Here we are! Chapter 2! Damn, did it take a while to write this, but I am personally happy with this one and it really shown me the potential this crossover has, and I got a lot of inspiration for my other stories. But I don't want to bother you guys with that. This chapter is a little bit darker than the previous one, but it also has more funny moments. You will also see some fan favorites popping up here as well. ;)
I was really surprised by the positive feedback. This story gained much more reviews, favorites and followers in one chapter, than my previous two stories. Thank you very much!
Thank you for the reviews, they were all enjoyable to read. And remember if there are any questions or suggestions or requests, please, don't be shy. Criticism is also welcomed. I'd like to thank robertkellet, nightmaster000, Kairi671, Ella Le Hissy, mercygraves7, gemm1mt and a guest for reviewing. I already anwered your questions in PM's. Thank you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)
Chapter 2: The Princess and the Alchemists
If you were to tell Edward Elric that he was going to face a little bird monster, encounter an object that can create anything and meet a girl who claims that she is a princess from another dimension, he would have straight up laughed at you. That is, he would have done it because, at the time, he would have felt like that would never happen.
But it is happening. Right now.
Edward was standing next to the boy with the red hoodie, who was also standing next to the aforementioned princess, to her right. Alphonse, Ross and Brosh were standing left to the princess. The princess introduced herself as Star Butterfly and she addressed the boy as Marco Diaz, so Edward felt like there was no need for any introductions. That is, before the battle is finished. One thing only left Edward confused. If she was royalty, why was she dressed like a normal girl?
The aforementioned bird creature, which introduced itself as Ludo, was standing near the dead-end wall that he was pushed to by the princess earlier. He was in the middle, between his pets, a spider and an eagle, standing to his left and right respectively. He had an angry gaze, one which caused even Star to feel uneasy. He really has changed from a powerless pipsqueak, hasn't he? Everyone in the alley was just standing, looking at their respective opposites. Who would make the first move? After a couple of minutes, which for everyone felt like hours, Ludo decided to take action.
He pointed the wand towards the group and shot the biggest blast he could muster. Star made a twirl and yelled out:
"Giant Bubble Shield!"- And just like that, after a pink bright flash of light, Star created a giant pink bubble around her and the others. The word "shield" was the best word to describe it. The blast hit the bubble, causing it to shake a little, but it did not cause any damage to it, nor to the group. After the blast was gone, the bubble disappeared.
Star then immediately decided to take action as well and jumped high in the air. Everyone stared at her in awe, especially Alphonse. She pointed the wand towards Ludo and his pets. She put on an evil smile as the wand started to glow brighter.
"Giant Rainbow Flood!"- As soon as those words left her mouth, a great river, which was colored like a rainbow, emerged from her wand. The river really did flood the alley, so the group ran away and hid behind nearby walls. Ludo was not fortunate, however. The eagle grabbed both him and the spider, but before it could fly away to safety, it was caught by the river and the three of them were consumed by it. Edward and Alphonse, along with Ross and Brosh only looked shocked at the giant rainbow river. Is there anything this girl can't do!?
"Giant Rainbow Flush!"- Star screamed out yet again, and just like that, the river started swirling as it entered the sewer near the alley dead-end wall. Ludo and his pets lay defeated. Finally, this was Star's chance to take back the book and the other half of the wand! She fell back to the ground, but made a bouncing house to break her fall. Since bouncing houses weren't invented yet, Edward and Alphonse were left confused and they wondered what that thing was, though, next to a rainbow river and swirl, it was not the weirdest thing they saw from the princess. She made the bouncing house disappear and came closer to Ludo. She was about to take the wand only for Ludo to suddenly get up and shoot a small blast at her. Luckily, she dodged it, and then she pointed her wand towards the bird creature. Both of their wands were glowing.
"Give up Ludo!"- Star yelled out- "Your little game is over! I don't know, what the heck you were planning, but it ends here!"- Ludo only looked at her angrier.
"I haven't completed my plan yet, Star Butterfly!"- Ludo yelled back, but Star was unfazed by his tone- "This is not how I want to end this! And I will not be captured!"- He then slightly looked towards Marco, who was, along with the others, approaching the two. He then had an evil smile on his face and he looked back at Star- "Maybe you have nice reflexes, princess. But does your friend have them as well?"- Without any second to waste, he shot a blast towards Marco, shocking Star with his speed. Marco dodged, but not completely. His right leg was caught in the blast, injuring him. He then fell to the ground and screamed in pain as he was holding his leg. The Elric brothers and the bodyguards ran towards him. Star looked at Marco with wide eyes and a horrified expression.
"MARCO!"- She screamed and ran towards him as well. Ludo then smiled and as his pets regained consciousness, he pointed the wand towards everyone surrounding Marco, while they weren't paying attention to him. His ultimate victory was at hand! But the wand suddenly started to glow, surprising Ludo. He then looked at the wand.
