Hello people! Sorry for the long while to update, but I've been struggling with another piece I'm writing. And this chapter is rather long, because I had a creative streak and didn't know when to stop. So, here it is… And this is all from my point of view, mainly because I didn't think Al's point of view would work for this chapter. Perhaps next time.

Oh, yes and disclaimer! I solemnly swear that I do not own FMA.

Also; I have decided to switch parings just a little. You see, I find Al just a little easier to work with. Al doesn't throw out insults about being short. -nods knowingly- And he's just damn huggable! -hugs Al-

Parings: Ed x OC- Sky, Al x OC-Selene, Roy x Riza

Spoilers; Not that I know of. If you find any, I give you permission to yell at me so I may fix them. Otherwise, it's changed because I didn't like the movie so it wouldn't spoil anyway.

Hm. As this is much different to how I introduced chapter 1, I would like to blame all of it on my alter ego. She is an idiot.

So. Without much more to say… Chapter 2!

At least I'm alive… was the first thought that came to mind when I woke up. I knew this for a fact; I felt like I had been in a plane crash for God's sake! Wait a minute… oh dear.

The last thing I remembered was blue lights on my arms, a scream and everything going black. Which is weird. I should, technically, be dead. Apparently not.

Another whir of images struck me, and these were of what happened to Sky and Katy. Crap!

I sat up hastily, pushing the feeling of the sharp and pointy something jabbing into my right arm to the back of my mind. Smoke clouded everything and a few flames licked towards the sky here and there, resulting from the crash. Bits of metal where spread as far as I could see, which wasn't really far because of a large and too-close-for-comfort propeller obscuring my view. Summoning my voice, I yelled, "Sky? Katy? Anyone there! Help!"

Silence.

"Anyone?" My voice was fading to a whisper and despair started to overtake me. A wave of dizziness struck me. Woah, must have hit my head too hard. This is not good. Argh, what do I do! Putting my left hand up to my face, rubbing my temples, I started to lean back on my right. And promptly fell backwards. What the hell!

I looked down at my arm. Which… wasn't there. I stared disbelievingly. Huh? It was there before. What's going on? What the hell happened?

Blood was spattered all over my shirt, not to mention it was starting to congeal on the stump. I was amazed I didn't notice it was missing before. Okay, it's final; I am completely and utterlyinsane

"For God's sake, will someone answer me!" I yelled, newly energised by the fact that I would probably bleed to death if I didn't get medical help soon. And God knows what had happened to the other two girls.

I opened my mouth to yell again, meanwhile struggling to stand upright when a voice, clearly an annoyed female, yelled out, "EDWARD, ALPHONSE, don't you DARE think of crossing that Gate AGAIN!" What the hell is the 'gate'?

Another voice yelled back, "Don't worry, Winry, we won't! Right, brother?" Er… maybe we're in a rural area…

It was soon joined by, "Shut up you lot! I thought I heard someone!" Finally!

"Don't you tell me to shut up, Edward Elric!" The girl seemingly named Winry roared.

The third voice, apparently this Edward person, yelled back, "Shut up Win! We won't cross the Gate, but there could be other people that did!" His voice turned dark. "And if the Gate was nice, they could be nearly dead!" More about this 'gate'. Hm…

"And we can't cross, Winry, it's closed already." That voice must belong to 'Alphonse', I thought.

Edward yelled out, "Is anyone out there?" Yeah huh.

A disgruntled sounding Winry muttered, seemingly to Alphonse, "And he tells us to shut up!"

"Over here," I yelled back, without thinking. Surely they wouldn't try to hurt us… I hoped.

The next thing I knew, a boy, of maybe fifteen with long dark blond hair (tied back in a braid), bangs either side of his face and grey green eyes was standing in front of me, a worried look on his face. "You must be the person that yelled out to brother, before. I'm Al. Alphonse Elric, formerly the Living Earth Alchemist. And you," he scrutinised my stump of an arm. "Need to have that cleaned and bandaged." With surprising strength, the kid lifted me up bridal style, careful not to bump my arm and carried me, red cloak fluttering out behind him, to where the girl that would have to Winry, was waiting. I, the whole while was wondering what in the world a 'living earth alchemist' was.

