Down, down down. Up, left, down, he wasn't even sure anymore. Burning pain.. a feeling of detachment, then nausea and breathlessness. Edward was sure he was dying, that's the only way this could be described, couldn't it? Light.. light, it was growing brighter.. all of a sudden, a blast of alchemic energy blinds him, before a sudden, rough jolt courses his body as he.. lands. Hard, on the ground. The light is dissipating.. as he blacks out. [Alphonse..]

"DiNozzo, look over there, see if you can find anything else. McGee, call and tell Abby that she's getting plenty of evidence this round." The voices are.. fuzzy, distant.

Then a female. "Gibbs, there is something small and red over here. It looks like something covered with a blanket."

Footsteps then, distant, but slowly moving closer.. closer..

"Uh, Boss, I think it just moved.." comes a new voice, followed by a round of clicking sounds.

With a groan, Edward moves his stiff body, feeling as though he'd been hit by a truck. "Hnnnhmmmrrrwww.." he tries to speak, ask where he is; but all that comes out is a strange, slurred jumble of sounds.

"Freeze, NCIS!" The first voice speaks again, moving closer; but a fourth set of footsteps enters, with a guy that sounds like a smooth-talker. "Geez, he looks like he crashed here. Maybe he fell out of a helicopter?"

"Ziva, keep on him, DiNozzo, check his vitals. McGee, call Ducky, tell him to get over here right away."

Edward can feel somone touching his neck; then open his eyeballs-allowing flooding light into them, blinding him. He groans loudly and pathetically pulls his head away, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Uh.. Boss.. he uh.."

"What is it, DiNozzo?"

"His eyes.. they're yellow."

DiNozzo keeps watch over Edward until Ducky arrives, noting his curiously-colored eyes again. Luckily he hasn't noticed Edward's metal limbs, as he hasn't checked more than Ed's head.

"Oh, Jethro! What.. my my, what have we here? What sort of unfortunate accident has this young man befallen? Here, let me have a look at him." This new man.. strange accent.. but sounds kind of friendly. Edward feels himself moved from the spot, finally, for the first time since he'd been awoken-and hears a gasp from the woman.

"Gibbs! There is a gun under him!"

"Bag and tag, right now."

Edward groans loudly, eyes still shut, but as he's sat up, he hears the friendly voice again. "Young man, could you open your eyes for me? I want to make sure that you're all right." After a few moments, Edward slowly opens his eyes, vision blurry, unable to make out all but a moving.. something.. before a bright light comes from that something. A flashlight, maybe? It's over in a few moments, but he leaves his eyes open, as they seem to slowly be focusing.

"Those eyes.. Jethro, he is not wearing any contact lenses. Those.. are his natural eyes."

"Is he blind, Duck?" Gibbs looks down to see Edward's eyes, looking fairly confused.

"I'm rather sure he's not, but hopefully he can explain for us."

"Yes, explaining would be nice." The smooth-talker again. "What's your name, kid?"

Edward looks around, slowly, feeling disoriented and dizzy as he moves his head. "Hooo.. wh-whoo.. errr.. yooo.." he manages to get out, suprised at the mush that escaped his own mouth. He licks his lips confusedly.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. Now, what's your name?"

"Auhhhmm.." Edward reaches up his left hand and rubs at his mouth, trying to make it work. "Ehh.." he pauses for a little cough. "Ehh-dwaaard. Eurric." He frowns. "Ehhrr..ikk. Erlll.. Eh-l-wrik. Demmat!" he groans and shakes his head, but that only makes him sway unsteadily. "Wos.. wrong.. 'if mmmee.."

Ducky frowns and takes another, better look into Edward's eyes. "I'm not sure.." he looks over Edward's head, finding a rather nasty bump on the side. "Oh, dear.. how did you hit your head like that? That usually takes falling from an aircraft. It's a miracle you survived at all."

Ziva looks at Gibbs, who keeps his attention on the young boy. "Well Duck, until Edward here improves, he's under your care. Maybe then, he can help us out with this mystery."

Edward looks up at the fuzzy outline of Gibbs as he walks away. Something strikes this man as.. familiar. Almost like Mustang. Mustang.. He drifts off, slipping into unconsciousness.

Cold.. it feels cold in here. His head feels a little more clear, though. Edward slowly awakens, feeling drowsy and drunk, opening his eyes. It's dark where he lays, but there's light from the other end of the room. There's.. tables.. for people to lay on, and what looks like surgical tools on a tray. Operating room? Hospital? That means.. they want to operate on him?

He jumps suddenly, but, still recovering from a hell of a head-whack, loses balance and falls off the table with a "Snrk-uungh!' and hitting the floor on his left arm. "Auughhooooo.."

