Not where I'm Supposed To Be
This silence… This feeling of complete stillness is something that's nearly impossible to describe…
But then again, how did I even get into this mess?
My name is Edward Elric.
The date is April 15th, 1912.
And as of now, I'm drowning in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Well, one thing is for sure… Fate can be a bitch.
Then again, when hasn't it been a pain in my ass?
If I could laugh right now, I would. The irony of this is just too rich for words.
I can just see the headlines now: "Fullmetal Alchemist Drowns Because Of Prosthetic Limbs."
You get the irony now?
Hell, if I saw that headline, I'd be laughing my ass off.
But you see, there's just one problem with that…
Seeing as I'm no longer in my own world anymore, that scenario that I just described wouldn't even be possible.
Yup, Fate defiantly can be a bitch…
So before I completely sink to the ocean floor, I should probably tell you what happened here. The beginning of the story would be nice, and I also won't be bored out of my mind when I die.
Let's get started, shall we? I don't exactly have all the time in the world.
Or maybe I should just take my time. Death isn't that bad, really.
After all, I already died once.
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(Five Days Earlier…)
"Ugh… What happened? Where am I?"
The young man's eyes slowly flickered open, the sun's glare forcing him to squint around at the blue sky above him. Lifting a trembling hand, he shielded his face against the piercing beams, and slowly started to move about on his own. Sitting up, Ed tried to remember exactly what had happened.
A man's face, strangely similar to his, gazing at him with a sinister grin…
A feeling of total numbness as something punched through his chest…
A looming gate, his spirit standing before it…
A flash of light, and then-
Nothing…
The young man groaned in frustration. "How in the hell did I get here?" he muttered, staring at the ground beneath him. "The last thing that I remember is the transmutation circle, activating it to bring Al back, and then…"
Al! How could he forget about Al? Ed frantically got up and looked around him, searching for any sign of his younger brother, but nothing came. He ran over behind some trees, poking his head behind them as he called his brother's name.
"Al?! Alphonse!! Al, where are you?!"
He continued his search for several minutes, but all of his efforts were in vain. There was no evidence of his younger brother to be found. Sinking to his knees, Ed leaned against a tree and put his head into his hands, overcome by remorse.
His brother was gone… Al was really gone…
It seemed like he was sitting against that tree for hours, but in reality it was only a couple of minutes. The young man managed to compose himself and got to his feet, wiping the remnants of tears off of his face. "Al… I was willing to give up everything to bring you back… Why aren't you here? WHERE IS THE EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE IN THAT?!" He punched the tree trunk in front of him, wincing as the bark glanced off of his face as it separated from its original source. "DAMNIT!!"
Removing his hand from the tree, the young man frowned as he peered at the torn fabric of a plain cotton glove, revealing the shining metal beneath it. He let out a small sigh, flexing the metallic fingers. "Automail…" he murmured in defeat, brushing the tree fragments off of the prosthetic. "So I really have lost everything…"
Looking around, the man stared warily at his surroundings, trying to find anything familiar about them, but nothing struck him as immediately recognizable. He groaned and reached for his pocket watch, trying to see if any time had passed since the transmutation had taken place.
But when his hand entered his pocket, it didn't grasp anything. His pocket was empty. Ed's eyes widened as he looked down at where his watch would normally be, noticing the strange clothing he was garbed in. "What in the world am I wearing?!" he exclaimed, examining his attire. "This wasn't what I was wearing before!"
The clothing that the man was now wearing was much different than his normal clothing choice of black leather pants, shirt and jacket. The clothing he now wore consisted of a strange sort of shirt made of cotton, and a pair of brown slacks and boots, (the latter of which were heavily scuffed and worn.) as well as a tan colored vest and a brown jacket. Not only that, but instead it its usual braid that his hair was weaved into, it was now hanging loose in a neat ponytail at the back of his head, swaying with every gust of wind that whispered by. Ed shook his head, his newly discovered ponytail whipping him in the face as he did so. "Great… Not only do I have no idea where I am, but I'm also dressed differently!" He sniggered, carelessly waving his hands in the air. "What's next, huh? Anything else you can throw at me?!"
If Fate was real, then it had a really weird sense of humor. Not two seconds after Ed had made his latest challenge, a piece of paper came floating by and whapped the young man in the face, covering it and blocking his view of his new surroundings. Ripping the offending obstruction off of his face, Ed held it at arm's length while attempting to read it. "What the…" he muttered, he jaw going somewhat slack. "The R.M.S. Titanic will be departing from port in Southampton, England, on April 10th, 1912, bound for New York City, in the United States of America, at 12:00 noon. Please present your boarding passes to the crewman at the port according to your class." He rubbed his head, crumpling the paper slightly within his clenched grip. "England, huh?" he muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. "Who in their right mind would name their country that?"
