Notes: Set near the end of CoS. The Elric brothers depart from their home world, but when they pass through the gate, they pass through time and land in modern-day America. No specified state/city, to avoid inaccuracies. Erlinde and the ship have disappeared, not making it through the gate with the Elrics. We'll say she's subjected to eternal Gate rape.
Apologies: I'm assuming that Ed doesn't know what plastic is. Or television. Sorry if any of this is inaccurate. c:

Enjoy!

---

CRACK

Whumpf.

Ed groans, lifting his face out of the soft, dusty dirt. He stiffly pushes himself up to his knees, looking around in utter confusion. "Corn..?" His golden eyes scan the horizon, filled with lush, green corn plants as far as he can see through the towering stalks. He stands to get a better view, miffed to find that he's shorter than the stalks. "The hell is the factory..?"

Ed spots the sky above him, and marvels at how much brighter it seems here than in Germany; it reminds him of Risembool. "Don't kid yourself," Ed says, laughing painedly. "You left that world behind." He sighs, beginning his walk to find his way out of the field. {You left everything behind.. even Al.}

Pause. Was that..? Ed looks around, blinded by cornstalks, straining his ears. He thought he heard..?

There it is again! "Who's there?"

Crack, crack. Sticks break underfoot and cornstalks sway several yards from Ed. He quickly gets into a fighting position, but his hands--and mouth--drop when he sees what's making the sound emerge into view.

"BROTHER!" Al leaps onto Ed, knocking them both down into the dirt. "Brother I was so worried! The airship disappeared and I fell and found myself among all this corn!"

Ed stares up at his little brother. "But, Al, how--! Y-you were supposed to stay on the other side of the gate!"

"Mustang is taking care of that," Al says, grinning. "I had to come with you, Ed. It's just not the same without you."

Ed smiles and sits up as Al rolls off of him. "I missed you, Al. I really, really missed you." He looks up at Al before voicing his thoughts. "Winry?"

Al smiles sadly. "I don't care, Ed. I'm going to miss her, but.. I'd rather be by your side, no matter what."

Ed leans forward, pulling Al into a hug. "Thanks, Al."

When Ed pulls away, Al looks around. "So.. where are we, Ed?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"You've been to this world before, not me!"

"I was never here! Well, not in this cornfield. I was in a rocket factory in Germany."

"A what factory where?"

Ed looks at Al's face, and can't help but burst out laughing at the expression on his face. Al looks so clueless! Understandable, but that face is priceless!

Al blinks, looking a little hurt. "Come on Ed, how would I know what those are? Ed!"

Ed forces himself to stop laughing, wiping tears from his eyes with his flesh hand. "I-I'm sorry, Al.. you should've seen your face!"

"Funny," Al grumbles. "So, do you know where we are at all?"

"Not until we find our way out of this field," Ed mutters. "Stand on my shoulders, see if you can find a way out."

Al nods, climbing onto Ed's shoulder, apologizing when he accidentally strains the automail port by leaning too heavily on it. Holding up a hand to block the glare of the sun, he gazes into the distance, spotting, miles away across rolling hills, a small town. He climbs off Ed's shoulders, pointing toward the town. "That way!"

Ed rubs his aching shoulder, nodding. "What did you see?" He asks as they begin to walk.

"A town, about five miles away. And, just outside the cornfield, a farmhouse." Al nods to himself. "Maybe we can find some food somewhere. I'm starting to get hungry."

Ed stops walking, causing Al to stop and look at him. Ed gives Al a 'are you kidding me' look, using both hands to motion to the ears of corn present on every stalk.

"..Corn. Oh." Al performs the Amestris equivalence of a facepalm, groaning. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that."

"Well, let's wait until we get out of here. Maybe we can ask the owners for permission."

---

"Nobody's home." Al looks around, peering in every window.

"Home raid!" Ed says enthusiastically, testing each window until he finds one that opens. Upon sliding it all the way up, he hops up and onto the sill, sliding in effortlessly as Al watches in horror.

"BROTHER! That's illegal! Get-get back out here before we get caught!"

"Al, we need information. Maybe there'll be something in here to read. Get in here."

Al groans loudly, following his brother inside the same way. He follows Ed through the quaintly-decorated farmhouse, looking around at the black-and-white and color photos in frames on the walls. Just like home.

"Here, a newspaper." Ed spots a paper in the living room, ignoring the big black plastic box with a glass front that all the seating seems to be facing. He lifts up the paper, looking at the headlines. "Fracking ban proposed. What the hell is fracking?" His eyes move on. "Spider-Man movie exceeds box office expectations." Ed stares at it, utterly confused. "..What the hell? Where are we?" He looks at the date, nearly dropping the paper. Without a word to Al, he sits down, his hands falling to his sides like dead weight. He stares at the black screen, looking utterly lost.

Al, having been toying with the button-dense plastic paperweight, looks at Ed in concern. "Brother? What is it?"

"It's over," Ed mumbles. "We're screwed. Even if we.. we can't.. through time?"

"Ed, you're not making any sense.." Al says, concern in his voice as he sits next to his brother on the couch.

"Al.. we traveled through time. It's.. Al, it's 2012."

