I don't want anyone else to go through something like that. Tell me what we need to do. I'm with you, Kenji."
A confident, predatory smile spread across my face. Having a loyal, capable mage at my side made this infinitely better.
"We're skipping the side quests," I stated bluntly, my eyes narrowing as I looked toward the center of the city, where the train station would eventually lead us straight to Central Command. "We are going straight to the top. We're going to find the being pulling all the strings—a monster who calls himself 'Father'—and we are going to completely destroy him."
Lucy nodded, her brown eyes blazing with a mix of nerves and excitement. "Got it."
"And," I added casually, sliding my hands into my hoodie pockets. "If we happen to bump into Edward Elric along the way... I might as well finish the job and fix his missing arm and leg, too. Why not? I am a Dcotor after all!"