Heres my newest story. I hope you guys like it. Please tell me if it's any good, and if I should continue it. If you can, leaving a quick review would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, or any parts that have information thats not accurate or confusing parts. Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. Enjoy!
Alfons stepped into the dimly lit room. Only one lamp was on-the one on the desk that Edward was sitting at. Ed had his head down, and was busily scribbling something onto a sheet of paper. It took his full concentration, so he didn't notice when Alfons came into the room.
Alfons came up behind Ed, and took a peek over his shoulder at what he was doing. Oh God! He's drawing that crap again, Alfons thought, not daring to speak a word of it aloud. On the paper, a very intricate drawing of a circle was sketched. Edward called it a 'transmutation circle', and had explained that it dealt with alchemy.
Alfons, personally, could care less. Nothing like that existed on Earth. Alchemy was a dead art, and physics was much more evolved than that primitive science.
Edward had always claimed that he had come from another world, almost like this one, but you could do alchemy in it. Alfons chose not to believe anything Ed said about this other world, for it wasn't scientifically possible. Instead, he dismissed it as Edward being mentally unstable.
"Why are you drawing those damn circles again?" Alfons inquired.
Ed jumped at the sound of Al's voice. "Dammit, don't scare me like that", Ed complained. "I thought I told you already, I have to keep up my alchemy skills for when I get back to my own world." Ed went back to drawing, as if everything seemed normal.
Alfons rolled his eyes, "Ed! If you keep doing crap like drawing freaky circles, people are going to think you're crazy."
"Alchemy isn't crazy" Ed muttered.
"Maybe in your world, or wherever you think you came from it is, but it isn't normal in this world."
"Alfons, it isn't possible to do alchemy here. That's why I draw these circles, because at least I can do something related to alchemy, without physically doing it", Ed stated, firmly, crossing his arms. "If I ever return home, then I won't have forgotten any part of what of learned about alchemy through my life."
Deciding to play along, and not wanting to provoke him further, Alfons commented, "I'm sure, someday, you'll return to your home."
"You don't believe me, do you?" Ed sighed. He went back to sketching more fine details to his 'transmutation circle'.
After a brief silence, Alfons started to say, "It's not that I don't believe you. It's just that..." He was interrupted by a fit of coughing. A worried look crossed Ed's face. Eventually, the coughing fit came to an end.
"It's just a cold, Ed", Alfons said, when he noticed the worry on Ed's face.
"Like hell it's just a cold", Ed retorted.
"Seriously, Ed. It's nothing to worry about."
"Fine! I trust your judgement", Ed told him. "Just promise me you'll get it checked if it gets any worse." Anxiety was evident in his voice.
"Yeah, I will", Alfons replied. He coughed a few more times, before he left the room, leaving Edward in peace to draw what he wanted without harassment.
Edward finished the drawing, and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, as if concentrating on some invisible task. Then, as fast as he could, he thrust himself forward, forcing his hands to come into contact with the circle.
He waited, and almost felt the tingle of an alchemic reaction. But nothing happened. All his false hopes that, maybe, this time, alchemy would work was crushed in that instant. A defeated looking Ed slouched over, and placed his head in his hands.
Alfons sneaked a peek from the doorway. He had heard a smacking sound, and had come to check that everything was alright. To see Ed in such a position broke his heart. Ed was strong, and determined, and if something had the power to defeat him, it had to be pretty bad.
Al thought about going in to comfort him, but instead, chose to leave him solve his own problems, and not meddle with other peoples troubles.
That night, Alfons walked into Ed's room, with a bowl of warm soup, to find Ed fast asleep, passed out on top of the covers of his bed, with an open book in his hands. The soup was the supper that he had prepared for the two of them. They almost never ate supper, and so Al thought it would be a nice treat to make something for once.
Should I wake him? Alfons asked himself, right as Ed muttered something strange in his sleep. Al thought it sounded strangely like 'Fullmetal' something-or-rather. Then he cried out "Al!" Is he calling to me? thought Alfons, but then it occurred to him that Ed had mentioned something about having a brother named Al.
Alfons sighed, and set down the soup. He turned to leave, but turned back immediately when Ed started thrashing around, obviously from a nightmare.
