I am being plagued by guilt over the death of the kitty. D:
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Greg didn't know what possessed him to walk to work, but he felt the need to walk through the streets of Las Vegas toward the station, and after a while, he realized just how good of an idea that had been.
This latest revelation came in the form of two small yellow-headed children nearly crashing into him. Greg was definitely shocked to see the Elric brothers on the streets, panting as they recovered from what seemed to be a long run.
"Whoa, what are you two doing?" Greg asked after a moment. "Weren't you with Grissom?"
"Yeah, but he stopped at a crime scene or something and that one guy told us to get out of the car," Ed replied. "He had a gun, too."
"And you ran?"
"I kicked the gun away first," Ed said. "But I don't know why we decided to run away. I guess we weren't really thinking…"
"Okay, okay, just let me call Grissom and tell him you're safe, okay?"
Ed nodded and helped his brother to a nearby bench as Greg called Grissom's cell phone. After a couple of rings, Grissom answered in a semi-panicked voice.
"Hey, it's Greg," Greg began. "I found the Elrics…"
"Where are you?"
Greg looked for a street sign and read the name to Grissom. "I'm a few blocks from the station. They're fine, Ed said the kidnapper tried to threaten them, but they managed to get away and didn't think to run to where you were."
"Oh, okay. Start heading to the station with them, and keep an eye out for our culprit. I'm going to call Brass and have him meet you. Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it." Greg hung up and turned to the boys. "Okay, we're going to go to the station now, so uh… Yeah, just come with me."
The boys nodded and followed Greg down the street. They had gone a block when Ed suddenly stopped and ran down an alley. Greg swore when he saw Ed disappear around a corner, Al close behind, calling frantically for his brother to stop running. Greg followed, not wanting to lose track of the boys, and when he turned the corner, he suddenly stopped, or rather, he suddenly ran into both boys, and they fell into a heap on the ground.
Once he managed to get himself to his feet, Greg immediately noticed that something was wrong. The alley he had turned into wasn't an alley at all. Instead, it resembled a hallway with wooden floors. The two boys stood up slowly, and after a moment, their faces lit up with excitement.
"We're home!" Ed shouted as he ran down the hallway and turned a corner. Al followed at a slower pace, gesturing for Greg to follow as well.
They turned the corner and came to the front door, where Ed stood, looking out at what appeared to be a vast meadow.
"What the hell…?" Greg muttered as he stepped outside into the sunlight. Indeed, he was definitely looking out at vast fields, and in the distance, he saw a train station.
"We're home," Ed repeated quietly. "This is Resembool."
"Is it really?" Greg asked as he followed the brothers down a dirt road.
"Yeah. That building we just came out of is our house."
Greg blinked. "But wait, how did we get here?"
Ed shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think it's something we'll ever be able to explain." (IT'S CALLED A PLOTHOLE LOLZ)
Al nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I bet that one guy knows, but we might not be able to ask him…"
"Oh well," Ed said. "We're back."
"Hey, wait a minute," Greg said. "Where are you going?"
"To the Rockbell house," Ed replied. "That's where Granny Pinako and Winry live."
"Oh, Pinako's your guardian, right?" Greg asked.
"Yeah." Al stopped and looked right into Greg's eyes. "She'll probably want to thank you, although you weren't the only one to help us."
"Okay…"
Greg followed the boys down the road to a larger house, trying to contain his excitement about the fact that he was in another world. Not only that, but if Grissom could see that he'd been, for the most part, right about where Ed and Al were from, he'd probably flip. Now, if only he had some way to prove it…
They continued walking, and Greg could see a young girl sitting on the steps in front of the house, her head in her hands. She looked thoroughly depressed. Ed ran up to her with a huge smile on his face.
"Winry!"
Winry looked up at the sound of her name, and stared in shock at the approaching group. Then she seemed to come to her senses, and tears sprung to her eyes as she stood up and ran a few steps forward. Ed nearly knocked her over with his hug, but he broke away after a minute.
"Wha… why are you crying?"
"I thought you were dead… When the military came to investigate they said you might never come back…"
Ed hugged Winry again. "It's okay. We're back now."
Al and Greg stood just behind Ed, and when Winry finally let go of Ed, she looked in confusion at Al.
"Um… I'd hug you, but I don't want to get you sick," Al explained apologetically. "Sorry…"
Greg heard a door open and immediately made efforts to get the ridiculous grin off of his face, but he couldn't help smiling when he saw an elderly woman standing in the doorway, a content smile on her face as well.
"Well now, this really is turning out to be a good day," she said as she came down the stairs. "Who's this young man?" she asked, pointing at Greg.
"Oh. I'm Greg Sanders. I work for the police department in Las Vegas," Greg replied.
"Las Vegas? Where's that?" Winry asked.
"Oh, um…" Ed began. "It's a city in this country that's really far away. We can't really say what country it's in, though."
