History
NOTE: Having very little canon history to speak of, a lot of Alfons' history before the events of the movie is headcanon based around historical events.
Alfons was born in 1905, in Munich, Germany--the youngest of three children, he had a doting older sister and an even older brother. Until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Alfons' family lived happily in Munich--but with the beginning of the war, everything changed drastically. Alfons' brother went off to serve, and was killed in action, and while Alfons, his mother, and sister went to live in Dachau with family, his father stayed in Munich and was injured during a French air raid in 1916. The end of the war two years later saw the family moving back to Munich, however life in the city after the war was incredibly difficult. Money was scarce and there was barely enough food to keep the family fed. Alfons began to concentrate more and more on his education, in a hope that he would be able to help Germany regain its power and prestige somehow. He was inspired to study rocketry after reading Jules Verne, much like the man he idolized and studied under, Hermann Oberth. It was while Alfons was learning about rocketry from this man that he first met Edward Elric, recently come to Germany from Britain.
Alfons found himself often in the company of Edward, who seemed to search him out at every turn. Alfons felt strangely drawn to him as well, and they got along well enough, so when he moved back to Munich to start his own experiments, he invited Edward along. They lived and worked together for a while, but Ed lost interest in the rocketry experiments and stopped working on them altogether after a few months--after which Alfons started getting sick. He had violent coughing fits and would sometimes cough up blood. He hid his illness from Ed as best he could, but also couldn't afford regular medicine and treatments. While Ed removed himself from the work with the rockets, Alfons threw himself into it in a desperate attempt to finish his work--to leave some sign behind that he had lived.
Realizing that he was dying at the age of 18 and living in a war-torn and impoverished nation turned Alfons into the responsible adult far before his time. He was the one who took care of the house matters, making sure there was enough to eat for both of them, and continued working. He and his group, along with Ed, traveled around the countryside putting on demonstrations of their rockets for money, and the whole time Ed kept on telling stories about another world, another life that he'd come from--completely fantastic things that Alfons couldn't believe, no matter how much Ed insisted that they were all true. One of his stories, and the ensuing argument over whether it was true or not, ended in Ed crashing the car they were driving to an exhibition at a local carnival. Luckily, a truck came by with a group of gypsy women in the back, heading for the same place--Noa was among them, a fortuneteller that ended up being brought home by Ed to escape the men trying to take advantage of her ability. Alfons just accepted the woman's presence into their home despite the growing prejudice against the Roma people, even relieved that Ed was showing interest in someone other than the people in his fanciful stories.
All the while, his illness was getting worse. And when Ed tried to convince him to stop his work on the rockets because he knew they were going to be used as war machines, Alfons snapped. After throwing Ed into the stairs, the exertion caused him to have another coughing fit--the severity of his illness was no longer hidden, as he coughed blood into his hand. He yelled at Ed, saying that he wanted to leave behind proof that he was alive, then ran out the door--back to the laboratory. He was there when Hess, Hausehoffer, and Eckhart tried to open the Gate, and he saw the death of Hohenheim. When Edward was shot and fell, Alfons got him to a one-person rocket and prepped it--he intended to send Edward back, even if he knew he'd probably be killed for it. He spoke his last words to Edward--"Don't forget me"-- and activated the rocket. He was shot and killed shortly afterward by Hess, living just long enough to see that Edward made it safely through the Gate.
Alfons was born in 1905, in Munich, Germany--the youngest of three children, he had a doting older sister and an even older brother. Until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Alfons' family lived happily in Munich--but with the beginning of the war, everything changed drastically. Alfons' brother went off to serve, and was killed in action, and while Alfons, his mother, and sister went to live in Dachau with family, his father stayed in Munich and was injured during a French air raid in 1916. The end of the war two years later saw the family moving back to Munich, however life in the city after the war was incredibly difficult. Money was scarce and there was barely enough food to keep the family fed. Alfons began to concentrate more and more on his education, in a hope that he would be able to help Germany regain its power and prestige somehow. He was inspired to study rocketry after reading Jules Verne, much like the man he idolized and studied under, Hermann Oberth. It was while Alfons was learning about rocketry from this man that he first met Edward Elric, recently come to Germany from Britain.
Alfons found himself often in the company of Edward, who seemed to search him out at every turn. Alfons felt strangely drawn to him as well, and they got along well enough, so when he moved back to Munich to start his own experiments, he invited Edward along. They lived and worked together for a while, but Ed lost interest in the rocketry experiments and stopped working on them altogether after a few months--after which Alfons started getting sick. He had violent coughing fits and would sometimes cough up blood. He hid his illness from Ed as best he could, but also couldn't afford regular medicine and treatments. While Ed removed himself from the work with the rockets, Alfons threw himself into it in a desperate attempt to finish his work--to leave some sign behind that he had lived.
Realizing that he was dying at the age of 18 and living in a war-torn and impoverished nation turned Alfons into the responsible adult far before his time. He was the one who took care of the house matters, making sure there was enough to eat for both of them, and continued working. He and his group, along with Ed, traveled around the countryside putting on demonstrations of their rockets for money, and the whole time Ed kept on telling stories about another world, another life that he'd come from--completely fantastic things that Alfons couldn't believe, no matter how much Ed insisted that they were all true. One of his stories, and the ensuing argument over whether it was true or not, ended in Ed crashing the car they were driving to an exhibition at a local carnival. Luckily, a truck came by with a group of gypsy women in the back, heading for the same place--Noa was among them, a fortuneteller that ended up being brought home by Ed to escape the men trying to take advantage of her ability. Alfons just accepted the woman's presence into their home despite the growing prejudice against the Roma people, even relieved that Ed was showing interest in someone other than the people in his fanciful stories.
All the while, his illness was getting worse. And when Ed tried to convince him to stop his work on the rockets because he knew they were going to be used as war machines, Alfons snapped. After throwing Ed into the stairs, the exertion caused him to have another coughing fit--the severity of his illness was no longer hidden, as he coughed blood into his hand. He yelled at Ed, saying that he wanted to leave behind proof that he was alive, then ran out the door--back to the laboratory. He was there when Hess, Hausehoffer, and Eckhart tried to open the Gate, and he saw the death of Hohenheim. When Edward was shot and fell, Alfons got him to a one-person rocket and prepped it--he intended to send Edward back, even if he knew he'd probably be killed for it. He spoke his last words to Edward--"Don't forget me"-- and activated the rocket. He was shot and killed shortly afterward by Hess, living just long enough to see that Edward made it safely through the Gate.