"But I have them!"- He said it with annoyance in his voice. The wand just kept glowing, making Ludo raise an eyebrow- "Can't I just blast them a little?"- The wand then glowed brighter, scaring Ludo- "Alright, alright! We'll go!"- He then took out his dimensional scissors, opened a portal and went through it with his pets. The portal then closed. Edward noticed that the portal closed and then looked angrily at the wall, which was the only thing left there.
"That bastard!"- He yelled out- "He tried to hurt us and now he injured this innocent kid! And he got away with it! But where did he disappear?"- Alphonse only shrugged his shoulders as a response.
Star didn't notice Ludo leaving or Edward's anger at all. She was just worried that Marco might be seriously injured. She prayed that it was just a scratch. Everyone was around Marco, who held his right leg in pain. Star then kneeled towards him and raised his jean. The sight before her and the others was horrifying. Under his knee was a small green out-of-proportion hole, and with it were green lines that went from his knee to his foot. His foot was completely covered in the green lines. Marco tried not to scream. He ignored the pain so that Star would not be worried. But she looked pretty worried.
"Don't worry, Marco!"- She said as she looked at the hole on his leg. She didn't know what to make of it. It gave her a bad feeling. She wanted to cry, but can't do it in front of Marco. She needs to be strong for him- "I'll try… to… heal you. Just… gotta… remember… the… spell."- She was stuttering and then nervously walked around. She tried to remember the spell from the spell book, but couldn't. When she had it in her possession, she never even bothered to learn it since she and Marco never got seriously injured. She regrets not learning it now- "This is all, my fault!"- was the only thought that was racing through her head. She can't help Marco now. This is a mess she couldn't simply fix and ignore. This could be the end of Marco Diaz! She suddenly got back to reality as she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She then turned to see Alphonse looking at her.
"Don't worry. I'm sure that you will find a way to heal him."- Even though Alphonse knew this wasn't enough to help, he was glad that she at least made a small smile. Sometimes, even small hope can do great things. Alphonse knew that the best.
"I'm… fine… Star!"- Marco said reassuringly, but couldn't hide the pain.
"No, you're not!"- Ross yelled at him, while helping him to get up, alongside Brosh- "You shouldn't have gone there, when you knew that it was dangerous! You are still just a kid, and that was a threat that none of us understood!"- That wasn't entirely true. Marco knew pretty well what he was up against.
"There is no point in lecturing him now!"- Brosh said to his partner in his stern tone, a tone he doesn't use very often, since he is an easy-going person most of the time- "What's done is done! We should get him to the hospital, and find a way to help him!"
Edward only looked at Star and went to her- "Are you sure, you can't remember the… "spell" that can heal him?"- He tried to sound calm, but he was also worried for the boy's life. And he also couldn't believe that he said the word "spell". He really does not believe in magic. This guy is a scientist, through and through. Star only shook her head. This made Edward even more worried. He then turned his attention towards Alphonse- "We'll get him to the hospital! Al, can you carry him over there?"- Alphonse gave a "thumbs up" and took Marco into his arms. As soon as the group was about to leave, a flash of bright light was shining towards them, slightly blinding them. They saw two figures walking towards them. One was really huge and didn't seem to have any hair at all, while the other one was smaller and seemed to have short, slightly spiky hair.
Well of course, they were no other than Major Alex Luis Armstrong, and Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. The lights stopped flashing and the group could see the two men clearly now. They also saw a couple of cars and more soldiers.
"Edward Elric!"- Armstrong said with a mix of honor and stern in his voice- "We should have presumed that you and your brother were behind this mess."- Edward and Alphonse only looked annoyingly at the Major, while Ross and Brosh looked with worry and nervousness and Star was only confused at the scenery in front of her. Marco would also have a reaction, but was too busy focusing on his injury.
"It's nice to see you too, Major."- Edward responded with sarcasm in his voice, but Armstrong ignored it. He respected the boy and understood his behavior after he met his childhood friend and her grandmother.
"There was a commotion coming from this place."- Hughes said formally- "People ran towards the military police station yelling and complaining about a green bird like creature. And when we heard the explosion, we had to investigate, only to find you four and…"- He then looked at the girl who was standing next to Alphonse- "Excuse me, but, who are you?"
"I'm Star Butterfly."- She would normally introduce herself with a smile on her face and would create a rainbow, but she was worried about Marco and only wanted to take him to the hospital straight away. She then pointed towards him- "This is my friend Marco Diaz and he was seriously injured. Please, we have to help him!"
"We can discuss what happened, later!"- Alphonse yelled out to Armstrong and Hughes, surprising the men- "Right now, he needs our help!"
The two men then looked at each other. After a few minutes, they turned towards the group.
"Get him in the car!"- Hughes said quickly and the group did just that.
Meanwhile, Ludo exited the portal and was back on Mewni, The Forest of Certain Death, to be exact. The spider and the eagle then played with each other near a tree. It was like they weren't even exhausted from the earlier battle. Ludo was angry that he didn't have the chance to finish off his enemies. He was glad as well, though. He finally knew what it was like to gain the upper hand in a "fair" battle. The feeling was good. Unfortunately, his good mood disappeared when he heard his wand "talking to him" again. He was starting to feel more annoyed by it, as time passed. The only thing he heard from the wand was massive yelling. It made his ears hurt and nerves all jumpy. He had enough!