Nice, Greg thought.
"Why can't you?" Winry asked.
"Because it's a secret," Greg said in a secretive voice.
Pinako looked up at the sky and frowned. "It looks like we're in for some rain. Why don't you come inside?"
Greg followed the four into the building, which was surprisingly nice for the early 20th century. Pinako stopped in the entryway and looked at Al.
"Ed, Winry, why don't you take Al upstairs so he can get some rest? I'd like to talk to Mr. Sanders for a moment."
"Okay," Ed replied, and the three made their way upstairs as Pinako led Greg into the kitchen.
"So. You work for a foreign police department?"
Greg nodded. "I'm usually not out on the field, but through some bizarre circumstances, I ended up being the one to take the Elric brothers back here."
"What happened?"
Greg frowned. "They were kidnapped by a pedophile and taken to the city of Las Vegas. Then this guy murdered one of his friends, which is how the CSIs found the apartment where Ed and Al were being kept. Luckily, they found them before the culprit could do anything to them, other than some cuts and bruises."
Pinako frowned. "I see. Has this man been caught?"
"No, not yet, but I can assure you that he will be found."
"How did Al get sick?"
"Well, this guy wasn't what you could call clean."
"I see. Well, I have to thank you for bringing them back here. Those two are like brothers to Winry, and when they went missing so soon after the death of her parents…"
"It must have been hard," Greg finished. "I'm just glad we found them in time."
"You said there was a murder?" Pinako asked.
"Yeah. Apparently this guy's old roommate was staying at his apartment for a while, and he didn't like what was going on, but his so-called friend had something he was using for blackmail, so he didn't report anything to the police. And then I guess they had a pretty violent disagreement…"
"Did they see it happen?"
"No, ma'am. They heard screams, but they didn't see it."
There was thunder outside, and Greg flinched. He didn't know how much he wanted to go outside with this weather…
"Are you in a hurry to get back?" Pinako asked.
"Actually… I don't know. I didn't tell anyone when we headed out, so I probably should get going soon…"
Pinako looked out the window. "Well, I don't think now's the best time to leave. Why don't you wait a few hours? The storm will have let up by then."
Greg nodded. "I'll do that."
-----------------
"Hey, Ed, are these your parents?" Greg asked, pointing at one of the photos on the board.
Ed walked over and looked. "Yeah, that's them. It's the only one we ever took as a family."
"I bet you don't remember it being taken, huh?"
"Nope."
"Do you know why he's crying?"
Ed shrugged. "Probably because he didn't want to waste his time getting a picture taken."
The rain was still falling outside, and Greg was beginning to get nervous. Since it was such a small town, it didn't matter if the Elric home was empty and unlocked, but if he didn't get back soon, Grissom would probably get pretty upset with him…
"What about your family?" Ed asked.
"My family? Oh, it's pretty small. I'm an only child, and my parents are still around, but I don't see them a lot."
"Why not?"
"Oh, just because I'm busy working most of the time. I see them often enough."
Ed went back to looking at the photos on the wall. "I'm glad I don't see my dad anymore."
"You don't like him much, do you?"
Ed shook his head. "He's a bastard and I'll hit him if he ever shows up around here."
Greg stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked at all the different photos. Ed sure was beginning to look like his father… He blinked when he felt something hard in one of his pockets. He pulled out a disposable camera, one he had gotten a while ago and had subsequently forgotten about.
"What's that?" Ed asked.
"It's a camera," Greg replied, handing it to Ed so that he could get a closer look. "It's just a small disposable one for trips, so that you don't have to keep track of a normal camera."
"It doesn't look like much," Ed remarked as he handed it back to Greg.
"No, but they're very cheap, so if you lose it, you aren't losing much."
"What are the numbers for?"
"To tell you how many pictures you have left."
"Ah."
Greg looked at the camera for a moment before something clicked in his head. "Hey, Ed?"
"What?"
"Do you mind if I take some pictures? You know, so I have proof that you're actually back home and not in danger?"
"And so Mr. Grissom actually believes that this isn't your world?" Ed asked wryly.
Greg laughed. "Yeah, that too."
"Sure. We probably can't take any outside pictures, though…"
"No, I don't think so, but that's fine."
They spent the next hour or so taking pictures of what both Ed and Greg deemed to be proof of the existence of the Rockbell home, and by the time they had finished, Greg was satisfied with his work. He placed the camera back in his pocket and went into the kitchen to assist Pinako with lunch.
"It doesn't look like it'll be letting up anytime soon," Greg remarked.
"No, it doesn't," Pinako agreed. "Maybe you should just risk getting soaked then, eh?"
Greg laughed. "It doesn't look like I have much of a choice."
"Who knows? Maybe it'll let up after lunch."
"I hope so."
