So I finished FMAB the other day (ALPHONSE ELRIC YOU ARE THE CUTEST THING ON THE PLANET OMG) and then I watched Conqueror of Shamballa and I'm basically just running off FMA right now. And DW/FMA crossovers are basically the best things ever. So I hope this works :3 Oh, this Doctor is Tennant and I'm using the 2003 universe anime as basis. So yeah.
And yes I realize I am a terrible person and I am working on my other things so please don't kill me.
Disclaimer: I don't own either fandom; don't sue me.
OoOoO
"Why are we traveling by train again, Doctor? We could just call the TARDIS," Rose queried as they pushed their way through the aisle. "Sorry," she apologized to a burly looking man who sent her an angry glare.
"Because," the Doctor murmured with a concentrated look upon his face, "there is an awfully wonky looking signal coming from something on board here." His screwdriver whirred as he passed it over the velvet covered seats on the train. "And I don't want to take the chance that it's something nasty. Besides, the TARDIS is at the next stop. Should give us enough time to find this beastie. If it does happen to be a beastie. Hopefully not."
Rose smiled and followed him onward. They had traversed through three of the cars that composed the train so far, and none of them had held anything of interest for the Doctor. The surrounding green landscape whizzed past, beckoning her to peer outside, but the Doctor paid no attention to the beauty. Germany really was nice, she decided. In the years leading up to the second world war, the economy may have been shaky but the outdoors was beauteous.
She followed him outside, feeling the wind buffet her as they stepped onto the miniscule balcony. They moved over the gap, the Doctor still preoccupied with scanning the surrounding train. It was a welcome relief when they entered the next car, Rose patting down her windswept hair as she took in the sight.
It was a nice car; white wallpaper with a red bottom coating the walls and the velvet seats in the previous cars. Wooden tables sat in between the seats, and a red carpet softened their footsteps. It was a nice, simple car, pleasing to the eyes. A quick glance told her the only people in the car besides them were a man and boy who looked to be his son. Both were blonde and had hair pulled back into a ponytail, the man sporting a beard while the boy was cleanshaven. They wore nice, simple clothing; fairly nondescript. The boy appeared to be poring over papers strewn across the table in front of him, while the man stared out the window and had a book lying open in his lap.
The Doctor hurried his steps as the pair continued down the aisle, a glint coming into his eye. "It's getting closer," he whispered excitedly, and Rose rolled her eyes fondly. He really was a child.
As they approached the duo of men, the time travellers heard their conversation pick up.
"...know it usually doesn't work, but if I just adjust the angle on this one-and maybe change the symbol here, it might just-"
"Edward," the older man cut him off gently, a serious tone to his voice. Edward clenched his fist and looked down as he continued. "You know it's not going to work."
"I have to try," Edward insisted, his voice low and angry.
"I know you don't like it here. I know you want to get home. But-"
"No, I don't care about that!" Edward snapped, standing upright uburutply. "I don't care about that! I couldn't care-well I do, but that's not the point!" His hands made hard fists as he faced his father, his face a mask of stoicism, but Rose could see the pain in his eyes. "I just want to-I need to see-" He halted his words, drew in a sharp breath, and moved away. "I need to use the restroom." He stomped away, brushing past Rose and knocking her on the arm. He was so preoccupied he didn't even bother to apologize.
"Edward," the older man called, but his son was already gone. He heaved a sigh and slumped backwards, his arm moving lethargically to brush up the papers lying on the table.
Rose turned back from this dramatic display to the Doctor, who had a sly grin playing about his lips. "Doctor?"
"Found it," the Doctor whispered. Without another word, he drawled out a loud "Welll" and slid into the seat across from the older man, slouching across upon it with an easy air. "Kids these days," he offered to the shocked man, now frozen in the process of gathering up the papers. "He'll be back soon. Gotta let off steam, y'know." Without giving the other man a chance to respond, he offered his hand. "I'm the Doctor."
"...Hohenheim," the man answered carefully, shaking the proffered appendage.
