I'm starting to sound like a broken record, with the whole disclaimer-thing...

Chapter 5: Scientific Reality

After Ed was laid down in a spare bed, Conan told Heiji where he'd hidden the arm and leg so that he could go retrieve them.

Dr Agasa, Ai, and the small detective sat down in the living room. "So who is he," Ai asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You must have at least seen what happened, otherwise he wouldn't be here."

He looked her straight in the eye. "Do you remember that weird-looking guy we saw at the park this afternoon?"

The girl's jaw fell slack. "That's him?"

"What was he doing there, Shinichi-kun," Dr Agasa asked.

"Who knows? Maybe the same thing we were."

"Why didn't you do anything," Ai chimed in again.

"I wanted to," he growled, "but it's not exactly something I could do by myself."

"But wasn't…"

"He figured even two wouldn't be enough, and backed off to make a phone call."

"Oh."

They heard the front door open and close, and then Heiji joined them. The two scientists couldn't tell what he was carrying this time, but it shined like metal, and was red in places with what looked like dried blood. He held them apart – one in each hand – and answered their question before they asked it. "They are an arm and a leg, and they belong to our friend with the funny symbol on his coat."

Dr Agasa coughed, clearing his throat. "It seems like there's nothing more we can do tonight, so let's get some rest and see now he is in the morning."

The sun shone in on Edward's face. Dazed, he reached his left hand up to his forehead. He sat up. "Winry? Al? How long have I been sleeping? I'm starved!" Not hearing a response, he prepared to head toward where he thought the kitchen was. He turned to face the side of the bed. Still groggy, he didn't notice that only his right foot had made it to the floor. He landed hard with a thud and a groan.
The two detectives and the two scientists were sitting around Dr Agasa's kitchen table reading different sections of the newspaper when they heard the thud. They looked at each other over the tops of the papers, and the younger three got up quickly to see what was going on.

Ai entered the room first. On the floor at the side of the bed was the collapsed form of the blond kid Heiji had brought in the night before. He turned his head to look at her.

He slowly started remembering some of what had happened the day before. He studied her face, suddenly recognizing her from the group of kids in the park. "You… look familiar," he said, trying to re-position himself.

"So do you," she replied.

The newest victim of the apotoxin looked around. All the furniture in the room looked so big, as if these people were giants or something. But that didn't make sense – there was a normal-sized little girl standing right in front of him.

"It's not a good idea to do much moving around in your condition," she continued. "Hattori-san, would you mind helping him get back into bed?"

"Sure."

The kid was truly surprised when Heiji entered the room. It was a long time since he'd seen anyone with skin that dark. His eyes were dark too, though, not red. "Have you ever heard of a small desert town called Lior?"

"Desert," the tall detective asked.

"There's no desert around here, kid," Ai interjected. "This is Tokyo."

"Tokyo… Japan… I'm not a kid, and you can't keep me here! What happened to my automail?"

"Your what?"

"My automail… the arm and the leg," he explained.

"They're soaking in some soapy water to get your blood off," said another young-sounding voice. The body to which it belonged moved out from behind the girl. It was a boy dressed in a white button-down shirt and gray shorts, with a blue jacket and red bowtie. "Even if you had them, I don't think you'd be able to use them." He held out a mirror.

"You… Who are you," the blond asked, taking it and looking at his reflection. He almost fell off the bed again in surprise. Heiji caught him.

"In this body, my name is Conan. This is Ai." The girl nodded. "We know what happened…"

'I look like I did when I was eight years old…' He looked at Conan. "How did I get here?"

"We were hoping you could help us with that. You appeared in the park yesterday, out of nowhere."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Oh… I don't mean here in general, I mean here." He pointed to the bed. "This room – how did I get here?"

Heiji coughed. "I carried you here last night. You were in pretty bad shape, but Conan didn't want to have to worry about answering the doctors' questions."

"Thanks, I think…" He turned it over in his head, still not seeing the whole picture.

Conan took control of the interrogation again. "You took on two members of the Black Organization by yourself, with just a knife."

The blond realized that they still didn't know he was an alchemist. "Who? What?"

"Let's start with something easier," Heiji suggested. "What's your name?"

"Edward Elric."

