Author's Note: This chapter had been written for a week now, but I was too lazy (and let's face it- too busy) to post it. Thanks to everyone who added this story to their alerts, favorites, or were kind enough to even leave a review! It means a lot to me, and even if there aren't a lot of you, just the fact that people read this story gives me the warm fuzzies. xD
Disclaimer: I suck at remembering to slap on the disclaimer. But yeah- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Obviously.
I am herded out of the antique-looking car and led into a stately, no-nonsense kind of building, where my captor (yes, the black-haired man is completely holding me against my will) and I are granted immediate entry.
As soon as we set foot in the building, two soldiers donning the same crisp blue military uniform as my captor join us. They silently fall into step behind me, and I can practically feel their curious gazes thrown in my direction.
I want nothing more than to turn tail and run, but with three soldiers escorting me to wherever they wanted me to be, escape is out of the question. Instead, I settle for giving the black-haired man my best death glare. He only smirks at me, which only infuriates me further. Damn bastard.
Finally, we stop in front of a door, and the man opens it without preamble. I don't get the chance to get a good look at the space because suddenly, I find myself in the embrace of a complete stranger.
"Lauryl! Oh, thank goodness you're all right! Darling, you've had me so worried!"
The strong smell of a flowery perfume overwhelms my nostrils, and I wrinkle my nose in distaste. I feel my shirt dampen, and I stiffen when I realize that the stranger is crying on me. Growing more uncomfortable with the situation by the second, I extricate myself from the stranger's embrace and back away, unsure of how to deal with the unusual display.
Now that my personal space is returned to me, I am able to get a good look at my surroundings, and I notice that my assailant is a teary eyed middle-aged woman. Her face is kind, but she is looking at me with hurt in her eyes. I don't know what she expects from me, so I avoid her gaze.
"Lauryl? What's the matter? You go missing for over a month, leaving me worried sick, and you can't even look me in the eye?" The woman's voice escalates as she continues talking, and I flinch away. Everything she says makes no sense to me, but I have a feeling that it has something to do with this Lauryl Goodwin that they keep talking about.
"Mrs. Rivendell, I think we should begin questioning Miss Goodwin." My captor, who had remained silent throughout this exchange, speaks up from behind me, and I am grateful to him. Still, the mention of Goodwin sends a wave of irritation through me, and I grit my teeth to hold back my protests of being Laurel West, not Goodwin. There would be time for that later.
"Of course, General Mustang. Forgive me." The woman bows her head in defeat, but the confusion and hurt is still radiating off of her in waves.
I am led to a chair in front of a large desk, and I sit down. My captor, who I now know answers to Mustang, settles down into the seat behind the desk, and the woman, Mrs. Rivendell, takes the empty seat beside mine.
Mustang wastes no time getting down to the grit of things, because the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, "So Miss Goodwin, why don't you tell us where you went after leaving the village of Eulygul?"
I can't even begin to explain how that question makes absolutely no sense to me. Not only have I never heard of Eulygul in my life, I am most certainly not Miss Goodwin.
I decide that now is as good a time as ever to slap some sense into the stoic man before me. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I. am. NOT. Lauryl. Goodwin."
There is a gasp to the right of me, and I swivel in my chair to look at the woman it came from. Mrs. Rivendell has her hand over her mouth, eyeing me with shock and disbelief. I get a sick sense of accomplishment from the look on her face- I mean, it stinks that I'm clearly not the person she's looking for, but at least she doesn't brush aside my assertion like Mustang did.
"What do you mean you're not Lauryl Goodwin?" The woman removes her hand from her mouth and clutches the arms of her chair, her eyes clouding over with despair. "Are you trying to tell me that my niece is still missing?"
Her shoulders begin to shake as she becomes racked with sobs, and my relief at being recognized as telling the truth turns to hopelessness. I immediately regret telling the truth, but I push the thought away. It's for the best, I reason with myself.
I find myself reaching over to pat the woman awkwardly on the back, and she flinches at the contact. I wrench my hand away but continue to watch her.
Eventually, her sobbing subsides, and with a sniff, she lifts her head to get a good look at me. I can't help but look back, trying to convey in my eyes that I am truly sorry about her niece.
"That doesn't make an ounce of sense!" Mustang brings his fist down hard on his desk, but no one flinches.
"She's not her." Mrs. Rivendell has finished her silent scrutiny of me, and it's clear that what she sees in me has led her to the truth. Her voice is shaky, but her tone is resolute with quiet acceptance.
"What?"
"The girl is telling the truth. She is not my niece."
I sink down into my seat, overcome with relief at her revelation. I had been expecting a long, drawn out discussion, but it's now clear that with Mrs. Rivendell on my side, Mustang doesn't have much room for argument.
The man in question heaves a great sigh and rubs his temples in irritation. His eyes are closed shut, and I can see that he's trying hard to grasp the now undeniable truth.
Finally, he opens his eyes and rests his gaze on me. I am a little intimidated by the intensity of his stare, but I steel myself for the questions that are sure to come.
"You say that your name is Laurel West." It is not a question, but I nod in affirmation anyway.
"No relation to Lauryl Goodwin?"
I shake my head in response. "No. I had never heard of her before today."
It takes him a moment to process the information, and I patiently wait for the next question.
"What were you doing near the village of Pryhollow?"
"I was looking for someone."
"Who were you looking for?"
"No one in particular. I just wanted to find someone- anyone. I had no idea where I was."
Mustang raises his eyebrows at that, and I take it as a silent invitation to continue. Now came the hard part. I suck in air through my nose and let it out through my mouth, unsure where to begin. I settle for starting from my most recent memories.
