Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor do I own Fullmetal Alchemist. However, the unique plots and events I put the characters through are original creations of my own mind.

Word of the neighboring village's disturbing decimation had finally reached the townsfolk of Verna, and the whole of the farming village collapsed into itself. A curfew went out to all women and children, among them unarmed men, even those considered most intelligent by Verna's standards. The Inn Keep, Garand, was among those burly men who patrolled the village streets. Though they often heard of the horrors of war, they themselves had never been affected by the dispute between the government and the Ishvarlans, until now.

With a drowsy gaze, Garand scrubbed away at rings of moisture from the mugs of beer at the bar, boisterous clients no longer found. Within the hours of recognition of Verna's neighboring village, Akaer, many did not dare venture far from the town center, the Inn laying a bit ways off from the town, perched atop a hill overlooking the quaint agricultural village, fields stretching out to the horizon as the forest thinned to the west.

"Garand!" Looking up from his mindless work, Garand watched as a young woman from the town ran in, black skin moist with sweat, appearing quite flustered, her braids in disarray. As she caught her breath, Garand wiped the sleep from his eyes, patiently awaiting the young girl's words.

"In...the forest...there...is..."

"Out with it, Larkena, but don't kill yourself over it." The girl, Larkena, straightened, taking a few extra moments to catch her breath before blurting out the news.

"There-are-some-strangers-coming-to-the-Inn-from-the-forest, coming-from-Akaer!" In one breath, Larkena sighed, having finally spoken aloud the news she brought. While attempting to find a stray calf, she had come across a strange pathway, seemingly hacked away. She had followed it, finding two boys a few years older than she, and a scary looking man in a suit of armor carrying a girl around the age of the boys she was with, though unconscious.

For a moment, Garand said nothing, and as Larkena awaited his request to fetch their small town's defenses, he gestured to dismiss her, and returned to his scrubbing. Mouth wide, she stared at Garand with a dumbfound expression on her face.

"What, your just gonna let them waltz in here?"

"Yes. The Inn is open to all, even strangers who happen upon a town in crisis."

"One was a certified alchemist! I saw it!" At this, Garand paused, gazing up at Larkena, a young ferocity in her baby blue eyes.

"That proves nothing."

"Dad's right. You have lost your manhood since she died." Garand looked away in disgust, eyes saddened at the painful words of Larkena as she left him be, empty in the Inn, and yet, an angry flare to them, perhaps at the hidden truth behind her words. Glancing up at the wall behind his desk, he sighed, turning away from the expanse of photos, and made sure his rifle was loaded and tucked away in his drawer.

"Finally! We're here!" Ed beamed, running towards the Inn, feeling as though tears of joy could run down his face. It was dusk now, and he was tired, hungry, and desperately needed to wash the smell of cow from him, the farm animal stench seeming to emanate from Danny and enter his own body, his black top beginning to reek of the beef creatures.

"We probably could've been here sooner if it weren't for your little trip..." Danny spoke smugly, walking from the thinning forest, legs in tact. Mentally, he grimaced at the thought of going back into public in his ghost form. There was no way for him to do anything helpful...it would expose him as a ghost. Though he was beginning to worry over the fact he could not change back into Danny Fenton, he pushed those thoughts aside, trying to focus on the task at hand.

As Al emerged with Sam, now awake in his arms, she squirmed, not wanting to be seen being carried by a guy in a huge armor suit like a child. She glared at Al who had refused to let her walk for about twenty times now, he insisting she should lay off walking until they had a doctor check out her rib cage. So, she resorted to sulking.

After Ed had silently thanked the appearance of the Inn, he turned on his heel, glaring furiously at Danny, the ghost boy examining the Inn and village from the ground.

"You knew that hunter's trap was there, and if you had told me...then we wouldn't all be so tired!" He spoke sternly, a slight twitch in his eye. Unfortunately for him, the trigger had caught his right leg, instead of his left, and had hoisted his flailing form into the air, rope burns still on his ankle. Danny just looked away passively, scratching his neck.

"Would you two stop fighting and get on with it!" Sam asked irritably, voice immediately attracting the attention of the two bickering boys. They glanced to each other for strength, shrugging uncertainly, scared to irritate Sam anymore, she already rather frustrated at Al for not letting her walk.

