"What are YOU doing here? You know you shouldn't be here. This is not your place."
Edward and Alphonse Elric glanced at each other quickly, rather baffled. The old man sitting in front of them grimaced, clutching his wrinkly hands tightly.
"We don't know what you mean," Ed finally replied decidedly.
"Yes, so can you please explain, Sir?" Al added politely.
THe old man frowned. "Why do I need to explain? Both of you know exactly what I mean. What are you doing here? Why are you here?"
"Everybody asks themselves those questions now and then, you old fart, so get on with it. This isn't helping us," Ed began.
"Brother..." Al said disprovingly.
"This is not your world."
The brothers froze at the fortuneteller's low voice.
"Of-of course it's our world!" Al stammered.
"It's our home."
The old man shook his head. "No...no, no, no. Your home is on the other side, in the parallel universe my people sometimes tell stories about. What are you two doing here when this is not your place or time?"
"What do you know about it!" Ed snapped, rising to his feet. Al quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked him back down. "Brother..."
"Like I said, this is not your place. You are needed there, not here. Here it is too late. The war is imminent-"
"I thought the Great War's ended, a few years ago!" Ed exclaimed.
"War breeds war, young man, and this is no different. Why do you think my people are moving into the mountains? We are a persecuted, hated people; we look and live differently from others, and the ones who would begin the next war wishes to eliminate us completely. My granddaughter was lucky she ran into you, but she won't be lucky next time."
"Then we should stay here and help you," Al suggested; he was always the more helpful of the two brothers.
"No, you cannot. What she can do with a touch of a hand I can do with a mere glance. I know everything, Edward and Alphonse Elric, sons of Hohenheim and Trisha. This is not your world, this is not your place to be, and the place that will always be your home needs you. You must find a way back home to the world you abandoned to save it. Do you understand?"
"And why would our world need US?" Ed asked tensely. His pale yellow-brown eyes bore into the old man's head.
"Because they live under the shadow of a war-"
"But we ended the war! We killed the Homunculi!" Al exclaimed. He looked quickly at Ed and saw his older brother was just as baffled and a bit angry. "Isn't that enough? We killed the Homunculi and warned off everyone about the Philosopher's Stone-"
"People are strange creatures, young man," the fortuneteller said, reaching for a worn book on his makeshift desk. He ran a finger down its ragged spine. "They know the dangers, the destructive powers of war, yet they will risk them for power, glory, gold, God, anything, everything. I do not know why a war will begin in your world, but it will require your return."
"It's too late," Ed said stubbornly. "Colonel Mustang and I destroyed the transmutation circles. No one can open the Gate on either side."
Al looked at Ed nervously, wondering if it really was okay to blatantly talk of their world's...'quirks'. The old man seemed to take it all into stride without so much as a raised gray eyebrow, though, so he relaxed.
"People aren't that stupid," the old man finally stated. "They are stupid enough to start and continue wars, but they are clever when it comes to seeking advantages in them. The parallel universes share similar places, similar people, and perhaps similar events, but they are not the same. You know this, both of you. Our war will begin in the future. Your war might begin now."