I will warn you now: sometimes I get into arguments with Edward for one reason or another.

Ed: That is not true!

Me: Yes it is and you know it! Must I give them an example, or will you be quiet and let me finish?

Ed: I will be quiet when you start the fanfic...

Me: See what I mean? Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own FMA or any of its original characters. But I DO own my characters and they come into the story next chapter! At least, some of them do anyway...

Ed: Now can you start the fanfic?

Me: Yeah! ENJOY!

Episode 1: Return

2 months after the attack on Central:

"Well, here we are," said Ed, as they walked up to the hotel. It wasn't a very...sturdy looking place, but it was the only hotel in that town.

"Are you sure?" asked Al.

"Yeah, I'm sure..." A piece of the roof fell off and landed in an alley with a loud BANG! "...I think." finished Ed.

As they walked through the front door they realized the inside looked slightly worse than the outside. The front desk was covered in empty or broken beer bottles and the man behind it was asleep, having had too many beers. The bell on the desk was old and rusted. Probably never even used. There were cobwebs in almost every corner and the floors were pretty dusty. Ed and Al were having second thoughts, and were about to leave, when the man behind the desk was startled.

"WHADDA YA THINK YUR DOIN'?" he yelled, as he started to hit something with an empty beer bottle. "THAT'LL TEACH YA NOT TO WAKE ME UP! Damn dirty rats. Whadda ya want?" he said when he saw the brothers and finished complaining.

Ed found himself unsure. "Uuuuuuuuhh..."

"We need a room sir. Just for the night," explained Al, although he was a little unsure whether he should have said anything or not. The man turned around, grabbed a key, and tossed it to Ed, who at the last second came out of his mindless state and caught the key. Al bowed and said, "Thank you, sir," and they headed to their room.

The man grumbled and settled back into his spot behind the counter. "Humph, midgets."

"A MIDGET, HUH?! COULD A MIDGET DO THIS?! NO ONE CALLS ME A MIDGET! I'LL SHOW YOU A MIDGET! WHAT ELSE YA WANT TO CALL ME, A SHORTNOSED, SHRIMPY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!" Ed yelled as he pummeled the drunkard a great deal before somehow kicking him into the next district. Obviously, some things hadn't changed.

It was probably the nicest room in the entire hotel. No dust, no cobwebs, no mouse or rat holes, not to mention the windows were clean. Al sat his stuff down on his bed and ran to the window. Ed sat his things down as well and just stared at his little brother, remembering all the fun times they'd had as kids. Al was wearing clothes similar to what Edward was and had been wearing for 2 years and 2 months now. Al had cut his hair short again, but it had begun to grow back. Ed hadn't changed his appearance in any way. Through the window, a small field and the woods could be seen.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Al asked suddenly and he looked back at his brother, who stood there with a sad look on his face. Ed wasn't sure if he should be honest or lie. With a smile, Ed said, "Sure, maybe." Al smiled and looked back out the window.

3 hours 'til midnight The Rockbell's house:

That night, back in 1917 on the other side of the gate, Winry was up late working on a new model of Edward's arm. Even though she thought they'd never come back, she couldn't think of doing anything else. The problem was she was so busy thinking about Ed and Al that she didn't realize she'd made some errors in the design. In fact, when she did notice, it was too late to go back and fix it. Overall, it looked great, but it was too thin; kind of feminine looking, really. Winry sighed and finished the arm. She'd done the same thing with the leg, too.

"...I miss them," she said. She didn't realize that her grandmother had gone to bed an hour ago. She made some last adjustments, put the automail limbs away, and headed for bed. Before she could reach the stairs, there was a knock on the door. Winry opened the door to find Roy Mustang standing on her porch.

Back in Germany, 1923:

Meanwhile, Al sat staring out the window while Ed tightened a loose screw. They had gotten into an argument earlier that day, and had ended up wrestling each other in the process. Sometime during the fight, a screw had popped out of place and Edward's right hand had gone limp.

"Brother...I've been thinking..." Al said.

"…About what?" Ed asked, after tightening the screw.

"Going home," and at that, Edward froze. Al turned and looked at his brother. "I think I know how to get us back home," Ed continued fixing his hand. "All we have to do is-"

"I know what you're thinking, and it won't work," Edward interrupted.

"But brother-" Al tried to continue, but Ed stood up suddenly and slammed his good hand on the table he'd brought up.

"Darn it, Al, I've told you before! We can't use alchemy on this side of the gate." Al waited for Edward to calm down again before saying, "Not alone..." Ed turned and stared at his little brother. Then, he calmly sat down, sighed, and said, "What do you mean?"

