'POV: Third Person';
She had simply passed out, right? Then, it was obvious that this was some kind of weird dream. That was the only logical explanation in this situation. But… why did it seem as if she was fully conscious? Ed was able to think normally, and not as one would in dreams where nothing made sense. Yet where she was still didn't make sense. God damn it, her head was starting to hurt.
The place she was seemed to be the mirror opposite of the gate that she knew. Instead of white, she was in a field of black, yet she could see herself perfectly fine. It was like the she herself was a source of light in the black void, since there was no other way that she wasn't blinded by the darkness.
The young alchemist had opened her eyes to find herself standing, and she hadn't moved anything but her eyes since then, going as far to keep her muscles taut so that she wouldn't shake. But honestly, she was getting restless, and just a tad bit curious. Could you blame her? Go to the gate three times when you aren't even supposed to survive one trip, and you won't be able to stand still when you end up somewhere like this. So what did she do? Well she took a daring step forward of course, planting a foot in front of herself.
The black ground beneath her extend foot rippled like water, yet still fault solid to her –apparently bare- feet, the ripples exploding with a bright blue flame that she could feel no heat from. The sudden light caused her to stumble backwards, causing multiple other ripple effects to go off around her. She planted her feet shoulder widths apart, turning her torso left and right as she watched the rippling flames crawl across the never ending ground in circles. The whole show left her breathless, be it from fear or pure adrenaline, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was neither, perhaps it was excitement. She could hear her shallows puffs of breath in a detached way, and could she see them too? Whoa.
More hesitant than the last time, she slowly took a step forward and watched with a forming smile as the flames expanded beyond her sight like the others. You would think that her mind would be in overdrive trying to figure out where she was –again- and what was going on, but she was still convincing herself it was a dream and was having too much fun with all of her discoveries of this new place.
The blonde crouched down, her hair hanging around her face. Huh, so it wasn't up like normal? She ignored it, pushing it behind her shoulders before looking at the ground once more. She slowly extended her right hand to poke the ground when suddenly, she noticed something she should have realized a lot sooner.
Her arm and leg, the Automail was replaced with flesh.
There was no way to keep track of time, therefore she would never know how long she had been there, or how long she just crouched there and stared. How did this happen? Was her mind pulling tricks on her? She wasn't really sure if she wanted this to be a dream anymore. She was filled with hope, her chest felt so full, like it was about to combust. Did this mean Al was whole again?
She moved her hand around, and it felt so alien to her, yet so familiar at the same time. Ed watched the muscles move around as she wiggles her fingers, both palm up and palm down. 'Really,' she thought, 'This shouldn't fascinate me so much since I see the left version do the same thing everyday…but it's the one I lost. And it's just- wait.' She stopped her thoughts where they were with a screeching halt, her heart skipping a bit.
She observed her whole body for the first time since waking up in the weird black void. And really, how could she not laugh at her own stupidity? Hope really wasn't for her; it liked to spit in her face whenever she could find a ray of it.
Edlyn Elric was in the body she had before committing the ultimate taboo among alchemists. She looked eight years old again wearing a small white dress, like the one her mom would make her wear when she needed to look nice back home. Her hair, she took note, wasn't up because it was done how her Mother and dear little Brother always said looked best, down with a small massy bun on the side of her head.
She couldn't help it. She laughed. Her tiny child body trembled as her she hugged herself, looking down and giggled a creepy and humorless giggle. It grew to a full throaty laugh where she had to throw her head back, one hand holding her arm while the other was over her eyes, she stumbling back at the force of it. How eerie it seemed, a child breaking at the seams to what appeared as insanity.
Her realization seemed to trigger something in that black void, a sudden wind whipping violently around her as she continued to laugh. It made her hair lash at her face, the dress at her legs. The flame came back, though she hadn't taken any more unsteady steps. It set her right arm and left leg ablaze. Her laughter stopped abruptly, cut off by a blood curdling scream that tore at her throat. The arm was now held away from herself, the owner not willing to take the risk of anything else being set aflame. But that brilliant blue that she had thought memorizing not so long before engulfed those two limbs only, as if it knew that she should pay for her sins.
The next thing the young blonde knew, the wind whirling around her become the blinding blue that had retaken her arm and leg, though only for a few seconds. When it left, all was calm. The air was still, and there were no more flames. It was black again.
She looked down to see herself wearing the same dress, though made for her now older and matured body. And Edlyn was once again the Fullmetal Alchemist, her Automail attached at the shoulder and above where the knee should be.
