Okay, I'm really sorry the first chapter was short (All puns aside). I didn't have much time to write, and I wanted to get this out fast...yeah. So now Ed's in Death City, Eruka and Free are in Central...what could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: Most likely anyone who calls Ed short. Oh, and

Welcome to Death City:
An Alchemist at the DWMA?

The first thing Ed noticed when he awoke was a dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head. He tried to recall what had happened and how he'd ended up in a hospital bed, but the memories were fuzzy at first...he knew he'd tried to sneak into Lab 5, that he'd found the transmutation circle in the center of that room, and without warning, had been pulled through the Gate. Then the falling, and finally blacking out after feeling a sharp blow to the head. That explains the headache, he thought, but how am I here?

"So this is the kid they found konked out in a dumpster, huh?"

"Ha ha, what was he doing in a dumpster! That little blond kid's funny!"

Ed jolted up in bed. "Hey who the hell are you calling a half-pint bean-sprout pipsqueak you jerk?"

"Uh, I guess he's awake then," said Liz. "Try to take it easy there, okay? You took a pretty hard fall last night,"

"What? Wait...you said you found me in a dumpster?"

"Yeah, you must have fallen through the hole in the sky last night,"

"What are you talking about?"

"Wow, you must've hit your head really hard then!" Patty giggled. "The kishin tore a hole in the sky and it ripped through reality. And then you fell out of the sky from your world and landed in the dumpster. And now you're here!"

Ed was even more confused now. "Am I dreaming or something?" he asked.

Patty cracked up while Liz tried to explain. "Sorry to say this, but no. You're in another world altogether, so I guess this place might take some getting used to,"

"About the Demon Sword," said Sid as he stood in front of Shinigami-sama's mirror. "He's been taken into the school's custody, but I think you should make the decision of how he's dealt with,"

"I guess I should," Lord Death agreed, "But there's something odd about the Demon Sword,"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the Demon Sword Ragnarok has devoured a great deal of human souls, so he should have been well on his way to becoming a kishin. As it would turn out, this is far from being the case,"

"What do you mean,"

"I'm not sure how, but something seems to have purified the Demon Sword recently. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure, but don't you think we should hold him accountable for his actions? I understand he's only a child and was under the control of a witch, but that still doesn't take away what he's done. I think we should give him the same severe punishment as usual, don't you agree?"

"Hmmm..." Death tilted his head to the side before finally answering "I dunno, so I think I'll just put it off. We'll deal with it later,"

Of course you would, Sid thought. Then he said, "And what about the kid we found last night?"

"The one in the infirmary? Yes, I've thought it over and decided that if he wants he can enroll as a temporary student here at the academy,"

"Are...are you sure?"

"Yeah, really, why not?" said Death. "There's no pressure for him, but I figure he'll gain a new experience through coming here. It'll help him adjust to life in Death City,"

"Right," said Sid. "Are we even sure just where he's from?"

"Yes, I've taken the matter up with Truth-kun," said Shinigami.

"You mean, you know -"

"Oh yeah, we're old aquaintences. We haven't spoken for a while," said Lord Death.

"So doesn't that mean this Truth guy will get him back to where he came from?"

"Sorry, but that's just not how Truth operates," said Shinigami. "He doesn't give free hand-outs to anyone, and these kind of things require some kind of sacrifice. It may be a while before this boy can return home,"

"I see," Sid nodded. "But do you think the boy will be equipped for the academy's style of education? He's certainly not a weapon, and he's not a meister either. For all we know he could be just an ordinary kid,"

"Well, about that," Shinigami said, "Truth-kun won't get into detail about it, but from what he tells me this boy we have is far from ordinary. He has exceptional talent for which he's quite renowned in his own realm,"

"Well, that's good to know," said Sid. "But why won't Truth tell you more details,"

"I told you, he's quite the mysterious fellow. He doesn't give things away on a whim," said Death. "He said this boy would be getting a free pass if he gave me too much information on him, so he was pretty vague about the details. The fact remains though, that whatever this new student has to offer, he could very well prove a valuable asset to us here at the DWMA. But we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?"

"Soul, what are you doing?" Maka said as her weapon partner dragged her down the hallway. "Lord Death specifically told us to stay put until we fully recovered,"

"So what, I'm not letting you stay inside on such a nice day," Soul replied. Just then, as they were walking towards the infirmary, the door busted open and out came a short blond boy in a jonny.

"What the hell is going on here? You people are crazy!"

"Uh, Soul," said Maka. "Is that the kid they found in the dumpster?"

"I think so," he answered. "I'm guessing he's met Doctor Stein,"

"Hey new guy, calm down," said Black*Star, who walked out of the room close behind him. "And seriously dude, you're not even wearing underpants. You realize you're in a jonny?"

