AdventureAddict: Well, here we go again. Another day, another chapter. Another time to comment on Ed's height…well, more of his lack of it.

Ed: MOJJM MOJIYY MOKJJI MOKYYMO MOHGTMMO!!!

AdventureAddict: What the-?

Frodo: You got him in the middle of a bath.

Ed: MMJGFK MMGHPT MOPUT MUTS MATPY!!! …I got water up my nose…

AdventureAddict. Okay then. I don't own FMA, how many times must we go over this? Just start the story!

Frodo: Jeez. Bos-sy

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Chapter Eight – There are many paths to tread

Robyn knocked gently on the Elliotts' door and heard a muffled 'come in' from somewhere in the house. She walked inside, and an awful smell greeted her. Ed was sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of something black in his hands, watching what looked suspiciously like a soap opera.

"Hey Ed. Whatcha doing?" Robyn asked looking suspiciously at the bowl of black food and the TV.

"Watching TV," Ed mumbled.

Robyn rolled her eyes. "What about Al?" she asked. Ed just shrugged. Robyn sighed and walked over to the basement, sliding down the banister. Al was in a corner, polishing his armor with a dirty rag. He looked up at the thud of Robyn's feet.

"Hey Al. How's it going?" Robyn asked, walking over to Al and sitting down next to him cross-legged.

Al sighed. "I'm homesick," he said slowly.

Robyn looked sadly at him. "You don't mean the home you burned down, do you?" she asked. Al shook his head, then hesitated.

"Well…that too…" he said slowly.

Robyn was thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I think Ed is a little homesick too, whether he realizes it or not." Al nodded, and the two of the sat silently for a while, the only sound coming from the slight squeak of Al rubbing at his chest plate. Robyn sat there, then softly started singing.

'Home is behind

The world ahead

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadow

To the edge of night

Until the stars are all alight

Mist and shadow, cloud and shade

All shall fade
All shall

Fade.'

Robyn looked up and noticed that Al was looking at her. She twitched her mouth into a small smile, then said, "Come on Al. Lets go upstairs." She could tell that Al was about to protest, so she continued. "Ed told me that Robert and Sherry don't usually come home until about eight, and it's-" she stopped and looked at her watch. "seven-thirty now, so you'll be safe for a while. Al looked at Robyn, then slowly got up and followed her up the stairs.

Ed was still sitting in front of the TV, now intently watching commercials. It looked like a car commercial for Honda, or some other car company. Robyn suspiciously eyed the bowl of black food again as Ed took a bite with his eyes glued to the screen.

"What is that?" Robyn asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Ramen," Ed answered absently. He looked up and seemed to notice Robyn and Al for the first time. "Hey! Isn't there a risk that someone might see him?" Ed asked as he looked worriedly at Al. Robyn was still looking in horror at the bowl of black Ramen.

"How can you burn Ramen?!" she yelled.

Ed ignored her question. "Why is Al up here?" he asked.

Robyn stopped making faces at Ed's Ramen and looked up at him. "First of all, why not? Second of all, you're sitting up here watching soap operas and eating burned Ramen. Give me that," she said snatching the blackened Ramen from Ed. "I figured you needed a little cheering up," she finished. She looked back down at the ramen in her hands. "Do you prefer Ramen soup or plain Ramen?" she asked.

"Uh…plain," Ed mumbled, his attention focused back on the TV. Robyn sighed and walked into the kitchen, dumping the black ramen into the trashcan. Al gently sat next to Ed on the sofa, the cushions making a large dent for the armor. Al chuckled as the soap opera came back on and Ed leaned in to watch it.

"And you said we were rotting our brains with Guitar Hero," Al commented. Ed quickly glanced at Al, then turned back to the show. Al sighed, the sound reverberating through the empty armor.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Al asked softly. Ed had both his elbows on his knees and his chin cupped in his hands.

"Nothing," he said, his eyes glued to the TV. Al let out a frustrated sigh, then stood up and sat in front of the TV.

"Hey!" Ed shouted angrily at Al, "Carlos just confessed of his undying love to Jacqueline! Move!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," Al said stubbornly. Ed sighed and closed his eyes. "Brother, you would have loved to learn all sorts of new stuff about a place like this. I thought that you were going to be reading books for hours, but instead you're watching this junk. What's wrong?" Al repeated.

Ed looked down. "I don't know, Al," he said softly. He looked back up. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I went and made you like that, and then I can't remember a shred of anything we did together."

Al looked steadily at Ed. "It will be okay, Brother. We gotten through worse stuff before, we'll get through this."

Ed looked up at Al with a faint smile. "How did a guy like me get a brother like you? You should be Gandhi's brother or something."

Al cocked his head. "Who's Gandhi?' he asked.

Ed smirked at Al, "I have learned some things about this world." Then Robyn walked back into the room with two plates in her hands, handing one to Ed. Ed and Al both looked at the plate. There was a pile of Ramen on it, but they looked creamier. Ed cautiously took a bite, and gaped at the plate.

