The Fall – Chapter Two
Two updates in two days?! WHAT IS THIS TRICKERY?! I got another late night inspiration and finished writing sometime the next day. It's not as long as the last chapter, but I'm satisfied with it.
( 2 )
-[ Wait ]-
I'm ready as I'll ever be
I've done all one man can
And no one now will rescue me
So here I'll make my stand
Alphonse shoved open the door to their dorm, careful not to spill any food from the paper bags he cradled in one arm.
"Brother? You awake?" He called softly, closing the door behind him. A silent apartment answered his question.
"He must've gone back to bed." Al mused, and went on to the task of placing the food where it needed to go in the small kitchen area. It really wasn't more than a mini-fridge, a microwave, a sink, a dishwasher, and a couple cupboards, a similar set up of some of the larger Inns they had stayed at in the past.
Just as he finished putting the last can of soup on its respecting shelf and turned to throw out the bags, he noticed something strange on the wall. It looked suspiciously like scratches, and he was sure they hadn't been there when he left half an hour ago. The bathroom door had been left ajar, as had the bedroom door, and he could see a hint of red through the doorway. Intrigued, Alphonse pushed the door open the rest of the way.
Ed's red cloak was sprawled out on the floor, and a towel had been crumpled up and shoved in the corner.
Though Al found it odd that Ed would leave his cloak in the bathroom of all places, the entire display wasn't all that uncommon for Ed. He had always been hopeless at anything even bordering on organization.
No connection was made, and all Al did was pick up the abandoned cloth, and grabbed a book to read as he waited for his older brother to wake up.
The first thing he felt was panic. As a few memories caught up with him the feeling only strengthened.
He tried to move, open his eyes, anything, but he wasn't getting any response from his body. The panic rose.
He felt sheets under him, rumpled and shoved slightly to the side. He wasn't in his normal sleep attire, and his tank top felt slightly damp.
Finally, he felt his eyes open, and flinched at the blindingly white light coming from the window next to his bed.
When had he moved to his bed? Last he remembered, he had been researching ways to strengthen transmutations by focusing more on the result than the reaction itself. He had just found an interesting theory when... Right, he had fallen asleep.
But that still left the question of why he was in his bed instead of at the desk.
Confused, he brought his flesh hand up to his face, rubbing at the sweaty skin. He glanced around the room sleepily, finding it just as it normally was; the few things it held scattered around messily. He heard Al's echoing footsteps in the kitchen area; he was probably making dinner, based on the sun's low position in the sky.
Groaning slightly, Ed sat up, making the cheap dorm bed creak at the change in weight. He regretted it a second later as a headache started to build up behind his eyes. Instinctively, he pressed his fight arm to his forehead, trying to numb the ache with the cool metal.
Biting his lip, he tried not to stumbled as he stood up.
After briefly wondering why his door had been left open, he walked out into the tiny hallway, the floorboards complaining as he went.
"Brother?" He heard all call.
"Hmm..." He answered, not having the energy to think up a literate response. He lowered his arm, trying to look as normal as he could after just waking up (and with a splitting headache, but Alphonse couldn't know that). He slumped into one of two chairs set next to a small table, simply staring when a steaming bowl of soup was placed in front of him.
Al chuckled to himself as he sat down across from Ed, earning him a confused look from the aforementioned teen.
"Your bedhead, Brother, it..." He trailed off, clearly catching sight of Ed's glare. He fought the urge to laugh again as Ed started eating.
"How long was I sleeping...?" Ed asked in-between bites, stirring the vegetable soup to dispel some of the excess heat from the exposed surface.
"I got back-" Al glanced at the clock resting on the microwave, "about three hours ago."
Ed nodded once before swallowing, plowing his way through the soup as fast as he could.
"Did you find anything interesting?" He asked, just like he did every meal, talking about research. Used to how his brother talked as though everyone could understand, Al replied,
"There was one idea that intrigued me. I don't remember it exactly, but it said something about collecting energy from other lifeforms, like plants or bacteria, and expelling it through an alchemic reaction. It also said something about..."
Normally, Ed would've interrupted by now, adding his own theories to the mix and trying to puzzle out ways to prove it, but this time he stayed silent, listening to Al continue.
"...There would be some danger to the alchemist, since the energy would have to travel through him or her, but the overall result would be tremendous, depending on how much energy was taken. The subject of the alchemy could also be at risk, and..."
In truth, Al was enjoying his unstopped ramble, only paused when Ed made a small noise of confirmation.
Now that he though about it, Ed seemed to still be tired, but he was almost always completely awake and energetic by now.
"...It might have something to do with a common catalyst, maybe created by a widespread transmutation circle." He paused before asking, "Are you feeling okay, Brother?"
"Mm? Oh, fine, Al." Ed said hastily as he placed his used dish in the sink.
Alphonse looked about as disbelieving as a suit of armor could, but didn't say anything else.
Ed walked slowly back to his room and closed the door without another word, leaving an awkward absence behind him. In the silence, Alphonse could hear muffled coughs coming from behind the door.
Edward felt miserable. He had been trying to research for the past hour now, but he had only gotten through a little over a page of text. He didn't have this kind of time on his hands! He was supposed to report to the Colonel Mustang to get a briefing on his mission first thing tomorrow morning, and after that he didn't know when his next chance for research was.
On top of that, his throat had been itching ever since dinner. He would've gone to grab a glass of water, but he was near desperate to avoid Al's questions. He had remembered the entirety of what happened when he woke up earlier, and he had no intention of repeating it.
Al had put his cloak on his suitcase, nicely folded up and smoothed out. It was a miracle he hadn't guessed anything from the dirty towel he had left in the bathroom with it. He hadn't had time for anything else when he felt his focus slipping away. He just barely was able to make it to his bed before he passed out.
It was maddening, trying not to cough, but each time he let himself do it, he stomach would lurch, threatening to throw up the soup he had just eaten.
He slammed his fist onto the desk, clenching his teeth and swallowing in an attempt to ward off the incessant itchiness. He shakily brought a hand to his still aching head, slumping in defeat.
Despite the warm sunset, Ed discarded his tight leather pants and collapsed into his bed, closing the curtains and sending the room into darkness.
"It's not possible..." Truth muttered, pacing between the two identical gates standing parallel to each other. He glanced at the two, trying to find some flaw, some hint that there was a mistake.
There wasn't one.
"He can't do that!"
Edward Elric had two gates.
As Ed shivered, he brought his knees to his chest and bit down on his lip, trying to fight back a frustrated sob. One escaped anyways, and he bit harder, drawing a few drops of blood. He dripped slowly down his chin and onto his pillow, staining the perfect white.
No, no, shut up, Alphonse can't know...
No matter the amount of inner scolding, he couldn't stop the angry tears as he slipped into sleep.