"Oh! Young man, be careful, you're still recovering from your concussion! Here, let me assist you." That friendly voice from earlier.. Edward, now with his vision back to normal, can make out its source-an older man, wearing a suit a surgeon would wear.

"Y..you're not.. gonna.. operate.. on-on me, are you?" Edward gets out, pale with nervousness.

"Oh..oh! Heavens no! No, you're in fine health, there's no need to operate on you." He helps Edward to his shaky feet. "I am Dr. Mallard, by the way."

"Dr.. Mallard. Hello." Edward puts a hand to his head. "I'm Edward. Elric."

"Oh, wonderful. Now we have a last name for you. Be back in just a moment." Ducky turns to call Gibbs.. but, surprise! Gibbs has just arrived, with his perfect-as-always timing. "Oh, Jethro! Good, you're here. He's up and talking. He ah, said his last name is 'Elric'."

"Elric, huh?" Gibbs walks over to Edward, whose face holds the expression of someone that's about to sneeze. "Edward Elric?"

"Yes. Who are you..?"

"Special Agent Gibbs. Are you feeling up to explaining why you were in the woods, with a gun, with a concussion?"

Edward stares at Gibbs in confusion. "..The woods? A gun..? Wha?"

"I suppose not." He pauses, looking at Edward. "Where are you from?"

Edward, lost in thought, doesn't realize Gibbs has spoken to him until a minute later. "..What?"

Gibbs frowns a little. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." That never needs thought with Edward. He puts his left hand to his face, rubbing it-then realizes the glove is gone. He quickly checks his right hand.. the glove is still there. His red coat is gone, too.. but his long black shirt is on still. His arm is completely covered. "Where's.. my coat?"

"It's with Abby. She'll return it when she's done checking it. Stand up, I'll take you upstairs."

"What's upstairs? Who.. I remember voices.. from earlier. Who were they?" He's starting to find his voice again.

"I'll introduce them to you." He pauses in speech as he leads Edward into the elevator. "You're not blind, are you?"

"..Blind? What kind of a question is that?"

"Your eyes are a strange color."

"They are not! Gold is a common eye color."

"..You are going to have to tell me where you're from, kid."

Before Edward can protest to the kid comment, the elevator dings, and the doors open. Edward looks around, walking out towards the people. Gibbs quickly matches Edward's pace, watching him like a hawk. "DiNozzo, McGee, Ziva. Come meet the mystery kid."

McGee gets up and walks over, as well as DiNozzo. Ziva just stands, looking a little curious.

"Ah.. hello." Edward speaks a little nervously. "I'm Edward.. Elric."

"Tony DiNozzo," speaks Tony, the first to offer his hand.

Edward tentatively shakes Tony's right hand with his own, and Tony spots some metal under the shirt cuff. "Whoa, neat armband. What are you, a techno guy like McGeek here?" Tony jerks his thumb at McGee when they finish shaking, and Edward covers his arm nervously. "McGeek?"

"No, it's McGee. Tim McGee, nice to meet you." He notes Edward's awkwardness with his right hand. He just gets a nod from Edward.

"Hello, Edward. I am Ziva David." Ziva holds out her hand, waiting for Edward. Edward nervously puts his hand in hers, and as she shakes she takes note of how his hand feels, but mentions nothing of it.

"Zee..va. Interesting name.. where are you from?"

"Israel," she replies, and Edward's face just shows a look of cluelessness. "Ahh..euhrr.. Is-is that near Ishvar at all?"

"..Near where? I know all countries near Israel, I have never heard of an 'ishbal'."

"Where are you from, Edward?" Gibbs asks Edward, as everyone else is also wondering.

"Risembool. Well, I was at Central before I got here."

"Central? Central where?" Ziva.

"Central. Central Headquarters, Central Command."

"Military?" Ziva narrows her eyes.

"Obviously," Edward snorts.

Gibbs, frustrated, raises his voice a little. "What country?"

"Amestris, where else?"

All four of them are silent, and Edward just looks around. "What? I.. uh oh.. I'm not in Drachma, am I?" He frowns and shrinks back a little.

"What the hell is Drachma? Where is Amestris? What are you talkin' about, kid?" Tony says, mouthing everybody else's thoughts.

Edward frowns and shakes his head. [No.. the portal.. the portal.. where am I?] "Where am I?" Edward suddenly shouts, looking panicked.

"Calm down," Gibbs orders. "Ziva, take him down to interrogation. He needs to relax so we can figure everything out."