"Wow! That's really good! What did you do to it?" Ed asked. Robyn just smirked at him. "This is almost as good as those cinnamon chip cookies," Ed told her, making Robyn blush a little.

Al looked up at her. "Cinnamon chip cookies?" he asked. "Those sound pretty good."

Robyn suddenly looked back up at Al, struck with sudden inspiration. "How about I teach you how to make them in exchange for the alchemy lessons you're giving me?" she asked. "Then you can try them when you get your body back in Amestris."

"Okay," Al agreed happily. Robyn grinned back at him and took a bite of her Ramen.

"But won't you be there to make them yourself?" Ed asked, making Robyn and Al look up at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Robyn asked innocently.

"Aren't you coming with us to Amestris?" Robyn looked sadly at Ed.

"No, Ed," she said slowly. "You wouldn't want me to if you had your memory," she paused. "Besides, I have plans of my own." Ed looked at her for a moment, and both their heads turned as they heard a car pulling in the driveway. They both turned and motioned for Al to go back down into the basement, but he was already heading down the stairs. Ed turned back to Robyn.

"Plans?" he asked as Sherry walked through the door, her arms full of groceries. "Like what"

"Well, I want to go to college, perhaps major in art, and then maybe meet a nice guy and get married." Robyn looked at Ed, who was giving her a strange look. "Yeah, even kids like me want to go to college. And I know that if I went to Amestris, I would just end up following you and Al around on your adventures. Why else would I go there? And once you and Al got your bodies back, where would I go? I wouldn't have a complete education or a job."

"You could join the military," Ed suggested. Robyn looked at him skeptically.

"I wouldn't join the military without a good reason," she said softly. "And needing a job isn't a good enough reason for me." The two of them were silent. "When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your brother will always be there," she said reassuringly, hoping to cheer Ed up.

Winry sat in a dark room, surrounded by complete darkness. She had no idea where she was, and she didn't like the place either. She looked around desperately for a way out, or somebody to help her. She grinned as she saw the flash of a red coat in the distance, Ed would know what was going on. She ran towards it, the darkness threatening to swallow her whole.

She finally managed to make it to the spot, Ed's familiar face in front of her with a rather odd smirk. He almost looked evil.

"Ed," she gasped, panting for breath from her jog, "Where are we? Where's Al?"

Ed's grin widened a little. "Hiding," he answered.

That worried Winry a little. "Hiding? Why is he hiding? What happened, Ed?"

Ed raised one eyebrow. "Who are you?" he asked.

Winry gave him a look that would have sent him running if she had her wrench. "Ha ha, very funny Ed," she said. "Enough with the joke. Did you break your automail again?" she reached out to examine his arm, but instead of grabbing the wrist, her hand fell right through it. She stared at Ed in horror, noticing for the first time that he was slightly fuzzy around the edges. "What's happened to you, Ed?" She said, her voice echoing off the dark, empty walls.

"I don't know," Ed answered, and then vanished completely.

Winry suddenly woke up, covered in sweat. She quickly put on a bathrobe and ran out of the room.

"Something's happened to Ed and Al!"

"Hey, Al? We didn't know Robyn before, right?"

Al looked up from Ed's Chemistry book. "What do you mean, Brother?"

"She seemed a little familiar to me. There wasn't anybody like her in Amestris, was there?" Ed asked. Al was thoughtful for a minute.

"The person she reminds me the most of is you, Brother," Al said with a chuckle. Ed grumbled a little. "Seriously, her hair reminds me of Roy, but that's it." Al added.

"Robyn isn't like me," Ed muttered under his breath.

"Maybe not, but she probably knows more about you than you do. For example, do you even know who Roy is?" Al asked. Ed quickly opened his mouth, and after a second, he closed it again.

"Just read the Chemistry book, Al." Ed said angrily. "I'll remember who Roy is as soon as I get my memory back, and I'll get my memory back once we do enough research. I'm going to work on the computer, so I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"The Computer?" Al gasped. "Can I see? Please, Brother?"

Ed sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. Just take the Chemistry book with you." Al excitedly stood up, the book clutched in his large hands. Ed walked up and out of the basement, then up a second flight of stairs to a hallway, where he opened a door, revealing a desk with a computer surrounded by shelves of books. Al stared into the room, and Ed walked over to the computer and flicked it on.

"Hang on, I'll just get onto Google," Ed mumbled, quickly moving the mouse around. He looked back up at Al, who was staring at all the books on the wall. "Read the Chemistry book," he told Al as the Google screen popped up.

"Okay," Al said, sitting in one of the soft armchairs. Ed stared thoughtfully at the screen.

Ed sighed. "What should I search?" he asked, more to himself than Al. Al got back up from his spot to look at the computer screen. Ed typed in 'world gate' and Al gasped as the results popped up.

