Okay people, this is really kinda part two to The New Neighbors, but I wanted to get a new title for it, considering that 'The New Neighbors' doesn't really fit anymore. I don't suggest reading this if you haven't already read TNN, but if you really want to, fine. It's okay, as long as you don't leave a review that says, "I don't get it. What's going on? This story's stupid." If people ask nicely, I will give them a summary (if you're lazy) But if you want to read the first part, the id is 3182504. Or don't do either and wallow in your own confusion.

As you all know, AdventureAddict does not in any way own any part of Fullmetal Alchemist. You should know this by now. I said it for all 25 chapters of The New Neighbors. If you do not know this by now, you are either horrible at paying attention or a dimwit. Or maybe even both.

On wit' da show!

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A Strange Arrival

Chapter One – Ed's Assignment

"It's time to wake up, Big Brother! Come on, get out of bed!"

Ed groaned and pulled the pillow down tightly over his head. He'd been getting up faithfully every day for Al for more than a year now, and he was getting sick of it. He wanted to have an entire day to sleep. A day without anybody bugging him about problems in the outside world. He had enough problems to deal with on his own.

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

Robyn's words from so long ago floated across Ed's mind, and he slowly pulled the pillow off his head with an agitated sigh. That one little line that Robyn had said so long ago was what made him continue to climb out of bed every day, even on the days when Mustang wanted to see him.

"Okay, okay, I'm up," Ed muttered as he dragged himself out of bed. Al looked over from across the room.

"You slept with that necklace on again?" he asked, and Ed reached up across his bare chest to feel the guitar pick necklace Robyn had given him still hanging around his neck. He had gotten so accustomed to its feel over the past few moths that he had recently started sleeping with it on.

"Yeah, I slept with it on again," he said softly as he rubbed one of the picks between his two fingers.

"You shouldn't do that, Brother. You could end up breaking one of the picks," Al told him as Ed went over to his suitcase and grabbed his shirt and pants.

"Yeah, I know I could break it," Ed sighed as he stuck his legs into the shiny black pants. "I just forget about it sometimes, that's all." Or maybe a part of him deep down wanted to keep the necklace on all the time.

"Okay," Al sighed as he snapped up the suitcase. "You ready?"

"As soon as I get my gloves," he said after pulling on his black undershirt, and then the long sleeve black shirt on top of that. He was grateful for all his layers in the winter, but he hated them in the summer, no matter how thin the fabric was.

"They're on the nightstand," Al told him. Ed reached over, grabbed them and then pulled them on.

"Kay, let's go," Ed mumbled as he made sure the guitar pick necklace was hidden beneath his shirt. They were going to go see Mustang today, and he didn't want to hear any more crap than he had to.

"You, it's kind of funny, but I don't think we ever stayed in a hotel in Central before this," Al commented as they walked down to the lobby.

"Well that's because we never had a train that got here so late the Military HQ was locked up," Ed answered simply as he paid for their stay. "We only stayed here because we had to. Er-" he looked over at the hotel owner. "No offense!" he added sheepishly.

"None taken," the hotel owner replied as he counted the money Ed had given him. "I wouldn't make enough to put bread on the table if people didn't stay here because they had to."

"Here," Ed said as he handed the man a little extra money. "That's a tip for getting us a room at one in the morning."

"Thank you, Mr. Elric," the man thanked Ed. "It was a pleasure to have two guests that come in late and leave early and still pay the full cost plus a tip!" Al laughed a little at the comment, but Ed still had the same bored expression as they walked out the door.

"You know Brother, I haven't really seen you smile for a while," Al commented.

"A teenager shouldn't have so many worries that they never smile. Hell, even I smile!" Robyn laughed.

"You need to loosen up a little," Al continued, oblivious to Ed's shoulders tensing. "Maybe we could-"

"Do you even remember Robyn?!" Ed finally snapped. Al jumped slightly at the outburst and looked over at Ed.