"What? Ed, that-that's not possible." Al grabs the newspaper. "It's gotta be fake. There's no way. It's not even 1930! How could it be 2012 so suddenly?"

"I don't know," Ed moans, putting his hands to his eyes. "I don't know Al. But now we're stuck here. Even if we found a way back home, ev-everybody would be dead. Everyone that we knew. Winry, Granny, Mustang, Armstrong.. Gracia, Elysia.. everyone." Ed stares up at the ceiling, refusing to allow himself to cry. Not in front of Alphonse.

Al pulls his knees up to his chin. "Maybe.. if we traveled forward in time, maybe it's possible to travel back."

"Time only goes in one direction. Once we lose it, we can't get it back."

"Maybe time is just a perception."

"We just lost eighty years, Al! How is that just a perception?!"

Al grows silent, standing after five or so minutes. He returns not much later with two cups of milk, a container of oreos and a plate of crackers. "I found some food. There was a lot more, but.. well, I don't want to take too much."

Not really focusing, Ed lifts up the glass of milk, sighing before downing it. He doesn't notice the flavor of it, or Al's expression of shock. He sets the glass down, grabbing a cracker afterward.

"Um.. Ed?"

"Mm?"

"Do you know what you just did?"

"Had a drink."

"Of milk."

Dropping his cracker, Ed snaps his head to face Al, then looks at the empty cup with the milk residue. "I.. I drank milk?"

"Yeah, you.. didn't even realize it." Al grabs the oreos, opening them up carefully before sliding them from their wrapping. "Whoa.. Look, Ed! Little black cookies with cream filling!"

Ed ignores Al, putting a hand to his face. The world is slowly ending, he knows it. First, Eckhardt and her rocket-plane have disappeared. Al is with him in this alien place, having traveled 80-some years into the future. Now, Ed had drank an entire glass of milk without even realizing it. Fuuuuck.

"MMMM! Ed, try this! Try it!" Al shoves a cookie into Ed's face, poking the exposed nose with it. "C'mon!"

Ed groans and grabs it, popping it into his mouth. Immediately, the cookie disintegrates between his teeth, the sweet of the cream mixing with it and grabbing his attention. His eyes widen as he grabs the packaging, savoring the cookie slowly as he reads the words, the advertisements. "Oh-ree-oh."

"Maybe it's pronounced Awr-ee-oh. I don't know. But they're excellent!"

Ed grins and grabs another. "I wonder where we can get more of these. Al, you've eaten almost all of them! Save some for me!"

Al grins sheepishly. "Sorry, Ed. They're really good, and I couldn't help myself!"

"Finish up, we should leave soon." Ed points at the paper. "The language here is English, that's a good sign. You won't have to learn German, now."

"Wearn w'ut?" Al says through a mouthful of oreos, crumbs poking out of the corner of his mouth.

"German. It's the language they speak in Germany. It's.. kind of like what's spoken in Drachma, only.. well, different. Different worlds, both very similar.. it's interesting."

"We have plenty of time now," Al says, smiling cheerfully before drinking his milk.

"Yeah," Ed says; "I finally have you back." Ed grabs the plate of crackers, taking them with him to the kitchen to write a note.

Al follows, peering over Ed's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving a note. About what we did and ate. I'm not signing it, I just.. y'know."

"..That's so nice of you. And so.. unlike you."

"Hey!" Ed looks up from the paper, then returns to it, grumbling indignantly. "I have matured a little, Al. Geez."

"What? You, Ed, mature?" Al snickers.

"Oh shut up."

---

The brothers set off with a loaf of bread in hand, but Al is the first to question it. "Brother? Why is everything wrapped in this filmy stuff?" [Did Amestris have plastic? *unsure*]

Ed shrugs. "Maybe to keep it fresher longer. And it seems like it would make a good insect barrier, too. I like this stuff. Even the water is in it." Ed holds up two bottles of water, one already half-empty.

"You drank half of your water already? We have to make that last!"

"It's only five miles, Al."

"What if water happens to be a precious resource here?"

"Everything is so lush here. I think water is a common resource here." Ed hands Al the full water bottle. "You carry yours."

Al takes his water bottle, sliding it into one of the pockets of the red coat. He says nothing, but he's glad that Ed handed it to him--he was a little worried that Ed would drink his, too. Maybe. "Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do once we get to town?"

"First, we're going to find out where we are, what information there is on a possible way home, then a place to rest." Ed wipes the sweat from his forehead; the summer heat is beating down hard on them both. He glances at Al and wonders how he keeps that heavy red coat on.

"I miss Winry already," Al comments, a saddened tone to his voice.

"I do too, Al," Ed replies, lifting up his automail hand to admire it. {Thanks, Winry. I really owe you.} "Let's not tink about home though, not until we have a foundation built here, okay?" Ed looks over at Al, a cheerful smile on his face. {I'm just glad I finally have you back, Al.}

Al looks over, grinning at Ed's smile. "O-kay!"

---

"Small town," Ed comments, walking through the streets with Al. He'd since rolled his sleeves all the way down, concealing his automail hand the best he can; but he finds that he and his brother still stick out like a sore thumb here. Ed's attire does look quite outdated and plain, and Al's looks plain outlandish. "Looks like we'll have to find a change of clothes soon."

