Okay, this time I'm not blaming Ed. I'm blaming freakishly difficult and long exams! –points accusingly at freakishly difficult and long exams-
Ember: Okay, this time, I agree with you!
Fate: ZOMG It's a miracle! Also a miracle; we finished FMA and the movie suddenly and randomly made sense!
Ember: -coughs professionally- It is my professional opinion that the movie needed to be longer –whine- and it also needed more of Al in it.
Fate: -rolls eyes-
Ember: -jabs with wrench- What?! He came in halfway through, damn it!
Fate: Oh shut up. Anyway, we don't own FMA. We swear.
Ember: Yes! Read on, pwease. And arigato gozaimasu to Retro Dreamer, Shiriko Matsuhisa, Wandering Hitokiri, Kawaii Tenshi(I know what your name means XD), Rikdo Osaka and Steel Man. We does loves you all.
"What the hell…" Ed repeated, clearly shocked. "What is this thing, Selene?"
"Uh, the main information database in our world, to put it simply," I replied. "Wow, how did this happen?"
Sky shook her head. "Don't look at me. Scroll down a bit," she ordered, suddenly intent on the screen. "That one." A pale finger was pointed at another picture of Ed. I clicked on it, and when it showed, Ed screamed.
"What the f-" Ed's curse was cut off when Al slapped his hand across his older brother's mouth.
Al smirked. "Well, well, well, brother." Sky was smirking just as much as Al. I… well, stared a bit, then laughed.
"That's not right!!" Ed tore his face away from Al's hand, relaxed as it was from amusement. "Your world is full of sick bastards!!"
This time Al did whack his brother across the back of the head. "Brother, no swearing!"
"Sorry, Al." He didn't seem in the least bit sorry. Then he went the interesting red colour, like he did when I told them I thought Al was the older brother. "That is disgusting. Get it off before Winry comes back!!" He then glared at us. "It's not funny!"
"Who is that?" Sky asked. The picture showed Ed and that other guy with the black hair, Roy Mustang in an… er… intimate embrace. To put it simply.
"That's the Fuhrer!" Al replied, now desperately trying to hold in giggles.
"Who?" Sky asked again.
"The Fuhrer is the political and military leader of a country. Like Hitler," I replied. Hey, I said I came to Germany for the history, so why wouldn't I know that sort of stuff? I hope he isn't like Hitler, actually…
"Oh…" came Sky's reply.
"Roy Mustang, Fuhrer of Amestris, also known as the Flame Alchemist, and no, he isn't like Hitler," Al managed to sputter out before he cracked up laughing. Ed was slowly turning from red to a dark purple.
"Okay, okay, you've had your laugh, can we look at something else now?" he whined.
"Alright then," I said to no one in particular. "Let's see what else we have here… hey look!" I pointed at a picture. "It's one of those pentacles… what was it you called it? A transmogification circle?"
Sky and Ed both rolled their eyes and corrected me, "Transmutation circle!" Al smirked a bit at the two of them. I clicked on the picture, muttering a soft, "Yeah, whatever."
When the picture showed, Al gasped, "Brother, isn't that a hu-"
"Yep, a human transmutation circle." He rounded on Sky and me, all worries about those… er pictures forgotten. "How the hell did your world get this?"
We both shrugged and Sky said quietly, "That's what I was drawing before we crossed." Explanations must have been made when I was out, I thought.
Al looked confused. "Who were you trying to bring back?"
"What?" we both asked in unison.
"A human transmutation circle is used when someone tries to bring someone else back to life. The results are quite often disastrous." Yeah huh, like when they tried to bring their mother back, I thought.
Ed shook his head, a thoughtful look appearing across his features. "I don't think they were trying to bring anyone back, Al. Let's see. Sky, you drew that circle, right?" At Sky's nod, he continued, "And Selene, you touched it, right?" I nodded. "To open the Gate, you need a human transmutation circle with a few alterations. I'm guessing the circle wasn't exactly the same as the original."
Sky hesitantly nodded again. "Yeah, I made a few changes. I thought it looked better." She gave a weak sort of grin.