"Of course I remember her!" he said quickly. "But don't you think that- It's just that- Maybe-" he sighed. "Maybe we should move on with our lives, Brother. We should still remember Robyn, but her death shouldn't mess up our future." Ed snapped his gaze away from Al, his eyes cold. "I'm just trying to- Never mind," Al sighed, and the two continued the rest of the walk in silence.

It surprised Al how quickly the morning had gone from easygoing and laid-back to tense and silent. But that always happened whenever one of them brought up Robyn, he realized. Ed was always secretive and edgy, but he was even more secretive and edgy if Al ever brought up Robyn.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"Hey, Fullmetal."

"Hi, Colonel," Ed sighed. The rest of the military thought that the relationship between Roy and Ed was the same, but they didn't know that seeing Roy was even more painful for Ed than it used to be, because every time he looked at Roy he saw Robyn's dark hair, or the same shape of her eyes, or the same smirk they got when they knew something Ed didn't. It drove Ed crazy. He didn't want to be around Robyn's grandfather all the time; he wanted to be around Robyn.

"I was expecting you yesterday," Roy said, earning a sigh from Ed.

"I know," Ed said angrily. "But the storm yesterday damaged the tracks, so our train came in late."

"Well, then I'm surprised that you're here this early in the morning," Roy said. "Wouldn't they have needed to get cars out there to transport everyone?"

"They would have, if Al hadn't finally managed to wake me up and we both fixed the track together with alchemy," Ed admitted.

"It was hard," Al agreed. "It had to be perfect, or otherwise the train could end up derailing or something."

"Oh," Roy said.

Silence.

Ed and Al had finished their explanation, and Ed didn't feel like making idle chit-chat with Roy, so the three were all quiet, waiting for Roy to explain why he had summoned Ed.

"You guys are from Resembool, right?" Roy asked suddenly, and both boys looked up in surprise.

"Huh?"

"Well, I heard that around this time of year they have their annual 'Harvest Festival,'" Roy explained.

"Oh great," Ed muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"It sounds like fun," Roy said with a smirk, gaining momentum from Ed's reaction. "And you hardly ever take any time off, Ed. So I was thinking that you could have a week off and go enjoy yourself."

"Oh no," Ed said quickly, snapping his head up to look at Roy.

"Why not?" Al asked. "I haven't been to the festival in years. Remember how fun it was, Brother?"

"I don't want a repeat of fourth grade," Ed told Al. "You can go if you want, but I'm not going!"

"What happened in fourth grade?" Roy asked Al curiously.

"You better not," Ed growled.

"Well, the one thing about the Harvest Festival is that everybody has to contribute," Al explained. "Some people bring food, and other people perform. That way, the whole festival is free to anyone who brings something. And back in fourth grade, Ed dropped the pumpkin pie that mom had made him carry, so-"

"Hey!" Ed shouted, but Al finished the sentence anyway.

"They made him sing." Roy barely managed to stifle a laugh as Ed's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he crossed his arms angrily.

"But we could make some little statues or something before we go, and then you won't have to do any kind of performance, Brother," Al told Ed quickly "Can we please go?"

"People always love little statues," Roy commented softly from his desk.

"And what if I drop them again?" Ed asked Al.

"Then we can make some more!" Al said quickly. "Please Brother? Please?" he begged, clutching his hands together. Ed was worried that if he didn't give in soon, Al would fall to his knees to beg more effectively.

"Oh, all right," Ed sighed. "As long as I get some of Mrs. Koslowski's famous apple pie," he added quickly.

"Of course you'll get some of her pie," Al laughed. "She knows how much you love it, and always ends up bringing you a piece."