"Everyone is staring at us, brother. Some are talking about us."

"You didn't expect that? We're from another world, 80 years in the past. We were bound to have some small issues with fitting in."

Al answers with a grunt of acknowledgement, his ponytail bobbing with each step.

The two soon find a small store. Ed heads that way, Al following quietly; however, as Ed is browsing the store, he finds Al absent. "Al? Alphonse?!"

"Over here, brother," Al says. When Ed ducks around the corner, he'll see Al petting the store owner's cat up by the counter. Al looks delighted. Ed shakes his head, smiling hopelessly, and leaves Al to the cat while he picks out a few key items, not realizing prices have gone up this much. He had only taken fifty dollars from the farmhouse once he found the money stash. He groans as he thinks of the several-hundred-dollar stash, and how he should have taken mo--no, he reminds himself; that's not your money. He sighs, grabbing just the bare minimum.. plus a package of oreos.

"Morning," the clerk greets Ed, beginning to ring him up. She looks to be in her 50s, long, graying hair pulled back into a half-ponytail. "Paper or plastic?"

"..Uh. What?"

"..Paper bag or plastic bag?" The woman looks up at Ed, offering her smile still.

"Um.. paper? What's plastic?"

She nearly drops his fabled package of oreos, but sets it down and lifts a plastic bag for him to see, indulging this strange blonde boy. "This is a plastic bag. It's lighter than paper, but takes much longer to break down in the garbage." She pauses, eyeing his strange attire before his eye color catches her attention. "You really don't know what plastic is?"

Ed smiles nervously. "No, sorry. We're from a really small town eastward."

"Mhm," she answers skeptically. "Well, since you've never heard of it," she comments, the tone still evident in her voice, "I'll tell you what it's made from. When oil is refined, plastic is a by-product and is formed into different types of moldable plastics. Car parts, computer cases, phones, plastic bags, water bottles, milk jugs.. it's in everything."

Ed looks at the bottle of water he has, holding it up. "This too?"

"You got it," the woman says, a smile tugging at her lips. That boy looks too clueless. "Total'll be $12.42."

Ed resists the urge to comment about how expensive, but his eyes still widen a bit. He groans, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and handing it to the woman. As he gets his change, he looks at the various coins that he'd never seen before. He doesn't know what they're called, so he mentally names them. Five-piece, ten-piece, 25-piece, and.. one-piece sounds silly to him. Hm. He spots a 'take-a-penny' bowl on the counter, and files that away. {They're called pennies, okay.} "Thank you, ma'am." He takes his small bag, looking over at Al with a smile. Still playing with the cat. "C'mon Al, we have to go to the library."

"Coming!" Al says goodbye to the cat, who meows after him, wanting more petting. Poor Al has a sad look on his face. "He's so sad to see me go," Al says as they walk out of the door.

"It's just a cat, Al."

"But he's so sweet!"

"Just a cat." Ed looks into the bag; more water, juice boxes, oreos, newspaper, packs of crackers, and some beef jerky. Quick food, but it'll keep and it'll sustain them. "Library.. Al do you see--AL!"

Al looks up from walking over to a cat, grinning sheepishly. "S-sorry, Ed." He continues to look around, not hearing Ed's groan.

"No more cats, Al. Please." Ed spots the library and points. "Found it!"

Al's eyes light up at the prospect of something both brothers absolutely love: books. "I hope they have alchemy books here!"

"Oh. Alchemy doesn't.. work here. At least, not nearly as well as it does at home. It takes a lot of blood to activate a circle here," he says with a frown. He stops when he sees Al's uneasy expression.

"Blood?" Al glances at Ed's automail arm, then the people walking around. "Brother, you didn't.. sacrifice anyone.. to get home, did you?" he asks quietly.

Ed gazes at Al, expression saddening as the memories return. "It wasn't my choice, Al. Eckhardt did it. She used Envy and, he.. Envy and dad both died to make the portal open."

Al's eyes widen and he steps back. "Dad? Dad's dead?!"

"He wanted it," Ed says quietly. "He wanted to get me home."

"He died to get you home?" Al asks shakily, and at Ed's slight nod, he throws his arms around his brother. "Ed, both mom and dad.." he trails off, shaking slightly.

Ed sighs and wraps his arms around Al. "I know. But we're together. That's what they would want."

Al sniffles, pulling away with a nod. He wipes the tears from his eyes, blinking them clear. "Let's-let's go in the library now."

Ed nods, smiling sadly. "Yeah. Let's read."

Apologies in advance for any errors with legal procedures. I don't know all of the details.

---

The next few hours are spent at the library. Ed and Al first learn about the country they're in--America, apparently--before checking various universities. "I never did finish rocketry," he told Al a while ago.

"Brother, so many advances have been made in such a short time!" Al holds out several books to Ed, including a few picture-loaded ones from the kids' section. Robotics, medical, electronic; more than they can cover in such a short amount of time.