Rose sighed and slid in next to the Doctor. "I'm Rose."
"Hello, Rose," Hohenheim said. "How can I help you?"
"Where are you from?" the Doctor questioned easily, smiling a bright grin. Those darn pearly whites.
"Ah, near Munich-"
"Is that so?" the Doctor asked, keeping that smile gracing his teeth. "Eh, that's nice. Real nice."
"Be nice, Doctor," Rose murmured.
Hohenheim stared at them, an uneasy look in his eyes. "Can I help you?" he repeated, obviously ill at ease.
"It's probably nothing," the Doctor said, "but I've got a feeling about you. Not sure if it's good or bad yet, but you know. Always gotta listen to the feeling. Mind if I take a look at these papers?"
"Who the hell are you?" Edward's voice sounded, and three heads whisked to turn towards the angry teen. "No, you cannot look at my papers, now get out of my seat!"
The Doctor's mouth fell slightly open, his eyes staring into Edward's. "Oh," he breathed. "Oh. Oh, yes." He pointed his screwdriver at Edward, the light blazing on. "Oh yes. Definitely."
"Get that thing out of my face!" Edward snapped and slapped it aside, sending it bouncing into the aisle as it slipped from the Doctor's grasp.
"Edward!" Hohenheim chided his son, but Edward waved him aside and gathered up his papers. "Screw this. I'm going to sit somewhere else." He shot Hohenheim an angry glare. "It's going to work."
As he made to move away, the Doctor caught his sleeve. "Now hold up just a minute-" he said, but the train chose at just that opportune moment to go around a curve. That, combined with the Doctor's sudden movement, sent Edward tumbling to the ground and his papers flying. He cried out as an audible sound was heard, a snap of something hard, and his left hand flew to his right. Rose's stomach dropped as he swore.
"I'm so sorry, I assure you I didn't mean anything by it," the Doctor hastily apologized, bending to the ground. "Here, let me help you-"
"Don't touch me!" Edward snarled, shoving his hand away.
"At least let me help pick up these-"
"Don't touch them!" Edward cried out, panic suddenly enveloping his face, but it was too late.
"Doctor," Rose murmured, staring at the paper she held in her hand. "Look at this." On the crisp, white paper in her grasp, there were about four circles, all with lines and circles within them. Notes were scribbled in the margins of the paper, fancy words she didn't know like "transmutation" and "Amestris". "Gate" was blazoned across the top like a banner. The Doctor gave a low whistle and picked up another, this time with slightly different circles. "Alchemy."
"Give me that!" Ed ordered, fighting upwards and jerking it from her grasp. "What the hell is-alchemy?" He drew in a sharp gasp and faced the Doctor, his eyes wide. "How did you…"
"You're not from here, are you?" the Doctor asked quietly, a knowing smile playing about his lips.
Ed hesitated and looked at the floor, grasping his injured hand before giving a whispered, "No."
oOoOo
"Let me see your hand, Edward," Hohenheim ordered as they resumed their previous seats. All the papers gathered and placed into a neat bundle, they were free to talk at length.
Rose drew in a sharp gasp as Ed held out his hand, grumbling under his breath. "Oh, my god, you broke it! I heard it snap! Oh god, it must be on fire!"
Ed gave a lopsided grin and took off his glove, exposing sickly white flesh beneath. "Not exactly…"
Hohenheim rolled his eyes and peeled away the layer of skin to reveal a complicated understructure of...metal? His hands deftly flew over the pieces, poking and prodding. "You really should take better care of this," he scolded. Edward scoffed under his breath, but aside from that made no sound as his father tinkered. "You must excuse my son," Hohenheim grunted out. "He is not well-versed in the area of manners as of yet."
Rose's mouth had dropped open. "It's-it's metal!" she gasped, openly gaping at Ed's hand. "It's not-it's not real!"
Ed flashed a wide grin and flexed his fingers. "Nope. One hundred percent fake all the way to my shoulder."
"Amazing," the Doctor whispered. "I had no idea anyone in this century had that kind of technology…" He trailed off and sent a look towards Hohenheim. "But then, you're not from around here."