"So it's settled then!" Roy said as he stood up. "And while you're in the area, I heard that this one guy makes some really great wine for the Festival every year. I would pay you back if you got me a bottle for a date-"

"So that's why you were willing to give me a week off!" Ed shouted angrily. "You don't want me to take it easy for a week, you just want some wine for a girl!" Roy just shrugged innocently.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"I still don't see why we're doing this," Ed muttered as they walked towards the center of town. Ed could already see the banners and hear the sounds of the large crowd. He could even catch a slight scent of some of the foods there.

"It'll be fun," Al reassured him. In his arms was a large box full of their small creations for the fair. "And I bet Winry will be surprised to see us too!"

"Whoo-hoo," Ed said weakly, even though he really was glad to see Winry.

"Oh, Edward! Alphonse!" the man at the entrance of the festival said excitedly. "It's been a while since we've seen you at the Harvest Festival!"

"Yeah, we know," Ed sighed.

"Are you doing food, merchandise or performance?" the man asked. Ed knew from past fairs that the man was there in order to direct people to where they should set up.

"We have merchandise this time," Al told the man, who nodded in understanding.

"Ah yes. We'll all miss your mother's pies," the man sighed. "They were a classic at the festival." He paused for a moment as if he was remembering the pies, then continued, "Merchandise is down at the far end this year. I think there's a nice empty booth that has a clear view of the stage. Have fun, boys."

"Thank you," Al said as they walked in the direction the man had pointed.

They found the booth easily enough, and it really did have a nice view of the stage. All the booths at the festival were made out of solid wood with awnings hanging above them. After the festival, they would be dissembled and put into storage in multiple peoples' barns.

"This is nice," Al said as he put the box down and started unpacking. Ed nodded as a cool fall breeze blew strongly and ruffled through his hair. It wasn't freezing, but the weather was definitely letting them all know that it wasn't summer anymore.

Ed realized that they were late. Everybody else had already set up and started wandering around. The great thing about the Harvest Festival was that since it was free, nobody had to worry about people stealing their wares.

"I'll stay here and you look around," Ed told Al.

"But, Brother! That's no fun!" Al protested. "Come with me!"

"No," Ed said firmly. "It's nice to have someone here in case people ask questions."

Al looked at Ed nervously. "Okay," he said slowly, turning to go. "If you're sure."

"Just go," Ed sighed. "It's not like you're flying off to another country."

"No airplanes here, Brother," Al reminded him gently before walking off to another stand.

"Oh yeah," Ed muttered under his breath.

"Oh, sorry," Al said to a boy about Ed's age he had just bumped into. He seemed a bit flustered by Al, but most people were usually a little unnerved by a huge suit of armor.

"Uh, no… No, it's all right," the boy stammered. "I- I should have been watching where I was going." He then quickly hurried away from Al, a small boy with tousled blond hair trailing behind him. Ed watched curiously as the older boy wandered in his direction.

He looked a little strange, though Ed knew he was hardly one to criticize. The boy had on jeans, but not the Abercrombie and Fitch kind of jeans Ed was used to from America. They had more of a homemade feel to them, since Amestris wasn't yet into making all sorts of different clothes in factories. Ed knew that people had figured out how to make jeans cloth, but it wasn't cheap. The boy's pants must have cost a nice bundle.

Other than the jeans, the boy had typical clothes. He was wearing a loose turquoise t-shirt with an aviator jacket that had seen better days. His dark brown hair was cut short, like most boys his age had. The only thigh other than the jeans that was strange about his was that he was wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day.

The little boy trotting beside him was a bit more peculiar. He had the same sort of normal clothes a boy his age would have – shorts and a plain red t-shirt - but on his hands was a pair of gloves and a set of goggles was clamped on tightly over his eyes.

"Hey Ben, these are cool, huh?" the older boy asked, pointing to the small clay sculptures in front of Ed. "Do you want one?"

"A turtle! A turtle!" Ben screeched happily. The older boy looked up with a smile to ask Ed about turtles, but then suddenly jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry, there's no turtles," Ed told the brown-haired boy, who nodded meekly. "But I can make you one if you want," he then added to Ben, who grinned and clapped his hands together. Ed reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt, which he placed on the counter between him and Ben.

