The day was unusually dark and dreary for a summer day in Central. "Gross, I hate rain." I complained. "Makes me want to throw up."
"It's not that bad, brother. I mean, at least you're inside." Al said. "I love the rain. I can actually feel it on my skin. It hasn't rained since I got my body back and the walk here was amazing." He droned on.
"Oh, I forgot about that." I said. "You go outside and enjoy the rain." And get out of my hair…
"Really? Sweet!" He ran out of the room with a grin spreading from ear to ear. He just barely avoided running into Mustang. "Sorry, sir!" He called over his shoulder.
Mustang turned to Edward. "What's with him?"
I shrugged. "He's excited about the rain, being in his real body and all." I explained.
"Oh, I see." He nodded. "How come you're not out there with him?" He asked, clearly unaware.
"Damn rain makes me nauseous." My stomach turned just thinking about it.
"Sometimes eating helps. Have you eaten breakfast yet?" I didn't answer. "Fullmetal, you have to eat something."
"You're not my father! Leave me the hell alone! It's none of your damn business whether I eat or not!" Bastard should mind his own goddamn business…
He turned and pulled something from his desk. A bag, from which he pulled out a piece of bread and some celery. "Here." He said as he handed me the slice of bread. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned away. "Fullmetal, just take the damn bread or you're going to throw up air, and that's painful."
"I don't want the fucking bread! I'm fine. I'm not gonna throw—" Oh, shit. I ran to the bathroom. Goddammit, that bastard was fucking right. It hurts like hell. My throat ached, but my stomach had stopped heaving. I slid down the wall and wrapped my arms around my knees. The tile was cool and it steadied my frazzled nerves.
"Ed?"
"You gonna say I told you so?" I turned to glare at Mustang.
"No, not yet. I won't kick a man when he's down." He held out the bread once more, but instead of refusing it, I gave in and took it eagerly.
He offered his hand. "Screw you, Colonel Bastard. I can do this myself." I scaled up the wall to help myself onto my feet, but I quickly fell again. The room began to spin. His hand was still output. "Goddammit…" I took his hand and hoisted myself up. He swung my arm around his shoulder for support. We walked pretty much three-legged down the hall to his office.
I staggered to the couch and sprawled out on it. Ah, couch. I love you couch. I rolled over and began to sleep.
When I woke up, I had a blanket on. "Al?" No answer. He must be outside still. It was eerily silent. I sat up. I imagined a cave where if you were to call out 'hello' it would echo forever in the dark chasm. You could literally hear a pin drop in that room. The only thing heard was my breathing and the rhythmic pattern of the gently falling rain. Where the hell is everyone?
The door creaked open and I jumped. It was Mustang. I sighed. He walked in with a two foot pile of papers in his arms. "Oh, you're awake."
"Yeah, where's Al?" I asked. I slid off the couch and leaned back as I stretched. I heard a pop. Oops, too far. I readjusted my shoulder and I heard another pop. It felt better, but it was going to be sore for a while.
"He, err, well… He found another cat. He's taking care of it in the infirmary. Apparently, it was limping." He grunted as he set the papers on his desk.
"Geez, Al. When you gonna learn that you can't save every stray cay?" I muttered to myself. Mustang began filling out paper work at his desk.
The door let in a sliver of light. "Is he awake?" I heard a whisper, unidentifiable by the tone.
Mustang looked up. "Yes, he's awake."
The doors burst open and I just about fell over. "Brother, look! I found a cat!" Al said excitedly. He held up the cat as if he'd struck gold.
"Great, now go put it back. We don't need a cat." I said.
His face fell. "But, brother! I—" A green flash cut him off. It came from outside, seething through the window panes. It seared my skin and I heard loud cries from everyone in the room: Al, Mustang and the cat. I could barely open my eyes enough to see where Al was. It felt like my body was on fire and it was hard to catch each breath. It felt like hot irons were piling on top of me, but my skin seemed unchanged except for the green hue from the light.
"Al!" I called. "Alphonse!"
Al was still screaming. He had scratches on his arm where the cat had clawed him. I looked at Mustang across the room and he was screaming too. I tried crawling to Al to calm him down, but I passed out before I could do so.
Am I dreaming? I had to be. I couldn't be here again, not the gate. Did I die? No, I can't, I can't leave Al again…
The gate opened and hundreds of tiny black hands pulled me into the eye. They started pulling my limbs off, but it was painless this time. All I could do was watch in horror as the rest of me spiraled away. "Nooo—" I couldn't even finish my scream as my mouth was taken. The only thing left was my soul. I had the general outline of me, but it was just a faint glow in the endless amounts of light around me.
A figure appeared. It was Mustang. Why is he here? He started coming at me with extreme speed. He wasn't running though, it was like he was being pushed. He looked half dead. His eyes were closed and his mouth sagged. Before I knew it, he had ran right into me, but I didn't feel that either. I was so unfeeling, it was annoying. My vision blurred. I heard a laugh echo as I fell into darkness once more.
A/N: Sorry, I know this is horrible, but I do plan to continue it. If you want me to, I mean. :\