"What are you blaming me for!?"- He finally snapped at the wand- "She wasn't there, and you were the one who lost control! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been distracted by that boy and his trash can and Star Butterfly wouldn't have found us! So don't blame me for your mistake!"- There was only silence. The wand didn't glow and Ludo felt a little awkward. After a couple of minutes of silence, Ludo sighed and continued- "Look, I'm sorry. It's been a long night and I shouldn't be so impulsive. I understand, even wands have to blow off some steam once in a while, am I right?"- He chuckled nervously. He was then surprised by the calm glow of the wand. He was even more shocked by what it "said"- "You're proud of me?"- He then started to feel tears, tears of joy- "Why, you never said that to me before. I feel so much better now!"- Ludo really does know how to change his mood quickly, doesn't he?
"Alright!"- Ludo said, with his determination now restored- "We must continue our mission! But how did Star Butterfly found us in the first place? I mean, we never announced ourselves that we will go there, and we haven't seen her since I took her book."- His answer immediately came when the wand glowed- "Really? Scissor history? They can do that? Wow, I feel really uncomfortable now. Hope that they didn't find "that" dimension."- He giggled embarrassingly when he remembered an old dimension he used to visit. The wand then glowed again, giving Ludo an idea- "You're right! We should do that! That way it will be harder for them to track us down!"- With that, Ludo took out his dimensional scissors, put them on the ground and aimed his wand towards it. He then blast it, destroying it.
"Now to find new scissors, I suppose."- With that, he whistled to his pets to come towards him and they continued on their way. Ludo was sad that he had to destroy those scissors. They were passed down the Avarius family for generations, but he never cared for his family, except his brother Dennis. After reminding himself of them, especially his father, Ludo didn't feel so guilty anymore and he continued his mission, without any remorse.
Hekapoo was in her castle, searching for Ludo by using his scissor history. She had a giant computer with which she could track down any scissors that have signals inside them. She kind of wished that the tracking system on her scissors wasn't so faulty. Whoever stole her scissors and gave it to the princess is going to pay dearly! On the screen, she saw that Ludo came to the Forest of Certain Death. She wanted to inform Queen Butterfly, but was shocked to see that the signal was gone.
"He must have destroyed the scissors…"- She said to herself- "Looks, like he does know what he's doing."
She put her hands on the computer desk and sighed. She then looked at the history of the scissors, before they were destroyed- "Still, he visited "that" dimension… Sicko!"
Marco was surrounded by sergeants in an all white room. He was asleep thanks to the anesthetics the doctors gave him. It may not be a modern hospital like in Marco's world, but thanks to Alchemy and the doctors who use it, the patients don't have a lot to worry about. Though, there was one thing that would cause a lot of people to worry. The doctors tried many methods, but none of them seem to be working on the hole. It only got worse and the green lines shone brighter. The doctors didn't know how to deal with this, because it was something they never dealt with before. In the corner of the room were Maes Hughes and Alex Luis Armstrong, who were observing the scenery.
In the hallway, in front of Marco's room were three chairs with Star sitting in the middle, Edward to her left and Alphonse to her right. Ross and Brosh went back to the hotel, where the Elrcis were staying at, to await further commands.
Edward had his arms crossed and eyes closed. He was processing the entire situation. Star only looked at the door of Marco's room, with deep worry in her eyes. What were his parents going to think? How will her parents react to her failure? Will Marco survive this? All these questions were forming in her mind. She couldn't stand this! First, she was troubled by the fact that her family heirloom book is gone, then she had conflicting feelings towards her best friend, and now that very same best friend might die! She covered her face, afraid of facing what is to come. Alphonse only looked at her, clearly worried. If only he were in his body, to show a facial expression of worry, but he isn't. He was thinking of many methods how to cheer Star up, and something hit him. Why not joke about Ed a little?
"I don't believe we introduced ourselves properly."- Alphonse said, making Ed and Star look at him in confusion- "My name is Alphonse Elric."- He then held out his arm. Star slowly shook it.
"Nice to meet you, Alphonse."- She gave a somber smile- "How old are you? If I may ask, you're just really tall!"- Alphonse rubbed the back of his helmet nervously. If he were in his body, he would surely be blushing right now.
"I'm fourteen."- He answered- "You?"
"OH MY GOSH!"- Star exclaimed, really surprised that someone that tall could be that young- "I'm fourteen too!"- Well that made Alphonse even happier. They were the same age! Ed looked at the two, smirked and decided to introduce himself as well.
"Name's Edward Elric, Alphonse's older brother."- He said that with his usual cocky attitude. Star chuckled a little, making Ed glance at her in confusion- "What's so funny?"
"Aren't you supposed to be the younger brother? You are shorter, after all."- Ed got triggered by that response. Every single time!
"Calm down, Ed!"- He thought to himself- "Don't let that get to you! You just met her, she turned out to be a… "magical being"… stupid. And her friend is in a difficult situation. Be a little bit more sensitive!"