"It'll be tough to narrow down a solution, but it's likely there's one out there. With all the advancements that have been made.." He trails off, reading about space travel. "So they made it." He goes silent, immersing himself again into the books.

Al smiles and turns again to his books, reading less on technology and more on medical. The advancements made in the medical field have captivated him.

The two are in the same spot until the library closes, the sun beginning its descent to the horizon. They apologetically pick up their thirty-plus books, placing them back in their exact spots, and ask the librarian about a larger library, a larger town. She points them westward, telling them of a city that should offer them anything they're looking for--a university for knowledge, a commercial district with promising jobs; anything they'd need. After thanking her, they head out.

"So, where shall we spend the night?"

"On thirty-some dollars? That won't cover a room anymore, Al. Prices have shot up. I checked a tourism book at the library; rates are too high. No, we'll save what we've got and we'll camp."

"But.. but what if there's dangerous animals around?"

"Did you forget the month we spent alone on the island?"

"This is a different world, brother! In the future! How do we know there's not some.. monsters lurking around?" Al frowns. "Or people like Barry."

Ed shivers. "We can take them on, Al. Come on; let's look forward to a peaceful night."

---

The two walked west until the sun set and it was nearly pitch-black out, made themselves a fire in the woods easily, and slept. They saved their oreos, instead eating jerky and drinking water before bed, following up with juice and crackers for breakfast. They then continued west, continuing this cycle for two days over the 38-mile trip. By the time they made it to the city outskirts, they were out of food and water, and needed a shower.

Ed fingers the coins in his pocket, for which he had forgotten to look up the names of. "Time for a shower," Ed says with a smile, coming upon a truck stop. He had spotted the sign; showers. For them, this would be nice.

"Finally," Al comments, smiling. "I wouldn't feel so bad if we had found a river along the way, at least. But it's so hot out! It must be the middle of summer."

"Judging by the amount of daylight we get, I'd say that's dead-on." Ed walks into the truck stop with Al, ordering a shower for them both. They pay and wait their turn; then emerge feeling brand-new, fully refreshed.

"Perfect. Thanks, Ed." Al wrings out his long ponytail, surprised to see that Ed has braided his hair. "You're braiding your hair again?"

"For now. I felt.. nostalgic," Ed mumbles. "Probably because I just saw Winry and Mustang.. I don't know." Ed smiles sheepishly, a bit of sadness shining through.

Al just smiles. "We'll find a way, brother. We always do."

Ed gives a nod, feeling what money they have left. "Let's get some food for the road. We still need to travel into town and find a place to stay."

"Okay!" Al follows Ed, carefully picking out some food items with him, choosing quantity over quality; they have to stretch it. He sadly passes over the oreos, knowing they can't afford it this time.

After their small purchase, they head out. Ed and Al both eat some crackers, which seem to be fairly cheap everywhere here. They begin walking again, sporting their same clothing which had been hand-washed in the showers and let dry for a while before being put back on. It was then that Ed missed alchemy: insta-clean clothes.

Hours later, they finally reach the more populated part of the city. {She wasn't kidding, this is a big city.} Ed looks around, stll holding his plastic bag of groceries. He's suprised at the size of the buildings; they tower over him and Al, reaching for the sky; their sides are ablaze in the sunlight, reflecting light and mirroring the clouds.

"How about that one?" Al points to a car, and Ed smiles. Al had mentioned the difference in cars from their own time and had now settled on asking Ed if he liked this one or that one. Now, he points to a Subaru Outback. Earlier, it was a Ford F-150, a Hyundai Santa Fe, and a Scion XB. Not that any of them knew what they were called.

"Yeah, it's okay. Better than the others, I guess. Why don't you pick a smaller car? You're picking big ones."

"They all look unique, that's why I'm picking them. Um.. there!" Al points to a Chevrolet Corvette. "That one looks really streamlined."

"Hmm.. and it's bright red." Ed grins. "I like that one."

"You just like it 'cause it's red."

"No, I like the shape of it too." Ed takes his attention off the cars yet again, looking around at the people. For the most part, himself and Al were ignored. Everyone seemed to be rushing around, either drinking something from cups, talking into little plastic rectangles, or punching something into them. He watched them all rush around, wondering what they were all rushing for. Was life really that fast-paced here? Or was everyone just in that mindset?

"Ed?" Al taps his brother on the left shoulder, Ed realizing that Al had called him already.

"Yeah Al?"

"Do we have enough money to find a place to stay?"

"Not a chance." Ed sighs, rubbing his neck. "Before, I was staying with Dad, and he gave me eough money to stay in Munich with.. Heiderich." Ed tries not to think about Alfons or Noah, or any of the people he'd met and would never see again. The thought suddenly appears in his mind again, that they might never see Winry or anyone from home again, and he has to fight the sudden feeling of nausea.

Al misses the tumble of emotions his brother is experiencing, attention still drawn to the zipping cars around him, the bustle of the city. "So we're.. homeless?" He resists the urge to add the word 'again'.

"Yep. But.." Ed smiles, thinking of Noah. "Let's use the word Roma."

"Roma?"

"Yeah. We're Roma. We travel from place to place without a home." {We're just like you, Noah.}

Though Al doesn't know what Roma is just yet, he nods, trusting his brother's judgement. "Roma."