Ziva grabs the defensive Edward, forcing him towards the interrogation rooms. "Come on, this way! You'd think it'd be easy to move someone this small!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' SMALL?" Edward suddenly yells, gaining the attention of Gibbs and Tony, who run toward the two, Ziva trying to get control of Edward, who is matching her in hand-to-hand combat. Edward spots Gibbs, who has a gun drawn. Within milliseconds, he kicks Ziva to the side and yanks his right arm up-just in time to stop the bullet from hitting him. He stops where he is, huffing, the bullet falling from his arm. "WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING AT ME?" He yells, giving his right arm a little shake.

Tony just stares at Edward while Ziva gets up and points her gun at Edward's head. "I bet this is not bullet proo-"

"Put the gun down, Ziva," Gibbs orders, gun still trained on Edward. As she lowers her gun, Gibbs moves closer. "Show me your arm, Edward."

Edward nods slowly, unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it off-revealing his average left arm.. and his completely mechanical right arm, lifting it up as he flexes his fingers.

Everyone stares; but McGee, joining the party finally, runs forward, not even noticing the fact that three guns are trained on Edward. He reaches out hesitantly to the arm, not even registering Gibbs calling out his name. "Whoa.. what is this?"

Edward lets McGee look at it. "You've never seen automail before?"

"Automail..? No, I've never heard of it either.. It's amazing.. is there a computer in here? How does it work?"

"MCGEE! Get your ass back here!" Gibbs orders, voice laced with annoyance.

"Oh-oh uh, right, boss.." McGee goes back over to where Tony is, and Ziva walks with Gibbs as he directs Edward toward the interrogation rooms.

"That was..amazing," McGee says, taking the last glimpse of Edward's arm as they turn the corner.

"Yeah.. makes you wonder.. who is he and where does he come from?"

"Tell me, from start to finish, who you are, where you are from, how you got here, and what you're doing here."

Edward nods and takes a deep breath. He has no idea that the rest of the team has gathered outside the glass-Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Ducky, even the previously-absent autopsy gremlin, Palmer.

"My name is Edward Elric. I'm from a small town called Risembool, where my brother and I grew up with our mom.. before she died. After that, we went to study alchemy better from a teacher.." He pauses, leaving out the alchemy accident's details. "My brother and I were in an accident. I lost my arm and leg, and-"

He's interrupted by Gibbs. "Your leg?"

"Yeah." Edward reaches down, removing his left boot, sock; he then lifts his leg up, setting his foot on the table to show Gibbs. "It's all automail to just above the knee."

"What is automail?"

"..You really don't know?"

"Wouldn't be asking if I knew."

"It's prosthetics. It's mechanical. A base is surgically grafted to the skin.." he pauses, pulling his tank top off, revealing the attachment area, as well as the scars-and everyone behind the glass gasps, almost in unison. "..and what it does, it amplifies the signals the brain sends to the limb, and allows me to move it like a regular arm."

Gibbs stares at Edward's arm and the spot it meets the body. "Did you make this?"

"What? No, I don't have any idea how to make it. Winry did it. She's my mechanic, she makes automail.. and she gets so pissed when I break it," he adds, shrinking down a little.

"Winry?"

"Winry Rockbell, of the Rockbells in Risembool."

"Where exactly is Risembool?"

"Risembool is near East City in Amestris."

"Where is Amestris?"

"..You're kidding, right?"

"No. Where is Amestris?"

"Wh-" Edward groans exasperatedly. "Amestris is the country right in the middle of the other countries Drachma, Creta, Aerugo, and the desert that separates all of them from Xing."

Gibbs stares at Edward, then sighs. He turns and leaves the room. "Duck, Abbs, I want you to check his body chemistry. See if he's taken anything, if he's delusional, if he's any different from a normal person in any way."

Abby holds up her hand. "Um, Gibbs.."

"Yeah Abbs?"

"I checked his red coat.. and there was something strange about it."

"Well, what?"

"Well, I checked all over to see what might be in the fibers. There was dirt and leaves from all around the crime scene. Major Mass Spec picked that up. The only thing is.. whatever his coat is made from, there's no other fibers like it here on earth."

"Alien..?" McGee sputters, and Tony shakes his head.

"No, Probie. He's gotta be from another dimension."

"McGee, DiNozzo, shut up!" Gibbs suddenly yells, putting a hand to his head. He gets quite a few stares at that last outburst.

"Boss, are.. you okay?" Tony asks, and Gibbs puts up his hand.

"I will be when we figure out what's up with this kid. McGee, go look up alchemy and see what you find. DiNozzo, go look up the countries he named. Ziva.. talk to him, see what else he comes up with. See if you can't get something else from him, something from this world."

"Yes, Gibbs," Ziva replies, heading to do her job without question.

"Boss? Where are you headed?"

Gibbs doesn't answer, just leaves the hall, needing time alone to think. [Not once, did his face show he was lying..]