Hey, thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed my other stories. Here's the next bit.

Winry and Den had been walking for hours and yet the desert still hadn't ended. Den was panting while Winry was sweating bullets. Her head was bowed, her pigtails swinging rhythmically on either side of her face and drops of sweat were plopping onto the sand, leaving a small wet mark that was swiftly dried up. Finally Winry collapsed on her knees and grabbed two handfuls of sand hurling them into the air.

"I've had enough of this! I can't stand this desert anymore! When will it end?"

Suddenly Den started barking and scratching in the sand. Winry looked at him and saw he had uncovered something. She quickly ran over and started moving sand out of the way. Under the sand there seemed to be a strange yellow brick. She dug all around the brick and found more.

"This must be the Yellow Brick Road!" Winry said excitedly. "We're almost out of the desert! Come on Den!"

They both started running as fast as they could up and over dunes of sand in a straight line, following the road that was buried under the sand. Soon the desert sand starting turning into tufts of grass. Sweat was pouring into Winry's eyes and she swiftly wiped her face off with a corner of the pinafore she was wearing since her hands were tacky with sweat and sand. When she could see again she clearly saw fields of grain interspersed with a few houses. She ran faster and soon heard the clattering of a road under her shoes and not the dry low thumping of sand. She ran over to the nearest tree which provided shade and collapsed under it, breathing heavily. Den came trotting up shortly after, shaking his automail leg fiercely before settling down and panting himself. Winry looked over to the desert and was surprised to see how suddenly sand turned into grass. It was like the desert and farmland were separated by a glass wall or something. Winry rubbed her aching feet and said, "My feet are killing me! These shoes are so tight!"

Winry grabbed the left shoe and tried to tug it off. It wouldn't come off. She pulled harder and harder, twisting and wriggling, trying everything she could think of to get it off, but it wouldn't come off!

"AUGH! Come off you damn shoe!"

She collapsed against the tree in defeat. The shoes would not come off.

"Someone must've tampered with them using Alchemy or something." Winry said to herself. Den's ear twitched, but his eyes stayed closed. "Only Etnad, Dante, or the Fuhrer could've done that though. The Fuhrer was no where in the vicinity and Dante wanted the shoes for herself so she wouldn't make them stick on to me. Etnad was already dead so she couldn't have done it…but then who?"

Izumi's face flashed in her mind. Izumi claimed she didn't know Alchemy, but now Winry wasn't so sure. Then again, to what purpose did it serve Izumi to make the Blood Red Slippers stick to Winry? Wiry shrugged and stood up, dusting the last remnants of sand from her dress. It didn't really matter, as long as she could see the Fuhrer and get home. She patted her leg with one hand and Den got up and walked over to her. They both started walking down the Yellow Brick Road through the Eastern Region on the way to Central. There wasn't much to see in the way of decoration or landmarks. Just farmland, farmland, farmland. Eventually the fields of grain gave way to fields of potatoes, then cabbage, then corn, and finally a small dairy farm was evident. A couple of cows were out to pasture and a small boy with his back to her was milking the cows. There weren't many cows in Resembool, so Winry stopped to get a closer look. Den growled at the animals.

"Don't growl at the cows Den. You'll scare them."

"Honey, it's going to take a little more than that mutt to scare us. And don't be rude by calling us cows! We are obviously sentient Cows!"

"I'm-I'm sorry! I didn't realize you could speak! There aren't many co-I mean Cows where I come from."

The Cow lowed and turned up her nose and Winry before lumbering away.

"Stuck up piece of prime rib…" Winry muttered darkly under her breath. "Let's go Den."

Before she could leave, the boy who was milking the cows ran up to the fence, calling out to her.

"Hey! You! Girl! Wait! I need your help!"

Winry stopped and was shocked to see Ed calling out to her! He wasn't wearing his usual black shirt, pants, shoes, and red coat combo, nor was his hair braided, but it was him all the same. Instead, his hair was tied back in a ponytail with a piece of leather and he was wearing a straw hat. Replacing the red coat was a green vest and white undershirt with khaki pants and a different style of black shoes. Winry quickly composed herself. This may look like Ed, but it wasn't the Ed she knew. The Ed she knew was back home. Despite feeling neglected by the Elrics, she still felt a pang of homesickness thinking about them. All the more reason to hurry to see the Fuhrer!

"Yes?" She said. "What's wrong?"

"I need your help!" Ed said again. "There's a witch living there that's making me milk these damn cow day after day!"

"Cows! With a capital C!" The snooty Cow called out.

"Oh shut the hell up! I'm sick and tired of listening to you complain!" He yelled out to the Cow. She just sniffed and lumbered further away. Before Ed could turn back to Winry, the farmhouse door opened and Pinako stepped out.

"Edward! Are you shirking your chores again?"

"Aw crap!" Ed said, turning around.

Winry watched as Pinako advanced towards Edward. For Ed, who despised milk (the very sight of which makes him sick, as we all know), this was torture. Thinking fast, Winry grabbed Ed by the shoulders and hoisted him over the edge of the fence and yelled out, "RUN!"

They both ran as fast as they could away from Pinako's dairy farm. Pinako didn't bother trying to run after them. She wouldn't be able to keep up.

"That's the fourteenth milker I've lost in a month! Oh well. I'd better put another Ad in the Personals."

She put her pipe in her mouth, lit it up, and calmly walked back inside.

After running for ten minutes Ed and Winry came to a stop, panting for breath.

"I think…we lost her." Winry said, between gasps.

"Thanks…for the help." Ed answered.

"No problem. Why were you there anyway?"

"After our mother died, my brother and I were separated and forced to work in two different places in the Eastern Region. I was sent here but I don't know where my brother is."

It was at this time, that Winry noticed Ed's arm. It wasn't automail. Another difference from her Amestris!

"So, what's your brother like?" Winry asked, wanting to know what to expect.

"Well, when he was a baby he was cursed by Etnad who used Alchemy to trap his soul inside a suit of armor. It's fused shut, so we could never find out if the Alchemy left a mark or a symbol. It usually does."

Winry quickly looked over her shoes. No mark whatsoever. Then maybe no one did tamper with them…but then why wouldn't they come off?

"Well I've got to go. Good luck finding your brother." Winry said, heading down the road again.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Me? I'm going to see the Fuhrer so he can help me find my way home."

"Really? Can I come with you?" Ed asked.

"What for?" Winry said, curious.

"Well, this road runs right through the Eastern Region, so there's a good chance I'll find him if I come with you. Also, I wanted to ask the Fuhrer for something myself."

"Oh! You want him to make you taller don't you?" Winry asked slyly.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE'D DROWN IN A DROP OF WATER YOU JERK?"

Winry held up her hands and said, "Sorry! I didn't mean anything by it!" Some things were the same, no matter where you went…

Ed eventually calmed down and they headed down the Yellow Brick Road, hoping that the Fuhrer would be able to help them…

Ending Note: That's it for this part. The Tin Man makes his appearance next chapter. I suppose it's not very hard figuring out who he is…

Review please, but no flames!