Well, it took me a while to write this, but I'm now ready to continue this story. Also, after the chapter, I have an important note, so make sure to read it.
Chapter 3: Almost Unrecognizable
One afternoon, Winry and Al decided to go into Central. Winry's parents were working, so the teens took the train in.
Once in Central, the first place they came to was the Central City Public Library. They decided to go in because it was a hot day and the air-conditioning in the building felt nice.
In the library, Winry headed to the section of books about mechanics and Al headed to the section of books about alchemy.
When it came time to leave, Winry found Al sitting in a chair near the alchemy section. The boy was contently reading another alchemy book. He looks just like Ed.
"Al," Winry whispered. The boy, slightly startled, jumped and looked up. "It's time to go now, Al."
"I want to check out this book," Al told her as he stood up and stretched his legs.
Winry smiled. "Sure, Al. I brought our library cards."
Winry handed Al his card and Al headed to the desk. At the desk, Al handed the nice, old woman his card and then he placed the alchemy book on the counter.
The woman scanned Al's card and analyzed Al's picture when it came up on her screen. She looked back and forth between Al and his picture a couple of times. "Alphonse Elric?" she asked, trying to settle the discrepancy.
Al nodded. "Yeah?" he replied back, unsure of why the woman was questioning his library card.
The woman saw this and she smiled. "Oh, don't worry so much about it. You've just changed a lot, that's all."
Al looked down at his black clothes that he wore everyday. "Yeah, I guess."
"No, no. I mean your hair. It's longer now."
Al's hand immediately went to the back of his head and swiped at the ends of his shaggy hair. "Yeah, I've been meaning to get it cut, but I might not. I'm starting to like it long."
The woman picked up Al's book and scanned the checkout code into the computer. "Just one book for you today, Al?"
"Yeah, that's all that I need."
The woman looked at the title of Al's chosen book and smiled. "Still into alchemy, I see? You truly are Edward's shadow."
Al threw the woman a questioning look. "How do you…did you know my brother…and me?"
"Well, I guess that it has been a while and you were young, so allow me to reintroduce myself. Hi, I'm Shirley Jones. Can I help you?"
Al's face brightened. "Oh, Mrs. Jones! I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you."
"That's quite alright, Al. I understand. It has been a while since you've been here."
Trisha Elric used to take her songs to Central Public Library because they would wait for Hohenheim, who was a State Alchemist stationed in Central, to finish up his work.
Mrs. Jones was the mother of Ed's and Al's grade school teacher. Sometimes, when the young Elric boys would procrastinate on a project, they'd travel to the library because they'd know that Mrs. Jones would help them to achieve a passing grade.
Mrs. Jones handed Al his alchemy book and his library card. "I hope to see you again sometime soon, Alphonse Elric."
Al picked up his things, said good-bye to Mrs. Jones and walked back to Winry.
Mrs. Jones watched Al leave, and a sad expression stumbled onto her face. One of the newer aides, Scheizka, noticed this and walked over.
"Isn't that the Elric boy? The only survivor?"
Mrs. Jones nodded. "Yes, that's him."
After the fire, Alphonse Elric had quickly risen from a "nobody" to a "somebody". Everybody in the areas surrounding Risembool knew his name and his face.
This "fame" wasn't entirely credited to the fire. His father, Hohenheim Elric, or "The Time-Bending Alchemist" as he was called in the military, was one of the most famous alchemists out there. Everyone who knew the Elrics or seen the small family was sure that Edward Elric would follow in and, maybe even, surpass his father.
"You didn't give him any condolences?" Scheizka asked, confused.
"No, I didn't. The fire happened three years ago. Most people will have moved on by then." Mrs. Jones looked out to Al as he laughed at something Winry said. "Besides, I believe that even though a significant piece of him was lost that night, he will soon find another significant piece of himself. In fact, I feel that he has already started to find it."
So, that's the chapter. I added in a little bit of detail about Al's family and life previous to the fire. Obviously, this story is going to be semi AU. Hope that's not too much of a problem. Anyway, I kind of like how this chapter turned out.
Also, I'm having a slight dilemma about the next chapter. I want to add in a bonus chapter, but I don't know if I should cut it and put it on at the end, kind of like a deleted scene, or if I should just put it in now.
If anyone has any thoughts on that, feel free to let me know by review, PM, or email. I'm always open to suggestions.