"No, we met on the moon." His head tilted some but he kept his gaze lowered, clearing his throat. "We were from different times, I was sixteen when I left and ... the version of me Al left behind would have been eighteen." In the Quarantine, Ed had always viewed it as a future timeline for himself, he'd gained the memories to learn that his universe and Al's were confirmed the same. However, Zhautas put a spin on that whole reality that he hadn't had before. The concept of infinite universe and timelines, the fact that his Al probably never made it out alive after he vanished and the rest were all from a separate but similar timeline. That was the major difference between their outlooks on life, the adult left behind by the teen was confident he'd go home someday and fix things, the one standing in front of him knew it didn't work that way.

"I spent months trying to convince him that he'd be happier if he just went home... I guess he finally listened."