Ramen Goddess: Well, here I am! I'm back with chapter two! But before you begin reading, there is just one thing that I would like to point out. This is NOT a yaoi romance between Roy and Ed. I don't really have enough of an in-depth understanding of the anime or its characters yet so there is no point in me writing a romance story so soon. Sorry to anyone that was hoping otherwise. So without any further delay, read, review and enjoy!

Chapter Two: I'm VERTICALLY CHALLENGED!

Upon entering his room, Ed was not too surprised to see his brother sitting on one of the beds, apparently awaiting his return.

"Hey Al," the blonde-haired alchemist greeted in a rather cheery tone. This confused the younger sibling, especially since Ed had just come back from Roy Mustang's office. He was never this cheerful after having a conversation with the infamous Flame alchemist.

"Al?" Ed raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering just why his brother was being so silent.

"Huh?" Snapping out of his apparent reverie, Al turned his attention to that of his brother. "What did you say brother?"

"I just said hi. So, what have you been doing all this time?"

"Oh, nothing really exciting. I've just been sitting in here, waiting for you to come back." It was then that a soft meow could be heard coming from inside of Al's suit of armor. Ed cast his brother a suspicious look as if to say that he was not pleased with what he had just heard.

"What was that?"

A sweat drop formed on the side of Al's face as he mentally scrambled through his mind, trying to find a simple, yet informative answer to his brother's inquiry.

"Uh…heh, heh…nothing?"

Taking a few steps towards his brother, his right arm outstretched, he calmly spoke. "C'mon Al, give it to me."

"N-no…" he stuttered.

"C'mon, you know we can't have pets here. What if Mustang finds out?"

"But…but I can't just put him back outside. Where will he go?" The sound of his brother's trembling voice was enough to eventually make the elder sibling cave.

"Fine," Ed retorted with a disheveled sigh. "You can keep him, but you have to promise to keep him out of sight at all times, understand?"

Al nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing brother."

Ruffling up his mass of golden blonde locks, Ed smiled. "No problem. I know I really shouldn't allow you to keep an animal while we're staying here, but you're my brother and you deserve everything that you most desire." Al returned the emotional gesture; he would have begun to cry at that very moment if it weren't for his entire body being made of metal.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and in stepped Havoc. Unbeknownst to the Elric brothers, his abrupt visit and soon-to-be message would be something that the two males would always remember, most especially Ed.

"Hey there! What's up? Ed greeted cheerily.

Acting as though he had not heard a single word that escaped the blonde's mouth, Havoc continued. "Edward Elric…" Said male nodded in confirmation. "The Colonel wishes for you to meet him downstairs in the dining hall immediately. I suggest that you don't delay for it sounded rather urgent."

"Urgent?" he asked with one cocked eyebrow.

"That was what he said." Turning his back on the now confused teenagers, Havoc made his way out of the room and down the hall to wherever it was that he was headed.

Ed looked to Al and shrugged. "I guess I better get going; whatever Mustang wants to see me about better be important. I hate when he calls random meetings! Can't he understand that maybe once, just once, I want to relax and not be bothered by him?" Al merely let out a half-hearted laugh, which was than followed by a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"See you later, pal." With that said, Ed exited the room in almost the exact same manner as Havoc, feigning a tiny smile when he looked back at his brother before disappearing out of plain sight.

As he watched his brother's fleeting form, Al eventually made his way over to the door and closed it. Once he was sure that it was shut tight, he sauntered over towards the windowsill and opened up the compartment in his suit of armor that held the stray kitten.

"C'mon little guy, you can come out now…" As he continued to coax the young feline out from its new home, the only sounds that you could hear were those of the birds singing in a nearby tree. The kitten had apparently heard the creatures, for he then stepped out from under Al's shadow and slowly yet surely made his way over to the window ledge. The cat licked his lips tastefully, his tail swaying back and forth as if in anticipation. However, before the long-awaited thought could cross the mind of the hungry feline, Al scooped him up in his arms and carried him over to his unusually large, twin-sized bed. Upon laying him gently at the foot of the bed, Al motioned for him not to make a sound. Cooing softly, he spoke, "Sweet dreams, little kitten." And all was silent from there on in…

Meanwhile, in the dining hall…

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Ed called out, his voice echoing with each word that was spoken. If Mustang really wanted to talk to me, then why isn't he here?

All of a sudden, as if to answer all that the young alchemist had to ask, the large set of double doors literally flew open and standing in the doorway was none other than the Colonel himself. He was looking more smug than usual and this confused the blonde.