"Those two men are part of an extensive crime syndicate," Conan continued, more concerned with making sure the newcomer was aware of the situation. "I am a high school student, and a detective. I went up against them and they took my life away from me."

Ed considered this information and looked back down at the mirror. "There's no equivalent trade here," he muttered.

"Equivalent what," Heiji asked.

Ai came to the rescue with an explanation. "You know the concept of TANSTAAFL? It's the same idea – you can't get anything without giving up something else for it. The added stipulation of equivalency requires that whatever you're giving up has the exact same value as what you're getting for it."

Ed was surprised that the girl knew so much on the subject. "Yeah, that's right… It's the most important rule of alchemy."

"Alchemy? That's just a myth…" Conan said skeptically.

"Not where I come from."

"It's not a real science…" Ai replied.

"It follows the laws of conservation."

"You mean to say that you can perform alchemy?"

Ed laughed sheepishly. "Actually, that's the funny thing about it – I didn't know I could do it." The statement elicited stunned looks from the others, so he continued. "I haven't been able to do alchemy for two or three years now, so it came as a real surprise to me, too."

Conan was still having trouble grasping the full meaning of what was being said. "So, when you told that guy it was a reflex, it was no joke – you were being completely serious?"

"Yeah… Come to think of it, I think I was knocked out before having a chance to put it away…"

"It… the knife?"

"Yeah."

"I think we can help with that. What tools do you need?"

Edward shook his head. "No tools, just the automail arm and something I can draw on it with."

Heiji left to retrieve the arm, while Ai went looking for a Sharpie marker.

While they were gone, Ed kept talking. "Normally, I wouldn't need to draw the circle; I could just clap my hands together, and that would create it for me. In fact, that's how I got the blade out in the first place. It used to always be my primary means of defense."

Conan was surprised at how candid he was being. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"I don't really know… Why are you being so nice to me? We're total strangers…"

"No… we're not strangers anymore. Us four – Heiji, Ai, Dr Agasa, and I are protecting you now. We're being nice because we want to… and for your safety, our own, and that of the people close to us. I should warn you, though – you'll probably hear a few people call me by another name. I need you to humor me and not follow suit."

Ed shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, no problem." He looked toward the door at the glint of light reflecting off of something metallic.

He was grinning from ear to ear as Heiji set the arm down on his lap. "Ahh… It's like getting reacquainted with an old friend." He took the marker and started drawing a couple concentric circles with other shapes in them on the blade. "That should do it," he said after re-capping the Sharpie. "You guys might want to shield your eyes."

Heiji leaned in a little closer. "What is it?"

"A transmutation circle. It's what most alchemists use to channel the energy. I was just telling Conan a little bit ago about how it's been a long time since I've had to use one."

"You're sure it'll work?"

"This is not something that's forgotten easily. I already know from last night that I can do the alchemy, so there's nothing to worry about." He held his left hand palm-down, opened flat, and touched the edge of the circle. Suddenly, the circle started glowing a purpley-white color increasing in intensity until the automail began to change shape.

As quickly as the light had appeared, it was gone again.

Conan lowered his arm from his face. "That was as bad as one of KID's flash bombs…"

Dr Agasa appeared at the door. "What was that light? Is everything okay, Ai-kun?"

The girl had collapsed to her knees, and sat in a stunned silence.

"We just had our first alchemy demonstration," Conan explained. He nodded his head in Edward's direction. "It looks like it took a lot out of him."

Dr Agasa looked down at the tray he was carrying. "I brought some food because I thought he might be hungry…"

Heiji took the tray and set it on a chair next to the bed. "He was being really reckless to try something like that, and now he's exhausted again. Let's leave it here in case we don't hear him wake up next time."

Ed was doubled over with the automail still in his lap. Heiji repositioned him, put his head back on the pillow, and set the metal arm on the night table.

Conan put a hand on Ai's shoulder. "Come on, Haibara. We should let him rest." His words startled her back to reality. She looked up at him and nodded.

Dr Agasa watched her as they went back to the living room. "Ai-kun?"

"I'm fine."

End Chapter 5

A/N: Having spent time in Germany, of course Ed would know about the existence of Japan... I'm sure he just figured he'd never find himself there!