Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Fullmetal Alchemist

It was windy out, rustling through the golden hair of a short young man as he stood on the deck of a boat, gazing out thoughtfully at the dark waters below. Waves crashed against the wooden sides of the small ship, rocking it and the two people within as they traveled towards their destination. The young man stood tall, his pony tail blowing behind his back as he focused on just what lay ahead of him. He had journeyed far, searching more and more into alchemy and doing his best to aid other countries suffering because of the science, and now, it was time to return home. He had been back a few times over the past few years, but his search never ended. Al and Winry would be in Resembool, waiting for him, that was something he was certain of after his most recent journey in search of information.

Steering the ship was a silent woman, a dark violet cloak covering her body and her head. The only thing visible when Ed first met her was a wisp of white hair, straying out just beyond the hood of her cloak. Like most people, she was taller than the ex-alchemist, but she seemed knowledgable and her price for travel to Amestris had been quite reasonable. Thus, Edward had found himself on her ship, traveling back to his home country after the time he had spent away.

"Hey, are we getting close yet? I don't remember it taking this long for me to get out of Amestris." Edward complained, bored of just standing in a boat and waiting for this trip to end. Even with the wind pushing them forward strongly, it was beginning to get cloudy, rumbling off in the distance as a sign of a storm on its way.

The sailor simply smiled at him, an expression hidden underneath the darkness of her hood as she turned towards him. "Have patience, we shall be arriving at our destination shortly." she declared, while Edward sighed, leaning against the edge of the boat with a look of annoyance on his face. These trips were interesting once he arrived at a country, but he always hated the travel. Without Al with him, there was nothing to do to entertain himself, and he wasn't nearly tired enough to sleep the entire time.

Off in the distance, Edward could just barely make out the sight of land, something that made him stand up a bit straighter, interested now that he could see their destination. The faint image of land was in front of them, nothing but an outline at this point, but it would soon grow to have details of buildings and trees, as well as a port at which to land. "I see it! Man, you weren't kidding, we really were close to Amestris." Edward stated, realizing that he had complained for nothing. Maybe he should apologize to the girl, but at the moment, he just didn't feel like it. He was looking forward to seeing Winry and eating her apple pie, with Al by his side once more. Just imagining the smell of it made his mouth water, eager for food and his friends as the boat made its way closer to the port.

"Amestris, did you say?" the sailor commented, making Edward frown, turning towards the girl. "Well, I must admit, it is a strange name for a country. I have never even heard of such a land before." she added, this time leaving Ed staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wait, what? You said you were taking me there! Damn it, just who the hell are you anyway?" Ed demanded, angry for the deception. He had stepped forward, closer to the girl with his arms crossed over his chest, a stern expression on his face as he glared over at the sailor. She stood her ground, however, standing calmly and confidently before him as the boat stopped, docking at the harbor nearby and leaving them staring each other down at the port, with a few onlookers staring into the ship with frowns of confusion.

The sailor stepped out of the boat, grabbing Edward's shirt by the collar to drag him out after her. He stumbled a bit, unprepared for her to be so forceful or for her to have any kind of strength at all. "That is unimportant, for I have a mission for you instead." she insisted, pulling down her hood as she turned towards him with a smile.

Edward was surprised by what he saw. Based on the strands of white hair Ed had seen before, he had expected to see an elderly woman underneath, frail and weak. Instead, she was young, and her hair was actually quite short, framing her face perfectly in a bob cut with blue eyes. "It took me a while to figure this out, to discover how to use the magic of this world." she stated calmly, her hand outstretched towards Edward, her arm remaining covered by the cloak she still wore.

Edward was beginning to realize that this girl was a threat, that he had to get away from her and find a weapon to fight. He hadn't expected to meet any enemies, not so soon. His last country had been a peaceful place, they hadn't even heard of alchemy and welcomed him with open arms. Edward could not think of a single action he had performed that would have resulted in an enemy, but it seemed as if he had missed something along the way. "Magic, are you insane? There's no such thing as magic, stop with this stupidity and just tell me what's going on!" Ed demanded, grabbing her arm and shoving her back, seeing nothing happen.

