Resonance

[Lynelle]

A few days have passed since my arrival in Amestris and I missed my family dearly. Luckily, Ed and Al were taking me to Central- Winry riding along with us so she could be dropped off at Rushvalley. I tugged at the black skirt I was wearing- wishing I had taken the shorts instead, though they would be too short for my taste. The purple tank top that Winry had me match the skirt with fit just fine though it would have been nice if the sleeves went to my elbows instead of capped just below the curve of my shoulder. Also, while I'm mentally complaining about my clothes, the brown shoes I'm borrowing from her are two sizes too small. All in all, I am not comfortable in Winry's clothes. She seemed to notice my discomfort as we sat on the train, offering to get something different out of her suitcase. I denied, telling her I'd be fine, but made a mental note to get new clothes once in Central (granted Ed gave me money).

We made it into Central by mid afternoon- Winry already dropped off in Rushvalley. I couldn't help but grin as I walked out of the train station, I was actually in Central!

"Come on Lynelle," Al said, amused at how I gawked at the city. "There's a lot to see other then outside the station!"

"Well then Al, show me the way," I replied, letting him take the lead.

Ed and Al led me around the city, Al showing us new landmarks that had been built since the end of the homunculus era of terror ended, showing us the new restaurants and shops that had been built.

We visited a few shops (I got new clothes!) before getting dinner at one of the new restaurants that would be categorized as Italian in my world. We sat on the stone patio of the restaurant, the warm air feeling nice on my skin.

"Do you know what you're going to do now, Ed?" Al asked. "Are you going to try and get your arm and leg back?"

Ed sighed, placing his glass of water on the table. "I don't know yet." he leaned back in his chair, one arm slung over the back. "I'll deal with that later."

"Are you going to rejoin the military?" I asked curiously.

"Probably not," He replied. "I wouldn't mind conducting my own research though. Exploring how alchemy is used in other countries."

"That would be cool," Al commented, interest and curiosity showing in his eyes.

I agreed; how cool would it be if I went back and bragged to all my friends, "Yeah that's right I explored the world of FMA. Top that!" Home…I tried to keep thoughts of home in the back of my mind, not wanting to get myself worked up and sick with worry. The chances of me going back home were slim, but then again we thought the same thing about Ed getting home yet here we are in Amestris.

"Lynelle!" Ed snapped his fingers in front of my face.

I blinked rapidly a few times before looking at him, "Y-yeah?"

"You're food here," He replied, pointing down at the pasta in front of me. When did that get here?

"Oh thanks," I replied.

Ed looked at me suspiciously, before focusing on his own food, chatting with Al after every few bites. I stayed quiet, eating my own food and mulling over my own worries. No matter how much of an awesome experience this is, I wanted to be with my family. With or without Ed I wanted to be home, because Amestris wasn't my home.

[Scarlett]

Not again. Dear lord not again. Please, don't take my best friend away from me. I need her!

I ran all the way across town to Lynelle's house where her mother answered the door with tears in her eyes.

"My babies are gone again," She whispered out, hiding her eyes behind a Kleenex. It hurt to see one of the strongest women I knew break down in tears, her two children- one biologically hers and the other basically adopted- missing…again.

I led her over to the couch where we sat on opposite ends, sitting sideways to face each other with a blanket covering our laps. "Where were they?"

"I let them go to the beach," She whispered out. "Yesterday I let them go to the beach and they never returned home."

I drew in a deep breath, trying to keep my own emotions at bay. "You called the police right?"

She looked at me sharply, "Of course!" her eyes then dulled. "Sorry."

I shook my head, "No need to apologize, Mrs. Hendrix."

She clutched the blanket in her hands. "The police said they're going to file them as runaways."

My eyes widened, "Runaways? They could have been kidnapped! Or…or…" I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. Holly could have gotten them again. They never found Holly or Rico when the FBI went to make arrest in the Black Mesa Research Facility. They arrested many of the scientist and security guards that had been associated with the experiment, but the blond devil herself was never taken into custody- no one being able to give information of her whereabouts.

"I refuse to believe that Holly would try the same stunt twice," Katrina replied, anger filling her voice but behind the anger I could hear that she had thought about the possibility that it could be true. The cozy, pale yellow living room that I once loved to sit in now felt claustrophobic. I couldn't breath, sweat poured down my face, making my bangs stick to my face.

"Scarlett," Katrina said softly, placing a hand on my leg. "Go home and get some rest. I'll keep you updated…tell the others, okay?"

I really didn't think the crew would be able to take another hit like this, but I agreed. Giving her a quick hug I power walked out into the warm afternoon breeze with tears in my eyes. As I stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the walk light to come on, I couldn't help but think about the fateful day that had started this domino effect. The rode that Ed had torn up with his alchemy was good as new, no sign of previous destruction, but I knew its secret.

"Well if it isn't little Scarlett," A mocking voice said from behind me.

I turned around and found Evan, the new kid that Lynelle had complained about since his first day of school. "I'm not in the mood, Evan. Back up before I bite you."

A smirk played on his face, his posture giving off a malicious vibe. No guy that shoves his hands in his jeans pocket, hoodie covering his head and ripped converse shoes was good news. "I guess you don't want to know what happened to Ed and Lynelle then?"

That got my attention. "What happened?"