Star saw that Ed was trying to control his emotions. She could tell by his posture, the guy looked like he wanted to kill someone. His eyes were dark, and so was the aura around him. He clenched his fists real tight. It's like a hungry lion trying hard not to eat its prey.
"Is he going to be ok?"- Star asked Alphonse.
"Don't worry about him."- Alphonse responded reassuringly- "He can sometimes be a little bit "short" tempered."- He chuckled a little while saying this. His brother, however, did not feel the same way. He turned towards Alphonse, his gaze filled with murderous rage.
"You know what?"- Ed thought to himself again- "Screw it!"- He then jumped on Alphonse and started to punch and kick him. Well, he would have done that if Al wasn't holding him by his hood.
"YoulittleruntyouaretellingmeIamlittleIwillshowyouwhoislittleyoulittlebastarsd!"- Ed was screaming while trying to hit his brother, to no avail. Star laughed at the two brothers' antics. Alphonse laughed as well, mostly because he was glad he could make her feel better in this tough situation.
Their little commotion was then interrupted by the doctors exiting Marco's room. The last doctor to exit, a fairly old man, went towards the trio. Star immediately stood up.
"Is he going to be ok!?"- She asked, worried out of her mind. The doctor only sighed and continued.
"We couldn't get rid of the hole, but we managed to make it stop its glow. Your friend is still alive and well, he is currently resting. You can see him now if you want, but I recommend visiting him when he's awake."
"It's ok, doctor. I'll wait in his room."- Star said reassuringly. She then entered Marco's room, with Hughes and Armstrong exiting. They closed the door behind them and went to the Elric brothers.
"Would you mind talking with us outside the hospital?"- Hughes said formally to the brothers- "There is something serious that we need to discuss."- Ed and Al only nodded their heads as a response. Hughes then turned to the doctor- "Thank you for your help, doctor Andrews. I just have one more question to ask you. Would that be alright?"
"Of course, Colonel! What is it that you wish to ask me?"- Dr. Andrews politely answered. Hughes only put his hand in his left chest pocket. He took out a picture and showed it to the doctor.
"Have I shown you a picture of my daughter?"- Hughes started enthusiastically speaking. There he went again, always talking about his "little angel"- "Her name is Elicia, she is turning four this year! Isn't she just the most adorable thing you've ever seen!?"- Dr. Andrews only nervously looked at Hughes, and awkwardly laughed. Ed and Al just sighed in annoyance, while Armstrong shook his head with his arms crossed.
"Yes, she is adorable. I apologize, but I need to leave now. I have another urgent patient, whom I need to perform surgery on. Good Bye!"- And with that, the doctor went his way.
Not long afterwards, Hughes, Armstrong and the brothers were outside the hospital. They were silent for a moment. Hughes expected Ed and Al to say something, but they did not say a word. After a couple of minutes, Hughes decided to begin.
"So, this bird creature which was with an eagle and a giant spider… Does it actually exist?"
"Yes."- Alphonse responded, while Edward was looking to his right, in the distance- "We saw them with our own eyes."
"Also got our butts kicked by them…"- Edward added, clearly annoyed by the fact that the bird creature had beaten him. Didn't Scar humiliate him enough? Armstrong raised an eyebrow.
"Now, how come that happened, Edward Elric?"- Armstrong said, also clearly surprised. The boy was a prodigy in Alchemy, how come he lost to a bird creature- "I mean surely, it must have been some kind of a chimera. They are rare, but could be easily beaten by an Alchemist."- Now, Armstrong did say this to cheer Ed up, but Ed only felt more embarrassed.
"But Sir…"- Alphonse spoke- "It didn't look nor was it mindless like a chimera! It was completely a bird… with a weird beard."- Alphonse could not get that image out of his mind.
"What about the eagle and the spider?"- Hughes asked, eager to learn more about these weird creatures.
"They were only regular animals."- Edward answered- "They were just… very well trained."- Edward didn't know how else to describe them. The way those animals helped their leader was really amazing and unbelievable.
"There's something else as well."- Alphonse continued- "The bird could talk."- Hughes and Armstrong had their eyes wide open from shock. A bird that can talk!
"How did it talk?"- Hughes asked as he grabbed Edward by the shoulders, shocking the boy- "Could it speak one word at a time, or did it actually speak to you like any other human would?"
"Like any other human would."- Edward answered him, a little bit nervous. This shouldn't be that serious of a situation, should it? - "Another proof that it's not a chimera."
"It had an object with it too."- Alphonse added- "With it, the creature made green blasts, one of which injured the boy, who's in the hospital right now".- Al was still amazed by the shier power of the object.
"And what about the girl and the boy?"- Armstrong asked the brothers- "Did they have abilities like that creature?"
"No."- Edward said immediately, shocking Alphonse and causing both Hughes and Armstrong to raise their eyebrows- "They were just bystanders caught up in the fight. The creature wounded the boy, while he and the girl were distracting him. Alphonse then made an alchemic cage and trapped the creature. But it disappeared somewhere, destroying the cage."