"Okay, is there anything special about this turtle?" Ed asked as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Fangs!" Ben shouted instantly. "And claws!"

"Okay," Ed sighed, wondering if it was even physically possible for a turtle to have fangs or claws. He clapped his hands together and placed them on top of the pile of dirt, and after a flash of light a small turtle sculpture stood there, his fangs bared and claws ready to strike. Ben happily grabbed the turtle with his gloved hands and then knelt in the dirt to play.

"Why does he wear those gloves and goggles?" he asked the older boy, who finally snapped out of his trance and looked down at Ben sadly.

"He's got a rare disorder," he explained to Ed. "He can't feel any pain. He's got to wear the goggles to protect himself. He wouldn't feel a thing if he poked his eye until he went blind just because it was fun. The gloves keep him from scratching too hard."

"I've never heard of that before," Ed commented as Ben scratched one of his arms with a gloved hand.

"I did say it was rare," the older boy said contemptuously. "My name's Thomas," he said, holding a hand out to Ed. "And that's Benjamin."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Ed asked suspiciously. If they were from Resembool, then they must have moved there recently, because Ed could name all the kids his age in Resembool.

"No," Thomas shook his head. "We're heading up to Central. I'm hoping that there's a good doctor up there that might be able to help Ben. The conductor just mentioned the Harvest Festival on the train, so we thought we'd cheek it out."

"I don't know if anybody will be able to help with his… ah… condition," Ed said to Thomas as they watched Ben play with the turtle Ed had made. "Even the best doctors in Central can't change the way a person was born."

"Don't you listen when people talk to you?" Thomas sighed, and Ed looked over at him. "I didn't say that I hoped they could cure him, I just said I hoped they could help him. I'm not wishing for miracles."

"Whatever," Ed sighed, tired of being corrected all the time. He did listen to what people said, he just didn't memorize them word for word like this boy seemed to do. "You know," Ed said slyly to the boy, "If you come to the Harvest Festival, you have to bring something. What did you two bring?"

Thomas gulped.

T-H-I-S—IS—A—D-I-V-D-I-N-G—L-I-N-E

"Al! Hey, Al, over here!" Winry shouted as she quickly darted through the crowd until she finally arrived at Al's side. He was standing in front of a stand with nesting dolls, which he had been looking at intently until Winry had come along.

"I didn't know you and Ed were her for the Harvest Festival!" she said excitedly. "You haven't come to it in years! Where's Ed at?"

"He's over at the booth," Al told Winry. "Come on, I'll show you." He and Winry started walking through the crowds of people, keeping each other close by to prevent themselves from getting separated.

"You know, I'm worried about Ed," Winry suddenly confessed to Al. Al was silent for a moment before he answered.

"So am I," he said slowly, and Winry looked up at him in surprise. She had been expecting that either Al wouldn't see anything wrong with Ed or that he would have a perfectly reasonable explanation for Ed's behavior. "He's been acting funny for almost a whole year now," Al admitted.

"What qualifies as 'funny' for you?" Winry asked, and when Al looked down at her, she quickly explained, "It's just that you're around him much more than I am. I figured you would know more of the stuff he's doing."

"Oh," Al said. After a moment of thought he started listing off different things that Ed had started doing differently. "Well, he's been more touchy than he used to be, he really hates getting up in the morning, he's been muttering to himself, he tried to bake cookies once-"

"Ed tried baking cookies?!" Winry laughed, Al nodded, deciding to keep the last behavior to himself. Winry collected herself, and then continued worriedly, "What happened to make him so upset?" she pondered, "I noticed that he was acting like this a little bit back when we found you on the docks in Goarhausen, but I thought he was just upset from being cut off from communications for so long." Winry was silent for a moment, trying to think of what could make Ed so upset as Al worriedly wrung his hands. So far Winry didn't know where the boys had really disappeared off to, but Al didn't want her to find out just yet.