"Gods, what're the odds?" Ed asked the ceiling. "What're the odds to make a few changes to a damn circle, have someone with alchemy skills touch that circle near the Gate, open it without sacrificing someone and survive? All on the other side of the Gate?" Ooh, does he mean I have alchemy skills? Note to self; ask Al about it later.
"I'd say next to impossible, brother," Al volunteered. "And I'd also say the ceiling won't answer you anytime soon."
Ed rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously Al."
"I was ju-"
"Hey you two, shush up! Ed, grab yourself a chair, and we'll find out where this whole thing came from, okay? Hey Selene, if it's a show, maybe you can download it," Sky added, pulling up a chair and plonking herself down on the other side of me.
I nodded. Okay, go to whatsey, type 'Fullmetal Alchemist' load, load-hey! They have their own website!
"According to this, there are fifty one episodes of said anime show 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and one movie. Called 'Conqueror of Shamballa'. Ring any bells you two? Well, doe- oh, so that's where uranium originates from! Bloody scientists from Earth taking all the credit."
During my quiet explanation cross ramble, I didn't really notice both Ed and Al were silent from shock. I did notice, however, when I glanced back. If we looked like fish out of water before, these two looked like whale sharks on a feeding frenzy.
Taking in the fact that both boys would be unable to answer for some time, Sky suggested we downloaded the first episode, 'One who challenges the Sun'. Doing just that, I minimised the window before twisting to look at Ed and Al. "What else did you want to know it can do?" I asked Al. The episode said it would take ten minutes or so to download, so I wanted to kill some time.
"Uh- well… I don't know, to be truly honest," Al replied, still sputtering from seeing himself as a cartoon on a website. A light seemed to dawn on his face. "What type of music do you guys have if you're from 2006?"
"What?!" yelped Ed.
"What, and you guys aren't?" asked Sky.
"No, we even if we have the same calendar and stuff as your world, Sky," Al answered. "The year we were dumped into when we were on your side about a month ago was… Heh, 1923. I'll bet the Gate had something to do with it."
"Holy hell," Sky and Ed muttered at the same time.
"You got that right," both Al and I muttered right back.
The front door once again slamming warned us of Winry and Katy coming back from Winry's work shed.
"So you had to do that to Selene?" Katy was asking Winry as the two came into sight. Winry started to answer before she stopped, gawking at the screen. Her eyes slowly started to sparkle with interest and excitement.
"What's that?"
Katy grinned; she had obviously gotten over her grumpiness after her sleep. "Hi everyone!" To Al, she bowed slightly before introducing herself. "I'm Katy. You must be Al. 'The polite one' was what Winry called you."
Al bowed awkwardly from his seat. "Hi!! I try to live up to Winry's standards." He flashed a grin at her.
"Well, what is that thing?" Winry repeated her question. "Can I take it apart?" A gleam appeared in her eyes, replacing the sparkle.
Ed shook his head. "Don't let her touch it!" He glared at Winry before turning back to me. "You'll never get it back together and working properly again if you let her touch it!!"
The gleam in Winry's eyes darkened considerably as she eyed Ed. Before I could answer, a wrench slammed Ed around the back of his head. He slumped forward in his seat and would had gone headfirst into the table had Sky not grabbed the back of his collar, keeping him reasonably upright. "Pull up chairs you two, we're going to watch something quite interesting in a couple of minutes," she invited. As Winry and Katy rushed to do so, I pulled up a music file for Al. A random Evanescence song. I guess I don't need to tell you I'm a fan. As the song started up, a nice piano solo soon to be followed by electric guitars, I checked on the downloading episode. A minute and a half. Which was good; the faster we could see what it was about, the better.
Al started swaying from side to side, his equivalent, I suppose, of dancing sitting down. "This is nice!" he exclaimed. Winry was also watching the laptop. "Interesting music," she told me just as Ed started to wake up.
"Win!" he whined, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "You didn't have to hit me over the head!!"
