A/n- hello everybody! This is a fic I've had for a loooong time. It was inevitably flawed, but now that I've started revising it, I believe it's time for the debut. Hope you enjoy! By the way, the concept of transportation circles comes from FMA game 2. I use it here and I use it in my other fic, Scry For You. It was a good, unexploited idea that I ended up exploiting. Again, enjoy. And reply please!

Chapter 1- A Lead

"Hey Alphonse, take a look at this one!"

Ed passed a thick, leather bound book to his younger brother with an excitement Al hadn't seen in a week of searching through the central library. He took the book firmly, wishing he could feel the smooth cover and smell the musty odor he remembered from so long ago. Now it seemed like those memories were fading, just like the words in this particular book.

"Transportation Circles by Arlen…I can't make out the last name," Al noted.

"That doesn't matter, the title does," Edward explained with bright eyes, "At first I thought it was a misspelling, but the book really is about using transmutation circles to transport to different places. The way this Arlen guy describes it, you can transport anywhere if you could get the calculations right and knew the place existed."

"That means we could get inside the gate if we wanted!" Al finished eagerly, as his understanding collided together.

"If we can get the calculations right," reminded his brother, getting up and stretching, "I'm going to get some paper and ink so I can make a copy the book. After that we can start dissecting its secrets."

The Fullmetal Alchemist smiled mischievously, leaving Al flipping through the pages.

He returned a short while later, easily copying the book by transmuting the words in it onto the paper with alchemy. In fact, the newest copy was easier to read since it wasn't faded, so Ed ended up making a second copy. After that, all that was left to do was research.