Okay, finally. We're back to story progression! Are you happy now?

Not much more to say here- Let's get on with the story.

-o-O-o-

25 December, 1916

"Uhm, hi. I . . ." he sighed. "Merry Christmas, Winry."

"E- Edward?"

"Yeah."

The booth fell silent; neither ends of the line talking. A tension hung in the air. In her head, Karmyn slowly began to count down. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . .

"You IDIOT!" A loud scream sounded over the phone. Startled, Ed jumped, hitting his head against the phone booth. Both Karmyn and Al began to chuckle, earning themselves a harsh golden-eyed glare.

"Winry," he said, trying to placate the angry female.

"WHERE WERE YOU? EVERYONE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Winry, I-"

"You've been missing for the greater part of a YEAR, and then you suddenly just CALL me as if it was NOTHING!"

"Winry, please!"

"But I'm glad you're alright," she said softly with a hint of tears in her voice.

The change in tone surprised the trio in the booth at Central. How can someone have mood swings that great? Karmyn wondered. I mean, I saw it in the animes, but . . . wow.

"Yeah," Ed told her. "I am too. But-"

"Did you break my automail again?" Winry asked accusingly.

"Well-" Ed shuffled his feet once more.

"DID YOU?"

"More like . . . I no longer have it . . ." he explained.

"Oh! Did you get your limbs back?" she asked excitingly.

Ed sighed. "I didn't say that, either . . ."

"Oh," came the dejected response. "When will you be coming by?" she asked.

"I don't know. I need to report back to Central first . . . I'll let you know."

"Okay. Oh, and Ed?"

"Yes?"

"If Al's there, could I talk to him for a minute?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." He quickly handed the phone to Al, who was already moving to take it, having overheard the conversation. Once the phone was passed over, he took Al's place next to Karmyn.

"I was wrong," he muttered, rubbing his head. "She can throw a wrench through a telephone."

Karmyn laughed quietly once again. "Don't tell her that- then you'll never be safe!" she whispered back to him.

"Good idea."

Alphonse then hung up the phone and turned back to them. "Alright," he said, "What now?"

"We should probably find a place to stay for the night. It's getting kind of late," Edward pointed out. Karmyn agreed with that statement, but-

"Uhm, guys? Do you think maybe- I mean, we don't have anything other than what we're wearing right now," Karmyn said, "We should probably, you know, get some stuff."

Both Elrics realized the truth in her words. "Yeah," Ed said, "Good point. Alright. Anyways, you would attract too much attention in what you're wearing now."

"No more attention than what you got, wandering around in that old getup of yours," Karmyn shot back.

"Hey! That was stylish!" he protested.

You've got a twisted sense of style, she thought. Al interrupted.

"Okay, fine! We need to go shopping!" he said, and then a thought hit him. "How much money do we have?" he asked uncertainly.

Ed dug around in his pockets while Al did the same. Edward managed to pull up twenty Cens, while Al fished out ten. The three of them stared down at the money for a few minutes before Karmyn sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, geez. Of course you would only have thirty dolla-Cens!" she corrected herself, forgetting that she was no longer in the US. Scratch that, she thought, no longer in that dimension. "I don't know how much things cost here, but I'm pretty sure that thirty Cens won't cover it." The looks on their faces told her that she was right. Oh, crap. We're in trouble now . . .

"Hey, Brother? Do you think that Mrs. Hughes still lives here?" Al asked hesitantly. Edward thought for a minute.

"It's possible, but are you sure you want to reveal our identities quite yet?"

"I don't know, but-"

"But you're gonna have to at some point," Karmyn broke in. "And why not start with her? I think she'd be very pleased to know that you're back."

The Elrics jumped, once again forgetting that she knew everything about this world. Slowly, Al nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're right," he said. "Come on, Brother. It's the best chance we've got."

"Okay," Ed relented. "Let's go. It isn't too far from here."

Karmyn followed the two boys down the street, not quite knowing where she was going. She looked around amazed at the streets she was walking on. She still couldn't quite believe that she was in Amestris. As much as she was excited, she was also depressed. She had lost her mother in order to be here. She had lost everything that she had ever known in order to be here. She was the person who had spent her entire life in front of the door. Now that she was on the other side, she had no clue as to what to do.

Seeing that she had fallen behind, she jogged to catch up with her two friends.

