Location: Homeworld of Serenitas and Wander

Time: Five years prior to current events

The sun shone brightly upon the city, which gleamed beautifully in the light, making it reminiscent of a heavenly paradise. The people went about their daily lives in the peaceful world. There was little conflict in the world for them to worry about, and what strife there was, was simply and quickly dealt with.

On the roof of one of the many skyscrapers, Serenitas stood overlooking his home. He loved watching the city at this time of day. Unless it was storming out, the metropolis was always a sight to behold, even to one who had already seen it countless times before. His mixed eyes were full of happiness.

"Brother," called the voice of his younger sister. He turned to face her. By her side was a dark-haired woman with clear blue eyes wearing a snow-white dress and holding a small bundle in her arms. His wife Cora and their daughter Felicia. "Must you spend all your free time up here all by yourself?"

"You know being all alone like this is not healthy, my love," Cora said as she approached him, the newborn child in her arms yawning audibly. "Your daughter misses you when you go off like this."

He smiled warmly at them. "Forgive me, Wander, Cora," he said. "I sometimes forget about my own life." He gently took his young daughter from his wife's hands. "I especially hope that you can forgive your silly-minded father, Felicia." The baby girl giggled at the silver-haired man who held her carefully. Serenitas smiled at this. He doubted his life could ever be better than what he had now.

Suddenly, there was an explosion in the distance behind them. They turned and saw smoke rising into the sky, an obvious sign that there was a fire happening in the center of the city. Serenitas's eyes went wide. He handed his daughter back to his wife and said, "I'll go see what happened. You stay here."

"But, Serenitas-!" Before anyone could argue, he had already blown through a number of hand signs for a teleportation technique and vanished within a miniature whirlwind of leaves. Cora turned to Wander, who gave the elder woman a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Cora," she said in an unconcerned tone. "It's probably nothing. I'm sure he can handle it just fine."

Cora didn't look quite as sure. "I certainly hope so."

-o-

Serenitas stared in horror at what he was seeing. There were blazing bodies scattered all over the area, which was still up in flames. He could practically hear the sound of flesh of burning off of bone. The smell was absolutely horrendous, like a sewer that had been set aflame. It was horrible. And to make it worse, there were also the bodies of what appeared to be security enforcers that had tried to help any survivors. They had been armed to the teeth, but whatever happened here must've gotten to them as well.

He heard mad laughter coming from just about everywhere and nowhere at once. He quickly searched the area with his eyes to find the source of that laughter. "Isn't it simply marvelous?" the laughing voice said gleefully.

"Show yourself!" Serenitas demanded.

"My, my, aren't we bossy!" the voice replied in a teasing tone. "Very well, my boy. Look behind you."

Serenitas did as he was told and turned to see a man in the most bizarre, mishmash outfit he had ever seen. It looked like a mix of a clown's attire and formal suit combined with casual wear. The colors were a random assortment that looked like they had simply been splashed on at the last minute. The man's hair was wild and uncouth, with half of it being black and the other half being white. His eyes were empty sockets that blazed with fire that was constantly changing color at random. "Who are you?" Serenitas inquired, barely able to fully take in the man's appearance.

"Oh, I don't want to get personal right now, Serenitas," the man said with a twisted grin, his choice of words making Serenitas's eyes widen slightly. "I did this specifically to get your attention, my boy!"

"What? Why? What do you want from me?"

The man grinned evilly. "I want to give you a reason to hate me. Won't that just be marvelous!?" With that said, he snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere… Cora, Wander, and baby Felicia appeared, each of them trapped within clear blue bubbles.

"What in the name of-!?" Serenitas shouted. "How did you-!?"

"I've been watching you and your family for some time now," the madman said with a sadistic grin. "I know just how to pull your strings." Again, he snapped his fingers. Serenitas suddenly felt himself floating. He could see that Wander was also rising up into the air.

"What!? What's happening!?" Wander shouted in panic.

"Serenitas!" Cora called out as she pounded against her bubble, their baby crying in hers.

"Cora! Felicia!" Serenitas glared at the evil man. "What are you doing!?"

"Imma kill me a universe, my boy!" the man called back almost casually. "You fun wherever you end up!" And with that, Serenitas and Wander shot up into the heavens at what was virtually light speed – or something faster. They suddenly stopped in space far beyond their home. They were both trapped in bubbles now, and all they could do was watch as what they could only assume to be their home planet… completely blew to pieces.