"Now come on Al, let's go see what we can find on getting a place to stay!"

---

After a trip to the library where Ed and Al learn about citizenship from a book, they go to the appropriate office and apply for a resident card. They exit with their cards, but are confused as to what to do for residency; upon asking, they're directed to another office for assistance with that. After spending the entire day formulating their lives on paper, the two are taken to temporary housing until they can acquire jobs and afford their own place.

Ed looks around the small, one-bedroom one-bathroom apartment, nodding. "This will do nicely for now."

"So now.. we look for a job?" Al looks out the window of their apartment, looking at the lights of the city at night and the cars as they go by. They're on the third floor, their view fairly impressive.

"Mhm." Ed sits at the two-person table in the teeny dining room, lightly tapping the cash assistance credit card with his automail fingers. "First, I'm going to buy a pair of gloves. I don't want any trouble for us due to my automail."

Al resists the urge to mention how it's only helped them in the past, with all they've faced. He knows that unwanted searches into their backgrounds could be dangerous; that's why Ed had lied to the government officials and told them they were Roma from Germany, having traveled to the US only a few days ago. Well, part of it was right.

"I wonder what sort of jobs there are," Al muses, relaxing on the firm couch. He'd stripped the red coat and black shirt off, relaxing now with just his pants on. Even at night, it's still pretty hot.

"No idea. No matter what we know how to do, it's probably been improved upon in this new time." Ed sets down the card and looks down at his outdated clothing, which has been garnering stares all day. He pulls off the vest and the shirt. "I think with our funds, we should invest in a few new sets of clothes and inexpensive food that will last. Try to save as much as we can." Greeted by silence, Ed glances over to see that Al had fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted from the events of the long day. "Good idea." Ed heads to the bedroom, getting Al's bed ready for him before carrying his brother to his bed. He then retires to his own bed, drifting off to dream of what lies ahead.

---

Time to shop.

The two head for Wal-Mart, recommended as an inexpensive place to shop. Upon seeing the size of the place, they're stunned--they had never seen a store so large. Upon entering, however, they're overwhelmed.

"It's.. huge!" Al comments, eyes assaulted by the flow of people, the walls of products. He follows Ed, who's just as stunned by the atmosphere.

"It's like a gigantic indoor market." Ed walks, hands in his pockets, looking around amazedly at the store.

"They must have everything here." Al grins, then tilts his head. "..Where should we go first?"

"Clothes," Ed comments. "We've been in the same outfits since we arrived. Besides.. I need gloves." He's tired of keeping his right hand in his pocket, as well as the excuse that he's wearing a metal glove as part of alternative arthritis therapy. Because apparently, in the government assistance buildings, wearing 'metal armor' isn't a good thing. Ed groans as he thinks of his first excuse and how it didn't go over well with the lady at the desk. Luckily, he was able to shift his story into something believable without changing it.

"Okay.. um.. this way. I see clothing." Al leads the way, getting fewer looks than Ed, as he's only wearing his black outfit, coat left at home due to the sheer summer heat.

They soon arrive in the mens' clothing section, and Ed spots the sale racks. He leads Al there, where they each pick out three tops and two pair of pants. After trying them on in the dressing rooms--and of course, getting each other's opinions, that's what brothers are for--they find a pair of gloves for Edward; black with the look of leather but the price of fabric. Ed is satisfied, and decides to wear them out.

"I think we stayed in the budget," Ed comments. "Besides, other than clothing and food, we don't need to buy anything else. Right?"

"No, nothing. After all, it's not like we need toilet paper, toothbrushes, shampoo.."

"Okay okay I get it," Ed grumbles, waving off the sarcastic tone to Al's voice. "I'm just trying to keep costs down until we can get jobs."

Al spots a pet section in the distance, and has to resist the urge to bolt over. "We have enough to buy the necessities. Come on! We need to buy toiletries."

Ed snorts as Al says 'toiletries', but follows Al to the appropriate aisle. They start with a small, inexpensive package of toilet paper, a large bottle of shampoo to share, and toothbrushes and toothpaste for them. Ed grabs soap and Al picks out deodorant, finally ending with the two 'adopting' an empty cart to place their haul in. Ed calculates the cost so far, and says that they do indeed have money to spend on food. Al nearly falls over at this announcement; they better had!

Food choices are made based on cost. The largest part of their food purchase is two cases of ramen; also included are inexpensive canned soups, bags of generic cereal, and a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Ed says nothing when Al grabs a jug of milk for cereal, for Ed plans on eating his dry. Milk, pff.

Cart full, the two finally seem satisfied enough with their choices to check out. They spot other people leaving the store from the checkouts, put two and two together, and head there. They copy what other people are doing, and place their selections onto the belt. They watch the cashier slide the products in front of them, hear a beep for each item, and watch her place the things in a bag. Suddenly, though, the belt holding their items moves on its own, causing Ed to jump.

"It moved!"

The cashier, her nametag reading Linda, glances up at him. "..Sir?"

"How did it move?" Ed pokes the belt, yanking his hand back as she picks up another item, causing it to move again.

