A/N 10/8/06: Hey again! Finally done with Chapter 2(yay!) of my first fanfic. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter (Castoro Chiaro, S J Smith, KristiexxNguyen, Marina, Link Fangirl01, and Eyesopen), it meant so much to me that people were actually reading and leaving me criticism! It's just so exciting that people are enjoying what I'm writing, it makes me smile Anyway, just remember that reviews will speed up my creation of the next chapter, so give me incentive to write! If I don't get many then who knows how long it could take to write the next one(hehe, evil aren't I?)? Just kidding, I won't be mean like that, but seriously, read and review please, constructive criticism is really appreciated, I don't know too much about writing so I need your opinions!

Edit 10/10/06: Hey just had to change the fact that Ed lived in Munich not London...whoops lol. Anyway, I have most of chapter 3 written, but I need some encouragement to finish! Please give me some constructive feedback on this, let me know how I'm doing!

Chapter 2

"Are you sure we're ready to do this, Brother?" Alphonse squeaked nervously.

"Of course we're ready, Al." Edward reassured his sibling as he brushed his blond bangs out of his face, revealing piercing golden eyes fierce with determination.

"Al, we've been waiting for this day for a year, you don't wanna back out now, do ya?" Ed's question was met with silence as he scanned their transmutation circle.

It was perfect down to the very last detail. The smooth intricate designs were beautifully drawn, the flawless patterns merging and separating, all in perfect equilibrium.

If it weren't a tool of science, some might consider it a masterpiece, a pristine work of art. The lines and patterns had been drawn with painstaking accuracy, taking hours to complete.

Ed sighed. Hours, days, weeks, and months of preparation and work had led up to this moment. The brothers didn't even know if this would work, if their plan would even take them back to the world of alchemy, but they both had decided long ago that they would give almost anything to return to Amestris and their loved ones. In fact, almost as soon as they had appeared in Munich, back in the strange world that Ed had lived in for two years where alchemy didn't exist, they immediately began their research to try and get back home.

In Ed's mind, home was not just a dwelling, a place of residence, it was the feelings that accompanied that place. It was family, it was memories, it was comfort and security, it was the sense of belonging, but most of all it was love. Home for the brothers was not Munich, nor would it ever be.

Here it was only an empty and meaningless term used to describe the dingy and bare apartment where they resided. Their real home was, and always would be in Amestris, in Risembool, with the people they cared for.

In his mind, Ed pictured a certain mischievous blonde-haired mechanic, her arm muscles tense, ready to perform the familiar action of throwing her wrench in aggravation at his head.

His eyes softened and the corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly at this mental image. The last time Ed saw Winry was a year ago in his all too brief return to Amestris.

When they met he had been shocked to see how much she had matured since he saw her just two years before. Not just physically, but when he looked into her deep blue eyes he had seen wisdom years beyond her age, the result of being forced to grow up much too quickly.

Winry had suffered emotional hardships, many of which were likely caused in one way or another by him and Al, Ed thought guiltily.

He wondered what she was doing now. Was she alright? Was she still living in Risembool? Was she happy? Did she think about him and Al as much as they thought about her?

Ed subconsciously caressed his automail arm with his flesh hand, running his fingers up and down the smooth cold material. His metal limbs were the only things connecting him to his previous life, and to her.

Before he could contemplate more on this, Al's impatient cough brought him back to reality.

"Are you ready, Brother?"

Ed took in Al's uncertain appearance and with as much confidence as he could muster, he firmly said, "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's do this Al."

Although he put on a tough façade, inside Ed was quaking with fear.

He didn't know if this would work. He didn't know if they would survive let alone be sent to their anticipated destination, but he knew that this may be their only chance to get to their true home, so he slowly but willingly got down on his knees next to his brother.

The two boys cautiously placed their hands on the enormous circle.

At first nothing happened, but just as Ed's body began to sag with disappointment the room was suddenly filled with a mesmerizing blue light, illuminating the brothers conflicting expressions of both fear and excitement.

The last thought that ran through Ed's mind before he was thrust into suffocating darkness was that the shade of blue was identical to that of Winry's spell-binding eyes.

A/N: Wellllll, how was it? Please let me know! R&R!