A/N: Welcome to the second chapter of Full Blown Nightmare, or FBN for short.
So Ari has come to Amestris wearing her school uniform, a Philosopher's Stone is now attached to her, and she's carrying an Ed plushy. Let's see how things turn out.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FMA or the TBA reference. I also have permission to use the reference.
•|• Ari •|•
It felt like I was floating. After the pain of the necklace forcing itself into my skin, this was a pleasant change. Despite that I was annoyed.
I thought I was going to the other side. Where the hell am I now? I thought.
I regretted those thoughts, because as if Truth could hear me I began falling.
I landed with a soft thump into something cushy.
The hell...
I looked around and tried to figure out where I was. For a moment I thought I was still in the darkness. As my eyes adjusted I noticed the outline of a bookcase. As I looked around I saw a desk directly in front of me and a long set of tables farther away.
Where did I land?
I sat up and noticed my plush was still in my hand. I held him to my chest as I walked around. I saw a door and walked towards it. I pushed down on the handle and looked down either end of the hallway.
Looks clear to me.
"Freeze!" a loud voice said. My eyes grew wide as I slowly looked over my shoulder. A soldier down the hall had a gun pointed at me.
My heart began pounding as my hormones gave me a shot of adrenaline. My legs shook with fear.
Calm down Ari. This has to be a misunderstanding. Yeah you just landed from some other world, but there's no reason for a gun. Is there?
The shaking got worse when he took a step forward.
Every ounce of my being told me to run the other way, so that's exactly what I did.
I booked it down the hall, thanking whatever was out there that I rode my bike to school every day.
I heard gunfire and my legs only moved faster.
I turned down various halls, the whole time bullets being shot at me, though none actually hitting me.
The next turn brought me to my inevitable down fall. A dead end stared me in the face.
The original soldier, along with a couple others, had me cornered.
"All right kid, what were you doing in there?" he demanded, the barrel of the gun staring me down.
It's like a James Bond movie, I thought to myself before focusing on more important matters.
I looked around quickly searching for an escape. When there wasn't a clear one, I decided to put my I put on a shocked face and pointed at a random spot behind the three of them. "Oh my god! What is that!?"
I tried to not smile as they looked behind them. I stood up and readied myself for more running.
They were still stupidly looking. I bolted for it while they looked around a corner.
I turned back towards where I had begun, but unfortunately they noticed me.
I heard a gunshot milliseconds before an exploding pain burst through my left thigh. I fell forward onto the ground, frozen in shock.
My heart pounded as my skirt soaked up blood. Every muscle in my body got tense at the same time and my breathing became rapid.
"Idiot!" I heard. "That was supposed to be a warning shot! What the hell do you think your doing to help by shooting a god damned kid!?"
"I'm sorry sir," a second voice said.
A loud slap resonated through out the hall.
"Even if she was moving, that didn't give you the option to be careless!"
"I'm sorry," the second one said.
My heart pounded and the terror swept over me, the idea that I was dying implanted in my mind. My chest got tight and I could barely breathe.
The pain became too much to bear. I hugged my Ed plush as my vision got fuzzy and I eventually blacked out.
|•|•|Ed |•|•|
Ed woke up completely unaware of the fact his whole life would be thrown onto a different course.
An officer came to his door to tell Ed he needed to come with him.
Ed frowned. "What for?" he asked.
"There's been a situation at Central Command. Your brother can come if he wishes."
Ed continued to frown as he got his coat and told Al they were going out.
What kind of situation requires me to be there? he thought as he followed the officer.
•|• Ari •|•
I had no clue where I was when I opened my eyes the next time. It was very bright and very white. I was reminded of a hospital, before realizing that was where I was.
Did I crash my bike? I thought as I sat up. As I looked around, I realized it wasn't like any hospital I'd ever seen.
So all that really did happen. Duh, if it's a dream you typically wouldn't feel pain like that.
A doctor came in. "Good, your awake then," he said.
I blinked at him, confused.
"Can you answer some questions for me?"
I blinked again before nodding.
"Okay. So what's your name?"
"Arista Lyre."
He asked me how it was spelled and I sighed as I did so.
"How old are you?" he asked, moving on.
"Fifteen," I responded.
"Okay," he said as he wrote that down. "Where do you live?"
Crap.
I looked away and began biting my thumb nail. "I don't know how to answer that."
The doctor looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. "Just tell me where you live," he said, frustrated.
The honest person inside of me had taken over and the actor was left back in that hallway.
You're going to think I'm crazy.
He sighed. "Okay, moving on. These were just background questions. The MPs will be asking you questions from now on. You have a lot of explaining to do."
I swallowed as he stood up and closed his notebook. He left the room and a nurse came in, carrying my uniform.
"Here you go," she said as she set it down at the foot of the bed. "Get changed now. You've attracted a lot of military attention, and they don't like being late."
I nodded as she left.
I got up and nearly screamed when I stood on my leg. My whole thigh was bandaged and I could hardly move it.
Holy shit! I never thought getting shot would hurt this much!
Seething as I straightened out, I took off the hospital clothes and changed into my cursed uniform.
"Looks like I'm stuck in this bloody thing," I said in a fake British accent. I slid my arms into the sleeves of my button up sweater and sighed.
The only thing missing at this point was my plush. Even my spare house key had been left in the sweater pocket.
Opal gave me that. I hope they didn't throw him away, I thought, wincing as I stepped to the door.
I opened it and saw a handful of familiar characters. My jaw nearly dropped when I saw Edward, Alphonse, and Mustang there in front of me. Ed had his arms crossed, Al was standing behind him, and Mustang was conversing with a nurse, obviously trying to hit on her.
The other officer there saw me, he gestured for me to come out. "Come with us," he said firmly.