Before emotions could become an issue again, something came from the inky black ground; coming out of what she could have sworn was a solid as if it was a liquid, like the ripples. Onyx like water dripped off the hovering being, before it lowered itself to the now solid ground. Ed wanted to swear, her alchemistic mind wanting to throw a fit at the rules being bent.
Ed tried to look at the being that appeared in such a flashy manner, but for some reason, she just couldn't. It was solid, she knew, but it looked transparent. Whenever she tried to focus on it, her vision would waver and her head would become fuzzy. She put a hand up to her head after the nth attempt at trying to see it.
Do not strain yourself, young Alchemist. There is a reason I keep you from being able to see me. The thing spoke into her mind, its voice sounding like multiple peoples voices at once speaking in unison.
And this is the part where her mind went into overdrive. This wasn't a dream. She was here for a reason. So why the fuck did it make her go through all that? Why the hell did she start as an eight year old here, let along looking as she would in a personal memory? And what, and this is what got her the most, was the point of making her go through the pain of losing her limbs once again? That hurt for gates sack, like fuck!
You were reminded of your pain, so that you would remember your sin, Alchemist.
Great, so the fucking thing could read her mind. And why would she need to remember that? She thought of it often enough!
The sin you committed will mean something different where you are now. Those 'creatures' that were after you, will not leave you alone. They are fascinated at how something so evil can come from someone so pure, you radiate something unique here, and that is something that you cannot run from.
Ed stared, or rather, attempted to stare at the thing in front of her. It was spouting nonsense! She just wanted to go home and see things familiar instead of having to deal with new, new, new. Her head felt like there was cotton in it, her thoughts jumbled.
You cannot go home, not yet. You need to remember, young Alchemist. You made a deal with the Truth of your world, but I am the Truth of this one. Remember, and that will be your key. Just know that though your alchemy will work, your sin in one world will have effects on you in this one, as will the fact that you were born from a being near immortal.
Before the blonde could say anything, a gate appeared in the same manner as the new 'Truth', slowly rising out of the inky black below. Before the black substance could even finish dripping off of it, it creaked open. Instead of small black hands pulling her in, a gust of wind pushed her backwards and towards it, soon the wind turning into blue flames just like before. Her vision was blocked by the blinding light as she was lifted off her feet.
Out of panic, she had stopped breathing, afraid to inhale the flames. So as soon as she was inside of the gate and traveling who knows where, being caressed by who knows what, she passed out for a second time that day.
~Back in the forest~
Rin Okumura was supposed to be out on a lesson with his class. So how he ended up saving this strange blonde from demons confused him to no end. He was currently in the middle of a messed up part of the forest, where he found her fighting them all by herself. It had been amazing to watch, even to him, because it seemed as if she wasn't an exorcist. She didn't have any weapons, she hadn't said any verses, and all she used was her bare hands –though she did have gloves- and athletic ability alone. Though she didn't appear to be killing any of them…
But Rin had seen how tired she looked, even though her fighting was impeccable. She made up for her size by jumping over the things, having them crash into each other to make up the damage that she knew she couldn't make. At least, that's what he thought that her plan had been. But after she had climbed a tree and –after some mysteries light- fixed what looked like a pretty bad injury, the demons had knocked her tree down. That's when he thought she was done for, but no, she simply jumped to a new tree. Only to be knocked down by a hobgoblin that Rin hadn't seen coming either.
Honestly, he didn't know why he had stayed out of sight, not helping her. Rin had been watching her fight for what had to have been at least ten to twenty minutes. But he felt that she had it under control, and he liked watching her fight, until he saw her take that awful fall from such a high distance, getting hit so many times on the way down. He saw the golden haired stranger start to lose her consciousness, and that's when he leapt in, pulling out Kurikara and unleashing his flames.
"Leave her alone!" he had snarled out, taking them out one by one by swinging his sword, standing above the girl.
And that is why he was currently sitting with his legs folded underneath him, awkwardly holding the girls head on his lap. He didn't know what else to do! She hadn't woken up when he shook her shoulder –gently, her wasn't stupid, he knew she was injured-, and he didn't want to leave her there alone. He could have easily picked her up, but he felt that that would be overstepping some boundaries.
He decided that now would be a good time to call Yukio. Rin carefully dug his phone out of his pocket, trying not to jostle the girls head to much with his movement. When he flipped open the screen he had to blink his eyes a few times, the light blinding him. Before he could do anything though, his phone started buzzing.