"Oh gods, are you okay?" the girl asked. She had lemon blond hair and pretty blue eyes, like Katy's but not as piercing. Al set me on my feet in front of her. I nodded and Al asked, "Were there any other people with you?" Then he looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, where have my manners gone? This is Winry Rockbell, automail mechanic, the best in Amestris! Winry this is…" He trailed off, the pink tinge on his cheeks becoming a bit more pronounced. Where is Amestris?

I smiled at him. Cute little kid. "I'm Selene. Selene Yusheng. I er.. I don't exactly have a profession as yet. And yes, there were three other people on board, two girls, one with red hair, one with black, and a pilot with grey hair."

Al nodded, seemingly glad that I had immediately got to the point rather than blubber like I suppose other people in a plane crash would have done. He stared out to the remains of the plane and squinted. "Oh, look. Seems brother has already found someone." How he could tell through all the haze and smoke, I would never know, but Al ran off to help Edward.

"So," Winry started softly, barely loud enough for me to hear. "Where are you from?"

"Uh, originally China, but now I live in Australia. We were only Germany on a whim, for a friend's birthday, so here we are. Well, I am."

"And a girl with black hair, it looks like, too…" Winry finished as the person who must be Edward came staggering through the remains, carrying a limp and bloodied up Sky. He was slightly shorter than Al, from what I could tell, and he had a lighter shade of blond for hair, but not quite as light as Winry's. Like an in-between, really. He looked maybe fourteen, so perhaps a bit younger than Al.

"Hello," Edward said cheerily as he came within earshot. "Two more to go, eh? I'd better go help Al." He dumped Sky at our feet and followed after his older brother.

Winry glared after him, and knelt to put Sky into a more comfortable position. "Alchemy freak," she muttered.

"Automail junky!" Came the sharp retort. Now how did he hear that

"So, Selene, where did you say you were from?"

"China. This is Sky, she's from Japan." I gestured to the heap of black clothing and blood. Thankfully, she wasn't missing any limbs. "And Katy, I hope she's alright, is from England." I grinned. "We're a diverse bunch."

Winry didn't return the grin. She frowned and looked a bit confused. "I've never heard of those places before… no, wait, I've heard of England. Ed told me something about it once. He said he had to go there when he was in the other…" she trailed off, a look of amazement coming across her features.

It was my turn to be confused. "The other…?" I left it hanging.

"You, wouldn't by any chance, happen to be from Earth, would you?"

What a strange question to ask… "Yes, where else would I be from?" I asked in return, deciding to humour her.

"Well, erm… we should wait until we get back to my place, we can patch you and your friends up and Ed and Al can explain everything."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Explain what?"

Winry grinned at me. "You'll see."

Alrighty then. Another wave of dizziness hit me. Woah. Not again. Argh, blood loss. "Er, Winry, do you think maybe you could help me bandage my arm up? Or, what's left of it?"

"Oh sorry! Yeah sure!" I instructed her to rip bits off my skirt, and helped hold them in place as I tried not to faint. Seriously, it hurt. And Winry seemed to know exactly what she was doing, padding and wadding the bits of material like it was second nature against the stump that was once my right arm. Good thing, too. I hate to think what it'd feel like with an amateur wrapping it up. Like me attempting, for one thing. Shudder.

Winry was just finishing the job when both Edward and Al arrived, carrying an unconscious Katy between them. The former looked from me to Winry before muttering to Al, "I'll take this one, you take the girl on the ground." His older brother nodded and eased the rest of Katy's weight onto Edward's shoulder. The kid grunted at the added effort needed and Al made the same sort of noise as he hefted Sky onto his own shoulder. Twisting so he could see me, Al asked, "Do you think you can walk without fainting?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'll be fine." I tried not to think of the amount of blood I had lost, nor the fact that Katy and Sky were both unconscious. We started our way towards what must be Winry's house, Al and Sky leading. Then it struck me, "Where's the pilot?"