Their eyes were wide in horror at this. But it didn't stop there. They continued flying out farther into space, watching hopelessly as countless other planets suffered the same fate, untold numbers of lives vanishing in massive infernos.

Soon, for better or for worse, they lost consciousness.

-o-

Wander groaned as she sat up on what felt like grassy earth. She opened her eyes and looked around, not seeing anything that looked familiar to her. Perhaps it was just a bad dream that had gotten to her? I it was, it was horrifyingly realistic. She stood and looked around some more. She soon found an unconscious Serenitas lying on the ground next to her. She quickly knelt over him and shook him slightly. He moaned as he awakened, and stared at her with confused eyes.

"Wander?" he asked in a daze. "What happened? Where are we?" His eyes suddenly went wide in horror. "Where are Cora and Felicia!? Where are my family!?"

"I don't know," Wander admitted. "I'm not entirely certain of anything at all right now."

"Marvelous!" called the voice of that psychopath, who spontaneously appeared in front of them in a flash of red light. "Not knowing what's happening is half the fun of total universal annihilation! Don't you agree?"

"You!" Serenitas roared in clear outrage. "What have you done with my family!?"

The man frowned a little at that. "I thought I explained this to you already. I killed them, along with the rest of your entire universe. Not a single one of 'em left!" He laughed maniacally then. He was clearly insane.

Serenitas simply stared at him in shock. Was this true? Was his family gone? Was his home gone? "You… you're lying…"

The madman laughed even harder. "Oh, you're hilarious!" he said in complete amusement. "No, I'm not lying. I make it a point not to lie. It's quite rude to assume that I would."

Wander glared at the man. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Serenitas said, "I will kill you…" He glared burning daggers at the grinning lunatic. "I swear that I will destroy you! And I will undo the damage that you have done!"

The man smirked at that. "Well, if you're so eager for revenge, then you should take a looksee at the Gates of Serenity. If you open them up, you might just be able to beat me! If you're willing to pay the price of two entire universes, that is!"

Wander's eyes went wide at this. "But-!" The man snapped his fingers and was gone in a flash of red. Their only means of answers gone, she looked at her elder brother. She noticed two things about him that frightened her now: his look of rage was gone, replaced by a cold, emotionless visage, and the look in his eyes… it was a glare of dangerous intent.

-o-

Location: Izumi Curtis's backyard, Dublith, Amestris

Time: Present day

"A few days afterwards," Wander said, "he disappeared. No doubt he was after information on the Gates of Serenity. It wasn't until recently that I was able to learn of what he was truly up to. And now it seems that he has found the Gates."

"But if he did," Ed spoke, "Then why wouldn't he open them right there?"

Wander sighed. "I can only assume that he needed to create a connection between these two universes. He has possibly already created that connection, but likely needs time to build up the strength that he needs to open the Gates."

"Then we'll just have to stop him before he can do that," Shikamaru chimed in. "Having our universes destroyed would be a real drag."

"Then let's go find him and kick his ass!" Kiba shouted with a confident grin on his face. Akamaru barked in complete agreement.

"Settle down there, kid," Izumi ordered. "Even if what this girl says really is true, we have no idea how to find this guy. For all we know, she might even be in on it."

"I understand your reluctance to trust me, Mrs. Curtis," Wander said, "but I believe that things may only grow worse and worse if you simply refuse to listen. I am not asking for your trust. I am asking only that you do whatever you all can to stop my brother. Even if it means… killing him."

Naruto stared at the young woman with wide eyes. She had a look in her eyes that he recognized all too well. It was the same look that he used to see every time he looked in a mirror. It was look of complete sorrow, a pain that no physical wound could ever compare to. He instantly knew what he was going to do. "We'll stop him, Wander," he said. "And we'll do it without having to kill him. That's a promise."

Wander stared at him. His eyes held a powerful fire behind them. She could tell that he was being completely honest with this promise of his. She smiled slightly. "Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki," she said. "But I-"

Suddenly, a powerful presence fell upon the entire group. It was an incredible force that felt like a planet had just fallen on them. "So," a voice spoke from above them, "this is where you have been hiding, Wander." All eyes looked above to see a silver-haired man standing upon a rooftop, looking down at them with cold, calculating blue and green eyes. "And I see you have brought together a small force to try and stop me. Quaint."

Wander's eyes went wide at the man standing above them. Seeing this, Alphonse asked, "Wander, is that…?"

She nodded. "That is him. Serenitas."

Serenitas lifted his arms and slowly pressed his palms together. "This will be over quickly," he said. "I will make your deaths as painless as possible."