Alfons ran to Ed, and shook him awake. "Ed! Wake up!"
Edward bolted up in bed, and stared wide-eyed at the wall in front of him, as if Al wasn't even there. Sweat beads gathered at his forehead.
"Are you okay? You were having a nightmare, and you were-" Al started.
Ed turned to Alfons, "Yeah. I'm fine... I don't remember what the dream was about, but it must have been pretty bad if you had to wake me." He gave an attempt at a weak chuckle, but failed miserably.
Alfons didn't know whether to think Ed was lying, or if he really didn't remember, and that he was just still shaken up by things he can't recall.
They sat silently for a brief moment before Ed exclaimed, "Oh! You brought me supper?" as he noticed the soup. Ed grabbed the bowl. "Smells delicious", he commented as he dug into it, slurping noisily.
"Hungry much?" Alfons chuckled. Ed nodded, and all the while, didn't stop slurping.
Several nights went by, and most of them, Alfons had heard Ed mutter many names and phrases in his sleep, repeatedly. Did they have some symbolic meaning to him? Most of them included Fullmetal (which Alfons knew meant stubborn, but that didn't explain why Ed kept saying it in his sleep), Al (most likely Ed's brother), Colonel Bastard (Al had chuckled when he heard that one), Winry, Philosopher's Stone, and mom, just to name a few.
Ed frequently had nightmares, but after a while, Alfons chose not to wake him from them any longer. It became a nuisance how often he had to wake him.
One evening, Alfons had heard Ed thrashing in his sleep again. He ignored it, and sat down in the kitchen with the newspaper. The noises Ed was making were annoying him, and he was getting angry. Why couldn't he just sleep without crying out for once? Suddenly, Alfons broke into a fit of coughs, and he coughed so hard blood came out.
Alfons cleaned it up easily, but all the while, he hadn't noticed Edward standing at the door watching him, wide-eyed and worriedly. The coughing had woken him.
Al jumped in surprise when he heard Ed speak, "Alfons, go see a doctor." It wasn't a suggestion, or a question. It was a command.
Alfons flipped around and glared at him. He was irritable, and very annoyed with Ed, even though Ed didn't know it. "How many times must I say it? It's just a cold!" Alfons shouted, angrily at Ed.
Ed looked hurt, but kept his composure, and yelled back, "If it's just a damn cold, then why have you had that cough for a whole month? If you're not going on your own, I'll drag you there."
Why does he even care? Alfons asked himself, sourly. He was not in the mood to deal with Ed right now.
Alfons stormed past Ed, running into him purposely, ignoring Ed's deathly glare, and continued to his room. He didn't come out until late next morning. Ed wasn't in the kitchen or sitting room, so he must have already gone into town, as usual. Probably at the library, or meeting up with friends. Maybe even at a restaurant. Alfons, honestly, could care less today.
It was good to have some Ed-free time. Alfons didn't hate Ed, but sometimes he got annoying. He was as stubborn as a mule, he had come up with some of the craziest stories around and he's convinced they're true, and he was always nagging. Plus, Alfons sometimes thought that Ed used him as a replacement for his brother that he claims is still in this other world, where Ed comes from.
Alfons stepped out to get some fresh air. He decided to head to the local bar to get some things off his mind.
After a couple drinks, and a chat with a couple of friends, he went home to work on designing the rocket that he and some co-workers had started building. He had to configure a few things to get it to work just right, and they would be paid big bucks for it. Also, they'd become famous, and he'd leave his mark on the world before he left it.
When he got back to the house, Ed still wasn't around. He wasn't angry any longer. The drinking had washed that emotion away. Alfons anxiously checked all the rooms, and finally discovered Ed in his own room.
Edward was sprawled out on the floor. By the looks of it, he had probably fainted a while ago. There was a small pool of blood around his head-not enough to be serious.
Alfons head spun, and he panicked. What could have caused this? Was he like this this morning, or did he faint just recently? Is he alright? All these thoughts ran through Al's head as he dashed to get help.
Alfons was kneeled beside Ed's bedside, waiting for him to regain consciousness. According to the house call doctor, Ed had fainted earlier that morning. Alfons was so mad at himself that he had not thought to check that Ed was okay before jumping to the hasty conclusion that he was already out of the house.