The girl collapsed on the ground, falling back and bracing the fall with her arms, scraping her skin as she barely managed to keep her back from colliding with the wooden ground of the deck they stood on. People jumped out of her way as she fell, looking only mildly surprised at the start of a fight in the harbor. "You are the one ignorant of this world, then." the girl claimed, sitting up slowly. She began to straighten her cloak, which had fallen open from her fall, revealing a short, form-fitting black dress underneath. Now covered once more, the girl rose to her feet and stared directly into Ed's eyes, not backing down quite yet.

Edward prepared to dodge as her hand was raised once more, but no weapon appeared, nor did she move to hit him like he thought she would. These people were insane, believing magic was real when it broke all the rules of science and alchemy. He might not use that skill anymore, but he knew that it was impossible to gain something without giving something in return. "My specialty is Entrapment Magic, it allows me to trap my opponent in any cage I deem fitting for them. Your cage is this country, Edward Elric, and it will remain so until you complete the job I have for you." the girl insisted.

Edward laughed at her words, seeing this as just some cruel joke. Something strange shot out of her hand just as he began laughing though, a dark blue light that surprised Edward. It flew through the air, almost moving like water would in a river, rushing quickly towards Edward and surrounding his body. It wasn't a painful experience, but it was a terrifying sight to see, as Edward held his hands out in front of his face to make sure he wasn't just imagining this. Blue lights surrounded his skin, dancing along it before focusing on the back of his hand, a dark blue mark remaining that made Edward's eyes widen. It looked like a bird cage, a dome shaped icon with bars locking away the emptiness inside.

"What the…what the hell was that? That's…it's just not…." Edward began, backing away slowly. He didn't notice that he was still standing at the edge of the dock, about to fall off until he felt something sting his hand, a burning sensation that made him scream and fall forward towards the ground. That mark, the one on his hand, was causing this scalding pain to his hand, and it was spreading quickly. As soon as he fell on the dock, however, the pain vanished as if nothing had happened, leaving Edward staring at the mark with wide eyes.

The girl gazed at him sadly, looking rather upset with him as she glanced down at him. "I am sorry for this, I never wished to harm you, but I still need your help." she insisted, kneeling down before him. "You see, I am not from this world, in fact, I never should have come here in the first place. My name is Lisana, and I need you to destroy the one responsible for trapping me in this world. His name is Zeref, and I will not rest until he is destroyed along with everyone he has ever cared about."

Edward glanced up at her, before shakily pushing himself up off of the ground. As soon as he was back on his feet, he began running his hands over his pants, getting the dust off of himself as he focused back on the girl in front of him. "Why me? I get it, you need help, but why pick a stranger for the job? Sorry, but I don't follow orders well, and I'm not a huge fan of yours, Witch." he stated, hating that he had to acknowledge her power over magic. The cloak may have hidden a philosopher's stone, but even with one, a transmutation like this simply wasn't possible. You couldn't just force the body's nerves to send pain signals at will, when crossing a certain barrier. That was why he knew that this girl was aware of some other form of power, something similar to alchemy yet different in every way.

Lisana nodded towards him, looking sad as she turned towards town, walking forward without even looking to see if he was following behind her. Seeing that she was moving, Edward quickly began to catch up, looking irritated with this girl for her mysterious attitude and actions. "Everyone here is a stranger to me, regardless of who they appear to be. You seemed a lot like me, though, searching for a way home to a place that no one knows exists. Amestris, that is a country I have never once heard mentioned in this world, so I assumed you must have been brought here like I was, torn away through a portal and taken to an entirely different world." she explained.

Edward's eyes were wide as he stared at her, wondering just what she could be talking about. There couldn't be another world out there, it just didn't make sense. No evidence had been seen of other dimensions, at least, not that he was aware of. Even if he considered the place he went during his human transmutations, it wasn't somewhere that anyone could come out from, and it definitely wasn't a place anyone would want to return to. "Yeah right, like I'd believe that load of crap. Tell me the real reason, or I'm gonna find my own way out of this place." Edward insisted, watching the girl stare at him with wide eyes.