"Yeah I did, Ed." The evil glare the woman was giving him was enough to scare the pants off a rhinoceros. Not that rhinos have pants.
Ed winced. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry Win…"
"You'd better be, Ed, or else."
"Okay," I interrupted before the fight could elevate to the 'duck-for-cover' stage. "Time to watch the pretty screen." I turned the sound up and cancelled the song. Bringing the episode up and maximizing it so it filled the screen, Winry dimmed the light. Haha this is fun! It's like staying up and watching movies at home! I pressed play.
A dark room shadowed and surrounded by suits of armour flickered on screen, followed by the cartoon version of someone's hand. A small child, obviously Ed, set his chalk aside before turning to another boy. A startled gasp came from someone behind me, probably Winry.
"That oughta do it. You ready?"
"Uhuh…" replied a hesitant Al.
"Don't be scared, Al," his brother reassured him. "Everything's perfect."
The screen flickered to outside. Rain drops started falling, then poured down. The view skipped back to inside Ed and Al's home. Ed pulled a determined face. "Let's go for it." Al seemed slightly more confident when he replied, "Okay."
The two boys pressed both their hands to the chalked out very detailed circle. A golden glow started up and then spread high, sparking blue lightning.
A voice over, with, quite shockingly, Ed's voice but younger, started as the visuals kept coming. "Alchemy; the science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it as something else. It can even make gold from lead. But alchemy is science, so it must follow the natural law; to create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principle of equivalent exchange."
"You can't bring back the dead," the Al sitting next to me breathed.
I nodded and the screen flashed red; the alchemic reaction had gone wrong. The younger version of Ed looked up, very worried all of a sudden. At the centre of the circle, where the ingredients for whatever the two boys were recreating were engulfed in a violent purple tornado.
The voice over continued, "But on that night, I learned the value of some things can't be measured on a simple scale."
The screen darkened. A long shot of the cartoon landscape flashed up, freezing just as a fork of purple lightning came down from the sky, striking a field nearby the house. A blood curdling scream shot from the speakers. The screen went dark as credits flashed up.
When the light returned, it showed a young girl with lemon blonde hair barging through her front door, closely followed by her grandmother and a dog with a metal front leg. "That was Edward!" she yelled, looking frightened and staring up the hill towards the home of Al and Ed. A loud and quite real gasp repeated behind me. I heard Winry ask Ed, "What the hell is this?!" No one answered.
"Wait Winry, look!" a little woman on screen ordered, though she looked a little frightened herself. The camera panned uphill, to show a man in a dark cloak standing in the rain.
"It's Mustang," Ed hissed as the voice over continued. "My brother and I knew the laws of science, of equivalent exchange, that gain required sacrifice, that something had to be taken from us, but we thought there was nothing more we could lose..." the voice-over Ed said. "We were wrong..."
It was back in the house. Smoke hissed from everywhere, blue lightning sparking up everywhere at random intervals. Ed's voice spoke in a pained whisper, "Al? Alphonse? Say something! Al... no! Stay with me!" The smoke cleared to find Al's empty clothing on the floor.
Ed continued, "Damn it, this wasn't supposed to... urgh... argh!! What have I done?!" The camera shifted to show Ed on his hands and… knee, panting. I felt a warm hand reach out and grasp my own tightly. I glanced over at Al. He had a terrified look on his face, but his eyes were glued to the screen.
The cartoon Ed gasped, and the screen angled towards the floor. Blood was spattered everywhere, mainly from Ed's missing left leg.
Ed slumped forward before looking up, almost hopefully. "Mum?"
The smoke cleared more. A pale arm reached up, and Ed's eyes widened.
"Mum, is that you?" The hand clasped to mine tightened, if it was possible. The hand on screen clawed at the air. Ed shrunk back from it, fear clearly defined on his face. A heartbeat thudded around the room, and a horribly deformed face mildly resembling a human gasped for air, its eyes glowing a bright fuchsia. The screen once again darkened and Ed screamed again.