The doctor was still in the diagnosing stage. He had told Al that Ed had to have fainted for a reason-a sickness of some sort, or an injury.
Ed stirred, and Al perked up as he seen Edward tentatively opened one eye. He groaned, and muttered something about his head hurting. Alfons grinned when he seen Ed was alert again.
"What happened?" Ed asked.
"Well... you fainted, and hit your head. That's why it hurts. It was bleeding", Alfons replied, the best he could. He wasn't an expert on the medical stuff, but he tried.
Ed groaned again, and the doctor walked in. "What the hell is a doctor doing in my room?" Ed complained, and he shrieked when he seen the doctor had a needle.
"Hello Edward. Good to see you're conscious again. I just have to take a blood sample for testing", the doctor kindly explained.
"Hell no! You've got the wrong guy. Alfons is the one with the cough. I'm not sick. No way are you sticking that thing in my arm!" Ed exclaimed.
The doctor and Alfons chuckled. Ed was still a bit delusional, and probably wasn't as scared as he could be.
The doctor reached out to steady Ed's arm, but Ed pulled out of his grasp. He held tight to his arm, and kept it out of the doctor's reach.
"Come now, Ed. Please cooperate. Let's not make this as hard as it could be", the doctor said.
"Yeah, Ed. It's only a poke", Alfons told him, comfortingly. "Don't be scared."
Ed's eyes narrowed, and he kept his arm tucked away. He stood up on the bed, and moved away from the two other men. "No way in hell."
Alfons shook his head, and giggled. Then he jumped on the bed beside Ed, and wrestled him down. He was surprisingly strong for having just regained consciousness.
Ed dodged all of Al's attempts to grab him, but Alfons never stopped trying. Then Al grabbed Ed by the ponytail, which stopped him for a split second, but only a split second. He wriggled out of the grasp very quickly, making it look much easier than it was.
Finally, Alfons had Ed pinned to the bed, with one arm stretched forcefully out. The doctor stuck the needle in quickly, and took the blood as fast as possible. By the time the needle was out, Ed had gotten free again.
"Dammit!" he clutched his arm to his side and exclaimed, "That hurt. You'd better have needed that blood."
"Of course he needed it. Doctors don't take blood for no reason, Ed", Alfons sighed.
"Yes, we needed it Edward. Now please lay back down; you need your rest" the doctor told him.
Ed laid back down, and Alfons sat beside him. The doctor left the room with the blood sample.
"I didn't know you hated needles so much, Ed", Alfons teased.
Edward rolled his eyes, and blushed. "I don't understand how you don't mind a complete stranger poking a sharp object into your arm, and taking your blood."
Alfons laughed, and the doctor stepped back into the room. He gestured for Alfons to come with him, and so Al left Ed wondering curiously what they could be talking about.
In the hallway, out of Ed's earshot, Alfons was told, by the doctor, "This wasn't a normal fainting spell; I can assure you it was much worse than that. Even though we don't have the results back yet, I will give my hypothesis on what could have caused this. I've narrowed the list down to the top possibilities being he was very upset and his blood pressure went up, something caused by his prosthetics, an illness that we don't know about, or a seizure. Ed seems to have no knowledge of what happened right before he fainted, and he's denied having any known illnesses prior to this incident. I don't know of his past, but do you know anything that could have contributed to this?"
Al thought about the crazy stories Ed told. If they were true, he had subjected himself to much danger and trauma. Al also thought about how Ed claimed about coming from another world, and about how lonely he must feel if that was true. Of course, Al didn't believe that they were true, but that was all about Ed's past that he knew.
"Sorry, I don't really know about his past", Alfons answered.
The doctor nodded, and told him, "Keep an eye on Ed, and make sure nothing serious happened. More serious than this, I mean. Keep him safe. This might be the start of something life-threatening."
Alfons nodded, wide-eyed. "Y-yes, sir" he stammered. The doctor left and Alfons thought to himself Life-threatening? Is this that serious? I mean, all he did was faint...
How did you like it? It should get more interesting, if you didn't think that was. Updating will be faster depending on how many reviews this gets. ~m00nl1ghtshad0w