"Alphonse."- Hughes turned towards the younger brother- "Is Edward telling the truth?"- Alphonse was always a little bit nervous when he had to lie, especially to his friends. He just nervously nodded. Good thing, facial expressions don't apply to him.
"Eh, you know him Colonel. Al is just shy and modest."- Ed said with a wide smile. Al was a little bit sad that he had to lie, but was happy that Ed would do this for him and others.
Hughes only rubbed his small beard, puzzled by these sudden strange events. He then cheerfully smiled so that the boys don't notice his worry.
"Well, that's all we wanted to know. Thanks boys!"- This left Ed and Al feel slightly at ease, because they really didn't know how to feel about their current situation and it would be better for them to currently focus on Marco's injury and forget their troubles with… a certain stone. Just as they thought that Hughes was going to let them go, he asked one more question. He leaned closer to Edward, looked around to check if anyone's listening and then he quietly asked.
"So, how's the research going on, for the… "You know what"?"- Ed didn't want to tell him that he realized the truth behind the Philosopher's Stone. Also, he didn't want to reveal that Tim Marcoh, who was currently in the Führer's custody, was involved.
"Well, we tried using Sheska's transcriptions of the notes from the burned library, but we hadn't found anything."- This wasn't the first time Ed lied to anyone, so this wasn't a huge issue for him. Hughes only looked at him suspiciously but decided to drop it and go home, where his wife and child were waiting for him.
"I'm really sorry to hear that. But don't worry! I'm sure you will find something eventually. Gotta go, Tootaloo!"- With that, both Hughes and Armstrong left.
"So…"- Edward started- "Want to check up on the girl you like?"- Alphonse started stuttering when he turned to Ed, causing his older brother to snicker- "Come on."- The two were about to enter the hospital, but then Alphonse asked Ed.
"Why did you lie about what happened to Major and Colonel?"
"Listen, that girl is really nice, as well as her friend. Do you know what the military does with people who resemble chimeras or who don't have the classic Alchemy powers, but some weird ones, like that girl? They experiment on them! You saw what they tried to do with…"- Edward stopped, recalling a bitter memory- "…Nina."- Both brothers lowered their heads, remembering one of their greatest failures. Edward then shook his head and raised it- "Come on. Let's see how Star's doing."- Alphonse nodded and they entered the hospital.
Hughes and Armstrong came to the street, where their cars were parked. The two seriously looked at one another, feeling at unease from these previous events. Armstrong decided to start the discussion.
"Do you really believe that the boys are telling the truth about what that creature is?"
"Well it is pretty clear that no chimera was made with fluent human language. Even Shou Tucker…"- Hughes felt disgust when he mentioned that man's name. He could never imagine that someone could be so cold and heartless that he would hurt his own wife and daughter for science. After a couple of minutes he calmed his nerves and continued- "…who was an expert in chimera alchemy, never created that kind of chimera. Also, the brothers didn't mention that the bird was fused with anything else. I doubt that they would lie about that."
"Still…"- Began the Major- "We should keep an eye on those children, whom just arrived. The girl's behavior and the clothing of them both are indeed intriguing."
"And we should also keep an eye out if that bird creature returns."- Hughes added. The two men then saluted one another and entered their respective cars, prepared to go home and get some rest.
Star was sitting next to Marco's bed, to his left to be exact. She hated having to wait for him to wake up and having to worry about him. She thought that he would wake up any minute, but he didn't. Minutes felt like years. Star couldn't wait for Marco to wake up, so that she could hug him and get out of this place. Maybe it would have been better if she went to Mewni or Earth so that those hospitals can help Marco, but this hospital did a fairly decent job. Also, her mind was filled with worry and there was no one with her, who could have reminded her to return using the scissors. That's Star for you, always having to go along with the situation, rather than creating a strategy. Sometimes she hated that about herself, but never paid much attention to it.
"Marco…"- She started talking. She knew he couldn't hear her, but it made her feel at ease- "I'm sorry that I got you into this mess. I'm sorry for being too impulsive sometimes, and for being stubborn… and for taking your phone away from you while you're sleeping. You have pretty good songs. I mean, who doesn't love "Space Unicorn"?"- She said it in her usual joking demeanor, expecting him to say that it was supposed to be ironic, but no answer came. She frowned- "What I'm trying to say is that, I'm sorry for messing up. I know you never had anything against that, but this time, I messed up royally… No pun intended. And ever since you started going out with Jackie…"- She then started to sound angrier- "It feels so weird being around you!"- She then started walking around the room, shutting off everything from her mind- "I mean when I'm around you I just feel all weird inside and…"
"Who's Jackie?"- Edward asked, making Star stop in her tracks. She then turned around to see both Ed and Al standing in the room. She then awkwardly smiled.
"Just a friend from where I come from."- Ed and Al looked at each other, they wanted to ask something about this Jackie person, but decided to drop it.
"How's your friend doing?"- Alphonse asked. He then took a seat to the right of Marco's bed.