"But…I'm telling you the truth." she whispered, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Water was welling in her crystalline eyes, making the blue in them seem even deeper than before. "My family thinks I'm dead, I fell off of a cliff and was saved by the portal! Even with my life saved, all I wanted was to go back. I begged him to do so, the man that brought me here. All he would tell me was that his experiment had failed, and he left without another word." she insisted, now on the verge of sobbing. "It took me years to even find his name, the name of the wizard who brought me here, and after everything I learned, I know he has to be stopped! Everyone thinks he is dead, but I know better!" she shouted, practically in Edward's face as she stepped closer to him with every statement of her tirade. Her hands had reached out, gripping Edward's shoulders tightly and making the ex-alchemist a bit uncomfortable, wanting her to step back and give him some space at least.

She still did not do so, pleading with him as she gazed into his eyes, looking absolutely miserable. Edward didn't really know what to do, though, still lost on just what she wanted from him. Sure, finding this Zeref guy was one thing, but Edward still had his own morals. He would not take away anyone's life, regardless of what they had done or how evil they may be. "Uh, right. Well, that's nice and all, but maybe we should just calm down a bit, get some rest and—" Edward began, patting her head and trying to get her to at least calm down slightly.

His words seemed to backfire, the girl's sad expression turning into one of anger as she glared at him, slapping his face and cutting him off. "Shut up! I'm not crazy, I'm telling you the truth! I was there, when he died, I saw him come back. They were both gone, vanishing from sight as they died, and everyone left, thinking the war was over." she was saying, making Ed wonder just what had happened. There had been a war going on, one he hadn't even heard of. Just where was he anyway? "I stayed, though, and watched as they came back. They looked as if nothing had happened, and they were actually smiling, as if they had won. I can't stand thinking of that look on his face….the fact that he got a chance to be happy, while I am stuck here, suffering and alone." she insisted.

Edward sighed, letting his hands drop to his side as the girl still directly in front of him, her face just inches away from his even though she had released him. "So, let me get this straight. In order to find this Zeref guy, you are trapping someone away from their home, and forcing me to go through all of this crap too? That doesn't make any sense! How is it any better if we're both miserable and stuck in this stupid place!" Edward demanded, watching as Lisana blinked in surprise, before leaning back and glancing at the ground. Her right arm wrapped over her stomach, reaching to grab her left arm which hung loosely at her side. To Edward, it simply looked like a bulge in her cloak, slightly parting the front of it and revealing a slight hint of skin underneath.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." she whispered, her lose hand slowly clenching itself into a fist beneath her cloak. "Still, I can't free you, not when I sense so much power within you. I can just feel it, that you are the only one capable of finding him for me. Please, I'm begging you, find Zeref and help me end this suffering!" Lisana begged, her eyes now dry as she gazed into his own. Her expression remained sad and pleading, desperate for help from anyone.

Seeing that look, Edward couldn't help but think of his own past, of back when he thought he had lost everything himself. He had done some stupid things as a result, attempting to break the laws of alchemy and then again when he gave up part of his own body to keep Al by his side. While he did not regret either decision, Edward knew that there had been better paths to follow, other ways to deal with grief. This girl was just looking for her own way, desperate to get her family back just like he had been. "Alright, I'll help you." Edward said at last, watching the girl's expression transform. Her eyes widened and the corners her mouth lifted ever so slightly, hopeful over Ed's words. "But, I have one condition. I refuse to kill Zeref, or anyone else we encounter on the way to him. All life is valuable, even if the guy is the biggest asshole the world has ever seen, he deserves to live."

Lisana smiled brightly then, walking over cheerfully and clinging to Edward's arm as she dragged him deeper into the city. "Great! Then come on, I've got so much to show you! Right now, we're in Hargeon, but the real fun happens when we get to Magnolia. That's where Fairy Tail is, oh, but I almost forgot! I can't show my face there, that's where the other me is!" Lisana was saying, her words going on and on, only leaving Ed more confused than ever. Even so, Edward found himself strangely liking this girl, rather friendly now that she wasn't attacking him. Maybe this job wouldn't be as much of a pain as he originally thought. He just hoped Winry didn't kill him when he got back, considering how late he was going to be now. Edward couldn't help but shudder at the thought, just imagining the feeling of a wrench colliding with his head as he entered the door of his home.

I'm back! After so many requests for this story to continue on, I've created a sequel. I don't plan on this being as tragic as the original, and but it will be a little bit longer. For anyone interested, I've created a Facebook page to keep everyone up to date on my writing. Updates for my stories still come based on number of reviews, so let me know what you think if you want to see quicker updates!