Author Note and all that jazz... Yeah, so this was stuck in my head. Bear in mind I've used some of my creative author powers and tweaked the look of what may or may not actually be accurate descriptions of Telma's bar. If you get confused, don't worry, for all shall be explained in the next chapter...yeah.
It was storming. The sky crackled with lightning and thunder as the rain pounded heavily on the ground. Light footsteps marched through the mush of dirt and water, increasing in speed as the storm thickened. The footsteps stopped, and it's owner crouched under the sparse shelter of a thick bushed tree somewhere in the fields south of Hyrule Castle, sliding down its bark and collapsing on a patch of thick grass.
"What's that?" Midna asked, curiously pointing her finger towards a light in the distance, hidden in the thick cover of the forest a few acres ahead of them. She shielded her eyes, annoyed at the suddenness of it all, as the light intensified for split second before dimming out to a soft blue glow. She snarled, fearing the worst, and turned to the boy who still sat on the patch of wet grass, leaning against the bark of the tree. "Link, take out your sword."
Doing as he was told, the boy stood up, reaching for the sword that was fastened securely to his back. The metal of it's blade cast a soft glow around them, its flat surface reflecting the glow of the early moon. He held it in front of him defensively, ready for whatever would come at him out of the deep depths of the forest.
Nothing came.
Link looked at Midna questioningly. If this were Zant's doing, they would know so by now. No, this was something different, something else entirely.
"Let's go see," Midna whispered, even though she was sure she could have spoken louder and no one would have heard her soft voice, hidden by the twilight. It was done merely so that Link would understand to be careful.
The shadow being that was currently Midna lead the way through the forest, maneuvering easily through the trees that Link had to scramble around just to keep up. They dug their way deeper in the forest, each step bringing Link further and further into the eerie darkness.
"Midna... " Link said, only allowing a hint of his annoyance show through his tone as he caught up to the imp. She'd stopped her tirade through the forest, and instead was hovering effortlessly in the air just a few feet in front of where Link was now. He wondered what made her stop, and was intent to asking so until he realized that she was looking down a something.
Link pushed past a set of dead bushes to make his way where Midna was stopped. He followed her eyes, squinting to see through the darkness, and came to the conclusion that it wasn't a thing, but a who Midna was looking at.
Midna remained silent as Link crouched down, getting a closer look at however was lying, most likely unconscious, on the forest floor. Whoever it was had his face turned towards the muddy, leaf and pine covered ground. What looked like golden locks were splayed messily across what was visible of his forehead and neck, tied back in a loose braid that was on the verge of unraveling completely. His clothes were a shredded mess of red and black, and in the dim light Link couldn't tell if it was because of the fabric and rain, or if the dark spots that littered his body were of blood. Link crept in closer, and with a second note confirmed that whoever lie on the ground was indeed unconscious.
"What should we do?" Link asked, looking down at the figure that was covered in a thick mess of wet dust, mud, and leaves. Midna peered at him curiously. He was still alive, but who knew what kind of injuries he might have?
Midna, now sensing the danger was gone, went in for a much closer look, using what power she could to move his face out of the mud.
"Hmmm," Midna mused, gaining back her all too familiar sarcasm filled, carefree tone. "He's kind of cute," she teased, "maybe we should help him."
"..."
"Ever still the quiet one," Midna scolded, before her expression changed again. Now, she was thoughtful, "I suppose we can't just leave him here. Come on, Wolf boy. Pick him up."
Link scowled at her earlier comment, but agreed none the less that they should help this person out. He looked young, much too young to be left in the forest unconscious. Link sheathed his sword and adjusted his strap, closing in on the dirty blond.
With a determined, fixed expression, Link reached down and picked him up from the forest floor. He let out a huff, surprised that the boy was much heavier than he should have been, and wondered just what kind of items he carried on him. The only thing that came to mind was a pair of iron boots, which Midna so graciously kept stored somewhere within the folds of Twilight. Link could only imagine the cruel fate that would have fell upon the boy that was now on his back should he have found himself in a lake, rather than the solid ground of the forest.