"He's still not waking up."- Star looked at the ground- "Why? I mean, it shouldn't be that serious of an injury, should it?"
"That blast did seem dangerous."- Edward added- "That thing the creature had with him… What was that?"
"It was a wand."- Star said in an unusually serious tone- "There should only be one wand in existence, but it was split in half, one half is with me."- She then showed the brothers the wand, intriguing both of them- "The other half is with Ludo."
"What does the wand do exactly?"- Alphonse asked Star, eager to learn more about her and the wand.
"It can do whatever I or Ludo want it to do."- She then turned a coat hanger near the door into a simple brown box. This was really unusual from her. She was always creative when using the wand. It was Marco. His condition was still getting to her.
"That's really cool!"- Alphonse said in excitement. Edward just looked at the box puzzled.
"What did you give up in exchange?"- When Edward asked that, Star had a puzzled expression.
"Nothing."- She said quite cheerfully. Edward then hopped towards Star in excitement and tried to grab the wand, only for her to move out of his way, causing him to fall to the ground. He then stood up and got near her face, making Star feel uncomfortable.
"You mean that this wand thing can ignore the "Law of Equivalent Exchange"!?"- He said amazed, but to tell the truth, deep inside, Edward was angry. How come this artifact exists? He worked his butt off for many years to master Alchemy, just to see this… this… SHORTCUT!- "Is it powered by the Philosopher's Stone!?"- Star was left confused by everything Edward just said. She never heard of any "Law of Equivalent Exchange", nor the Philosopher's Stone. Alright, she did hear of a similar Stone in one of Marco's books. Damn, was that a good book!
"No it isn't. And what's the "Law of Equivalent Exchange"?"- Star asked confused, giving Ed and Al baffled expressions.
"How come you never heard of it?"- Alphonse asked, while Ed was still looking at her shocked- "It's the law that defines everything! It is the basic rule of Alchemy! Surely, you know what Alchemy is, right?"- Star just shook her head, shocking Ed and Al even more.
"Where have you been living for the past… centuries?"- Edward asked, since he forgot when exactly Alchemy became a well known science.
"Well, I've lived on Mewni, and when I turned fourteen, I moved to Earth. Echo Creek, to be exact."- Star answered like it was nothing, she still wasn't aware of the fact that Ed and Al have no idea about dimensional travel. They just looked at her lost and confused- "As for Alchemy, I think I heard of it. But Ms. Skullnick said that it isn't studied anymore and we need to learn dumb stuff like math, physics and chemistry."- Ed and Al were just more confused at this point. Where the heck is this girl from!?
There was only silence in the room. Star expected the brothers to say something, but they hadn't. They were dumbfounded. Star then realized that the two probably don't know about inter-dimensional travel. That's why they don't know what she's talking about. She then hit her head with her palm and laughed to herself a little.
"I should probably explain this to you guys from the beginning."- The Elrics only nodded their heads in agreement.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the hospital were Dr. Andrews and his new young college Dr. Berry. They were walking down the hall, and were preparing to leave, since their shift was over and they were done with their patients. Dr. Berry was one of the doctors present in Marco's surgery and was pretty surprised by the wound the boy got.
"You did wonderfully sir! Not that anything less was expected from you."- She genuinely smiled while saying this, causing the old doctor to smile as well. He always respected and admired her enthusiasm. Dr. Berry always looked up to Dr. Andrews, and is inspired by him to become the best sergeant she can be - "It was a really difficult task. Dealing with something we never faced before. But you managed to make the best out of this situation and made the green light stop. Poor boy, though. I wonder what could have caused such an injury?"
"To be honest, my dear."- Dr. Andrews started, feeling a little bit at unease- "I haven't a clue myself. You were right. It was unlike anything we've seen before. And frankly, I wasn't really in control of the situation."- He gave a nervous laugh, which caused Dr. Berry to feel surprised- "The light stopped on its own. I'm not sure why, but I could guess that whatever it was, it finished what it wanted with the leg. And since the boy isn't dead or at any pain, I presume that everything is fine. Tomorrow morning we will check up on him and see if he is alright."- Dr. Berry nodded in agreement and the two exited the hospital.
Star explained everything to the brothers. The inter-dimensional travels and how she got to Earth. She even told them some of her adventures with Marco and some other friends from Echo Creek. The boys only listened intently as every detail was fascinating to them. Star gave them the dimensional scissors and even showed them how it works. She opened a portal to another dimension, the Bounce Lounge dimension to be exact. The boys only peeked their heads through the portal, amazed by the sight before them. The dancing, the atmosphere, the shier joy of everyone. Star would have invited them to come along and dance, but she wanted to stay with Marco until he wakes up. Ed and Al were not confused and lost anymore, but were now excited, as there are now possibly many new ways of getting their bodies back. The only thing that Edward minded in the whole story was the lack of sacrifice. He literally sacrificed everything, because he was thought from the very beginning that no one can gain anything without sacrifice. This girl, whom he just met and whom saved his life from something terrible, never needed to sacrifice anything. He is happy that he met her, but now he's wondering: What if everything he holds dear to his heart is worthless in comparison to her?
