My first fanfic! Enjoy!
Edward, Alphonse, Mustang, Aquroya, & Amestris all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
'Disenchanted' (song/chapter title) belongs to My Chemical Romance.
CHAPTER 1
The blood was everywhere. It gushed out in torrents, pooling around me. I sat in the unfamiliar alleyway, horrified. "Wh-where are you?" I gasped. "COME BACK!" My screams echoed off the walls, and my vision faded from blood red to black.
I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw were golden ones staring back. What pretty eyes, I thought hazily. I wanted to touch them, so I brought my hand up. Or tried to. I raised my arm a couple of inches, but then it flopped uselessly onto the bed. Wait... bed? I gasped, and I remembered...
Sighing, I closed my eyes and let the tears pour down. She was never coming back. All that heartache and desperation, and now this. Would this nightmare ever end?
"I know it hurts. I'm sorry. My brother should be here with some painkillers soon," the golden eyes said softly, hovering above me. Silent tears still flowing, I looked up at him.
"Nothing can make this pain any better," I said tiredly, a note of finality in my hoarse voice.
The boy just stared at me; his eyes blazing into mine, probing. I stared back.
The slamming of a door and pounding footsteps interrupted our silence. A brown haired boy appeared in the entrance to the room. He was panting, and clutching a bag in his hands.
"Brother, I've got the mor - she's awake?!" the boy yelped, scurrying over toward the bed.
"Yeah, hurry and give her a dose," the golden-eyed boy said. His brother kneeled next to the bed, and tenderly took my arm in his hands. He pulled out a syringe and plunged it in the crook of my elbow. I cringed as he pulled the needle out of my skin.
"There. That should help the pain a little," the brown-haired boy said softly, concern in his eyes. I wondered vaguely how morphine would help, and closed my eyes. The slight pressure of a hand on my own was the last thing I felt before drifting off to sleep.
The snowflakes were falling down softly, dreamlike, to the ground already blanketed white. The sky was as white as the surreal snowfall. "Helena!" I heard a musical laugh. I turned around, and Violet was standing at a distance, her back turned to me. I ran toward her through the snow, brushing flakes out of my way to get to her, so I could smooth her hair and warm her mittened hands. I reached her, and put my hand on her shoulder, which was as cold as the snow. She turned to face me. Her beautiful face transformed before my eyes, the smooth flesh becoming browned and saggy, her eyes going flat, her hair and teeth falling out. Yet she stood there, like a sick attempt at a doll and smiled a toothless, expressionless leer. Her eyes flashed a dangerous gold just before she crumbled and stained the snow crimson, my screams interrupting the eerie silence...
I woke up drenched in a cold sweat, gasping. I realized that I couldn't see, so I started to remove the damp cloth from my face, but my fingers met a hand instead.
"Oh! You're awake!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed, quickly removing the washcloth from my forehead. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
I felt terrible. Utterly terrible. I couldn't shake it off; the dream, and the reality. I had a desperate need to vomit, but I couldn't. I wouldn't think about her. Or was it a better word? No! This had to stop.
I took a shaky breath and looked around the room to distract myself. The room had light wood floors and there was an old armoire in the corner, leaning against the faded yellow wallpaper. The boy sat on a small wooden stool next to my bed, a basin of water in his lap and a washcloth in his hand.
The boy stared at the floor. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
I nodded, and whispered, "Thirsty..." He picked up a glass of water and hesitated. I guessed that I needed to sit up to drink, so I struggled into a sitting position. My hands were trembling as I reached over and took the cup from the boy, gingerly tipping the water in my mouth.
As my parched throat was relieved, the boy told me his name. "Um... I'm Alphonse, and my brother, Edward, is out buying a prosthetic leg for you," he said uncertainly. "I bandaged up your... leg last night, and most of the bleeding stopped. Does it hurt?"
I groaned. So that's why I needed painkillers. I had forgotten all about my leg. Or what had used to be my leg, anyway. And now that he mentioned it, it did hurt. It hurt a whole lot.
"Ah! Do you want more morphine?" Alphonse heard my groan and panicked. "Well, no, actually, I don't think I should give you anymore.... you shouldn't have another dose for another couple of hours..." As Alphonse rambled, my curiosity started kicking in. I had no idea who where I was, and I only vaguely knew how I had gotten here, but I didn't want to think about that. I couldn't think about that.
"Where... am I?" I asked Alphonse, my voice gaining a little more strength.
"Oh! Yeah, well, this is my house. Well, my brother's house actually," he responded.
"Where... is your house?" I questioned. His answer wasn't quite the explanation I was looking for.
"Huh? Oh! Munich. Munich, Germany," Alphonse said. I stared at him. I had never heard of Germany, let alone Munich, and I was pretty well-learned.