"Two months ago, before I came here with you, I told Roy to go to Winry's and draw a transmutation circle on her floor and activate at midnight tonight. At that exact same time we would do the same. The gate would open like before, we'd pass through, and be back home by at least 12:01." Al paused and waited for a response. Ed just sat there, staring at him. He'd really thought this out. After he explained the plan in more detail, they took the next 2 hours and 55 minutes to gather everything they would need for the transmutation: chalk, a flock of sheep that, 4 suits of armor, 2 suitcases containing their clothes and belongings, and Edward wrote a letter to Noa, who was supposed to meet them at the hotel the next morning. With it, he left the screw from his hand that he had fixed earlier. It explained where they'd gone, why, and the fact that they wouldn't be coming back; as well as other things.

Back at Winry's, Roy had prepared as well, although in a slightly different way. While drawing the circle, he explained everything to Winry, who was shocked, yet thrilled, to hear that Ed and Al were coming back.

In a clearing in the woods, Ed and Al finished drawing the circle and then quickly put their stuff in 2 of the suits, placed the flock on the circle (don't ask how), put all 4 suits in the center, and got inside the empty suits, taking off the hands so they could activate the circle. As it reached closer to midnight, they all waited quietly and patiently in their places.

"Ok, ready?" Ed asked. Al nodded and readied himself to activate the circle. Ed did the same.

Al started the countdown. "3..."

"2..." Roy counted on his side.

"...1!" Ed cried as all 3 clapped and activated their circles. The next few moments were a blur as sheep disappeared, lights flashed, and a falling sensation ended abruptly with a loud BOOM! BANG! CLANG, as the suits hit the wooden floor of Winry's dining room. It was quiet for awhile before Winry said, "Ed…Al…that you?" At the sound of her voice, Al threw off the helmet and quickly crawled out of the opening while Ed kicked open the chest plate. Both of them looked at Winry and smiled. Winry, almost in tears, threw herself to her knees and hugged them both. They were finally home.

The next day was a happy one indeed. Ed and Al told Winry, Roy, and Pinako of their time in Germany, Winry showed Ed the automail she'd been working on, and everyone got to enjoy eggs, bacon, and juice for breakfast, and stew for lunch. Edward was scolded when Winry found out about the missing screw and replaced it, of course, and Roy told stories about the last 2 months back at Central…which were quite entertaining by the way. Ed, Al, and Winry even got to go down to the river and do something they hadn't done since they were kids: play. The next day, Roy returned to Central and that day ended just like the day before. That night, Winry told Ed and Al of a city she'd heard about recently.

"Hyda? Never heard of it," said Edward, confused.

"It's a city about a 2 days train ride from here," said Alphonse. "They've had some major problems in the last 2 years. A flood, 3 fires, 6 severe thunder storms with no rain, a drought, constant animal attacks, and some witnesses say they've seen large monsters of some sort in the middle of each disaster and a large dog of some kind involved in the attacks."

"Half of the city is nothing but ruins now," Winry added. Edward stared at the floor, thinking over everything he'd just heard. That city had too many problems for them to be natural.

"Hmmmmm… Al, I think we need to check this place out."

-----------

"You just got back and you're leaving already?" asked Winry. Ed and Al had already loaded their things onto the train and had come back out to say goodbye before they left.

"We're sorry Winry. We would stay longer, but this sounds too important to just forget about," said Al.

"There could be an alchemist involved and we can't let more people get hurt," Ed added, "Besides, we'll be back."

"Well, come back in one piece, ok?" said Winry.

"We will." Ed and Al chimed. With that, they said their goodbyes and got on the train. Before the train began to pick up speed, Al said, "Oh! I almost forgot..." He reached in his pocket, stuck his head through a window, called to Winry and tossed her something small and shiny. They both waved goodbye and closed the window, taking their seats as the train picked up speed.

"Want to play a few games of cards?" Al proposed.

Ed grinned. "You're on!"

Winry watched the train disappear before looking down at what Al had tossed her: a ring made of polished automail with the words "Love You" carved into the inner side.

Me: Well, that's episode 1. I'll post episode 2 in a couple weeks. I already have it typed up, but I want to see how this goes first. Please rate and review!-

Ed: *YAWN* Can I go to bed now?

Me: I never said you couldn't go to bed, Edward.

Ed: Yeah, well you tend to keep talking to me at night which keeps me up…

Me: I do not! Anyway, see ya next episode!

Ed: I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN?!

Me: Yep! For another 30 or more episodes!

Ed: ...I'm going to bed. G' Night!

Me: Would you like some milk before bed?

Ed: KEEP THAT VILE WHITE LIQUID AWAY FROM ME! IT'S THE DRINK FROM HELL! *Slams bedroom door shut*

Me: Geez! *gulps down milk* It's just milk. I think I'll trick him into drinking it, next time. Anyway, please rate and review!