Real life Ed poked me in the shoulder. "Selene, turn it off!" I did as ordered, quickly. Turning around, my hand still attached to Al's, I asked, rather stupidly, "Why?" The short alchemist didn't reply, but nodded towards Al.
He was visibly shaking, but the shivers didn't reach his hands. His eyes were wide, mouth open and his face was white. You'd think he'd just seen the dead come back to life, no pun intended. Without a word, Al wrenched his hand from mine, launched himself over the back of his chair and darted out the front door, into the night.
…
We sat there, kind of in shock for a few minutes before Ed shook his head.
"Al!" he yelled, launching himself up and over his own chair, chasing after his brother. The bang of the door slamming shut a second time made us four girls wince. Winry sighed. "We'd better go after them. Ed will never find Al. The kid's adapt at hiding in plain sight, like a cat. And I'll want an explanation later, if you lot wouldn't mind." She didn't seem even the least bit worried. Winry stood up, stretching. I stood and put my automail hand on her arm. "Don't worry about Al; I'll find him. It's my fault that he's upset, so it's only fair. And of course we'll tell you."
Winry nodded. "I'll find the alchemy midget." She turned to Katy and Sky. "Katy, you can come with me if you want to know more about how to attach the…" I kind of lost track of what she was saying because, whatever it was, it was extremely technical. Next thing I knew, I had shut off my computer subconsciously, wandered after the other three girls and we were outside, wandering down the dirt track towards the river.
The sun had almost finished setting. Its last rays of light were throwing thick ribbons of light and shadow across the countryside. The whole colourful and beautiful picture was just that; beautiful. The river shone silver, the trees were bathed in a reddish purple light. Pine trees, that is. I loved pine trees. Tall, majestic and… somewhat sad and foreboding. They always had an air of power about them.
Winry interrupted my musings by pointing in several directions very quickly. "Selene, Sky, I'm guessing Al would have gone that way. Katy, we're going this way cause Ed is as clueless in tracking as a city dweller."
We all nodded. "If we don't find them, we'll meet up back at my house at… nine o'clock. You got a watch?" Winry asked. I nodded again, showing her. The girl made a couple of pokes, prods and fixed the time all in the space of ten seconds. It now read seven fifteen rather than six fifteen. "There we are. Let's go." I grinned as both Winry and Katy walked off in the opposite direction; up the road. Both were discussing automail at a very fast pace. Sky stared after them a bit before shaking her head. "How 'bout we head towards the river?" she suggested. I didn't answer and just started walking. Sky had to jog to keep up.
"Why do you think he freaked out?" she asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.
"Because that five minutes of show brought back unwanted memories."
"… How do you know that?" Damn inevitable question.
"Al told me," I answered simply.
"Huh?"
I turned to her and said quietly, "Listen, when Ed and Al were little kids, their father left them and their mother died. They tried to bring her back. That's how it happened."
Sky's eyes widened.
"I'm guessing he 'freaked out', as you put it, because that particular part of his life wasn't remembered."
"How so?"
"Well, when he got his body back, he couldn't remember much."
"Oh…"
A few more minutes of walking.
"Hey, how about we split up, search opposite sides of the river?" Sky proposed.
"Yeah okay," I replied. Yay, some time to think! "We'll meet back at the road."
Sky climbed a random tree and jumped to the other side. "Well, that settles who is going on what side," I joked. She grinned at me before setting off into the night. The sun was still lighting the sky reasonably well, and the full moon that was just rising was helping a lot. I set off in upriver.
I wonder where Al could be, I thought as I walked. Maybe he just wants to be alone. Meh, by the time I find him he'll probably have been alone for a while... I wonder where he could be… Ah crap! I don't have a map or anything!! Without thinking I pulled a hairpin from my pocket and used it to mark and 'x' on the nearest tree. Every few metres I marked another tree. Very original, but effective.
After fifteen or so minutes of wandering, marking trees, thinking and staring into space, I stumbled into a glade type place, where all the water seemed to stop. Nice. I walked straight into the middle and was stopped by a voice calling out-
"Watch out for that tree root Selene!" Too bad I took that next step subconsciously and landed on my face with stars dancing around my head anyway. "Mwarg…"
"Well, that'll teach you to watch where you're going, won't it silly?" Al's voice continued. I rolled over onto my back, moaning and twitching shamelessly, and looked around. Huh, where is he?