Call From: Yukio Okumura
Good timing. He pushed the call button with his thumb and put the device up to his ear.
"Hello-?"
"Where are you and why on earth did you run off like that?! It's Dangerous, Rin!" his younger brother's voice yelled into his ear. Rin had to pull the phone away just from the volume!
"Would you stop yelling?! I'm fine, jeez!" he snapped back, his voice get pretty loud too.
"You didn't answer my question." Yukio said in a somewhat calmer tone.
Rin looked around at the damaged tree's and burn marks all around him, the moon the only light source besides his phone. Well he could always use his flames, but that was kind of a stupid idea… "I don't really know where I am besides the fact that I am in the forest."
"Is it your goal to make things difficult? Never mind, don't answer that. The class and I are on the way, so there better not be a big 'mess' that we have to worry about." That was his hint to not be all demonic and stuff, apparently. Good for him that he already sheathed Kurikara.
Before Rin could warn him about the other, real, mess or about the girl, his brother hung up on him. He scowled at his hand held device, snapping it shut before shoving it back in his pocket, mumbling insults under his breath.
Now was a good time for him to think about all that happened. She was fighting them, but not in the style that a normal exorcist would. Had she gone through a temptaint? He didn't know why he was so curious, but he was. She was an excellent fighter, and he wanted to see how well she would do if she wasn't exhausted.
He looked down at her face, which was upside down compared to his own. Her mouth was slightly parted in her sleep and he noticed that her lip was split and bleeding. She had bags under her eyes and a cut on her forehead, dried blood and dirt smudged here and there on her face. She had blonde hair, but it wasn't like Shiemi's pale color, hers looked like spun gold. He wondered what colored eyes could ever match that kind of hair. Green perhaps, or maybe brown?
Rin was about to observe her style of dress when he heard tromping sounds coming from the right. He could hear multiple people walking through the foliage, and he had a pretty good idea as to who it was. His guess was right when he saw Yukio and his class walk out from between the trees, plus Shura who hadn't been here before.
"What are you doing here?" Rin blurted out towards the yellow highlighted women.
"The better question in this situation is who she is, and why you ran off like that in the first place." Yukio said, putting his hands on his hips as he glared at his older brother.
Rin hesitated with his answer, looking at the sleeping blonde below him. One minute he had been with everyone else, being taught a lesson on a certain type of demon, and then the next he was dashing into the wooded area they were next to like his life depended on it. And apparently it hadn't been his life that depended on his running, it had been hers. "I don't know why, I just got this feeling… that something bad was about to happen. And then I found this chick fighting off demons all by herself, but it wasn't in the style of an exorcist, she was using hand to hand combat! She was flipping all over the place; dodging them and making them run into each other! She kinda' passed out after falling from a tree though…" Rin scratched at the back of his neck, looking at the tree that she fell, the one that they were under.
"H-how high did she fall from?!" asked Shiemi, looking at the tree that had damaged branches from nearly the top of the tall tree, the limbs scattered around on the ground. The girl's jacket still hung from the middle of the tree. The Tamer looked back and forth from the tree to the two on the ground with wide eyes. "She needs to be treated right away!" she started forward, only to be stopped by Ryuji who put his arm in front of her.
"We don't know if she is safe, you shouldn't go near her yet." When he was met with wide questioning eyes from Shiemi, he furrowed his brows. "A random person is fighting demons in the middle of a forest? She doesn't seem to be an exorcist either. Something seems fishy. If she is so ordinary, why were those things going after her in the first place?" he reasoned.
"That doesn't matter! If a person is hurt, then they should get treated! She could be in pain right now!" Her familiar Niichan agreed from her shoulder, jumping up and down.
"Okay, fine, but shouldn't she get a say in it then? Isn't that invading someone's privacy?" Ryuji tried as a last stitch effort. That caused her to pause and think, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.
"Well," Yukio started, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Why don't you just ask her? I mean, you are awake, aren't you?" he asked, looking at the stranger.
Damn, there went her idea on gaining information by feigning sleep. Rin gave a little jump when she suddenly opened her eyes, looking straight up at him to reveal golden irises. She then moved her eyes to the corner, looking at his brother before sitting up. She kept the pain off her face as sore muscles pulled and strained. Giving some rolls to her shoulders, both still hidden by her second black jacket, she stood up with only some difficulty.