"He was disintegrated when the plane exploded when it hit the ground," Edward replied shortly. Horror felt like a blow to the head. What a horrible way to die…

"Brother," Al scolded, turning so he could see us all and was walking backwards. "She was just in a plane crash, you could have at least broken the news a bit more gently."

"Al, it's always best to get to the point rather than dance around it," Edward replied.

"Sometimes it isn't," Winry piped up. "If it's amusing, it's fun to dance around for a little bit."

"Well, this wasn't fun, the man was freaking burned to a crisp!" Looks like these three like to annoy each other.

"It's okay," I spoke up. I turned to Al. "Looks like your little brother was right this time round."

What happened next was… interesting. Edward turned a strange shade of red, Al matching. Winry seemed like she was about to burst into hysterical laughter. I looked from one to the other.

"What?"

"Well, you see, Selene," Winry started. "Ed is Al's older brother. They're a year apart. Ed is just a midget."

"WHO ARE YOU CALL A SUPER SMALL MINUSCULE ANT WHO CAN ONLY BE SEEN IF AN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE IS USED!" Edward all but screamed.

"You did, you idiot," Winry yelled back at him. A wrench flew from somewhere and hit in the dead centre of Edward's forehead.

"WILL YOU STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!" Edward did scream this time.

"I WILL WHEN YOU STOP OVERREACTING!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"FINE."

"FINE."

"Er…" Al started nervously. "Brother…"

"What is it, Al?"

"Brother, for one thing, you need to control your temper-" the boy quailed under Edward's evil glare. "- and you should introduce yourself to Selene."

Edward stayed stubbornly silent. Seems he doesn't have any manners.

Al rolled his eyes, obviously starting to get annoyed with his brother. "Fine, I will then. Selene, this is Edward Elric, formerly the Fullmetal Alchemist. You can call him Ed, cause the rest of us do. And if you want to get his attention, just call him anything that implies that he is short. Brother, this is Selene Yusheng."

Ed muttered a brief 'hello'. Talk about mood swings. I swear he was happy just ten minutes ago. I twisted to get a better look at him. He was, as I said before, shorter than his brother and with lighter blond hair. What I found most interesting were his eyes. Nice gold, like his hair. He reminded me of a midget hawk. Hehe.

"Hm," I muttered. "How old are you guys?" Weird thing to ask people you just met, really. Oh well, too late now.

Al smiled. He really was sweet. "Guess."

"Um, well, I don't know. I thought originally that you're about fifteen and Ed was fourteen, but now I know you're the younger brother, switch the numbers around? And Winry, are you about…" I squinted at her. "Nineteen?"

Ed made a strangled croaking noise. "Fifteen? Fifteen!"

"Er… yes," I replied, confused a little.

Al grinned broadly. "Am I really that small looking?" His brother nearly howled at that. "Selene, Ed is twenty three. Winry too."

No way…

"And that makes you twenty two?"

Al nodded happily. "Yep."

I was amazed. Really. "Bloody hell, I thought you were all younger than me. Especially Ed," I added, just to annoy him. And it worked. Another strangled hiss. Man, Ed and Sky would get along well. Muaha. Al gave me a look. "Why, how old are you Selene?"

"Twenty one. Just." Al nodded. And for the record, I take back any mentioning's of Al being a kid on my part. Honest mistake. He was cute. As in little kid cute. I swear!

"So, Selene," Ed started. "How did you open the Gate?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Brother!" Al hissed. "What did I say-"

"Al, this is another time where it's a good idea to be blunt. So, Selene, do you have an answer for me?"

"What Gate?"

"Well, I want to know as alchemy is needed to open that Gate and I know for a fact that no one can use it on the other side."

What in the world is he talking about? Waita minute… there's that word again. Alchemy. "First of all, what's alchemy?"

Ed raised an eyebrow at me. "Alchemy. Equivalent exchange. Transmutation circle. Any of those ring a bell?"