"Oh, the belt?" She raises an eyebrow at his reactions, continuing her scanning. "The belt has a sensor. If there's an item blocking the sensor, it won't move. If there's no item, it moves." She demonstrates. "Y'know, to bring the items closer to me."

"Amazing," Ed comments, testing this once the belt is emptied. "When was this invented?"

"..I have absolutely no idea." She taps the little totals screen to get his attention, whereupon he pulls out his little Access card.

"Um, I'm paying with this. You take this, right?"

"Yessir, we do. Go ahead and slide it through."

Ed looks at the little rectangle of plastic in his hand, then at the belt, then her; he looks absolutely clueless. "..Where?"

Linda sighs and taps the credit card reader. When he looks at it and looks it over, she points to the spot where the card slides through. He looks at the card and the reader, then slides it through. Nothing.

"Turn it over. No, the other way. No, not.. here." Linda takes it and shows him how, then shows him how to follow the prompts. When finished, she hands him the receipt. "You've really never done this before, have you?"

Ed and Al's faces flush a bit, giving Linda her answer. Al opens his mouth for an excuse, but she just shrugs, interrupting him. "You know now, right?"

Picking up the bags, Ed nods sheepishly. Linda smiles and pats him on the head. "Good. Hopefully you'll survive, then. Come back soon, 'kay? You two are cute."

Al's face flushes almost as much as Ed's, and the two grab their things and head out as quickly as they can, leaving behind the girl that's the same age that they are. Once outside and walking back toward their apartment, Al speaks.

"..You know brother, it might not hurt to get to know her better.. to get to know more about this world--"

"AAAL!"

Job hunting SUCKS. Both Elrics soon discover this. After putting in hundreds of applications each, every interview seems to be held by a disinterested or opinionated prick, as Ed put it (and Al didn't really argue), who asked questions to which they did not listen to the answers of; nor did the interviewers seem to care how the interview went, because they held the air that the interviewee would not get the job anyway, from the start of the interview when they first walked in.

When Ed finally found a promising interviewer--rare, though he did have a few--they would eagerly tell him 'We'll be in touch!' only to never ring him again. Ed knew he had given them the correct phone number, too. It's enough to make him high-kick them in the faces.

Even Alphonse already has a job at the SPCA. Sure, he's doing menial work cleaning out animal cages and feeding the menagerie of species; but it pays, which is more than Ed is able to lay claim to.

Three weeks have passed since the brothers had taken up residence in the city, and Ed still didn't have a job. Everywhere he goes, the poor job market bites him in the ass, though he remains hopeful, glad that Al at least has a job.

"You're not going to get a haircut?"

"Nope! I'm going to keep my hair long, just like yours."

"Long hair seems to be more common here than it was in Germany," Ed comments, looking out their window at the scene below. "Then again, I've seen all sorts of hair and clothing styles here."

"It's like home, but more free-spirited at the same time. But also kind of more organized, too."

Ed watches the people below them and sighs. He's still awfully homesick, though this is tons better than Germany--yet, he misses Alfons and Noah. And Gracia. His eyes glaze over as he thinks of Alfons before he was sent off in the plane, wondering if he had ever had his dream come true. What he had read of Germany in the library was a mess of human extermination that he wasn't disappointed that he missed. He hadn't tried searching for Alfons' name yet--

"AL!" Ed suddenly yells, jumping up. He races for the door, grabbing his black jacket on the way to conceal his automail. "Al, hurry!"

Al gets up, grabbing the door keys in confusion. "What is it, Ed?" He gets no answer, following his brother down the stairs and out of the building. "Ed?!"

"C'mon Al, faster!" Ed races along the street, heading for that flash of blue he'd seen only a minute ago. "There's someone here from home!"

"Wh--Ed?! Are you sure?"

"Unless America decided to copy the military's uniform exactly!" Ed yells back, spots the blue again, and races toward the person.

Al runs after Ed, having a bit of trouble keeping up. He spots the military uniform that Ed had seen, and continues running, despite his shock. Who could it be? Anybody they knew..?

Ed stops, looking at the large building that the mystery person had gone into. There's a lot of people in this area; he spots quite a few in odd costume, and even one very, very familiar red coat with a flamel on the back. As the person disappears inside, Ed leaps into action, racing for the entrance with a panting Al charging after him.

Entering, Ed spots the red-coated figure disappearing around a corner, and follows him at breakneck speed. He doesn't wait for Al, who enters a few seconds too late, unable to see where his brother had disappeared off to.

"..Ed?" Al looks around, before spotting the blue uniform from earlier. He races after the person, unknowingly in the opposite direction that Ed had gone.

Ed finally catches up with the person in the red coat, his red coat, now Al's red coat. He grabs the person by the shoulder, yanking them and spinning them around to face him. He sees a young woman with dirty blonde hair, wearing the same clothes that he used to wear, the signature outfit of the Fullmetal Alchemist. She's wearing the white gloves, too; Ed grabs her right wrist, yanking the glove off and finding it human underneath. He looks into her face, feeling angry and confused. But before he can get a word out, she begins speaking.

"What's your problem, man? Make your own outfit."