I swallowed in fear and stepped forward. He grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back. I felt something cold land on my wrists as he handcuffed me.
I was lead down the hall and outside. My eyes grew wide as I saw Central in all its glory.
"Wow," I uttered to myself, to quiet for anyone to have noticed.
I was escorted to a car and we drove to another building.
Crap, crap, crap... I thought, finally back in reality. Where the hell are they taking me?
My eyes grew wide when I saw Central HQ.
The door on my side opened and I was lead out and into the building.
"You will be held in a jail cell until later today. You will be asked questions and then we will determine whether you will be free, or if you are to be transferred to the prison."
My heart pounded slightly and I had to take deep breaths to steady myself.
He led me into the building and I limped into the dank cell.
I was uncuffed and left there for almost an hour.
Another officer I was lead into an interrogation room, where I was met with a different officer and the three characters I could spot a mile away.
I sat down in a chair and my heart pounded. I gripped the edges of my skirt and tried to steady myself again.
"Okay," the officer said. "According to this report you were seen coming out of the Furher's office late last night. You then ran away from three officers and were shot in the thigh by one of them."
I nodded.
"This report also mentions that you were in position of something resembling a member of the military." He turned to a different officer, who handed him my plush. My eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"Thank god it's okay," I thought out loud, completely forgetting the real version was standing mere feet away from me.
"What is the purpose of this?" he questioned.
I smiled like the dork I was. "It's a lot to explain and you'll most likely send me to the loony bin," I said, quoting Opal on her description of a psych ward.
"Pardon?" he said.
"A psychiatric ward, someplace a crazy person has to go if they're deemed dangerous."
They didn't know how to react to this. Stop it with the 21st century talk! I ordered myself.
"Uh, so," I started. I proceeded to tell them all about my plush, but lying about certain points, such as the FMA manga and anime. My improv skills came in handy with this.
I told them about some made up place and about how where I came from Ed was thought of an idol because of his abilities as a State Alchemist. I described about how his actions in helping others was admired. I'm pretty sure that all I accomplished was boosting Ed's ego.
After a little more explaining of how I got into the Furher's office, they actually released me. With a few catches.
I listened closely as the man spoke with Mustang. He wanted Ed and Al to be my guards, because my story seemed a little far fetched.
Mustang told the two brothers and they both reeled back.
"Guards!?" Ed exploded. "We have work to do!"
"Well then maybe she could be of help," Mustang said bluntly. "Just follow your orders; keep her with you and make sure she doesn't do anything even mildly dangerous. The military wants her alive for some reason."
My eyes grew wide. This is like in TBA! I didn't want guards; I just wanted to meet them. Now that I've seen Ed I'm good with going back. Seriously! And what does he mean "for some reason"?
I reached up and touched my neck, trying to figure out how to turn on the Philosopher's Stone. After a few moments I gave up and slumped, my frizzy red-brown hair falling down around me. I fingered with it, the color reminding me dirt and clay.
I listened to them as they argued and leaned forward so that I was resting on the table. I stared at my plush before reaching over and grabbing him.
"So when are we leaving?" I said my irritated voice cutting through the air like a katana.
They all stopped and for a brief moment there was quiet.
Ed voice broke the silence. "Now. We have some work to do at the library, so you just come and behave."
I glared at him. "I'm the same age as you dude, so stop acting as if I'm a little kid," I said, mildly pissed off.
Saying nothing in return, he dropped the subject and started for the door, Al following behind him. I sighed and stood up, Ed plush in hand.
"Hold it," the officer said.
I stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Yes, sir?"
"I'll be keeping that here," he said, hand held out.
I frowned at him, reluctant to letting go. "Why?"
"We don't completely believe what you've told us, so seeing as that is a major part of why your here it would be best for you to leave it here."
I raised an eyebrow. I glanced down the Ed plush's angry face before handing him over.
"Here," I said. "But I will want it back. Some one close to me gave it to me, so it's special."
"I can assure you nothing will happen. Now go on," he ordered.
I glared as I turned around and followed Ed and Al out. It took me a moment to remember what exactly happened at the library. I self-consciously touched the Stone and my heart pounded. I had briefly forgotten what completed a Stone. Now that I remembered I felt sick to my stomach. The pounding got harder and I forced myself to calm down before anything bad happened.
Damn it Ari! Calm the hell down! You can't lose it in the middle of the street like this! I thought as I took deep breaths.
Once I could breathe, I went back to the current issue. What should I say if they question me about this thing? I'm more than amazed as to why they haven't yet.
There was an unsettling silence as we walked down the street.
I saw the library and my heart skipped a beat.
It's bigger than I thought it was.
We walked inside and were met with a couple people I recognized as Second Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh.
I put on a straight face and tried to act as natural as possible.
"So my guards have guards," I said with a smile.
"Unfortunately," Ed griped.
"May we ask who this is?" Ross asked.
I didn't give Ed or Al a chance to speak. "Due to earlier issues Edward has been ordered to guard me."
"Your name..." Brosh started.
"Arista, but just call me Ari."
Ed cut in. "Let's skip the introductions. Al and I have things to do."
He walked past the two of them, not thinking twice of their existence after.
I sighed and walked forward, following them to the beginning of the end.
A/N: Here ya go! I couldn't resist sticking this chapter up today. It's been sitting in my files list since Thursday.
So for those of you who have been waiting for a TSSA update, I can almost promise you that it'll be up tomorrow. I have just a little bit of rereading, minor edits, and then the word fix. The ancient Word I've been using has been messing with the bold and italics. If I have anything bold, everything around it will be bold. If my character is thinking, everything turns into italics. It's an irritating process and I can't wait until I get a laptop on Christmas.
Well sorry for the long A/N. Also know that I might update this story sometime later this week. Until then, stay out of jail and keep loving anime *:-{)