He paused, cocking his head to the walk signal that just turned white. "Take a walk with me?"

If he could tell me where my best friends were I would walk across the bloody country with him.

[Lynelle]

The next morning, after dressing in my new pair of jeans, red tank top, and brown sneakers I went down to the lobby of the hotel for breakfast- spotting the Elric brothers already sitting down and eating their breakfast.

"Thanks for waiting for me guys," I said, sitting next to them with the plate of food I had just got from the buffet line.

"Who knew when you'd get up," Ed replied. "You have a habit of oversleeping."

I glared at him, "It's called waking me up."

He shrugged it off, continuing what ever conversation he was having with Al. He was talking about when they would visit Central HQ.

"Can I go?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," He replied bluntly.

I rolled my eyes, cutting up my pancakes. "Oh whatever, I'm going."

He smiled at me, letting me know he was joking about not letting me go. Telling me that even if he had said no, I would have gone anyway, which was true. After eating (and the two waiting for me to finish getting ready) we headed to the military base, passing through security checks. When we arrived at the office door of Brigadier General Mustang, Ed simply opening the door before Al had time to knock. The reaction from those inside the office was interesting to say the least. Roy looked like he had seen a ghost at first, before commenting that Ed still hasn't grown since he's last seen him (which I had to disagree because he was now a few inches taller then me. When I first met him I was an inch or two taller at the height of 5'4). I stayed quiet, letting Ed greet the people he hadn't seen since the day Father attempted to take over this world. Along with Roy was Riza and Havoc who sat in a wheelchair. I was surprised that Roy had his sight back, but remembered reading somewhere that he did eventually get it back.

"Now who is this Fullmetal?" Roy questioned, looking at me. "You don't seem like the type to pick up girls and bring them along with you."

Ed glared up at him just like he had done so many times in the past. "Her name is Lynelle and if you'd be quiet I could tell you how she got here and where I went."

Ed gave the abridged version of our tale, leaving out the Black Mesa incident of course, and many other parts but giving the main parts of his journey through my world and how he got back, me being sucked in from a spark of alchemic energy that had came from the circle. The reactions were as expected- shocked, unconvinced, and confused. Honestly, I didn't really expect them to believe us at first, but I figured they'd eventually figure out that it was the truth.

Roy sat down on his chair, raising an eyebrow. "So what are you going to do know Fullmetal?"

Ed thought about it for a moment before replying. "I'm going to head west and explore the alchemy of other cultures."

Roy let out a short chuckle, apparently expecting an answer like that. "Guess we won't be seeing you around very much then?"

Ed smirked, "Probably not, but I'm sure you'll find a way to get me to do a mission of some sort if trouble comes up."

They talked and argued for awhile, I stood back observing. For some reason I felt it wasn't my place to get into the conversation. We left soon after Roy started picking on Ed's height again.

"Brother is still too sensitive about his height I see," Al whispered to me.

"Oh yeah," I whispered back. "If anything, I think its gotten worse."

"Are you two whispered about me?" Ed shouted at us as we left the HQ grounds.

"No, why would you ask?" I replied innocently.

Ed sighed, shaking his head. He led us back to the hotel where we gathered our things.

"Brother," Al said as we stood in the lobby of the hotel, bags back and sitting at our feet. "I was thinking of heading east to Xing to study alkahesty."

"Really? Or are you going to visit May Chang?" Ed smirked as a blush spread over his little brother's features.

"Aw, I think he is Ed!" I grinned, finding the blush on his face adorable in a 'cute little brother' way.

"Lynelle," Al muttered, not liking that I had taken Ed's side and began picking on him.

I laughed, "Okay, fine I'll stop."

"I had a feeling you'd do that," Ed told his brother, eyeing him knowingly. "Good thing I only got Lynelle and me a train ticket."

Al smiled, "Since when were you so insightful?"

Ed shrugged, patting his brother's shoulder. "Be safe, okay?"

The two brothers said their good-byes before we headed to the train station, heading on different trains.

"And I was just starting to really get to know that kid," I commented, as the train started moving.

"You'll see him again," Ed replied, pulling out a black note book. "Besides, if both of us study different forms of alchemy we can come back later and compare notes."

"You are such a nerd," I laughed. "I just need to get you thick black glasses and a lab coat and you'd be a full blown chemist!"

"I don't think I'd look good in thick glasses and a lab coat," He replied. "We can leave that to the guys on the Big Bang Theory."

I decided not to tell him that the guys on the Big Bang Theory never wore lab coats when they worked, but figured he'd remember that sooner or later.

I began thinking of our impending journey and began to feel mentally exhausted. I yawned and told Ed, "I'm going to take a nap."

He looked up from his notebook, nodded, and started reading it again. "We're going to make a stop before we get out of the country to get you a passport and visit someone."

I nodded, before leaning my head on the window. I wonder if we're going to visit teacher. I figured I'd let myself be surprised and drifted off to sleep- seeing my mother's smiling face before I completely went under.

Author's Corner:

~Hope you enjoyed this latest installment!

~Just by the way- time in Amestris goes quicker then the time in "the real world". That's why Katrina said she had let them go to the beach "yesterday" instead of "a few days ago"

~Oh yeah, and give me your opinion on how you want Lynelle and Ed to get together!