With a good amount of physical effort on my part, I managed to sit up, still moaning and twisted back and forth, wondering where the hell my healer had gone to.
"Up here," Al replied to my unspoken question. I looked up and, sure enough, there he was sitting on a low tree-branch, a ginger kitten cradled in his arms. "What're you doing up there?" I asked.
"Trying to forget," he replied, smile in place. The smile didn't reach his eyes, though, and that worried me. He made as if to get down and I shook my head, rising to my feet and ignoring the pains of a bump on the noggin'. "I'll come up."
I must say, trying to climb a tree, even a small one whilst trying to learn how to use an automail hand was a task and a half. I slipped and almost fell a grand total of eight times by the time I got to Al's branch. Finally, victorious, though a little scratched and bleeding in several places, I stretched out on what was left of the branch. The little kitten mewled at me; the whole time it had had its large jade coloured eyes trained on me.
"It sure is beautiful, huh?" Al asked softly, not looking away from the stars that could be seen clearly. It truly was a wondrous sight; one I had rarely seen before as I had lived close to town, where the lights reflecting on the atmosphere obscured the view.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Amazing" Then before I knew it, I was saying, well, stuttering, really, "Al, I'm sorry about the computer, the tellie show and everything. If I had known…"
Al gave a hollow laugh, the sound making me shiver inwardly. "Selene, you were just as shocked as I was when we found that out. You have no need to be apologising."
"But I-"
"No buts. It was… meant to be. Everything has a purpose. Remember that."
"Yessir."
Al finally turned to look at me, although the look was more a stare with one eyebrow raised. "I'm not a sir…"
I shrugged and he turned back to look at the sky. Gah, I can sense awkward silence; here it comes… ah great. Quick, think of something Selene! Uh.. I don't know. Oh you are hopeless! Shuddup, you ain't much better! Argh, what do I do? A random but relevant thought popped up. He asked for a hug in exchange, right? Give him one.
Without a second thought, which probably would have been a good idea, I edged closer to Al and wrapped my arms around his waist. Obviously startled, the worst happened; Al fell out of the damn tree. Good thing was it was only a few feet and he landed on something soft. Bad thing was, the soft thing was me. Very awkward.
"Al… I don't mean to sound rude but… get off me, please!"
He rolled off quickly, blushing furiously. "You were the one that hugged me."
"I didn't expect you to fall out of the tree!" I sat up, now thoroughly bruised, embarrassed and dusty. Al was lying there, his face redder than Katy's hair. Slowly, he began to sit up.
"Yeah, well, you surprised me, is all."
"Okay then, now that I'm not in danger of getting squashed by a certain alchemist who fell out a tree because I hugged him, how 'bout we try that again, hm?" Without waiting for an answer, I tackled him. It occurred to me that I was acting like someone who belonged in a mental institution. Meh.
I expected Al to fight me off; I was surprised when he didn't. Instead he returned the favour. So, there we were, sitting in the middle of a glade, hugging. Very romantic. Cough.
…
I wonder when they'll come back, Winry wondered. It was funny actually. She and Katy had found Ed within five minutes; unconscious next to a big willow tree. The midget hadn't been watching where in the world he was going and had run into it, effectively rendering himself unconscious. It took little more than another five minutes to drag said midget back to the house and set him on the couch. That's where she and Katy had been until Sky returned, half an hour later, grinning her head off.
Katy was a quick learner. She had come from a world where automail was like a fantasy of crazed scientists and yet she was grasping the topic more firmly than any of her apprentices had. And she had only woken up, what, four hours ago?
So they had been whispering over Ed's head about what type of oil was best for what, when the 'Japanese', as Selene called her, girl, had walked in through the front door.
"What's so funny?" Katy asked, curious.
"Good question," Sky replied, the grin still plastered apparently permanently across her face.