He was happy that Alphonse was enjoying the situation, at least. He saw Star making things appear and disappear while Al was laughing. He was glad that she wasn't making herself feel bad about her friend. And he was glad that Al could enjoy himself. He's still a kid after all. Well, Edward is a kid as well, but he doesn't like thinking of himself like it. When he looked at Star and everything she can do with the wand, it came to him. Maybe this is how he can get Alphonse back to normal? The wand can do anything, like the Philosopher's Stone, so maybe he will finally succeed in human transmutation! Edward then immediately stood up, making Star and Alphonse look at him.
"Al, this is it!"- Ed exclaimed, happier than ever. He was finally close to achieving his ultimate goal- "Star! Your wand! Do you think that it can restore Alphonse's body?"
"Restore his body?"- Star asked- "Doesn't he always wear that suit of armor? He must be pretty taller than you, if he can fit in that."- She said it in her small devilish tone, causing Ed to twitch his eye and Al to feel all flustered. However, Ed decided not to let it get to him (even though it was a really hard and difficult process for him). He then put on a serious face and decided to tell Star his own story.
"Al, open your armor."- Alphonse did exactly that. Star looked into the armor and was shocked to see that it was empty.
"You're a ghost!?"- She asked with sly terror in her voice.
"You could say that."- Al responded somberly, as he recalled everything that happened to him and Ed on "that" night- "My brother put my soul in this armor, because he couldn't get my body back."
"What happened to your body?"- Star asked, now more curious than anything.
"Our mother died when we were very young."- Edward continued instead of Al- "We tried using Alchemy to bring her back to life… But we failed miserably. I lost my left leg, while Al lost his whole body."- He then pulled up his black jean and showed Star his metal leg- "To gain Al's body meant that I needed to do the exact same thing I wanted to do for our mom. I couldn't go through with that, considering that Al wouldn't come back human. So I decided to bring back his soul. I attached it to the nearest suit of armor I could find. But in return I gave up my right arm."- He then pulled up his red sleeve to show Star his metal arm.
"We then went on a journey to find an ancient relic known as the Philosopher's Stone."- Alphonse continued- "The legends say that the stone has limitless powers that are not bound by the "Law of Equivalent Exchange". But in order to find out more about it, Ed needed to enlist himself in the military. That is why we know the Major and the Colonel you encountered earlier. My brother passed the Alchemy Exam and is known in the military as the "Fullmetal Alchemist"."
Star lowered her head, feeling really sad and horrified when she heard the brothers' story. It must have been so hard for them. She could only imagine the pain and loss they suffered through. She then raised her head and asked both of them.
"What happened with your journey for the stone?"- Ed and Al looked at each other worried, knowing what the other was thinking. Should they tell her the truth about the stone? The horrible price they have to pay to gain such a valuable artifact. They then silently both decided not to worry her about that.
"We kept searching and searching."- Edward said- "But we found out that it was… unattainable. So this is the reason why we ask you. Can you do it? You don't need to restore my arm and leg, but can you at least help Al?"- Star looked at both of the brothers. She wanted to help them, but was too scared of what could happen to them. The reason why… well, I'll let HIM tell you.
"You probably shouldn't ask for her help."- They heard a sarcastic voice from behind them. The trio was pleasantly surprised to see that Marco was awake and was looking at them with a sly smile- "She tried to fix my broken arm once. Turned it into a tentacle monster. If you value your brother's life, don't do it!"- He laughed after telling the joke. Star only had her eyes in tears of joy, as she jumped on her friend's bed and hugged him as hard as she could. She was intending on never letting him go.
Ed and Al were glad to see that the boy is alright, but were saddened again to know that their mission is still far from over.
"I'm so glad that you are alright!"- Star said as she barely let go off Marco- "How's your leg?"
"Actually…"- Marco began- "It doesn't hurt at all. The doctors here did quite a miracle."
"That's Alchemy for ya!"- Edward added. He tried to sound happy, so that he could hide his disappointment- "How long were you awake?"
"Woke up when Star was playing with the armored one... Alphonse, is it?"- Marco asked with Alphonse nodding- "I also heard about your story… I'm really sorry for your loss."
"We try not to let it get to us."- Alphonse told Marco reassuringly- "We're just glad that you're ok."
"Thanks."- Marco was happy that these guys were friendly and that they gave Star company and support, while he was in pain. He then looked at Star with a little bit of sadness. She must have worried so much about him. He then gave a note to self, to never do something as foolish as this again. He then turned towards Edward- "You know, for the younger brother you really know how to act like you're the older one."- Edward was not very pleased by what Marco said- "How old are you, twelve? Thirteen?"- Edward then gritted his teeth.
"I'm fifteen!"- He tried not to yell at Marco, since he was injured and everything- "I'm also the older brother!"- Marco was caught off guard. This guy is really shorter than him but is older. He felt quite embarrassed. He then decided to tell them more about himself, in hopes that Edward doesn't kill him.
"I'm fourteen, like Star."