The older man said nothing, only poked Ed's hand and nodded. "Ring finger's broken, and you snapped a brace in the side. I'll have to fix it when we get home."
Ed scowled and rolled his sleeve down. "Peachy."
"Allow me," the Doctor intervened, whipping it his sonic. With a few well aimed scans, the metal fused back together and the skin peeled forward until it was totally covering the limb once more. Edward gaped and flexed his hand, all fingers working just as well as before.
"What did you do?"
"It's my sonic," the Doctor replied breezily. "Helps me fix things. Timelord technology and all that."
"Timelord?" Ed stared at the gizmo with intensified interest, along with his father who seemed to share the same emotions, but the Doctor turned the conversation towards a different subject.
"Now, why don't you tell me where you're from."
Rose listened to the duo's tale with a mixture of horror and fascination. Ed spoke quietly, glossing over the details of his mother's death and subsequent transmutation/effects. His eyes softened with fondness when he spoke of his brother, a smile touching the corners of his lips. He told the story of the homunculi, his father's involvement, the battles they underwent. When it came to the point in which he had been killed, his voice hitched and all signs of a smile disappeared; he hurried through the remaining bits of the story as quickly as possible. As he spoke of his brother sacrificing himself to bring him back, his hand unconsciously made a fist, scrunching up the cloth of his pants.
Rose was appalled at what the world had put this boy through.
Once Ed had finished, Hohenheim gave his account of his life; looking suitably ashamed at the right points. Ed didn't acknowledge his father at any point in his tale, instead electing to look out the window silently.
"So. Alchemy. And now you're trying to get back home?" the Doctor questioned once he was done.
"I am. Hohenheim won't. But I'm trying."
"Alchemy? Like the stuff they did back in the middle ages?" Rose's voice took on a goofy, ghost-y quality. "Turning lead to gold and all that?"
"No, no, not that." The Doctor frowned. "No, that stuff was silly fluff, pretend magic and whatnot. No, this is energy channeled from the earth. Much different."
"Turning metals to gold is illegal in Amestris," Ed supplied.
"But that doesn't seem to hinder you in anything," the Doctor mused. Ed turned a brilliant shade of beet red as the time traveller continued. "Interesting. Very interesting. You don't hear a story like this every day, to be sure."
"How did you know about alchemy?" Hohenheim questioned.
"I meet lots of different people," the Doctor said vaguely.
"We're time travellers," Rose interjected. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the bluntness of her statement, but Ed scoffed.
"Yeah. Sure."
Hohenheim glared at his son and turned to the man across from him. "Please, we've done too much talking ourselves. Why not tell us your story?"
oOoOo
By the time that all stories had been uncovered, they were nearing Rose and the Doctor's stop. Ed's jaw hung suitably far enough open, and Hohenheim was stroking his chin thoughtfully. All was silent as the Doctor finished.
It was Rose who finally broke the silence. "Doctor, this is us."
"It is, isn't it?" The Doctor heaved himself upwards and offered his hand to Hohenheim. "It was a pleasure to meet you."
"And you as well." Hohenheim shook the Doctor's hand warmly, all earlier signs of animosity gone.
Turning to Ed, the Doctor did the same. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Me too," Ed murmured. "Thank you."
"What did you say your full name was? Maybe I'll stop in and visit every now and then."
"Elric. Edward Elric."
The Doctor halted, his mouth barely visibly moving as the gears of his mind worked. "Where...have I...oh…" A small smile crept over his features. "Oh, yes. I'll be seeing you."
"Wait, what's that supposed to-"
Ever the vague type, the Doctor gave Ed no time to finish his statement. "Goodbye!" He waved his left hand and used his right to grab Rose's. "Allonsy!"
They disembarked off the stationary train, now waiting to have its water supply filled once more. There was barely any crowd around, so it wasn't hard to pick up the sight of the lonely TARDIS.