"And what's the answer?" Winry asked. Aw, c'mon, tell!
Sky shrugged. "I dunno." Oh yeah, sure you don't.
"I can show you though," she continued, half cackling. The darkhaired girl took a small black device from her pocket. "The advantages of having a phone with no flash needed. And no sound." This time she really did cackle.
Winry stared. Oh god I wanna take it apart!! Her mind whined. You gotta let me… pleeeaase…
"Look at this, gals." She yanked a cord from her pocket and attached one end to her phone and one to Selene's laptop. Oh, what does that do?!
Sky switched the computer on and accessed the phone device on the computer desktop. A bunch of pictures flashed up. The girl selected one and everyone gathered around.
"Aw, how sweet, eh?" Sky implored, the grin suddenly seeming wicked.
Jeez, Al's never had a girlfriend! He meets Selene for five seconds and…
Katy cackled just as evilly as Sky.
"Huh, what's going on?" a slightly sleepy voice asked from the couch. Winry tried to signal to Sky that showing that to Ed would make him freak out but she was too late. Sky plonked the computer down on Ed's lap and he stared blearily at the screen for a few seconds before his gold eyes widened as he registered what he was seeing.
"Is that Al?!"
Sigh… "Yes, Ed."
"Al Al, as in my little brother?"
"Yes, Ed."
"And is that Selene?"
"Yes, Ed." Man he's slow.
"Al's with a girl, alone?"
"For god's sake Ed, yes!"
"Well it's about damn time!"
"Huh?" What did he just say?
"I said it's about time, Win. Jeez, weren't you listening?"
"Ed, are you okay? Maybe you hit your head a little too hard." He has to have crazy brother syndrome or something.
…
"Yeah, we were screaming our heads off," Al told me. "I suppose it was worst when she screamed something to the effect of; 'I'm going to die!!'. Boy, did brother lose it then. That was the first time he performed alchemy without a circle. Heh, it was worth all the screaming and yelling in the end. When Elysia was born, it really opened our eyes to the normal world."
I grinned at Al. He was telling me about when one of their friend's daughter was born, when Ed was twelve and Al was eleven. The father, a man named Maes Hughes, had run off to get the doctor during a blizzard leaving Ed, Al and a young girl named Nina Tucker to look after his wife, Gracia. It was Ed's birthday, so they were around for a party when Gracia went into labour. What a nightmare. The memory was one of the few that Al could remember, he told me.
"Yeah, Elysia is now eleven. If you ever get a chance to meet Hughes, decline politely if he asks to show you a photo. He's an obsessed maniac when it comes to his daughter. And if he persists, run for it," Al warned me, laughing softly and shifting so he could get more comfortable against the root. We were under Al's favourite tree; a willow near the river and it had a splendid view of the sky if you sat in the right spot.
"I'll have to keep that in mind," I laughed then stopped as a scream, almost identical to the one that emitted from the cockpit before we crossed, cut through the night air. Both of us bolted upright; we'd been lying on the ground so as to get a better view.
"What was that?" we both asked each other simultaneously.
The scream repeated followed by, "Waaaahhhhh! Get it away from me!! You can't make me drink that poison!!"
I looked at Al. He rolled his eyes and laid back down, shutting his eyes with a sigh. "Don't worry, it's only brother. He dislikes milk." 'Dislikes' explains that as well as a breeze describes a hurricane.
"Argh! Get away from me. No! Katy, make them stop!! Engh, it tastes like vomit!! Win, don't make me…"
"Sounds like your friend Sky and Winry have him cornered," Al commented, his eyes still shut.
I stared as the short form of Ed shot into view, followed by the two slightly taller and more feminine forms of Sky and Winry. The light from the porch of Winry's house lit the area surrounding it just enough so I could tell the difference between the two girls by their hair. The two of them, much to my amusement chased Ed several times around the yard before backing him into a corner.
"No, but they have now," I told him, poking him gently. "Look."