Ed stares into the girl's eyes, and by the way hers are widening, she's realizing something that he's not.

"Hey, where did you get your contacts?"

Ed's thrown by this question, having no idea what 'contacts' are. Another hazard of moving to a new world; new things his did not have. "..My what?"

"Whoa! Hey, say that again." Her eyes light up, and Ed shrinks back a bit.

"Say what? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you wearing a coat like that? What is this place?"

"No way! You sound just like Ed! How'd you manage that?" She looks him over and nods. "Very nice; you even have his hair at the perfect style!"

Ed stares at her, grabbing her wrist again with his right hand. "You know Ed? Edward Elric?"

"Well sure; almost everyone here knows the Fullmetal Alchemist!" She grins, but the grin disappears as he squeezes her wrist. "Hey, ease up, that hurts."

Ed releases his grip on her, looking around. "How do you know him?"

She sighs. "Here, come with me. You look lost. I'll take you to the FMA booth."

Yeah, that statement sure made him feel less lost.

---

"Ed? Ed, where are you?!" Al had interrogated the person in the blue military uniform, but all he'd gotten was a confused jumble of 'cosplay', 'FMA' and some name that sounded like 'Vick'. He groans, browsing around the place; but soon, he hears Ed's familiar voice. He trots toward the room, the door open with someone walking in. He hears Ed talking about a trip he'd taken with Al; but when Al bursts in, yelling out "Brother!", Ed's voice goes silent, and all eyes land on him. He spots a man at the front of the room with a microphone, looking at him rather curiously, and he shrinks back. "Um.. s-sorry to interrupt.. has anyone seen my brother? His name is Ed, he's got golden hair and he's.." Al trails off, spotting several people who could almost pass for his brother, red coat and all, sitting in the audience.

"That has to be the best cosplay I have seen all day," Ed's voice speaks, and Al's head snaps to see the man with the microphone speaking. "C'mon up here. What's your name?"

Al cautiously walks up to the man, eyeing him confusedly. "..Alphonse."

The man just grins, glancing at the people in the audience. A few chuckle, and the man turns his head back to Al. "I mean your real name. We know who you're cosplaying as."

Al blinks at him, his expression showing he's utterly lost. "What are you talking about? My name is Alphonse Elric. Who are you, and why do you sound just like my brother?"

"Vic Mignona," the man announces, "voice actor for Edward Elric, and various other anime characters. Though since you're playing Al so well, I'm sure you already knew that." Vic pauses, studying Al. "Seriously, you can stop pretending any time."

"I'm not pretending!" Al whines exasperatedly. "I'm just really, really confused! How is it that you sound like my brother, and know who he is? Why are there people dressed up like he is? Did the freakin' Gate get the worlds mixed up?!" Al nearly yells, bordering on hysterical.

Just as Vic is about to try and calm Al down, he hears his own voice from outside the room. "Al? Al, you in there?" Vic watches curiously as a nearly perfect clone of Edward Elric pokes his head inside the door. When he spots Al, he emerges into full view, walking inside with a relieved look on his face. "Al, you would not believe what I've been going through." Ed spots Vic's dumbfounded expression, and raises an eyebrow. "..Yeah?"

"How are you doing that?" Vic asks, and Ed jumps, pointing at Vic in a mix of horror and confusion.

"Wh--YOU SOUND LIKE ME!"

"Welcome to my world," Al grumbles, feeling ready to curl up in a corner and just pass out. This is getting to be waaaay too much.

"What's going on here?" Ed and Vic ask at the same time, though Ed's question is much closer to Al's earlier hysterical tone.

Not even bothering to ask Ed his name, Vic holds out his right hand to Ed. "Vic Mignona."

Ed offers his own right hand, shaking tentatively; he's just about to offer his own name when Vic yanks off the black glove covering his automail. Ed gasps, yanking his hand back; the silent onlookers in the room hear the unmistakable clanking of Ed's automail, and despite his attempts to pocket the visible metal hand, he's foiled when several people from the group get up, yanking off the jacket he'd been wearing. Face red with embarassment and anger, Ed is left exposed, his red-and-white t-shirt with snake logo unable to hide the metal arm from everyone. Al watches in horror as Ed is unable to escape, door to the room now shut.

"It looks so real," one of the girls says, breaking the silence.

"Looks real?" Vic is in close proximity, grabbing Ed's wrist to inspect the fingers. "It IS real."

"Back off!" Ed hisses, wrenching his hand and arm free from the grabbypaws around him, trying futilely to cover the arm with his flesh one. "It-it's a prosthetic, okay? I um.."

"How did you manage to make it?" Vic speaks, and all go silent in anticipation of Ed's expected revelation.

"I didn't make it. Winry made it for me." Ed wasn't expecting the round of groans from the group.

"We know who made automail for Ed," Vic continues. "How did you get this arm?"

Ed stares at Vic, then glances at the people in the room. He looks at Al, who is watching him warily. "..Vic, you said your name is? Can we talk.. in private, please?"

Vic nods, a bit leery to trust this strange, very strange, possibly insane kid. "Sure." He excuses himself from the crowd, exiting the room and leading Ed to a nearby, private small office. He shuts the door, leaning on the wall next to it.

