Orphan Train Hijack
By The Sole Survivor
Pointless.. Yes
Enjoyable.. You be the judge
Silence.
That was one thing Alphonse Elric didn't enjoy. Sure, he loved to spend time with his brother, Edward, but sitting on a train with him just staring blankly out the window wasn't too inviting to start up a conversation over. They were currently on their way to Central, supposedly to meet the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang. They'd just returned to Resenbool for repairs. Ed had lost his arm up to his elbow and Al just went along for company and to be with his brother. Now, Edward didn't look too happy about going to meet with Lieutenant Colonel, but Roy had sounded very serious on the phone. So here they were. Al sighed and hung his metal head.
"Nii-san?" Ed practically jumped a foot in the air, falling foward from lack of something to grab onto. Seemed as though he was thinking deeply on something. "Oh, sorry, Nii-san."
"It's okay, Al." Ed sat up, rubbing his soon to be bruised head and got comfortable. "What is it?" He rested his elbow on the side of the train chair, letting his chin fall into his hand.
"Well, I was just wondering.. what the Colonel could want with us. Didn't we just do an assignment for him?" Ed sighed dramatically and hung his head.
"Yeah, Al, and it resulted in me losing half my right arm." He scoffed and turned to look out the window. "As far as I know, he just wants to put us somewhere so we can do something he's been planning to do. Remember the guy on the train with the mechanical arm?"
"Yeah, I do. I think his name was Bald." The two Elric brothers fell silent again. Al wished his brother wouldn't do that. Everytime he would try to talk to him, Ed seemed to be in his own little world. Probably was, but that was no excuse to block him out when he was deep in thought. Al sat up straighter when he heard footsteps coming down the aisle toward them. They stopped and Al saw Ed slowly turn his head. A little girl, standing to Ed's shoulders, stood beside their booth. The girl had dark brown hair that was pulled back into loose ponytail, her bangs spilling over her face and her brown eyes that seemed to mock him with innocence. She wore an over-sized blue shirt and long black pants that pooled around her feet. One thing that caught Edward's attention was the small silver locket that hung loosely arond her neck. She grinned and giggled when Ed raised an eyebrow at her, genuinely confused.
"Hi." She waved and sat down beside Edward, after seeing there wasn't any room beside Al. She glanced between them, the huge, almost frightening smile still tugging at her lips. "My name is Sandra." Ed turned slowly to face her, a small smile making it's way onto his face.
"Hi. I'm Ed and that's--"
"Oh, I know who you both are. No need for introductions from you two." She stated, and got comfortable next to him. Ed blinked in confusion and turned to look at Al who acted just as confused.
"You know us?" Al and Ed echoed each other.
"Well, yeah, who doesn't?" Sandra stood up and tugged Ed closer to her.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Ed, a little creeped out, watched the little girl reached across him and grabbed ahold of his right arm, dragging it to her.
"I'm just proving a point, hold on." Carefully, she rolled up his red coat's sleeve, pulling the black one underneath along with it. Sandra grinned when she saw metal glistening in the sunlight streaming through the window. She tugged off his glove and shoved his whole arm in the air. "See Alan, I told you this was Edward and Alphonse Elric!" Ed glared.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing!?" He screamed but stopped and listened when he heard another voice, supposedly Alan.
"So! That could be a fake!" Sandra growled and dropped his right arm, making it clank against his knee.
"Ow! What the hell are you trying to prove!" He rubbed his newly forming bruise as the girl sat on the back of Ed's seat and pulled on his bangs.
"Edward Elric has blonde hair, dimwit! This is the Full Metal Alchemist! How many times do I have to tell you!" Al giggled across from him, thoroughly enjoying the show he was being treated to.
"That don't tell me anything, Sanduh! A lot of guys try to dress up like Edward! You've seen them around our town! Sheesh!" Sandra's growl deepened as she hopped down from the top of the seat, landing on the floor. She reached up and grabbed his left hand, tugging him into a standing position.
"Come with me, please." Ed glared and pulled his hand back, sitting back down.
"Look, whether your friend over there believes that I'm Edward Elric or not, that's his problem. I have no time to prove who I really am." Sandra scoffed and grabbed his hand back.