"Where do you think we should take him, hmm?" Midna asked, lounging behind Link as he carried off the unconscious boy from where he once lay.
"We probably shouldn't bring him to the village," Link said, remembering the lost faces of the elders he knew so well. "They're not in the condition to help a stranger."
"We're not far from Castle Town, or maybe we could pay the Shaman a visit?" Midna put in. Then, she smirked, "I'm sure the kids are dying to see you."
Link frowned. It hadn't been long since he'd last had to make a trip there. He was worried that while he was sure they wouldn't mind his company, they would think he was wasting time and not keeping his promise to get them all back safely. He couldn't return just yet, not without some good news.
"Let's go see Telma," Link decided with a small nod. She would know what to do with the boy, and if he needed, there was a doctor not far away. Right now, this was probably his best chance at survival.
Link walked as quickly as he could towards Castle Town, bearing the weight of the newly found blond on his shoulders.
.
.
Link slipped in through the south gate, Midna providing a nice distraction so that the night guards wouldn't fuss about the unconscious teen that he currently still had resting on his shoulders. Thankfully, he was able to stick to the ally and avoid being seen by any more than a few stray cats, who stared curiously and wide eyed as he passed. Suddenly, Link began to regret ever talking to the cats in that ally while trapped in his wolf form.
With a loud knock on the door, one of the regular members of the resistance met Link with a confused look. It was Shad, and that sliver of confusion quickly turned into worry as his eyes fell on the boy Link carried. He ushered him in, calling for Telma who was somewhere in the back of the bar.
"Link, what's happened?" Shad questioned, clearing off the nearest solid structure in the room, the table. He helped Link lie him carefully on top the hard, wooden surface, immediately glad he had enough sense to clear it off first. "He's bleeding."
"Who's bleeding?" Telma asked worriedly, her voice frantic as she came out from her supply room with a large jug of milk. She'd just sent Rusl and Ashei on a small mission for some rare supplys and hoped they'd hadn't gotten themselves in trouble already.
"Link, who's this boy?" Shad questioned, ignoring Telma and drawing the attention back to himself. Link shrugged and shook his head, and Shad took that as a sign that he didn't know either.
"Found him in the forest south of the castle," Link replied. "That's all I know."
It was chaos now as Telma scurried in, her instincts taking over quickly as she grew immediately calm and serious. She rushed back to the supply room and seconds returned later with bandages, disinfectant cream, and a bucket of water with a thick towel. She shooed Shad away, and the two males watched and waited, helping as best they could.
"Take this," She said, forcing a wet towel into Shad's unsuspecting hands. Telma carefully peeled back what clothes she could around the areas the boy seemed most injured, recovering the pieces of a red coat from the fragments of fabric that clung to him. She worked off a black undercoat next, working carefully when she realized there was some kind of metal attached to the boys right arm that she hadn't noticed before. She thought maybe it was debris, until the remains of a glove fell off and it was revealed that it was a limb instead. "Spirits have mercy..." Telma muttered, taking only a moment to get over her initial shock before getting back to work.
When she'd finally removed all but the boys pants, Telma was relieved to see that the wounds weren't as deep as she'd imagined them to be. The bleeding that that the blond had before was nearly stopped completely after Telma cleaned and dressed the wounds. Still, something about the way they were placed bothered her. Aside from the metal that clearly replaced the boy's right arm, the wounds he had were completely erratic and could have been caused by anything. There was more bruising than cuts, however, and it was more likely that the injuries were caused by something other than the standard sword most Hylans carried with them.
Once she was satisfied, Telma moved towards the boy's legs. She wasn't much on invading the privacy of others, but she still needed to check him for further injuries. Carefully, she removed the blond's thick soled boots and tossed them aside, revealing yet another metal limb.
"Another one?" Shad asked, though he sounded more intrigued than worried. Next to him, Link gazed down at the newcomer with a steady look, mixed between weary and curiosity.
"Just who is this boy," Telma muttered.