"There's my girl!" the Doctor whistled, strutting jauntily towards it. They were interrupted by a cry of "Doctor, wait!" and the sound of hurried footsteps. The pair turned to see Edward flying towards them, limbs pumping furiously and hair flying out behind him as his heels kicked up dust. "Wait!"
"Edward?"
The ex-alchemist came to a halt, chest heaving for breath from his run. "Take me back!" he blurted out.
"What?"
"Please! Take me back! Back to before mom! Please, you're the only one who can do anything!"
The Doctor let out a sad sigh. "Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry. I can't do that."
Edward lunged forward and grabbed the lapels of the Doctor's coat, bringing his face down to the younger man's level. Rose could see the desperation in the depths of his eyes, a swirling storm of pain and grief. "Please, I'm desperate, I'll do anything!"
"Edward, listen to me. Universe hopping is a dangerous, dangerous thing. It's...you can't just go dropping around between universes like that. Especially one like Amestris'. If I took you back, I could cause damage unlike the world has ever seen." The Doctor gently gripped the younger man's wrists, staring into his eyes. He knew the depth of the pain Ed was feeling; the wishing, the need to go home again. He knew it only too well.
"Then...then don't take me! Just go back and get mom out of there, please! Don't...don't let her die."
"It's a fixed point in time," the Doctor whispered. "I'm so sorry. Without her death, there would have been much more pain and suffering than you could ever imagine."
Ed bowed his head, still gripping the Doctor's coat with shaking hands. Rose was surprised to hear him let out a ragged sob. "Please. I need to see him again. Please."
"Al," the Doctor murmured.
Ed lifted his red-rimmed eyes to meet the Doctor's. "I need to know if he's okay." His orbs were full of anguish that screamed at Rose, screamed for relief from the misery they held.
The Doctor reached his arms around Ed's small body, encasing him in a deep, long hug. Ed shut his eyes and allowed it, his hands slowly releasing the cloth. He buried his face in the Doctor's shoulder, his own shaking.
"There's a war coming," the Doctor whispered. "And it won't be easy, and you will want to give up, but don't. You're going to be indispensable. You can do it."
"What are you talking about?" Ed's voice was back to its old vituperative form, but it still shook slightly.
The Doctor released him from the hug and held his face in both hands. "You'll see."
"What do I do now?" Ed asked, his words saturated with all the misery of a man who has lost all hope.
"Go to university," the Doctor suggested, a smile playing about his lips. "Maybe rockets."
"Rockets?" Ed mumbled, but the tears were gone and his mouth mirrored the Doctor's smile. "That's crazy."
The train whistled suddenly sounded, making the trio jump. Ed turned back to the train, where Hohenheim was just visible through the window, appearing to be lost in thought and staring straight ahead.
"You'd best catch that," the Doctor suggested.
"Yeah," Ed sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and began shuffling backwards. "Thanks, Doctor."
The Doctor nodded and waved, watching the young man hop onto the train and disappear inside just before the massive machine let out a long bellow and began to move. Soon it was lost from view, and the Doctor and Rose were left on their lonesome. They silently moved inside the TARDIS, still mulling over the events that had just transpired.
"Life is cruel sometimes, isn't it?" Rose asked the Doctor quietly, who was turning knobs and pulling levers with a nute air.
"Hm?" he questioned, apparently lost in thought. "Oh, yeah."
"That was nice, what you did. Helping him and all."
The Doctor chuckled as the TARDIS began to whirr as it prepped for takeoff. "Oh, I didn't help him much. Just gave him a little nudge in the right direction is all."
"How do you know him?"
"I've been doing some reading. Let's just say World War 2 would have gone very differently had it not been for the Elrics."
A beat passed.
"You think he'll be all right?" Rose asked softly, her mind drawn back to memories of his desperate eyes.
The floor jerked and groaned beneath them, signaling their return to space.
"Oh yes. Something tells me Edward Elric will find his way just fine."
oOoOo
Yay! That's it. Please review for me; it really does make my day.
And if anyone ever wants to just rant or fangirl/boy about FMA I'm happy to oblige.