"I was hit by a truck. I had a fight with my dad, and I went for a walk to clear my head. It was raining, and I had wandered too far from home. The next thing I know, a truck is coming straight for me, and it's the last thing I remember before I wake up in the middle of nowhere."
Both Mustang and Mrs. Rivendell are looking at me with expressions of disbelief, but neither of them are in any hurry to interrupt me. I am about to continue my explanation when an image of a black gate is brought to the forefront of my mind. The sensation of floating comes shortly after the image of the gate, and I close my eyes against the memories that are slowly returning.
Letting out a shaky breath, I say, "There was a huge black gate."
I am unable to continue because I suddenly feel foolish. Would they even believe me if I told them that I was floating in a sea of emptiness, only to be pulled through a strange gate? Grudgingly, I open my eyes.
Mrs. Rivendell is looking at me in utter confusion, but it is Mustang's expression that has me floored.
His eyes have taken on a hard gleam, and his mouth is turned down at the corners. There is no confusion in his expression. In fact, he looks like he knows exactly what I'm talking about, but it's clear that he doesn't like what he's hearing.
Curiosity grips me, and I'm aching to ask him what he knows. However, I never get the chance. Mustang rises from his seat and motions for the two of us to do the same. Mrs. Rivendell does so without hesitation, but I am too shocked by the strange turn of events to stand. "Um, don't you want me to finish?"
Mustang shakes his head. He's not even looking at us anymore, too lost in his own thoughts to pay us any heed. "No. I think I've heard enough for now. Lieutenant Hawkeye will escort you two out."
A blonde woman with hard brown eyes materializes behind us, and Mrs. Rivendell makes to follow her out of the room. However, I am unwilling to be dismissed so easily.
Indignation swells up in me, and I am angry now. Just a few moments ago, Mustang was acting like he wasn't going to let me out of his sight, and now he's just going to kick me out? I don't think so!
Clearly, he knows something that I don't, and I can't bring myself to leave the room until he tells me what it is that he's thinking.
"Wait a minute, Mustang! You can't just do that!"
This seems to snap him away from his thoughts, and he raises an eyebrow at me. Huffing, I continue, "You obviously know something, so spill!"
"It is only a suspicion. I'll tell you once I'm sure."
His cryptic response has me reeling. What is it about him that gets me so riled up? "I'd like to know now."
"All in good time, Miss West. But I'm afraid we're going to have to hold off on that for now. There's someone I need to talk to."
The blonde woman, Lieutenant Hawkeye, smiles faintly at her superior. "Do you mean…?"
Mustang nods and lets out a chuckle. I fail to see the humor in the situation, but I bite my tongue.
"Yep. This looks like a case for Fullmetal."
Resembool, Amestris
There was an air of calm and peacefulness in the small town of Resembool. It was easy to see that time passed differently here, the leisurely pace of the townspeople as they went about their everyday business a testament to this.
The peace was short-lived, however, when a shriek pierced the air, followed by the sound of a hard object making contact with a skull, and the subsequent grunt of pain.
"Argh! Dammit, Winry, stop swinging that thing around!" Edward Elric clutched his head in pain, wincing at the throbbing in his skull. A wrench lay on the ground nearby, glinting innocently in the afternoon sunlight.
The blonde woman in question only put her hands on her hips and glared at the insufferable alchemist. "I wouldn't have to if you stopped being such an idiot! You're always sticking your nose in things you're not supposed to!" Huffing and picking up the wrench, she stalked away, only to turn back and call over her shoulder, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm making a new pie! Don't bother coming into the house until it's finished- if you do, you're not getting so much as a bite!"
Edward watched Winry's retreating back and sighed. "Crazy automail freak…" Muttering under his breath, he made to sit on the front porch of the Rockbell house when Pinako came hobbling out of the front door, pipe in hand.
"Ed, there's someone on the phone looking for you."
"Tell them I'm not here. Winry'll have my hide if she catches me inside the house."
Pinako snorted, clearly not amused. Honestly, do the two ever stop bickering? "Just answer the damn phone, Ed. Besides, it sounds important." Without waiting for a response, Pinako retreated back into the house.
"Important, huh?" Weighing his options, Ed decided a wrench to the skull was dwarfed by Pinako's wrath- she never was the most patient person. Following Pinako's lead and stepping into the house, he stopped when he saw Al standing by the phone. The younger Elric had been in the brothers' shared bedroom, opting out of witnessing yet another scuffle between his older brother and Winry, when he heard the phone ring.
"Ed, it's General Mustang."
Eyes widening, Ed tried to process his brother's words. Why was Mustang looking for him? After the Battle of Central, Ed had made it pretty clear that he was leaving the military. Mustang hadn't tried to stop him, and hadn't tried to call on him ever since. So now…
Wordlessly taking the phone from his brother, Ed held the receiver to his ear. "Whaddya want, Mustang? You of all people should know that I'm no dog of the military anymore."
"I know, Fullmetal. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't important, but it's about Lauryl Goodwin."
"That girl everyone's been looking for? What about her?"
"I found someone who looks just like her who says she passed through a large black gate. I have a feeling it's the very same gate that the people who called themselves the Thule Society passed through- the same gate you and your brother passed through."
Ed clutched the phone tighter, unable to believe what he was hearing. "That's impossible! That thing was sealed up not long after it was forced open! You don't think that girl is from the other world, do you?"
"I have a sneaking suspicion, yes."
If what Mustang said was true, Ed reasoned, then this could mean serious trouble for Amestris. If the girl was from the other world, she could very well be a spy… the last thing everyone needed was another invasion. Part of the military or not, this was definitely worth looking into. Mind made up, Ed declared into the phone, "I'll be on the next train to Central."
"I'll be seeing you then, Fullmetal."
End Note: … yeah, I can't really think of anything to say, except- until next time! (: