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Gateways

Chapter 2: Wrong Landing

Ed's lungs felt like they were about to burst. He fell with a loud thud, his back hitting hard against the earth, with dust flying about, landing in his eyes and golden hair. He could feel the faint familiar thrum of alchemy running across his skin, seeping into the ground, almost a static-like feeling, yet comfortable.

Forcing one eye open, Ed glanced at his surroundings. The air was musty, but tinged with a scent of freshness, and a slight breeze stirred his attention upwards. Well, he was down one deep hole apparently. The walls were mostly covered with green vines leading up into the blue sky, the only thing visible. Standing up, he dusted himself off as best he could, and glanced about. First things first, get out of this hole, and then wonder what on earth had happened to land him here.

Taking an inquisitive look at the vines, Ed gave them a harsh yank. Besides the fact that it only earned him more dirt the vines held firmly. Sighing, Ed gave his automail a slight disapproving look before turning back to the thin greenery in his hands and muttering "You'd better be able to hold up good."

It wasn't a harsh climb, he might've not been traipsing over the country the way he did back in the old days, but that by no means meant that he was out of shape. The teachings of Izumi were not wasted as he still practiced her diligent exercise routines.

With a final 'thump', Ed pushed himself out of what he'd already assumed was a well and landed on the fresh grass beneath him. Taking a moment to breath and after removing the now squished up pieces of greenery from in between his mechanical digits, Ed stood up again to glance at his surroundings. To say that it didn't leave a hollow pang in his chest would've been a lie, -the vast expanse of greenery around him reminded him so much of Resembool, and of the in which he'd traveled across countryside's with his brother.

Snapping to his senses, Ed tilted his head upward, further ahead there was a blot in the sky. It was getting closer, and quickly.

"Well, that's odd" huffed Ed, there was a particularly bright red dot in the distance too, closer than the other hovering pale thing. What striked him odd was the particular pattern of it's flight…if it could be called that. Looked more like it was jumping up and down and up…and..

Too close!

A giant boomerang had been coming right at him. The sound of something whizzing over his head alerted him to that fact that he was being shot at. Taking a leap himself, Edward jumped back up to the lip of the well, balancing perfectly on the edge, arms poised defensively in front of him.

"What's your problem?" he shouted. "You psychotic flying fluff!" narrowing his eyes Ed could now see other figures on top of the 'flying fluff'.

Abruptly, that it nearly startled Ed of the edge, a man clad in red, with abnormally long silver hair landed in front of him. Golden irises studied him intensely, smirking, Ed responded. "Nice choice, I like red too." Shortly thereafter, Inuyasha found himself with a bloody nose.

"Hey, you squirt!" he huffed. "What was that for?"

"Your friend over there threw that giant thing at me and-!" he responded "Wait, who're you calling SQUIRT?"

"Inuyasha!" diverting the attention from the growing tension of the usages of the word 'squirt', Kagome placed herself neatly next to Inuyasha. Several paces away, Kirara and the rest of her passengers were landing, all of them throwing odd glances in Ed's direction.

After rather odd introductions and much convincing that InuYasha was not a chimera, and that niehter was Kirara, Kagome set about telling Ed her story - which he accepted because his story was just as unbelievable.

"I see, so you do not come from Kagome-sama's era, our timeline?"

"Yes and no. I come from her era, but several years back in the second Great War"

"But?"

"But I'm not from this universe. I don't belong in this world."

"How so?" Ed sighed. He didn't really want to explain, seeing as how he wasn't sure he should trust these people quite yet. But they believed him so far, and that's only because of their companion who shares a somewhat similar story to his. Minus the whole other universe thing…

"I come from place where things are based, not on mechanical scientific advancement, but rather on Alchemy."

"Alchemy?" piped in Kagome, "Isn't that the stuff of legends, it said that's how we began our chemistry, but moved on to other things."

Vaguely, Ed thought her statement about legends was ridiculous. She was next to a dog demon for alchemy's sake.

"Yes, in this world it is considered legend. However, in my world that's the main development area of research. My world revolves around alchemy."

"Could you do a demonstration?" inquired Miroku.

"No, your world is not the same…"

"But you performed alchemy which is what brought you here, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Hey Kagome…do you feel that?" said Inuyasha who had been lurking in the hut's corner very decisively trying to ignore the runt that smashed his nose in, and then had the gall to call him a chimer-who knows what-thing.

Wrinkling her nose in concentration Kagome let out a gasp about the same time Miroku and Sango did. There were demons approaching. Having being so wrapped up in Ed's story she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings.

"You should stay here," Kagome said, rising to grab her bows and arrows before climbing unto Inuyasha's back, "We'll be back soon."

"Like hell, I'm staying here."

"But Elric-sama" Miroku commented, "It will be dangerous out there"

"I can take a few kicks" Ed said sending a glare in his direction.

"Keh, if the kid wants to get his ass kicked let him go."

Mirkou furrowed his brow and then nodded. "Alright."

Ed didn't have too much of a hard time keeping up, he'd done more than enough running with Al back in those days.

Yes, he was surprised when hordes of things he couldn't even begin to describe began to ascend on them. But what none of them had been prepared for was that before anyone could do anything a loud boom echoed across the land along with a series of crackling sounds and bright flashes that emanated from the well, again. This created mass confusion for the demons who just like the humans below them, could feel the surge of power building up and bursting out then building up again and etc.

With a final ear piercing shriek, all was silent again.

For a few seconds anyways. With the demons howling in pain, the group re-set their priorities and set off to check the well first instead, with only Sango and Kirara to keep off the demons that would try to chase them.

Ed could hear loud coughs and grunts of exclamation and pain. Thoroughly unrecognizable, until one voice rose above all the others.

"Hellooo?!"

It was a voice that Ed would've been able to recognize anywhere, a voice that set a turbulent of emotions rushing through his veins.

"Alphonse!"

Hey Everyone! I know this story is slow going right now. I think. But I hope to start getting things rolling. Sort of. Anyways! I'd really appreciate reviews! So if you'd be so kind as to leave me one and tell me what you think or if there's anything you don't like or anything at all you feel like commenting! Flame me if you want even, but tell me something! so go review please! I beg you!