"Good afternoon Ed," Roy greeted formally.

"Same to you," was Ed's simple response. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Shifting his eyes to examine his current surroundings, his gaze eventually fell back upon Roy's own intense black orbs.

"Follow me." Growing even more curious with every minute that went by, Ed decided not to inquiry any further and simply followed Roy's lead out of the room.

While walking down the long, narrow and completed deserted corridor, both males kept their thoughts to themselves, apparently not wanting to break the aura of silence that was currently surrounding them. They both liked it that way; silence was indeed golden for the two alchemists.

Eventually, they reached their apparent destination. Upon turning around to face his blonde-haired cohort, a suspicious expression was more than evident on the older male's façade. It didn't take a genius to know that he was plotting out some devious scheme…

"Go on ahead. I'll wait for you out here."

That's strange… Bordering on whether or not to go on inside or refuse to move from where he was situated, Ed was a little skeptical on believing Roy's last statement. What was the point of him going into an unknown room by himself? Besides, didn't Roy need to talk to him? Why couldn't they just talk about whatever it was they needed to talk about in his office? This was all too confusing…

"Umm…" was the only word that managed to slip from Ed's mouth.

"Go on," Roy urged, managing to keep his firm and solemn tone of voice in tact.

Without any further questions or comments, Ed hesitantly pushed open the doors to the room and stepped inside, closing them behind him.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Roy smirked to himself and chuckled a little. He was almost too glad to know that his prank was (so far) going as planned. He then turned around and began walking back down the hallway and to his office, which unfortunately was located on practically the other side of the mansion.

We definitely need an elevator… Roy sighed, hanging and shaking his head. However, since he was not one to normally complain about things, he merely shrugged off the thought and continued on his way.

Now we go to the ever-so-awkward scenario involving our favourite Full Metal Alchemist…

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?"

Everything was so big and…and he was…so…so…

"I SHRUNK!" Well, so much for beating around the bush.

However, it was true, as much as Ed wished it wasn't. Everything around him was so…so big and he was so…small…

Fortunately, he managed to calm down a little and regained his previous composure. "Okay, just relax. This probably isn't even real. No big deal." While trying to reassure himself that none of what he saw was true, a knock at the door caught him off guard. Wondering who it could possibly be, he opened the door and nearly had a heart attack with what he saw…

"Okay, now this is getting TOO WEIRD!" By now, the blonde male was literally flipping out.

"What is it, Edward?" Riza Hawkeye inquired.

"EVERYTHING! This room, everything being ten times bigger, and you! You're like, seven feet tall!"

"What are you talking about?" Riza spoke as if she was completely oblivious to everything that was happening.

"Arg!" Throwing his arms up in the air, Ed was about ready to pull out his own hair. He stomped over towards the king-sized bed in the middle of the room and pulled an outfit that was identical to the one he was wearing off of it. When he looked at it, he dropped it at almost the same time he had picked it up.

"NOW THIS IS JUST INSANE!"

"How so?"

Okay, why is she acting so calm about all of this? "This!" Holding up the outfit, it looked as though Al could fit into it…twice…

Riza suppressed a tiny giggle, which was most definitely out of character for someone of her nature. However, this was one of the those moments where you can't help but laugh, no matter who you are…

"Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"

Stopping rather abruptly, Riza returned to her previous composure and replied, "Sorry Edward, I didn't mean to sound rude."

Calming down somewhat, Ed posed the question that had been plaguing his mind ever since he had first stepped into the room. "Do you know who did this?"

"What?"

"Who was it? Who was the one that planned all of this?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Eyeing her suspiciously, Ed decided to leave to go and search for the one responsible for this so-called prank.

"I got to go!" he called over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner. Once the female lieutenant was sure that the young alchemist was out of earshot, she suppressed a laugh, one that she had been holding throughout their entire conversation. She couldn't help but snigger; Roy's plan really seemed to be playing out as he had hoped. Although, she knew that if and when Ed found out that it was her boss who set up this whole prank scenario, he would never hear the end of it…

Running down numerous halls, all Ed saw were the white walls looming over him. It made him feel so…how do you say it? I guess if you want to be blunt…small.

"Okay, now I am freaking out!" Our blonde-haired friend was literally on the verge of losing his sanity. He absolutely, positively hated it when people ridiculed him because of his height, but this was just insane! How can one shrink in a day? Was it even possible? According to human nature, people grow up, not down…

After what seemed like endless hours of roaming pointlessly throughout the mansion, Ed eventually came to stop in front of Roy's office. Dun, dun, dun…

"Okay, I don't know why I ended up coming here, but I might as well ask him if he knows anything about what's happening to me." Knocking twice, he heard the unmistakable voice of the Colonel on the other side of the door, stating for him to enter the room.

