Chapter;Finding of Self
Bane; "Okay; this one is going to be angsty...I guess. But no lemons, sorry A."
A; "How could you!"
Bane; "Anyway, this one focuses more on Al (poor Ed!) because everybody ignores the thought that maybe Al could get a girl. (Yay?) So, without further ado;"
Drumstick; "Hey! What about my part?"
Bane; "Oh, yeah, Laura, mind doing a drumroll for us?"
Drumstick; -grumbles-
-drumroll-
An immense shot of anony ran along the entirity of his body. Fear and adreneline aided him to break from his momentary shock. Golden eyes looked into mirrored like-nesses of themselves. Alphonse let out a slight cry. His sibling attempted to rise to his feet, trying to grasp onto his younger brother's arm. But by then, his left leg had begun to disappear. Al was crying out, calling to Edward to assist him. He fought the forces of Alchemy, struggling against the wiry fingers of sheer light. And yet, all the older brother could do was watch, paralyzed.
A sinking sensation errupted slowly over him. This was his fault. Hadn't he insisted that this be done? Hadn't he been impatient to research further months towards equivalent exchange of the human soul?
Ever so sluggishly, the unsatisfied laws began decomposing his body. Claw-like figures dragged him slowly towards the transmutation symbol. The beauty of the streaked colors that illuminated the dust-ridden room, magenta and sky-blue, were lost on Alphonse, who was much too occupied watching wide-eyed and horrified at the sight that now met his eyes.
Teeth bared, hands clawing aimlessly at the hardwood floor, Ed braced himself for the gripping pain that now swept through his lower leg. The tears came none the less, as skin and muscle were shredded away. When it soon reached the bone, layers of marrow were removed first. Blood pooled sparingly around him. After all, he seemed to need as much as he could get, only exchanging two drops of abundant fluid for something so costly that no other man had ever achieved the feat of gaining it.
It was then that Al slipped into darkness, worry gripping him with cold, steel-like fingers. Never to suspect exactly what hell would soon break out. Never to suspect how much it would cost him to wake to the stifled whimpers of his older brother.
He always woke at the white-knuckled image of Edward sitting against the wall. Everything was gone. His stubborn-ness, his pride; nothing but withering despair flashed in the once spirited amber eyes. Consciousness always reclaimed him after viewing scarlet fluid flow heavily from the beaten boy that had already known too much sorrow.
"Al? Al, you okay?"
He didn't answer, just rose to his feet. A disoriented feeling spread across him as it had since the night he had woken to find himself inhuman. For some reason, he always felt dizzy, out of place.
Pools of amber worry gazed into his own glowing red ones. Damn, his armor must have shuddered in his sleep. Although he wasn't much for lying or brushing off inquiries about his pain like his older sibling, he had grown particularly well adept in this one fib.
Bane; " I looked up adept in the dictionary and you'll never believe what I found. The Dictionary is called 'Websters New World; College Dictionary 4th edition'.
Adept- (e dept'; also. And for n. always ad'ept') adj. L. Adpetus,pp of adipisci, to arrive at as, to + aiscim; to pursue, attain (BANE: "I swear, it gets better) :used in ML of alchemists claiming to have arrived at the philosipher's stone highly skilled; expert…and tons of other junk. BUT WHERE DOES ADEPT GO INTO ALCHEMISTS!"
"I'm fine, Brother. Just had another nightmare about cotton candy."
"Al, I swear, I'm going to have to find the right word for the phobia of cotton candy."
The nausea never failed to cease after the first few minutes.
Alphonse looked around, letting his gaze rest on every detail of his surroundings. For some reason, he had begun a ritual with himself.
He remembered everywhere they had ever gone. He could recall every tortuous detail of every failure to reclaim their mutilated bodies. He felt that he had to. If he didn't, wouldn't they forget past mistakes? Couldn't their loss be greater if he lost sight of one single aspect of their journeys? Couldn't their lives be at stake if one of them failed to recollect the details of their travels the next time they attempted human transmutation?