"Aren't you a sharp one? How could you tell? I was sure that I wasn't moving, or twitching my eyes too often." Ed casually put her hands in her pockets, tilting her head to the side as she observed all of the people in front of her, ending the glance over on Yukio.
"Your breathing wasn't even enough."
She gave a snicker, shaking her head in mock sadness. "Ah, that is a shame, and I thought I had perfected that one too. Guess I will have to work on it some more, no? Well it was nice meeting you all, but it would be best if I would get going!" she said, starting to walk backwards, trying to make a quick retreat. She didn't know these people well enough and for all she knew they could get her into more trouble rather than help her. It would be best to make a plan before anything else.
But alas, a grip on her arm had to stop her. "Hey, you can't just leave with out-" Rin stopped talking when he felt a hand on his wrist, hearing a sharp intake of breathe.
"A-ah, yeah, not grabbing something that just stopped bleeding would be great, thanks. Keep that in mind, maybe?" she gritted out sarcastically with a twitching smile, her closed eyes facing him.
"I told you she should be treated!" Shiemi rushed forward as Rin hastily let go, an apologetic look on his face. Ed then backed away some more, before Shiemi could reach her.
"I am fine, really, it isn't any of your concern!" she said, meeting the eyes of Yukio. The classes clad teenager had been keeping a watchful eye on her the whole time, and she really didn't blame him. She had been extremely careful with the others as well. "You, and that guy with the blonde strip, I can tell right away that you guys don't like me being here, so what's the harm of letting me leave? I can go, and boom! Problem solved!" Ed tried to sell her idea with a smile, but it really didn't look like they were having it.
"Well there is one problem with you leaving, Edlyn. We have been looking for you everywhere!" Everyone turned to look at the new comer, who just happened to be led by Shura. No one had noticed that she had left in the first place. She had behind her none other than Mephisto, who looked happier than ever. The headmaster walked straight to the blonde and gave her a gentle hug. He whispered in her ear 'play along', before continuing a scolding act. "Why would you run off like that? You had me so worried, not to mention that your father, Van, was chewing my ear off for letting you get lost so fast!" he said, holding her an arms distance away by the shoulders.
She stared at him with wide eyes, confused to hell and back as to how this man knew her father, and what the connection was.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself young lady?" he asked, looking into her eyes and willing her to play along. She gave a mental shrug.
"I was bored, and I obviously got lost when I went to go explore." she said bluntly. She swore she saw a hint of amusement flash on his face before he gave a 'tsk' sound of disapproval.
"Mephisto, are you going to explain to us? Or are we going to have to guess?" asked Shura, her arms crossed as she stood not too far from them.
He let go of Ed before wrapping his arm around her back, his hand on her right arm.
"Allow me to introduce my niece, Edlyn Elric, who has recently come to stay with me while her father is taking care of some work related issues. She is an official transfer student into True Cross Academy!" he said, sounding like the ever proud family member.
Ed stared up at the man that claimed to be her uncle, he still holding onto her. Her head was swimming with the made up story, and she was trying to process all that was said. How did he know her name? How did he know her Dads name? And why was he making her plan up for her? She was so confused, and her head hurt. The young alchemist just wanted to understand something for once. Oh wait, she understood one thing, and that was the fact that tries shouldn't be at that angle.
Luckily Mephisto was still holding onto her, so he just had to grab her other arm. That though, probably hurt more than helped.
"Again with the arm?" she slurred as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Oh dear, I hadn't realized she was this bad…" Mephisto murmured, removing his gloved hand from her right bicep, only for it to come away slick.
A/N: Okay, so I know that I promised that the chapters would be a lot longer, but I just felt that this one should end here. Don't ask why, because I really don't know… Anyway, I took a few days to work on this, and I did look over it for errors, but please tell me if there are any since I do not have a beta reader. Okay, and now I have some questions for the readers! Please answer them, since it would help me plan out the story sooner ^^.
1) Do you think Ed should stay with Mephisto, or in the near empty dorm with Rin and Yukio?
2) If Ed was to end up in a relationship with anyone in this story, who would you like it to be? Love triangle ideas are welcome!
3) Would you mind if I added the homunculi as good guys?
These are the only things that I cannot decide on, and I always love to have fans help build the plot so they feel more part of the story. Plus, it's more fun this way, to have discussions with people about it, don't you think? Anyway, drop a review and answers those questions if you have time! Thanks a bunch for taking time to read my story!
Disclaimer: I do not own either Blue Exorcist, or Fullmetal Alchemist!