"Oh God no!" Ed covered his backside as his face turned beet red. Patty stood behind him laughing her butt off, while Liz, Kid and Tsubaki just gawked in amazement. "Just tell me what the hell's going on and keep that freak with the screw in his head away from me!"

"See, told you," Soul confirmed. Maka just stared in wonderment. She couldn't believe the week she was having. First with Chrona, then the kishin, and now this kid. What was next?

"If that guy touches my automail one more time, I'll sue for sexual harassment!"

"Okay, just calm down," Maka said, walking up to him.

"Don't you tell me to calm down!"

WHACK! With a hardcover Maka-chop to the head, Ed went down in a second.

"Nice one Maka," said Black*Star. "He tried to strangle me when I called him a midget, you know,"

"I think he really took a hard fall," said Kid. "He seems to be quite disoriented from it all,"

"Maybe we should take him to Lord Death," suggested Maka, "Maybe then he can sort things out here,"

"So I've decided that for the time being, you can be a student here at the academy," said Shinigami-sama to a still-somewhat-dazed-from-a-Maka-chop Edward Elric. "But the choice is yours. If you don't want to, you don't have to enroll,"

"Well," said Ed, pondering the idea, "I'm not sure how to get back from where I came, and so for now, I guess I might as well do something, right?"

"If it helps, you won't be the only one on a trial enrollment," said Lord Death.

"It might actually help him, actually," said Maka. "He'll feel so much better having you in the same boat,"

"Good to know," Ed nodded. "But do you really think I'm qualified?"

"Oh don't worry about that," said Shinigami. "From what I hear you possess exceptional powers,"

"Wait, how do you know?" Ed asked.

"That's what Truth-kun tells me," Shinigami answered. "He wouldn't get into the details though. You wouldn't mind telling us just what these powers are, would you?"

"Hold on a second - you've seen the Truth?" Ed spat.

"Oh yeah, it's been a while since we last met, but Truth-kun and I go way back,"

"Hey, uh, Lord Death," said Edward, preparing his best puppy-dog eyes. "You wouldn't mind putting a good word in for me, would you? I mean, so I can get my brother's body back, and my arm and leg..."

"You'll need to pay a fee for that, sorry," he answered. Ed was stumped.

"WWHHHHAAA..."

"I can't change his mind once it's made up. I'm sure you'll get your original bodies back, but it will require a sacrifice,"

Ed facefaulted. Black*Star nudged Maka and whispered, "Ya think you should hit him with the book again?"

After he got over the shock of it all, Ed explained who he was and where he came from. "You see, I'm an alchemist," he said, "One of the best, actually. I became state certified when I was twelve, and I've been searching for the Philosopher's Stone so I can get my brother's body back,"

The other students listened in amazement. It was a pretty unusual case; losing his mom, losing his brother's body, attaching Al's soul to a suit of armor, getting the mechanical prosthetics, joining the military at the age of 12, having his level of skill in alchemy...yeah, it was a lot.

After a long moment of silence from everyone, Black*Star finally said, "Whoa,"

"So, uh, now what?" he asked.

"Well, it's just too bad you don't have a weapon," said Death the Kid.

"Well actually, in a way, I kind of already do," Ed demonstrated his skill by transmuting his automail arm into a blade. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

"So you're a weapon too?" asked Soul.

"Um, no, but I'm just creative with what I've got,"

"That may be so, but you don't have a weapon in the sense that the academy knows it," Shinigami pointed out. "Still, your alchemy would serve as quite formidable in a fight,"

"I just don't get the concept of how people can transform their entire bodies into objects without defying the laws of Equivalent Exchange," Ed said, scratching his head. "It just doesn't add up here,"

"Things work differently in this world, that's all," said Kid. "We're still not sure just how you can rearrange matter with your alchemy,"

"True...true..." sighed Ed. "It still bugs me though,"

"Some things just can't be explained," Maka said. "That's just how it is,"

"That's not true. Everything can be explained if it's analyzed long enough," Ed argued.

"He's just not gonna get it, is he?" Soul mumbled to his meister.

"I'm guessing not," she mumbled back.

So, there you go. LOL, Stein wanted to disect Ed's automail! XD (You know he'd want to if he saw it!) I thought about how Ed would react in Death City, and it hit me that he'd rack his brain with all the stuff in that 'verse that's powered by magic. You know Ed, being a scientist, wouldn't just accept anything just being...he'd have to theorize why and what makes it work and whatever, so it'd be funny watching him handle it all. Oh boy, just wait 'till he meets Chrona...not sure how it'll go, but we'll see. Please review!