"This train won't stop for another hour. Come on, I have to prove you're really him!" With newfound strength, she pulled Ed up again, almost making him fall on the floor. He staggered as he was being pulled by the small girl.
"Okay, fine. Dammit, I'll be back in a minute, Al. Just sit tight." Al giggled as Ed was pulled to the far end of the car to where a boy, almost as tall as Ed was sitting with his arms crossed. Sandra pulled Ed into the booth and made him sit beside her. "Ow! Quit pulling me around, dammit!"
"Oh, hold on. Okay, Alan, is this proof enough? This is the spitting image of The Full Metal Alchemist." Ed scowled and rested his head on his left hand, his brows knitted together tightly.
"But how do you know, Sandra? You've seen the men around our town who claim to be Edward Elric. How do we know this isn't one of those guys?" Alan paused and sat back in his seat, studying Ed as he looked around him, a bored expression on his face. Alan was a normal size of a 10 year old boy. He had black hair that spiked across his head and seemingly harsh blue eyes. He wore a tight tank top and over-sized blue jeans with no shoes. One thing Ed noticed was a red dagger symbol etched on his left shoulder, similar to a scar. The Full Metal Alchemist shook his head and grumbled.
'Damn, I'm so sick of people try to pretend they're me.' Edward sighed and leaned back in the seat. Sandra's glare loosened as she turned to study Ed also.
"Oh, come on, Alan! How much more proof do you need? You've seen how tall the other guys are! The real Edward Elric is short! The hero of the people!" Sandra saw Ed go rigid out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean short! I meant.. erm.. the normal height of a teenager!" She finished, trying desprately not to make Ed get angry. She saw his glare never letting up, so she stood up and walked over closer to him. Sandra put her arms around him and gave him a small hug. "I'm sorry, don't get angry." She said, her voice taking on a whimper. Alan watched with mild amusement, a smug grin falling on his face. He watched as Ed's glare completely disappear into one of surprise.
"Oh come on, dude, how can you get mad at a face like that." Alan pressed as he watched Ed slowly turn to face Sandra, her arms still tightly wrapped around his shoulders. Suddenly, the train began to stop quickly, sending half the passengers on their car to jerk foward. Ed ended up crashing downward, stopping himself in time and turning to catch Sandra before she hurt herself. "Hey, what's going on?" Ed untangled himself from the small girl and opened his side of the window, sticking his head out. He glared when he saw some men in black suits on the car ahead of them.
"Another hold up." Alan gasped and Sandra whimpered. She stood up as Ed closed the window, heading back to his brother.
"Nii-san, what's going on?" Al stood up but stopped. Edward froze when he felt a hand wrap around his left one. Giggling, Al pointed to the frightened girl. "Looks like you have a fan, Ed." Ed glared, his shoulders slumping.
"Oh, shut up." Al gasped in surprise when he heard the door to their car open.
"Alright, listen up! We're here to collect what is ours. Cooperate and you won't die. Got it!?" Every sane person on the train nodded. Ed scowled and Al stayed silent.
"This happens a lot to us, doesn't it Nii-san?" Ed nodded and hung his head, sighing.
"Might as well take care of these guys." Ed felt Sandra's grip on his hand tighten as her small form slung itself around his leg. One of the thugs turned when he saw Al's huge metal armor. He began his trek down the aisle.
"Hey, you! Get your son and daughter under control!" Al's form went rigid.
"Son?" Al echoed, turning to face the thug.
"Daughter?" Edward glared whole-heartedly at the man and instinctively pushed Sandra behind him for protection. She whimpered but didn't complain, her grip on his hand never loosening. "Listen, you say you're looking for something, right?" The thug stared at Ed surprised. "Well, then get it and leave so this train can continue. We have somewhere to be right now!" The man growled and slung his gun around in his hand.
"You're one to talk, shorty! Just listen to what we say, and we won't hurt your sister or father, okay?"
"Shorty?!" Sandra's eyes widened when she felt Ed's hand tighten around hers. She looked around the car, seeing only a woman and another man. She gently tugged at Ed's hand, trying to get his attention. The eldest Elric looked down, surprised.