-------------------
After a while, Greg walked up the stairs to get the kids to come downstairs. He was about to go into Al's room when he heard the sounds of conversation from another room. He decided to listen for a while.
"Where were you?" Winry asked.
"I already told you, Winry. We were stuck with some crazy guy," Ed replied.
It was quiet for a while. Then, "I'm glad you're back."
"Me too."
Another moment or so of silence.
"You know, when I heard you calling my name and then saw you running up, I thought I was imagining it. Then, when I knew you were real, I kept expecting Mom and Dad…" Winry broke off, and Greg could hear crying.
"Winry…"
"Why couldn't they have come back, too?" Winry sobbed. "I miss them so much…"
"I know you do, Winry. I wish they could have come back too."
"It's not fair. Why did they have to die? They weren't even soldiers!" Winry was sobbing now, and Greg felt torn. Should he interrupt them or not?
Just then, Al came walking up to him, rubbing his eyes and looking at Greg in confusion.
"Oh, hey, Al," Greg said. "I was just coming up to get you guys for lunch."
"It's lunchtime?" Al asked, clearly disoriented.
"Yeah. Remember, we're back in your world now. It's a different time of day than it was back in Las Vegas."
"Oh, yeah."
"Why don't you head downstairs? I'll get Ed and Winry."
"Okay."
Al began walking away just as Ed and Winry came walking out of the room. They both paused when they saw Greg, but they continued down the hallway and down the stairs without a word. Greg noticed that Winry's face was tearstained, but he decided not to mention it. She was trying to be strong, and he wanted to respect that.
----------------
"Well, I think you're just going to have to put up with the rain," Pinako said as she looked out the window.
"Oh, that's fine," Greg replied.
"Wait a minute," Winry said. "Why are you two getting ready to go?"
Ed blinked. "We're going to our house."
"Why? You can stay here tonight…"
"We're coming back. There's just… something that Mr. Sanders forgot over there so we're going with him to get it."
Pinako shook her head. "If Al goes out in this weather, he's going to be sick for another month."
Ed and Al exchanged glances before Al gave a resigned sigh. "Okay, I'll stay here."
"Well then, I guess this is goodbye…" Greg said, feeling somewhat awkward that he was the tallest person in the room.
"Bye!" Al said. "Give our thanks to everyone, okay?"
Greg nodded. "Sure."
"From me, too," Winry added.
"I will."
Pinako smiled. "Come back and visit if you can. You'll be welcome here."
"Okay, if I get the chance."
Finally, Ed got tired of all the talking and opened the door. "Come on! It looks like it's letting up a bit!"
Greg followed Ed out into the rain, and they waved one last time as Pinako shut the door behind them. Then they sprinted down the road to the Elric home.
-----------------
"So… Any ideas on how to get back?" Greg asked as they entered the house and took off their soaking coats.
Ed shook his head. "Nope. You could try walking down the hallway again. That might work."
Greg shrugged. "Maybe."
They walked down the hallway and back again, but to no avail. Then they walked around upstairs, moving all around the house for about half an hour before Ed got frustrated.
"This is pointless!" he practically shouted. "How are you supposed to get back if there's no way to tell if we're doing the right thing?"
Greg sighed. "I have no idea, Ed. Let's take a break for a few minutes, okay?"
Ed nodded. "I have to pee anyway."
Gee, thanks for sharing, Greg thought as Ed got up and headed to the bathroom. Then he got up and began wandering around again. He was halfway down one hallway when he tripped over his own feet and landed with a thud on the ground, hitting his head on the way. He lay in a daze for a while before managing to sit up, noticing something very odd when he did so.
"Greg!" came a shout from the end of the alley in which he now sat. Nick ran up to him and held out a hand, which Greg took gratefully.
"Hey," Greg said, noting that he still sounded pretty dazed.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
Greg nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"What about Ed and Al? Where are they?"
Greg smiled. "They're home."
Nick blinked. "Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Wait a minute, why does it look like you were out in the rain?"
"Um… because I was?"
"Greg. It's sunny. The last cloud I've seen came floating by two days ago."
"I didn't say I was out in the rain around here. It was back where Ed and Al live."
Nick stared at Greg. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired from the trip."
"Um… right… Hey, I think we should get you back to the station. Everyone's worried about you."
Greg nodded. "Yeah, okay. Sorry about that."
"No, it's fine…"
They walked down the alley to Nick's car, and from there drove to the station. Greg relaxed in the car. He figured he'd need the energy to explain everything to the rest of the team.
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END PART ONE!
Lolz I'm using the plothole monster again. I love that guy.
So yeah. The dead cat was just something the one dude (who shall remain nameless because I'm terrible at coming up with names; everyone in the story knows his name, but I don't, I'm probably making life difficult for myself, but I'm just that bad at coming up with names for OCs...) chucked into the crowd to create a distraction so that he could get Ed and Al without being seen. Yeah, sorry if that confused you at all...