I shook my head. He must be insane.

Ed sighed. "Alchemy," he said, sounding all the world like he was trying to explain something very simple to a small child. "Alchemy is and I quote Al, 'a science where one understands the structure of an object, breaks it down and then rebuilds it. If used correctly, it can turn plain lead into gold.' Does that sound familiar?"

Then it hit me. What Sky had said on the plane. Like Harry Potter. "Oh, you mean as in the Philosopher's Stone?"

A shocked silence met my question. Then Al managed to stutter, "How do you know about the Philosopher's stone!"

I was puzzled. All this over a fantasy tale? "I read about it. It's in a very famous book back home. Wait… surely you've heard of Harry Potter? It's almost as well known as the Bible. Was sure they'd have it printed in German! But… you speak English. Of course it's written in English!"

"Well, that proves something," Ed said to Al, who was still struggling to come to grips with my explanation.

"What brother?"

"She definitely isn't from around here."

"I know that!" I interrupted. "We only came to Germany for a holiday! I already told Winry I'm from Australia!"

Winry coughed softly. The three of us looked at her and Ed growled, seemingly warningly. "You see, Ed," Winry said softly. "Selene and her friends are from Earth."

"What and you three aren't?" I asked. This is getting weird.

"So she must have opened the Gate!" Ed declared triumphantly.

"Brother, maybe it was an accident."

Ed all but snarled back, "Al, I was there for three years. If there had been a way back, I would have taken it, and there is no way that any of the people on the other side could have opened it by accident!"

"But do you know that, brother? I was there for a year or so too!"

"No, I don't know that!" Well, that was a waste of rant. I glanced at Winry. The girl was staring off into space. Apparently this type of debate was a normal occurrence. And I was still confused. All this talk of another world!

"Maybe Selene can use alchemy, she doesn't know how!"

"But on the other side?"

"Anything is possible, brother!"

"Okay, we can settle this."

"Good idea, brother."

Huh? Maybe they have a telepathic link or something. Hey look, there's the house. That was quick. Without me really noticing, we had arrived at Winry's home. It was a two story cosy looking house, with a nice veranda and a great view of the surrounding area, which consisted of nothing but fields, a house in the far distance and a river running into the forest; where we had just come from.

Winry took over. "Okay you pair, before we go all alchemy geniuses, I want you two to take the two girls up to the guest bedrooms. I'll go over them for any serious cuts and bruises. Al, I want you to clean and heal Selene's arm a bit. If she wants, we can fix automail to it later, but it's her choice and I don't want her dying of blood poisoning beforehand. Ed, you can either help me or Al, otherwise just stay outta the way. Alright? Let's go!" Much to my amusement, both boys obeyed immediately, stumbling inside and up the stairs. Winry turned to me with a grin as we followed them inside. "They know that if they don't do what I say, they'll get a wrench to the head." Oh, so that's where the wrench came from before!

"So, do you want a drink, or perhaps something to eat?"

"Um, I'm not really that hungry, but a glass of water would be nice, please." And maybe a little bit of an explanation…

Winry nodded and went bustling off to the kitchen. "You make yourself at home," she called and a clang of glassware was heard followed by the tap being turned on.

"Thank you," I called back. This room was nice. It was cosy, not to mention huge, and pictures decorated the small table to the left of the fireplace. Oddly, no television could be found. A little silver looking toy was on the window sill, half-concealed by yellow and blue curtains, and sitting next to a radio. Stray tools and metal bits and pieces were scattered everywhere.

"How are you feeling?" Winry asked, plonking herself down in an armchair, a glass in each hand.

"I'm good," I answered. It was strange. My missing the arm felt strange by not painful. And, by rights, it shouldn't really feel anything at all. I supposed that would change once I tried to get the material off. Winry offered a glass and I automatically reached to take it in my right hand… before remembering it didn't exist anymore. I cringed, and reached back with my left hand. Taking it, I sipped on the cool liquid. It was soothing.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Ed's voice came from the doorway. I looked up to see he was lounging against the wall. Al had just walked in, dusting his hands off from some unknown task.