Looking up from his paperwork, Roy couldn't help but smirk; the expression on the alchemist's face was simply priceless. He looked as though he was ready to flip out at the next person who dared to poke fun at his…height deficiency…

"Can I help you with something?" Roy asked, pretending that he had no idea of what was going on.

"Yah, you can tell me just whose bright idea it was to…" It was then that something hit him. The office he was currently standing in looked just like the rest of the mansion…big… He only hoped that Roy…

"What bright idea?" The Colonel than did what Ed was hoping he wouldn't do. He stood up. Now, as everyone knows, Roy Mustang is a rather tall, lean, and muscular man. However, the moment he got up from his chair, he looked like a giant, and that's no exaggeration.

"Uh… How did you…" Now speechless, Ed felt as though he was going to collapse at any moment. He definitely needed an explanation to all of this…and sooner would be more appreciated rather than later, in order to protect his sanity, of course.

"Yes, Edward?"

Finally having enough with people acting so clueless about the whole height situation, the young teen decided to let it all out.

"You did this!" Yes, as random as that sounded, Ed believed his statement to be true.

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked, trying to sound rather dumbfounded.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't play dumb with me! I know you're the one who planned all of this and it's not very funny! Do you know how embarrassing it is to think that the whole world has grown ten times bigger than you overnight?" Panting heavily, Ed was relieved to finally get all of that off of his chest. On the other hand, Roy did not look even the slightest bit phased by the blonde's sudden outburst. He simply sat back down, closed his eyes and chuckled lightly to himself. This confused the young teenager and he raised an eyebrow, his eyes alighted with both curiousity and confusion.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a slight sneer.

Looking back up to the spot where Ed still stood, his smirk widened even more so. "Don't you see, Edward. I was waiting until the time that you would realize that it was me who planned this whole ordeal. I was simply teaching you a lesson in pranks."

"Ha! Don't think that you need to teach me anything! I'm the master at pranks and I don't need to take lessons from someone as stuck-up as you!" Ed boasted.

"Oh, really? Well then, if you're such a master at pranks, why didn't you see right through mine?" It was that sentence that left Ed speechless for the second time since he first entered the room. However, he quickly snapped back into reality and glared menacingly at Roy, a smirk plastering that of his own features.

"I guess I just wanted to give you the satisfaction of knowing that you managed to trick me, the Full Metal Alchemist, which, of course, everyone knows is next to impossible!"

Deciding to put an end to their childish bickering, Roy piped up. "Maybe you're right, Ed…" Striking a superhero pose, Ed grinned victoriously. However, that smile soon faded when Roy made to finish his sentence. "Or maybe you're wrong…"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind, it is not of relevant importance."

"Tell me!"

"You'll figure it out eventually…when you're older."

"HEY!"

Suppressing yet another light-hearted chuckle, the seriousness in the older male's voice soon returned as he unexpectedly changed the subject. "Sorry Edward, but I'm afraid that I have to cut our conversation short. I must get back to completing the remainder of my paperwork, for it is due tomorrow morning. I will speak with you later." And with a simple wave of his hand, Ed took that as his cue to exit. The moment he closed the door shut behind him, all he could think about was Roy's completely arrogant and self-centered attitude. He couldn't believe that he had the nerve to pull a prank on him, the Full Metal Alchemist. However, he decided to just brush it all off and pretend as though it didn't even happen. Ever since Ed had become a full-fledged alchemist, he had matured quite a bit. Instead of seeking revenge and pulling another prank, which would then result in a huge cycle of pranks, he approached the situation in a more adult-like manner. Ignorance is sometimes the best policy…

Ramen Goddess: Okay, I know that this wasn't the best place to end this story, but I had to end it somehow. Besides, I actually like Ed when he's more mature. Sure he has his moments where he likes to joke around; that's what makes Ed, well, Ed! However, it doesn't hurt to have a little common sense once in a while. It's obvious, just like I mentioned in the last paragraph: Pranking someone back will only lead to more pranks, which will eventually result in a huge cycle of pranks. But anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed this story and I hope you got some laughs out of it. So please review and tell me what you thought! Again, don't hate me or try to kill me for ending the story so soon! It wasn't meant to be really long! (Takes cover behind my boyfriend) :P Can't hurt me now! (lol) Anyway, enough my rambling! Review! Luv ya! Ja ne!