"Do you... know where that is?" he asked me, slowly. I shook my head no, and in the process, I banged it on the bed's headboard that I was propped against. "Ow!" I yelped, surprised.
A weird look passed over Alphonse's face, and his words came out choked. "Are... you okay?" he asked. "Yeah..." I sighed, even though my head was throbbing a little.
There was an awkward silence, during which Alphonse stared at the floor, and I stared at his face. His lips were twitching. "Pfft... ha... hahaha!" Alphonse laughed, immediately putting his hands to his mouth. "Heh... heh... sorry! I'm sorry! Just... your expression! You just looked so surprised," he said, still chuckling a little.
I stared at him. Was it really that funny? Alphonse glanced at me sheepishly, giggles subsiding, and then blushed. "Sorry..." he muttered. "Oh... you're fine," I sighed. There was something odd about this boy, but I couldn't quite place it.
"Where do you live?" Alphonse asked me seriously.
"I was living in Aquroya, but... I don't know anymore," I trailed off. "Is this Hell?" I asked suddenly. The thought that I was dead had just occurred to me, but it made a lot of sense.
"What...? Aquroya!? Hell? No!" Alphonse practically shrieked. After a pause, "Did you just say you're from Aquroya?" he asked again, quieter this time. "Yeah," I said.
"Aquroya... as in... Amestris?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Yeah," I repeated, not sure why he was making such a big deal.
Alphonse looked out the window for a long time, then turned his gaze to me. Eyes burning, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Helena. Helena Mustang."
Alphonse leaned back on his stool and ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. "I thought you looked familiar," he mumbled. Familiar? I had never seen this boy in my life. I closed my eyes. My curiosity was quenched for the moment, but I had a feeling Alphonse's wasn't. To avoid further questioning, I allowed myself to drift into sleep, despite the throbbing of my used-to-be leg.
"She's from Amestris? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I mean, she said she's from Aquroya," I heard Alphonse say quietly. I kept my eyes shut. I didn't feel like dealing with questioning yet.
I guess it was Edward who responded, "But that's not possible! We closed the Gate. We sealed the portal!" he practically shouted. "So how the hell did she get here?" he murmured. "What else did she tell you?" he asked Alphonse.
"She said... she said her name's Helena Mustang," said Alphonse.
"Mustang!" Edward exclaimed. I peeked; I couldn't help it. I wanted to see their expressions.
Edward looked contemplative, and Alphonse looked slightly uncomfortable. Both of them had a glimmer of something in their eyes. Was it sadness? Or was it hope?
The boys walked over to me and I quickly shut my eyes tight. I guess I was too late, since I heard Edward murmur in my ear, "How's Roy?"
"Brother! She was sleeping!" Alphonse said angrily when I opened my eyes again. "No, she wasn't, Al. I think she heard our conversation," Edward responded, backing away from me. "Am I right?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I said groggily. I must've slept for a long time, since it was dark outside.
"You're from Amestris," Edward stated. "Yeah," I replied.
"How did you get here?"
"I don't think she knows where she is, Ed," Al whispered.
"Helena, you're in the city of Munich, in the country of Germany. You're... in a parallel universe, sort of. There's no Amestris in this world," Edward explained bluntly. I stared at him with wide eyes. So, then that giant door I passed through was a door between universes? Still, a more logical conclusion was...
"Am I dead?" I asked.
"No, you're not dead," Edward said gently, pausing. "How did you get here?" he asked again, somewhat desperately.
I shook my head as vigorously as I could while lying down. I didn't want to think about it, let alone relive the experience out loud. My mind hadn't completely grasped what I had seen before going through... the Gate. Isn't that what Edward had called it?
"You don't remember?" Ed asked.
I stared at the floor. When I didn't respond, Edward sighed, and stood up. "I guess you're still in shock," he said. "I'll let you sleep now, and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Al, I'll be in around midnight. I won't let you stay up all night again. You need your sleep, too," Edward said, walking away. He paused in the doorway, and stared at me for a moment before shutting the door loudly behind him.
Alphonse sat down on the stool. "Is there anything I can get you?" he asked me.
"No," I said tiredly. All I wanted was sleep, sleep, more sleep. "Okay," Alphonse said. "Goodnight," he smiled half-heartedly and leaned over to click off the light. "'Night," I replied. I was surprised to feel a lump form in my throat. I swallowed and rolled my head to the side, waiting for sleep to claim me once again.
Okay, just so you know, it might be a long while until I update... *hides*
And reviews are very much appreciated, since this is my first time doing this. Constructive criticism is welcome, too.
I've been thinking about rewriting this in third person. What do you think?
One more thing. I don't the title... any suggestions??
Thanks for reading!