"Calm down, Ed, please?" Her lower lip quivered, making Ed's frown deepen. "You're pretty well known for your anger, and you charge into a fight without thinking. Please calm down." Al, having heard the girl's small speech, giggled.
"I guess she really is your biggest fan, Ed. She knows everything about you." Ed sighed and looked up at his brother.
"Which is actually kinda creepy." Both Elric brothers froze when the thug finally came back down to reality, having listened to their conversation.
"Hey! No talking! Now sit back down and don't move!" He screamed, making Sandra whimper and tighten her grip. For everyone else's safety, Ed obeyed, scowling deeply at the man. Al sat down as well, watching his brother for a plan.
"What are we going to do, Nii-san?" Ed pretty much ignored the girl's death grip on his arm as he thought of a plan. He leaned foward, motioning Al to do the same.
"I don't know, but here's what I do know. These guys don't seem like the type to actually kill someone. I think they're just putting on a show so people will cooperate. Wanna plan another surprise party? I go up, and you go low?" The grin on his brother's face was enough to make Al laugh.
"Okay. But be careful." Ed's grin widened as he nodded and stood before Al motioned him to sit back down. "But, Ed.. leave your fangirl here, okay?" The eldest Elric glanced down at the small girl to see her wave nervously at Ed before actually coming to her senses.
"Wait! No! I wanna stay with Ed! Please, Al! Let me go with him!" Huge tears trailed down her cheeks as she sunk to the floor, her hand releasing Ed's to wrap her arms around her knees. Ed sighed and shook his head. He glanced around him, checking to see what the thug was doing before kneeling in front of Sandra.
"Listen, Sandra." The girl looked up at the sound of her name. Ed smiled gently as he tried to explain. "You have to stay here, for your own safety. I'm going outside to the top of the train to get to the front cars easier. Do you understand? You'll be a lot safer here." Sandra's eyes searched Ed's for any flaw that he might have doubts, but she saw none. She smiled softly and to Ed's surprise, stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Promise me you'll come back unharmed?" She whispered into his coat, clenching her fists. Ed, slowly but surely, came out of his surprised shock to reach his left arm around her lightly and pat her on the back. He blinked before looking up at Al. The suit of armor merely shook his head and shrugged as much as the metal would allow. Edward sighed and tightened his arm.
"I can't make that promise." He felt the girl go stiff in his arms and tighten her hold. He soon felt tears soak his coat. "But, what I can tell you is that I'll come back to make sure you're okay." Without warning to Sandra, he stood up, unattaching her arms and set her on the floor. He looked up at Al and nodded, his brother doing the same. Before he walked off to the thugs, he turned to Sandra to see tears flowing down her cheeks. To her surprise, he smiled at her. Determination and bravery shone from his eyes, making a smile curl it's way onto her face. Ed walked softly to the thugs by the door. "Hey fellas, whatcha up to?" He asked casually, crossing his arms. They both turned around, alarmed with their guns blared but slowly lowered them.
"Hey, you! Get back to your father! Don't make us hurt you!" Instead of cowering in fear like the thug thought he would, Ed merely smiled and shrugged, his bangs falling over his face. He stood up straighter and raised his arms out. "Wh-what are you doing?" Clap. "Hey, didn't you hear me! I said-- AHH!" The thug screamed in fear as he watched Ed's glove dematerialize in front of him, replaced with a metal hand that lenghtened into a long, dangerously sharp blade. Ed grinned wickedly and got into a fighting stance.
"By the way.. you're gonna pay for that 'shorty' comment."
Aww, cute rite?? I was going for that strange kind of know-it-all girl with an additude and a soft side. Thus, Sandra was made up. BTW, Sandra is based off my friend in real life, and would probably not react the same way like this to Ed. :D Actually, to be honest, the whole 'attach-to-Ed' thing was based on my obsession. Alan is just.. some kind that kind of represents the annoying brother someone would have. That is if he were as sarcastic as Alan. :DENJOY the randomness with no virtual plot!
Disclaimer: Me don't own any FMA character, if I did, I'd be Hiromu Arakawa. :DD