Al moaned softly and blinked his eyes open again. "Don't wanna…" Rising slowly to a sitting position, he smirked and then laughed as he watched the scene being played out in front of us. "Poor brother." He grinned. "And to think, if he was any other guy, he'd be happy to have two girls chasing him. Too bad he's Ed through and through."
Al rose to his feet and held a hand out for me. I took it and he heaved me to my feet. "How's about we go help out poor Ed? Then we should get sleeping quarters ready for you." A calculating look shifted across Al's face as he contemplated what would be needed for that sort of feat. We started the walk up to the house.
"Let's see, Winry has some spare metal for a bed frame, there's a heap of firewood out back we can use for the room... uhh… shouldn't take that long to make…" he muttered subconsciously.
I wonder… if I could help. The thought hit me out of nowhere and I blinked when it occurred to me. "Hey Al, if I opened the Gate, as you call it, does that mean I can use alchemy?" It also occurred to me that Al hadn't let go of my hand as we walked. I blushed slightly.
"Hm… yeah I suppose you can. I don't know. If you still had your arm this afternoon brother would probably have worked you til you dropped, but under the circumstances, we'll have to find out tomorrow. As I said before, your proper arm should be ready to attach by then. It will be interesting to find out what your strength is."
"Heh, this reminds me of Harry Potter," I said, for the second time that day. When Al looked confused, I added, "Remember, I mentioned the book before; magic, alchemy and a Philosopher's Stone? I'll bet Sky or Katy has a copy in their bags or, if not, we'll download it so you can read it. It's a good story."
Al nodded. "Sounds like a good plan." A small figure dashed out of the shadows and crashed into Al. Both of them went tumbling to the ground and Al yelled, pain evident, "Brother, get off my back!!"
"Uh, sorry Al." Ed jumped up and took off again. Al moaned and grumbled something. Wordlessly I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to his feet. Dirt shadowed a good half of Al's face and he looked hilarious.
"Don't," he started, a glare coming into effect. "Laugh." That, of course, set me laughing like a witch from a kid's story. Al waited for a bit, tapping his foot impatiently before griping, "Okay, okay, you've had your laugh, can we go now?"
I continued to laugh, tears streaming down my face as we started off towards the house, Al still holding onto my flesh hand. That is, I was laughing until a strange and painful ache shot through my metal arm. How it shot through my metal arm, I haven't any idea. I gasped, my eyes watering and Al immediately turned to watch my face as I scrunched it up in pain. "Ow…"
"Hell, you've got it already?" Al asked, knowing full well I wouldn't answer him. "And it isn't even the proper arm yet." He sounded worried.
"Al… what's wrong with it?" I managed to gasp out. My vision clouded and I felt light headed.
"It's called phantom limb pain. Generally people feel it if they lose a limb or- or something. Brother had it when he first got his automail. Apparently, it's entirely psychological." He now sounded entirely freaked out and it really didn't help much. "Winry!" he yelled. "Selene's got PLP!!"
"Well, bring her back inside before she faints, little brother!" Ed called from his hiding place, where ever that could be.
I gasped again, the 'non-existent' pain shooting through my arm and into my head. Get it off!! My mind screamed at me. Aw man, the small part of me that really hated life itself, whispered. I really am much more trouble than I'm worth.
Not really the best thing to last think before sinking into oblivion, for what felt like the thousandth time that day.
Fate: Jeez, all you seem to do is eat, sleep or be a drama queen in this.
Ember: -staring at Al-who-just-came-out-of-the-basement-
Fate: Jeez, you only just noticed him there?! And you say I'm slow.
Ember: -babbles something random and not exactly English-
Fate: -sigh- -to Al- Hi, how ya doin'? –to readers- Reviews would be nice, if you please. And just so you all know, even if no one liked this to start with, I would keep going cause it's fun to write.
Al: Where are we?!
Ember: -still gaping wordlessly-
Fate: That's rude, you know. –jabs with wrench- My nightmares, where else?
Al: -blinks-
Fate: That basically means you're DOOMED! DOOOOOOOOMED I TELL YOU!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! -coughs- I mean, see you all later.