"That's amazing, Brother!" Al said. Ed nodded and kept scrolling through the results. Al seemed thoughtful for a minute. "What happens when you put in 'The Philosopher's Stone?'" he asked. Ed scrolled back up to the top and quickly typed in 'philosopher's stone' and another list of results popped up.

'Can anybody give me an example of where they've heard of Alchemy before?'

Ed started looking through the list, with Al looking excitedly over his shoulder. Ed kept reading the different results and then noticed the name 'Harry Potter' on one.

'Uh, Harry Potter? Didn't Dumbledore and Flamel use it to create the Philosopher's Stone?'

Ed stared at the link for a minute, then quickly scrolled back up to the top and typed in 'harry potter.' Ed glanced at the long list of links and quickly stood up. He pressed the power button on the computer and quickly ran across to his room, grabbing his red jacket off the chair and running towards the door as he pulled it on.

"I'm going to talk to Robyn, I won't be gone long, just go back in the basement and read the chemistry book!" Ed called out as the door slammed behind him. Ed quickly ran next door, his red coat flying out behind him. He impatiently rang the doorbell and waited on the porch until a very surprised Robyn came to the door.

"Ed? What are doing here?" she asked, but Ed was staring at her with a dumbstruck look on his face. She was a wearing a skirt with a short sleeve shirt, and Ed thought he could see a small trace of makeup on her face. Not the usual black though. Usually Robyn had black eyeliner, back nails, and maybe some black lipstick if she was in a good mood. Today she actually looked like a girl.

"Ed? Ed! Tell me what's up or I won't tell you your Chemistry homework on Monday!" She yelled, snapping Ed out of his trance.

"Going somewhere?" he asked suspiciously. Robyn narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, Ed. Even I have plans on Saturday," she said angrily. "Tell me why you're here."

"Who's Harry Potter? And what's he got to do with the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked quickly, remembering his original purpose. Robyn grinned and laughed a little.

"You were researching on the internet, weren't you?" she asked. "I hate to break your bubble, but Harry Potter isn't real."

"Just like Fullmetal Alchemist? That isn't real too, right?"

Robyn sighed. "Even if Harry Potter was real, The Philosopher's Stone was destroyed." She looked at Ed for a minute. "Hang on," she said, and disappeared. Ed waited impatiently by the door until Robyn came back with a book clutched in her hands, which she handed to Ed. Ed glanced down at the cover. It said 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'

"You should read that," Robyn said, motioning to the book. "Lots of kids here love it, and I think the fifth movie is coming out this summer, so there will be a lot of commotion."

"I thought it was the Philosopher's Stone," Ed commented. "This says 'Sorcerer's Stone'"

Robyn sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, in England it was the Philosopher's Stone, but when they printed it in America, they changed it to Sorcerer's Stone, because they thought we were too stupid to understand 'Philosopher's Stone.'"

Ed glanced at the cover. A young boy was on a flying broomstick, reaching for a golden ball with wings. "How old is he?" Ed asked.

Robyn looked at the cover. "In that one, he's eleven. But now it's up to book six, so he's sixteen."

"Only eleven years old?" Ed stared at the picture of the young boy. "That's so young."

Robyn grinned. "Says he who joined the military at age twelve," she said, then paused thoughtfully. "Actually, you two are a lot alike. Both solving mysteries, and both of Harry's parents-" Robyn stopped as Ed looked up at her. "Well, I'll let you read the book," she finished. "I've got to finish getting ready." Ed nodded as she closed the door. Ed walked back to his house and down to the basement, where Al was waiting for him.

"I just saw the weirdest thing," he told Al, who was reading the Chemistry book again. Ed slowly sat on the couch. "Robyn wearing a skirt and makeup," he finished.

Al looked up at that comment. "She was wearing a skirt? Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ed said, looking back down at the book. "She said she had 'plans.'"

"Oh really?" Al said, nervously scratching the back of his head. Ed turned to face his brother.

"What do you know?" he demanded. Al looked down at the floor.

"We were just going to go walk around the park," Al said sheepishly. "There's going to be bands playing there tonight."

"And how do you expect to get back inside?" Ed asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was going to hide until Sherry and Robert left, and then I would come inside." Al explained. "We did try to plan this out, Brother."

Ed looked down, his arms still crossed over his chest. "Yeah, without me."

"Well," Al mumbled. "It kind of was a date."

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AdventureAddict: Well, there you go. I finally posted, and now I get to go and leave you with that.

Robyn: Oo, the suspense!

AdventureAddict: What are you doing here?

Al: I finally got a girlfriend!

AdventureAddict: Hey, how'd you get in here?

Ed: It's a little crowded in here…

AdventureAddict: Where's Frodo?

Frodo: MUGJIMITT!

AdventureAddict: Al, you're sitting on Frodo!

Al: Sorry…