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I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Danny Phantom.

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Mom left to prepare some leftovers for dinner. I went back to my room to find some old clothes. We'd removed Al's vest, coat, and boots, but he's still wearing a very dirty shirt and tight leather pants. Al's a little bit taller than me, but not much. Rummaging through my closet, I find a loose fitting pair of sweats and an old Ember T-shirt.

'I don't know why I didn't burn this thing months ago'

I return to the guest bedroom and pass the clothes to Al. He looks surprised at first, but then just gives me a sad, quiet smile.

"Thanks. Umm."

"Oh, of course." I leave the room and close the door. Outside, I find Mom and Dad waiting with dinner and fudge. Mom raises a quizzical eyebrow.

"I brought in some spare clothes," I explain. Mom nods approvingly.

"It's okay to come back in," calls Al.

Mom passes a plate crammed full of food to Al. We all sit quietly until Al finishes eating his dinner and fudge, of course. I don't think that he actually tastes any of it. He looks like he's on autopilot. Shoveling food just because that's what was expected of him. Throughout dinner, the teen's eyes never leave his brother's bed.

To her credit, Mom waited until all of the dishes had been cleared away to begin questioning. "How did you two find your way into the Ghost Zone?"

"Do you believe in parallel dimensions?" asks Al.

"Of course not," scoffs Mom.

"Then what do you call the Ghost Zone?"

"It's simply another plane of existence where ghosts go to live after they die," explains Mom matter-of-factly.

"While brother and I were in there, we met people we recognized from our world. They looked almost the same, but they weren't. Ed and I got into a fight with a ghost called Ravager, but we knew him as a homunculus named Envy. That's how we got all the injuries."

"So you want us to believe that you're from a third world," says Mom.

"The technology I've seen so far combined with your clothing suggests that this isn't our world. It doesn't sound like the world Ed went to last time, either."

"You're saying that you and your brother have seen four different 'parallel worlds'?" asks Dad.

Al smiles wanly, "This is my third. Ed's seen four or five. We're still not sure if London and Munich were in the same dimension."

"How exactly, does one travel between dimensions?" asks Mom.

Al voice becomes really soft and quiet, "We call it the Gate of Truth. You must understand that we don't travel to these dimensions by choice. We believe that the Gate forcefully sends us to these different dimensions as a form of payment."

"Payment for what," I ask.

I can see tears forming in the corners of Al's eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it. Could we please wait until Brother wakes up?"

Mom notices the tears too. "Alright, Jack and I will be downstairs if you need anything. Danny's room is the next one over on the right. Let us know if you need anything or if your brother wakes up."

Mom and Dad walk out, but before I can follow, Al stops me.

When Al addresses me, he phrases it as a statement not a question, "You've seen the gate."

I nod silently.

"So it can be brought up here," Al says looking thoughtful. "What did it take?"

"What? How? It didn't take anything," I lie, badly.

"The gate always demands payment. You've seen my brother's body, right?" I nod, and Al continues, "The gate took his right arm and left leg as payment the first time we opened it."

I shudder. 'I thought I had it bad'

When I still didn't answer, Al continues their story. "I actually lost my entire body. Ed transmuted my soul to a suit of armor. For years, I was trapped in that suit unable to smell, taste, or feel. Brother managed to give me my body back. As payment, the Gate sent him to another dimension."

I transform in front of Al. "It made me a halfa. I'm a ghost, but I'm still alive. That's what the Gate did to me."

"Your parents?"

"Don't know," I reply emphatically. "And you're not going to tell them."

"Okay," Al replies yawning.

I look at the wall clock and transform back to my human form. "I think we should get some rest. It's been a long day."

Al nods in agreement. "Hopefully, Ed will wake up tomorrow. He knows a lot more about the Gate and how it works. Working together, we might be able to find a way to open the gate again."

"Why would you want to open it again? Won't you have to pay the toll again?" I ask shocked.

"Yes, but we left people behind in our world. People we care about. Winry, Mustang, Granny…"

"I think I understand. Goodnight, Al."

I exit the room and turn off the lights. I go through my nightly routine and settle under the covers. Sleep is elusive, however. I can't stop thinking about the Gate and its tolls. When I do finally fall asleep, I have nightmares of ghosts with metal limbs.

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I wake up to the sound of voices in the next room. Padding into the guestroom, I find Al struggling to keep his brother in bed.

Smiling at the strange sight, I address the blonde teen, "You need to lay still. Mom patched you up the best she could, but if you keep on struggling you're going to tear out the stitches. We've wrapped your ribs, but we're not entirely sure if they're cracked or just bruised."

Ed exchanges a look with Al; Ed ceases his struggling and Al carefully moves off the bed.

"Can you help me sit up at least?" Ed asks.

Al and I move to the bed to help him. We no sooner got Ed in a reclined seated position, when Mom walks in with a breakfast tray for Al.

"Oh. Oh, you're up," she says. "You really shouldn't be sitting upright. Your injuries still haven't healed and you lost a lot of blood. That's really not good for someone your size."

"Oh, crap," whispers Al.

Ed's face turns three shades of purple. "Who are you calling so small that he can't reach the pedals on a car!"

"Can you reach the pedals on a car?" asks Dad innocently.

Al just barely manages to catch Ed before he launches himself at Dad.

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