Ed paces for a minute, still devoid of his jacket. He sighs and puts a hand to his head. "How do you know that my arm is automail? I never mentioned that word."

"Everyone who watches Fullmetal Alchemist knows what automail is."

"Watches?" Ed looks at Vic in confusion. "What do you mean, watches?"

"On tv." At Ed's still-confused look, he continues. "The tv show, you know? Anime. ..Okay, the manga?" Vic sighs as Ed continues with the same expression. {The kid must be messing around with me.} "Look, those people are waiting for me to return. Could you just tell me how you got that arm?"

"..In an accident," Ed says, voice edging toward uneasiness. "Then someone made this arm for me. Now, what is--"

"When you and Al were kids, your mother died of illness. In trying to bring her back, you lost your leg and all of Al's body. To bring Al back, you sacrificed your right arm to bind his soul to a suit of armor. You then vowed to do whatever you could to restore your bodies back to their original forms. You joined the military, become the Fullmetal Alchemist, where you met Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist, Armstrong, Hughes, etcetera, et-cetera." Vic looks at Edward boredly, not expecting the reaction he gets.

Ed stares at Vic in stunned horror, eyes wide. They glaze over as the memories burn through him, losing control of his legs and falling onto the desk behind him. He stares at the lower part of the wall, eyes still wide as he speaks, voice barely above a whisper. "How.. how do you know about all of that..?"

Vic watches Ed carefully, unnerved by his reaction. This kid is doing one hell of a good job of imitating Edward, especially with that automail that seems so real. If he didn't know any better, he'd say.. but no, it's impossible. Isn't it?

"..Can you remove your arm?" Vic asks, his voice a bit shaky, surprising himself.

Ed looks up at Vic, and knows that if the man knows this much about himself, Al and their past; revealing the automail is just chump change. He sighs, pulling off his t-shirt to reveal the full automail arm, shoulder and port; he hears Vic gasp at the sight of the port, the scars; but he keeps his gaze on his metal arm, using his left hand to carefully, painfully remove it from the socket. He sets the heavy appendage in his lap, looking up to see Vic staring at it with a mix of horror, amazement, and elation. "..Can you please explain to me what's going on?"

Vic steps forward, touching Ed's automail arm, moving the fingers experimentally. He then dares to look at the automail port, reaches out to touch it--but is stopped by Ed's left hand gently grabbing his wrist. "..Don't."

Vic nods silently, but startles Ed when he raps his knuckles on Ed's left knee, feeling hard metal under them. He stares at Ed, turns around, and places his hand on the wall, leaning against it, clearly overwhelmed. "Edward Elric. The real Edward Elric. I sill think it's not possible."

Ed watches Vic in confusion. "Will you please explain how everyone here knows about me and Al? And our life back home?"

Vic turns around and walks up to Ed, surprising him. "Are you talking about the other side of the Gate?"

"Yes."

"Where alchemy is possible?"

"..Yes.."

"So you're from the other side," Vic mumbles. "You're not from our side."

Ed hesitates before speaking again. "Are.. Are you from the other side? You know so much--"

"Arakawa," Vic says quietly, eyes widening. Arakawa must be from the other side of the gate! To know so much about--

"Arakawa?" Ed stares hard at Vic. "Who, or what, is Arakawa?" Ed readies himself to put his arm back in.

"Hiromu Arakawa," Vic begins, "is the artist and writer behind the Fullmetal Alchemist series. She created.. or at least, novelised your story." He watches as Ed shoves the arm in, biting back a yell, but unable to hide the whimper at the pain. "She.. she might know how this is all possible."

"Where is she?" Ed moves his arm around, not noticing Vic's fascination at the sound of the metal shifting, clinking and whirring.

"Japan," Vic replies, reaching out again to grab the wrist of the automail arm. "But you don't know Japan, right?" he asks, not seeming to be paying attention to his own words as he turns the hand over, really checking out the automail. "It's an Asian country. Kinda like Xing, only Xing is more like China."

"Let's go there immediately," Ed says, not arguing Vic's apparent obsession with his automail. "How soon can we leave?"

"Do you have a passport?"

"..You mean like.. papers to go out of country? You need those here?"

"..You know, if I pull a few strings, I might be able to have Arakawa come here." He releases Ed's automail, realizing what Ed must be thinking. "Until then.. do you have a place to stay?"

"I do. I'm staying with Al in temporary housing." Ed crosses his arms boredly.

"Oh. Oh, no. That won't do. You two are moving in with me."

Ed jumps, eyes widening. "Just like that, you're asking two men to move in with you?!"

"Don't say it like that!" Vic protests. "I'm just saying that I have a nice place to stay, a guest bedroom, and more than enough cash to show the Elric brothers how to really enjoy America."

Ed raises a brow, but gives a tentative nod. "Do you live nearby?"

"I live a town over, actually. It's nice to have a convention close to home for once."

"A what?"

Vic grins. "Anime convention. It's where a bunch of people who like to watch anime gather to buy anime and manga, meet voice actors.. like me; just generally hang out."

"..What is anime?"

"..I see we're going to have to start with the basics."