"I don't know," Winry finally shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever understand Ed. Maybe he's pregnant," she suggested with a laugh.

"Somehow, I don't think so," Al laughed.

"Are you sure?" Winry teased playfully, "Has he had any weird requests for food?"

"Oh my gosh, there was that time he wanted ice cream for breakfast!" Al gasped jokingly, and Winry laughed.

"No, I think that's the normal part of Ed," she chuckled, and Al joined in.

"He didn't bring anything!" they suddenly heard the familiar voice of Ed cry out. Al looked over the crowd and saw Ed pointing accusingly to a boy with short brown hair. Al sighed. Maybe Ed was feeling better; he was starting to act like himself again.

The crowd of people clustered around Ed and Thomas started yelling at Thomas that he had to perform, and the skinny boy was quickly backed up against the stage nervously.

"Okay, I'll perform!" Thomas assured the crowd, who then burst into cheers. "I'll just need a minute to get my stuff together." The people around him nodded, agreeing that this was a reasonable request. Thomas sighed and then called out, "Ben! Get over here for a minute!" the small blond-haired boy quickly grabbed his turtle in one arm and hurried over to Thomas' side.

"I need to borrow your gloves," Thomas said softly to Ben. "Just for a minute."

"Are you going to do alchemy again?" Ben asked excitedly, making Ed and Al both look up from their spots at the back of the crowd curiously.

"Just a little bit," Thomas assured Ben as he pulled the gloves carefully off Ben's hands. "Now, be careful not to scratch yourself," he warned Ben.

"I know, I know," Ben sighed. "I'll be careful."

"Okay," Thomas smiled as he turned the gloves inside out and slid them onto his own hands. Ed could see from his position that they now had transmutation circles on them. Clever. Transmutation circles on the inside so that people wouldn't notice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Thomas shouted as he quickly climbed onto the stage. "You are in for the performance of a lifetime! I have performed this show many times in different cities across the country! And because of the extreme kindness this city has shown us, I will now be performing it for you!" The people watching him burst into wild applause, but Ed stood still, waiting for the alchemy to begin.

"Now," Thomas said as he surveyed the crowd. "Are there any large pieces of wood around?" the crowd looked around quickly.

"There's some spare boards from building the stage right here!" one man shouted upwards.

"Excellent!" Thomas said happily. "If you would be so kind as to pass them up here." The man held the boards up to Thomas, who carefully took them. "These are just about the size I need," Thomas said as he approvingly looked over the boards. Each one was about half an arm's length. Thomas put all but one of the boards on the ground next to him.

"And now," he said, holding the board away from him. He raised the other hand and quickly snapped. "Let there be light!" he yelled, and the board caught fire like it was a torch. Ed rolled his eyes. He couldn't count how many times he had seen Roy do that, and this boy seemed to think he was so special.

"If you would please hold that for me," Thomas said as he held the board out to a man in the first row. He then lit two other boards, giving one to an audience member in front.

"Now," he said, motioning for the two people in front to give him his other torches. "It is one thing to light a piece of wood," he said as he carefully grabbed the other two in one hand, being careful not to burn anyone. He then threw them up in the air and started juggling them. His dark eyes were concentrating deeply, the bright flames reflecting in them. "But is another thing entirely," he said while keeping his gaze on the rotating torches, "To put. Them. Out!" he said, puffing on a torch with each word and extinguishing it. The crowd burst into cheers, and Thomas took a bow.

"For my next trick, I want you all to huddle in close together," Thomas told the people, who obediently knitted tightly together.

"That's it, don't be shy," Thomas said approvingly, motioning for them to get close together. "This trick will be a bit harder with all these stalls around, so I'm going to need all the space I can get." Ed nervously walked into the circle, finding himself between Al and Winry.