In one corner lay a small bed, where Ed had slept, and in the other, a beaten armchair that had known better days, and obviously less coffee stains. The wallpaper was torn in several places, and was cracking in others. Although, due to how grotesque it was, it really was no loss. If only it was lacerated more, in fact. The room wouldn't have seemed so unattractive. A leather bag sat discarded at the foot of the mattress. Nothing else except a few unexplainable nails that were poking uselessly about each wall adorned the ill-kept area. But then, at least they'd been able to find some decent, (if it could be classified as such), housings for the night.
"I'm hungry, what about you, Al?"
Ed was jesting, obviously. He hadn't been able to eat in five years. "Mm...I could go for a few nuts and bolts." Alphonse returned the favor.
"Didn't a meal come with the lodgings, Brother?"
Ed looked around and put one of his 'are-you-shittin'-me' looks.
"Well…yeah…but, to be truthful, Al, I was kinda' afraid of finding roaches in the soup."
This earned his older brother a well-deserved laugh. After a moment, however, Alphonse stepped forward. With a clatter, he smirked, fishing the money pouch from the leather bag.
"My turn to go out for food, Brother." He jingled the contents of the pouch cruelly. "You'll have to stay here and think about how long I'm taking."
They had had to begin going out one at a time; they were too noticeable as a pair. Not that it had bothered them before, but they had met a rather unfriendly group of thieves that reacted to the wrath of justification from a small 'runt' rather…profanely. It had been necessary to watch their backs lately.
He loved being free in the world, and was beginning to loathe being cooped up. But one thing; he felt slightly abashed in the presence of people who knew nothing of what he felt; knew nothing of what it felt to have limbs that weren't flesh. He should have been used to it. He should have- but Alphonse had never been able to cease his self-conscious sentiments.
Bane; "I must add in my defense, (to all those grammatical flamers), that I DID use sentiments and abashed correctly.
Abash; to make embarrassed and ill and ease; make self conscious; disconcert.
Sentiment; def. 2 a thought, opinion, judgement, or attitude, usually the result of careful consideration, but often colored with emotion; often used in plural."
A; "I really don't think they'd care."
Bane; "they would too. And anyway, I am determined to use an extensive range of vocabulary."
Drumstick; "You're just proving that you need the dictionary to do it."
Bane; "Am not. I just check to make sure I'm using the word right."
A and Drumstick; "Uhn-huh. Sure."
Bane; "You're right." weeps in violent sobs. "I can't do it!"
A; "Five…four…three…two…one…"
Bane; "Yes I can! I'll prove it! You'll see!" Hops off with keyboard
Drumstick; "Think she'll ever realise she's that predictable?"
A; "Naaahhh."
He loved to look at all the wonders of every town. There was no two alike, and after having to be cautiously waiting for his turn to explore, he had to fight to keep himself from speaking to new people, learning new customs. And yet, to do so might mean having to bring the tale to light. And he couldn't do that anymore. The past still burned his long unhealed scars.
Alphonse passed stalls that lined the streets. People bustled noisily about him. The roads, a lovely sand-colored brick, mingled brilliantly with the surrounding sunlight. The world seemed more perfect then he could have remembered. Still feeling light and enthusiastic, he almost skipped about, watching children play innocently on the sidewalks. There were little wooden theatre sets for the littlest ones to follow a play. The steel armored figured stood motionless, watching a story of clay marrionettes become stunning characters in a plot. A little girl puppet fell in love with a man composed mostly of iron. Although the ending was a bit too cheery for his taste, it comprised mainly of a tale worthy of describing Ed and Winry. He chuckled to himself, imagining his brother telling Winry how he felt. It would be a long time before that happened…
"That was neat!"
"Yeah." He heard two small voices behind him exchanging a discussion. Upon looking, he spotted the source; two small boys, no smaller than they had been when…were conversing casually about the previous puppet show.
"Wouldn't it be cool to be made of metal?"
The other laughed enthusiastically. If only they knew, he thought viciously. If only they knew.
Bane; "Want more? Feed me reviews!"
A; "Who are you trying to kid? Of course they don't want more!"
Bane; -sobs-