-o-O-o-

Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the Hughes household, yet another place that Karmyn had once thought of as purely fiction. She watched as Edward rang the doorbell, and waited somewhat anxiously for someone to answer. Once again, she hung behind the Elrics, uncomfortable in her new surroundings.

The door opened.

"Hello? Who is it?" A woman with cropped light-brown hair and green eyes looked out at them. "Oh, hello. What are your names?" In response to this, Karmyn watched Ed move the hood of his (her) jacket back slowly, looking up at Gracia with his unmistakable golden eyes. She gasped. "Oh! You- you can come right in." Karmyn could tell that she was slightly disgruntled. Who wouldn't be?

Gracia sat the three of them down on the couch before going to the kitchen to retrieve some cookies that she had made earlier that day. She set them down on the coffee table before sitting down across from the three teens.

"Well," she started, "That certainly gave me a surprise, Edward."

"Sorry," he told her, munching on a cookie. "We . . . just got back, so we don't really want anyone to know we're here quite yet," he said.

"What he means is that he didn't think to bring more money with him when he left, so we didn't have enough for a hotel room," Karmyn muttered under her breath so that Gracia wouldn't hear.

"It was quite a shock," she explained, "Considering that I went to the funeral they held for you almost a year ago. Who are your companions?"

"Ms. Hughes! It's me, Alphonse!"

"Al? So you did get your body back! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," he told her.

"And you?" she asked Karmyn. Karmyn panicked. What could she say? She couldn't very well say that she was from an alternate dimension and had come back through the Gate with the Elrics, could she? She glanced wide-eyed at the Elrics, silently imploring them for help. Ed stepped in.

"This is Karmyn. Karmyn Dallas. She helped us get back here."

"Pleased to meet you, Karmyn."

"Pleased to meet you too, Ms. Hughes," she said back.

"Gracia," was the correction she was given.

Just then, a small four-year-old looked around the corner of the door leading to the rest of the house. "Mommy? I heard voices," she said curiously.

"Oh, Elicia dear, it's Edward and Alphonse. You remember them, right?"

"Yes!" came the small cry, and the girl came running over. "Ed! Al!"

Karmyn smiled at the reunion. Elicia was even cuter in person than she was in the anime! Suddenly, the little girl turned to her. Crouching down next to her, she spoke.

"Hi," she told her, "I'm Karmyn."

"Kar-myn?" Elicia asked, sounding out the word. "Big Sister!"

Looking up, Karmyn saw that Gracia was smiling. I've never had a little sister before, she thought. "Yes," she told the girl. "Big Sister."

What she didn't see was that both Ed and Al were smiling at her as well.

-o-O-o-

It wasn't until late that night that the events of that day caught up to her. Lying on the bed in one of the extra rooms, she sobbed into her pillow. She mourned for everything that she had lost. Her mother. Her best friend. Her world.

Apparently, she was a little louder than she had anticipated. The door opened softly, and she sat upright, glancing at the clock. Two in the morning, she realized. Who could it be? She looked over to who was standing at the door.

With shock, she realized that it was Alphonse. "What are you doing here?" she asked blearily. "Why are you awake?"

Quietly, Al entered the room. "I could ask you the same question. I had to use the bathroom, and I heard you crying in here." He paused. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she started, "No . . . I will be? I don't know," she admitted.

"Karmyn" he said, "You know that we could try to get you home," he suggested. She shook her head no.

"Al. I know what happened when you were trying to get your body back. It's harder than it looks. Besides," she said, "I'd have to get back in less than a week, what with the time differences."

"I forgot about that," he said quietly.

Karmyn sobbed. "There's nothing for me back there now anyways. My mom's gone, my dad left, and I have no other family there. Mom sacrificed herself to send me here. I'm not about to let her efforts go to waste. This is my home now," was her firm resolve.

"Karmyn . . ."

"I'm gonna stick with you and Ed, alright? I think that's my best bet to surviving here. Besides," she added, "You're my friends."

Al smiled at her statement. "Alright. You get some sleep now, okay?" He yawned. "I think I'm gonna do the same. See you in the morning, Karmyn."

"Or, later today," she replied, pointing to the clock. Al laughed, and then left the room.

Two minutes later, Karmyn was fast asleep.

-o-O-o-

Okay. That chapter done. I think that in the next chapter they might to and see Mustang . . . bwap bwap bwaaaap. As always, tell me what you think!

Reviews might help cheer Karmyn up a bit!

Sayonara!