As Ed and Danny climbed the few steps to the porch of the Inn, they heard rustling within the building. Pausing, each looked up to the door curiously as a large man stepped forth, aiming a rifle at Edward's head. Al gasped, Sam just huffing, annoyed even more. Her trust in Ed's fate was completely with Danny, though she was slightly worried.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" The man demanded fiercely, but his eyes read otherwise. The hazel eyes were filled with a deep remorse and a hidden sympathy and pain, but with the rifle in his hands, none of it really mattered. Ed slowly put his arms in the air, looking cross.

"I'm...Vlad, and these are my friends, Dan, Winry, and...Tucker." Ed spoke, smoothing over his pauses, amber eyes glancing to check that he placed the silver pocket watch in his suitcase, refusing to leave any residual trail for the Military to follow, the names just popping into his head, the first things he could think of.

"We've been traveling to find a doctor for Winry. She might have a broken rib, and want to rest at the Inn." Ed, or 'Vlad', finished, narrowing his eyes at the barrel of the gun obscuring his vision. After a moment, the man lowered his rifle, sighing. Placing the weapon at his side, he motioned for the four to enter, hazel eyes avoiding their curious glares.

The four entered uneasily, constantly eyeing the man with the rifle at his side, however his posture and eyes read a deep regret. Still, both Danny and Ed were rather rigid. The man sighed, placing the gun away, and standing behind his respective desk.

"It'll be forty for the lot of ya." The man muttered. At the mention of money, both Sam and Danny snapped their attention to Ed. He merely hissed, muttering things about 'cheap', and he withdrew the amount in cash, grateful he had withdrawn the money from his military account when he had. Silently, the Inn keep took the money, grabbing a key, and led them upstairs without a word.

"This room is for all of ya. I'll get the doctor in the morning." As the Inn keep left, Al placed Sam on the bed, her face contorting in pain as she moved, but relaxing once laid across the mattress. Not a Sealy, but it would do. Danny was immediately at her side, and his constant worry was beginning to annoy Sam. She merely shot him a glance with her deadly amethyst eyes, but Danny stood there.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, sighing. Sam quirked an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"I didn't get to you in time. That stupid guy...I just...just...sorry..."

"Danny, it's not your fault, so stop beating yourself up before I have to." Sam smirked, and the double-edged comment actually lifted his spirits. The moment was interrupted when they heard a yell. Danny rushed into the bathroom, only to see Ed's spirits as low as the floor, horrified at his reflection. Al and Danny just laughed, but then Ed turned on them, stalking out. At the foot of the bed, his nose flared, horns grew from his head, and a pitchfork as held in his hand.

"YOU! YOU DID THIS!"

"Who, me?" Sam said off hand, forcing her chuckle down, bashfully looking away from a hysteric Edward.

"YES, YOU! YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS...THIS BLOATED TOMATO MAN!" It was then no one could hold anything in any longer. Danny, Al, and Sam all burst into laughter, Sam even going so far as conserving some of her laughter to withdraw the pain, but make her amusement at Ed's rash obvious. His face had blown up like a balloon, it seeming that hundreds of stolen acorns were hidden in his cheeks, white skin splotched with red as though Van Go had one too many drinks and picked up a red paintbrush.

"Don't blame me. How was I supposed to know you were allergic to that fruit?"

"YOU SAID YOU RECOGNIZED IT!" Ed cursed under his breath, going into another itching spell, vigorously scratching at his face, neck, and chest.

"Oh, well...I guess the plants here are different from back home." Sam just shrugged, and watched in amusement as Ed threw a tantrum in all its glory, cussing left and right, stomping on the floor, cursing every living (and non-living) thing in his wake, and finding new ways to insult inanimate objects. Even when he called Sam an 'ass' or Danny a 'bastard', they just kept laughing. Edward was just digging himself a bigger hole. Kind of like...well, Scar.

Author's Note: I apologize a thousand times over for the delay. Expect, at this point, a chapter a month or every three weeks. Everything has been hectic for me lately. I hope you enjoyed it. And, if you recall, Sam had fed Ed particular fruit, and no one else had any. Over the few chapters, he's developed a hideous allergic reaction, but no one told him. It worsened after a few minutes in the Inn, and finally : BLOATED TOMATO MAN!