"Well, looks like you're the oldest among us, brother."- Alphonse said to Edward.
"And the shortest."- Star added with a sly voice and an evil grin. Poor Edward, does everyone they meet always have to remind him of his height. Maybe he should have drunk more milk… No, no, NO! He is never touching that… POISON!
"Don't you guys have any better jokes besides me being short!?"- Edward screamed, clearly annoyed by them.
"No."- Star said, causing everyone in the room to laugh, except Ed. Their laughter unfortunately came to an end, when something happened to Marco. He started screaming in immense pain as he held his injured leg. The glow was not coming back, but Marco could feel that something was wrong.
"MARCO!"- Star screamed as she went near to Marco. The brothers also went near him as well. Marco just kept screaming as if his leg was being torn apart or something.
The leg then immediately started to glow a bright green. The green light emitted across the room, causing Ed and Al to back away. Al pulled Star with him. Star was hesitant to back away from Marco, but Al's grasp on her arm was stronger. The three could only watch as Marco screamed while the green light was emitting. But something else happened as well. The lines on Marco's leg began spreading across the rest of his body, causing Marco to scream even louder. But suddenly, his right arm started glowing in a dark purple light. The purple light then began merging with the green light. It seemed as if they were clashing. The purple light seemed to be winning, because it caused the lines on Marco's body to return to his leg, relieving Marco from pain. The green light had returned to its original small form on his leg, while the purple light was the only one emitting from the rest of his body. After a few minutes the purple light stopped emitting. The only thing left glowing was Marco's leg which kept its green light. The glow then stopped, while the hole and the lines were still intact. Marco fell asleep again.
Marco opened his eyes only to be surrounded by complete darkness. Everything was black. He was floating. He tried to look around to see if there was anything else, but there was nothing there but him.
"Am I dreaming?"- Marco thought to himself, but his thoughts echoed in the nothingness. Marco heard the echoes- "Yep, I'm totally dreaming. I wonder… ECHO! ECHO! ECHO!"- The word "echo" started echoing across the nothingness. Marco laughed to himself a bit- "But I do wonder about what happened earlier. I was in the hospital and this light appeared. Man, did that hurt! But then it stopped. And it didn't hurt anymore. I just fell asleep. And I'm having this dark dream all of a sudden. Wow, too much needless exposition!"
Suddenly, Marco heard a sound. Laughter. He turned everywhere to see where it's coming from but the source is nowhere to be seen. The laughter began sounding louder. But it was not that nice kiddy laughter… it was very sinister.
"Who's there!? Show yourself! I know Karate!"- The sinister voice only laughed at Marco.
"How can you hit something that you can't even see?"- The sinister voice spoke to him. It came from every corner of the void. Marco would lie if he told you that he didn't feel a little bit scared.
"Who are you!?"- Marco asked, a little bit more frightened than threatening.
"Aw come on now, Marco! You know me better than anyone!"
"I'm not going to play your games! Just let me come back to my friend, we will leave the dimension we are currently at and maybe you and I can talk some other time!"
"Why, I didn't want to bring you here in the first place! You were just exhausted from the pain that the wound you got tried to cause you. Don't worry, you'll wake up really soon. I just want to tell you one thing. And I want you to remember it!"
"And what's that!?"
"You owe me!"
"What!? Why!?"
"You owe me!"
"You didn't answer my question!"
"You owe me!"
The voice became more and more distant, as Marco closed his eyes yet again.
Marco woke up suddenly. He was breathing heavily, but then calmed down as he saw Star, Edward and Alphonse surrounding him. He would have felt even better, if they weren't looking at him extremely horrified. He was confused by their looks. Was something wrong with him?
"Guys, I'm ok! I don't feel any pain anymore! Why are you so worried?"- Marco told his friends reassuringly. They didn't answer they just looked- "Guys! What is it!?"
"Marco…"- Star began, but couldn't finish her sentence.
"Should we tell him?"- Alphonse asked Ed and Star- "Or should we show him?"- Show him what?
Edward looked at Marco with worry. He then closed his eyes as he moved Marco's sheets, so that Marco could see what happened. What Marco saw left him speechless and horrified.
His right leg, from his knee downwards, was gone, with only ashes in its place. No blood. Only ashes.
Marco didn't scream, he just looked at the place his right foot used to be. There was only silence. The silence was then interrupted by a nurse who entered. She must have been running towards the room, because she was clearly out of breath.
"I saw the green light! What happened!?"- The trio moved aside to show the nurse what happened to Marco's leg. The nurse only covered her mouth, but couldn't hold it in anymore. She then ran towards the hallway screaming.
"CALL DR. ANDREWS!"
And that is all for now! Another cliffhanger, sorry.
What happened to Marco? What was that misterious voice? What are the brothers and Star going to do now!? Find out in the next chapter, which hopefully will come sooner. There is no update scedule. I apologize if I am going dark really fast. But maybe what happened to Marco hinted at one other fan favorite showing up in the next chapter. ;)
Again, feel free to share your thoughts and review, and thank you for liking this story and for waiting patiently. :)