"I don't think he can rightfully be called a boy anymore," Shad commented, watching as Telma continued.
With a deep breath, the bar keeper rolled up the blond's pant's legs as far as they would go, revealing another shocker for the three to find. Four, if you count Midna watching carefully from the shadows.
"That's a nice sized cut," Telma breathed, her voice laced with worry. It wasn't looking too serious, but she could tell it was deep and still raw, freshly dried blood still lined the area of it and made a trail all the way to his foot. She motioned for the towel and began wiping away the blood she could reach.
.
.
Edward Elric blinked opened his eyes to a world of complete darkness. He looked around in confusion, using his hand to feel for anything at all that felt familiar. He felt nothing else but the wall he was against, lying down on a lumpy bed with thin sheets. He groaned, trying to sit up but giving up the moment he felt his muscles tighten up. He was hurt, but had no way of knowing just how bad.
Where am I?
Edward tried to think back, remember just what had landed him where he was now, but he couldn't. He let out a frustrated sigh, unable to recall anything more than loud crash of an explosion and everything going white.
"Great," he muttered, needing to break the dark silence with anything, even his own voice. "I've probably got a concussion."
Closing his eyes, Edward tried to rest. The action was given up mere seconds later under the self declaration that he was far too restless to sit still. Ignoring the pain he was probably going to put himself in, he forced himself up and out of bed, biting back the urge he felt to moan in pain as the aches starting forming all over his body.
Taking careful steps forward, Edward felt his way around the room for a door. He noticed a soft yellow glow and made his way towards it, hoping it was light coming in from another room.
"What the hell did I do to myself," Edward muttered as he found the doorknob, clutching at his side which currently felt like it was on fire. He ignored it, having only one thing on his mind, and that was to get away from that room.
Some nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach told him he needed to get moving. From, or to where he hadn't the faintest idea, but he'd rather been on his feet than stuck in a room with nothing but darkness waiting for him.
He turned the door knob, revealing a brightly lit bar area. The first thing he noticed was that there were four people sitting around some map on a table, speaking softly until they noticed that a door had been opened. They stared at each other for a while, neither Edward nor the group knowing what to say.
"You shouldn't be up," A woman said sternly from behind a counter. It was someone Ed hadn't noticed before, although she was easily the one who looked to be in charge.
Edward frowned, his annoyance at the woman trying to tell him what to do showing in the look he was giving her from his spot by the door, still clutching the doorknob. He let go and went to take a step forward, "I need-" he began, but stopped when he felt a shooting pain rise up his right leg.
The blond flinched from the pain. What he felt earlier was nothing compared to what he felt now. All the comfort that the groggy confusion brought was leaving him, completely cleared away by that last joust of pain. His head felt clear, and he immediately regretted the decision to leave that lumpy bed.
Those sitting at the table swarmed the alchemist as he felt his legs buckle out, putting him in a moment of free fall. He barely noticed the many hands that went to grab him, catching him just before he hit the ground. Their worried voices carried away into nothing, and the bright light of the bar faded away until there was only darkness.
.
.
Bah! I can't believe I'm writing ANOTHER story! I have way to many out.. all unfinished, yet I had the unexplainable urge to write THIS!
To those who took the time to read this insanity, I thank you. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to be taking this, nor how often it will be updated. Or, mind you, if it will ever be completed. I guess it just depends on if anyone actually thinks its worth continuing... and if I can weave together a plot that will actually make sense.
If this DOESN'T make sense to you, please bear in mind I have yet to go to sleep an it's currently 7:45 in the morning. I'm running on zero hours, and that can't ask for a good outcome, eh? Yeah, well I guess if you feel like it let me know what you think. Should I continue this or just take it down and lable it as a failed attempt at writing a Fullmetal/Zelda crossover?
I thought it was a good idea, and then realized just how... complicated it can be. Ah, oh well. At least I tried, didn't I?
Oh, and if you're worried about how little character interaction there was on this chapter. Don't, its just the prologue and I plan for much, much more.. ohh look, past eight now.. maybe I should rest?
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