Shoving the paper into his pocket, he set off in the nearest direction towards civilization, listening closely for the sounds of a port nearby. Trudging along, he finally managed to emerge onto a busy street, scanning his eyes over the mass off carriages, automobiles, and civilians passing by. "Now, where the heck is that port?" he mumbled, merging into the crowd. "Maybe I can stow away for a ride…"
The sound of screeching brakes and a car horn jarred him from his thoughts. Jumping aside in surprise, Ed turned around to see a man in a vehicle, blaring his horn at him. The man stuck his head out the driver's side window (which Edward noted was strangely on the right) and shouted over the crowd. "You seem a little lost." the man yelled, patting the passenger's seat. "Need a lift?"
Ed relaxed a bit and nodded, climbing into the car. "Thanks!" he said, turning to the man. "I was in a tight spot the-"
The stranger peered over at his younger passenger, raising an eyebrow as his speech trailed off mid-sentence. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, quickly glancing towards the road now and again. "You seem a little out of sorts."
Ed gaped at the man as his eyes widened in shock. "General Mustang?!" he exclaimed, finally recognizing the person before him. "I thought that you were taking care of Pride!"
The supposed General Mustang peered at him in confusion and hit the brakes, sending the car to an abrupt stop. "General? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking abou-."
Ed grabbed him by the collar of his coat, frustration burning in his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, you bastard!" he yelled, shaking the man. "You sure as hell now what I'm talking about!"
The man managed to free himself from Ed's grip, fixing his clothing. "I am no military man, I can tell you that much." he said, pulling out a boarding pass. "My name is Ryan Halloway, and I'm on my way to board the R.M.S. Titanic."
The skeptical young man grabbed the boarding pass, examining it thoroughly. Sure enough, it displayed the man's picture, his birthday, and his class, all in plain typed text on the card. Sighing, his grudgingly handed the newly dubbed Halloway his pass, rubbing his head. "Damn it… And I thought I was somewhere near him, too…"
Ryan chuckled a bit, stepping out of the car. "I guess I've been the subject of a mistaken identity, then?" he asked, going to open the passenger side door.
Ed nodded, grinning sheepishly. "Yup… Sorry about that."
The older man waved it off. "It's all in the past." Rummaging around, he pulled a medium sized suitcase out of the car and shut the door after Ed stepped out. "We'll have to walk from here." he said. "The size of the crowd is too large to navigate through."
Giving him a puzzled look, Ed reluctantly followed, looking back at the abandoned vehicle. "What about your car?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder.
Halloway smirked and tossed the ignition keys into the front seat. "Some other person can use it. I don't plan on coming back for it anyway."
"Huh?" Ed mumbled, taking his turn to raise his eyebrows. "You mean you're not going to come back here? Ever?"
Halloway smirked and shifted his suitcase, adjusting to the imbalance on his one side. "Nope." He said plainly, letting out a contented sigh. "I'm going to America on the Titanic, and I'm never coming back to this god forsaken place."
Ed merely shrugged. This alternate universe General Flame-Ass probably had a good motive for leaving his country, and he didn't want to aggravate the only person that trusted him by pushing his buttons... Although the option was severely tempting...
The two men walked onto the nearest gangplank, showing their tickets to the nearest crewman and gaining entrance to the ship. Ed's eyes immediately started scanning the area for anything unusual, flitting from one face to the next rapidly and with caution. "So, where is the second-class area of this behemoth?" he asked Halloway, glancing to a nearby porthole that crewmen were streaming out of.
The doppleganger nodded his head in a knowing way. "Come on, just follow me... I hope you won't get lost because you can't see me over the crowd though..." he muttered with a smirk.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?!" Ed shouted, startling a group of women they had just passed, causing them to glare disapprovingly in their direction.
Halloway chuckled at the display, fishing his pocket for his cabin information. "You'd better look for where you are staying Edward." he said, finally pulling the paper out and reading it. "Hmm... It says I'm in Stateroom 14."
Ed took his own paper out and read it, choking on his saliva as saw his room assignment. "WHAT?! I have room 14 too?!"
Halloway cocked his head to the side, observing his acquaintance's reaction. "The rooms fit up to four people Edward, what did you expect? The Plaza Hotel?"
Ed groaned and bemoaned his horrible luck. "Now I have to room with the General's look-alike... This is going to be a LONG trip..."
"It's called a voyage, Edward."
"WHATEVER!"