"That's it," Thomas muttered softly, and then snapped both his fingers simultaneously. A wall of fire surrounded the audience and the stage, its heat growing and stretching it upward until it formed a dome around the people.

"Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" Thomas asked the crowd, pulling uncomfortably at his collar. The crowd laughed, and then the dome quickly vanished. But a ring of charred grass remained on the ground around the people, looking unnaturally circular. Almost as if someone could go right in and start a huge transmutation circle, Ed thought silently to himself.

"I'm a bit tired today," Thomas told the crowd. "So I'll only perform one more trick for you today." The crowd groaned. "But I promise it will be a good trick!" Thomas assured the crowd, and they quickly perked up. "Now, I need a volunteer from the audience," he said as he scanned over the faces.

"I'll do it!" Winry quickly shouted, raising her hand high in the air. Ed and Al both turned to look at her with surprised looks on their faces.

"Excellent!" Thomas said happily. "Would you please come up here, Miss?" Winry carefully walked around the crowd and up to the stage, where Thomas held out a hand to help her up. He said something to her softly enough that no one could hear him, and Winry whispered something back.

"Okay, everyone, this is Winry," Thomas said. Winry smiled and waved slightly to the crowd. "I want you all to study Winry very carefully," he ordered, and the crowd leaned intently forward, staring at Winry's smiling face. "Memorize every detail you can," Thomas said as he began to pace up and down the stage. "I want you all to be able to picture Winry in your minds, accurate down to how many earrings she has in which ears."

Everyone quickly took note of how many earrings Winry had.

"Are you ready yet?" Thomas asked the crowd after a moment of silent concentration.

"Yes," a few people said softly, while the rest of the crowd nodded.

"Okay," Thomas said with a bit of excitement in his voice. "You can step down now," he told Winry, who carefully stepped off the stage. Thomas closed his eyes in concentration for a minute, and the crowd leaned forward in anticipation.

Thomas suddenly opened his eyes and snapped his fingers. A fire duplicate of Winry formed itself out of thin air, hovering slightly over the stage so it wouldn't burn the wood. The crowd carefully looked over the fire Winry for a minute.

Ed didn't want to admit it, but the fire Winry looked just like the real one. It was as if Winry was being covered in flames and eaten alive. (Not one of the most pleasant thoughts for Ed) Thomas had even made sure he got Winry's earrings right, since he had mentioned it. Four in her right ear, and two in her left.

"Does this look like Winry?" Thomas asked the crowd. After being greeted by silence, he yelled, "Let's get Miss Winry back up here!" Winry carefully climbed back onto the stage, getting as close to the fire version of herself as she could without getting hot.

"It looks just like her!" a man shouted, and the rest of the crowd roared their agreement.

"Ah, but can your Winry do this?" Thomas asked with a twinkle in his eye. The fire Winry suddenly broke into dance, making the crowd burst into laughter. Even Winry herself started laughing and clapping her hands to the imaginary tune as she watched the fire version of herself dance merrily around, still hovering a few inches above the stage. Then the fire Winry zoomed off into the sky as if she was Superman, and disappeared with a poof after flying a few feet away from the crowd.

The people turned back to look at Thomas and burst into applause. Thomas smiled at them and took a bow as Ed stared at the stage with a dumbstruck look on his face.

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Yay Thomas! I really did want to put more tricks in there, but it was getting kinda long. But I had loads of fun writing up Thomas' performance… And Kairi mentioned that in chap 23 I had Robyn looking out the window when SHE HAS NO EYES! Ergh. Okay, I really am sorry for that mistake, it was stupid. I should realize when my characters are BLIND or NOT. Raaah! It was late, and apparently I was tired. (I didn't think so at the time) On a side note, I now have the sign language alphabet memorized, so I can spell out messages with Ed! That is, if he ever shows up again… After stealing my computer to write a chapter he just kinda… disappeared… meeeep…