"Get used to what?" I asked.

"Having no right arm." He grinned. "At least you didn't have to learn to walk on automail. Though relearning how to use your hand is rather difficult," he added, almost as an afterthought. Uhuh… and what is automail? Didn't Al say that's what Winry does? Automail…He speaks as if from experience.

"Try relearning how to walk, feel and exist," Al retorted with a small chuckle. "Both girls are fine; except the girl with the black hair may have a concussion and they'll both have to recover from shock," he reported to Winry. What did he mean in the first bit? I wondered.

She nodded. "Thankfully. Okay Selene, we'll need to take a look at your arm, clean it and suchlike." I nodded. This is gonna hurt…

"I know this will probably sound really horrible to you, but if you don't do it, you could die. Seriously. Ed, out."

He didn't need to be told twice. Off Ed went, shutting the door behind him. "I'll be out the back with Den! And we'll explain everything later Selene," he called through the door.

"Righto! Selene, you know how Al told you he was the Living Earth Alchemist?" I nodded. "Well, that basically means-"

"I'm good with herbs and can even heal a bit. Humans and animals alike… but then again, humans are animals so that sentence wasn't entirely accurate-"

"Yeah, Al, we get it." Winry cut him off before he could even start. I bit back a grin.

A thought occurred to me; "Al, if you're an alchemist, how come you can heal?"

"To be truly honest, I don't know. Brother said it might have something to do with my body maturing inside the Gate. I may have picked up stray pieces of knowledge during my time there. I can't really remember though. But it is a definite possibility. I mean, Ed found out how to transmute-"

"Change objects," Winry chimed in, explaining the unfamiliar term.

"Yeah, transmute without a circle and he didn't even go inside the Gate. He just saw what was inside."

"Uhuh… That made no sense whatsoever."

Al grinned, almost evilly at me. "You will understand someday."

"But someday isn't now, is it?"

"…Good point."

"AND meanwhile, the flesh around the remains of Selene's arm is starting to rot." Winry glared at Al.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted," she continued. "Selene, in order to have that arm fixed up you need to get rid of the shirt."

I gaped at her. "Why?"

"Because for one, it's already sticking to you and for another, loose fibres can get stuck in flesh and infect it. And it's a sleeved shirt. Even with no sleeves I'd have to ask you to take it off cause it'd get in Al's way." At Al's blush she backtracked. "I rephrase that; it'd get in the way of the healing process."

"So," Winry continued. "Off with the shirt, and when you have, lie on the couch. And make yourself comfortable, cause we may be here a while."

I made a slight gesture with my hand and Al turned around. "Thank you," I told him. I struggled to undo the buttons of my once lavender shirt. Now it was stained with blood and grime. Finally completing that task single handed, Winry help me pull the ruined cloth off, carefully so as not to touch my arm. Not that it really mattered, with all the bits of my skirt there.

Winry carefully folded the wrecked shirt up and put it in a plastic bag, motioning for me to lie on the couch. Timidly, I did as I was told, lying flat on my stomach, cushioning my head with my remaining arm. "No, Selene. Lie on you back. Trust me, you'll be more comfortable and when you relax you won't point your arm towards to floor."

Once again, I did as I was obliged. I felt extremely vulnerable, on my back with my stomach exposed. I stared up at the roof. It was a nice roof.

"Okay, Al, turn around now," Winry said, poking him slightly as she walked past. "I'm going to get some hot water and clean cloths. I'll be right back."

Argh, I thought. I'm stuck in a room by myself, no shirt on but thankfully a bra, am fairly vulnerable as I am missing a freaking arm and with a guy who I just met. Even if he is sweet…

And as if it was just waiting to happen, my 'favourite' person, Awkward Silence strolled casually into the room.

I liked that ending a bit more than the last chapter. Not really though. Meh. Constructive criticism is welcome and please don't hesitate to review. Tell me if you hate it or not!

Bye bye for now!

-blows kisses-

Fullmetal Archer