Chapter three: Doctor's visit
Armstrong had immediately alerted the Conductor to stop at the nearest town, that "a Military Official was down, and needed help as soon as possible". Every one on the train with them was staring at them, and some were clicking their tongues in pity for the unconscious Alphonse.
The train whistle blew once, and the train came to a stop. Armstrong carefully picked Alphonse up; the boy's weight was almost nothing compared to some other things he'd picked up before. Alphonse breathing was slow now. Armstrong stepped off the train along with a few other people. He realized he was in Dublith; it was a rather familiar place. He'd been here a few times before, and he also remembered Edward telling him once, that his Teacher Izumi Curtis lives in Dublith.
Armstrong wondered if he could find her…by any chance. He stopped some people, and asked for the hospital. They said there wasn't one, only a doctor. They told him where to go, and Armstrong was on his way.
He shifted Al's weight a bit, and knocked on the door. Footsteps came from the inside, some yelling, and talking then a woman opened the door. She smiled at him, and tried to not seem a little bit afraid of the bulk of the man.
"What can I do for you?" she asked smiling.
"Alex Armstrong, Military Official. I cannot tell you what happened, but Alphonse Elric is a State Alchemist, he became unconscious on a train ride to Central City" Armstrong said giving her as much information as possible.
She stepped aside to let him in. Other people were in waiting seats. Some coughing and sniffing heavily. Others were just waiting their note to get some medicine from the Doctor. Armstrong noticed one of the people as Izumi Curtis. Izumi caught his eye as well, and then she caught up following them. The Doctor turned.
"Izumi do you know them?" she asked. (The Doctor and Izumi knew each other very well because for years Izumi has gotten her pills for her…..missing insides problem).
"Yes" Izumi said.
"Okay well I'll be right back. Just lay him down, and I'm going to go fill your prescription right now" she said and left the room. Armstrong lay Alphonse down gingerly, and sat down. Izumi sat on the seat across from him.
"What happened?" Izumi asked her voice was surprisingly shaky.
"He passed out, from a pain in his head. I'm not sure what it was. I wouldn't worry too much though; it's probably something small that can be fixed easily" Armstrong said half-heartedly. Izumi gave a quick smile, and looked at her withered hands.
The Doctor came back in.
"We haven't properly introduced. My name is Beth Cowen, Doctor Cowen. Now I know he passed out, but what was he doing right before he passed out?" she asked pushing her up her glasses, and brushing her brown hair out of her face.
"He seemed to have a pain in his head, and it must have been excruciating for him. He screamed, and fell out of his seat, then he just fell limp" Armstrong explained. Doctor Cowen murmured something close to Al's ear. His eyes fluttered, and he stirred a little.
"He will wake up now. I told him to wake up" she said. Al opened his eyes, and focused in on his surroundings. He smiled uncertainly at Izumi, she was his Teacher. He had trained with her a few years ago. Once again every one said it was his second time training, but he couldn't remember. As he thought this a small stab of pain went through his head, he winced. He stopped thinking about that. There was Armstrong, and a Doctor. So he was at the Doctor. He sat up.
"Okay I need you to do a few things for me" she said. Al nodded slowly. She looked in his eye with an Otoscope. She murmured something to herself, and looked in his ear with the same utensil. She went out, and came back. Looking in his nose this time. She even looked in the back of his throat.
"I can't find anything. There seems to be nothing wrong with him. Let me do a scan on his brain. Then maybe we could find something" she said. They all agreed. (In the 1900's they did have scanners, they were just an experimental device. Some doctors/or hospitals took them some didn't. They were big and bulky).
Alphonse nervously followed Dr. Cowen. They went to a rather dark room; Al sat on the small metal bed. Dr. Cowen reached into a cabinet, and brought out what Al guess what was a scanner. It was tan, and big. It had a door on the side, and the top opened. Grunting slightly she hauled it up on the table. She opened the top, and Al knew it was a light on the top. When she opened the rest of it, there was a metal rod that when she turned it on, would turn the light, and scan Al's brain. She plugged it in, dimmed the light even more, and told Al to be very still. When it turned on there was clicking noise, and the light started to turn around as the metal rod willed it to do so.
It was very hard not to move when the light was nearly blinding him every time it scanned, and when it did scan it made this annoying noise, like it was jammed or something. She let it scan him four times, and then unplugged it. She left it on the counter, but ushered him out.
"It will spit out the pictures when it's ready. These things are unreliable though, it may not even do anything. Go back to your room, and I'll be there in a minute" she said. Al nodded, and headed back toward his room. He sat back on the bed, when he re-entered the room. Izumi looked at him questionly.
"She scanned my brain, and my eyes hurt because the light nearly blinded me" Al said rubbing his eyes for emphasis. A few minutes later, she came back in.
"Your ex-rays came back very blurry. But that's normal, I can still see. Your brain is very healthy, it looks great. There's nothing I can find wrong with you. I do though advise you to relax, go somewhere where you can feel safe. Maybe it's just stress" she said. She waved to them, and went to her other patients.
"Are you going to go home now Al?" Armstrong asked as they headed out.
"No. I know she said I need rest, but…I don't know. I need to do this mission, no body else is out there looking for the Homunculus" Al said as quietly as possible so Izumi wouldn't hear. Then Izumi moved over him like a dark doom cloud, Al cringed.
"You need to rest Alphonse. You're staying with me at my house" Izumi said.
"But Teacher, I need to-
"You're staying with me" she said. Al gulped loudly, and nodded. Izumi sent Armstrong off, and took Al with her. Al ate dinner, and went to his temporary room. He felt great. Maybe it was just stress. He needed to this then, just to stay here until he was sure nothing was wrong with him. Al settled himself down with a good book, but the book didn't draw him in. So he put it down, and drifted off into sleep.
A/N-I'M SORRY! I had something a lot better than this, but it got deleted T.T and I really couldn't remember any of it!! So I…put this piece of crappy work in here. I hope you can forgive me! And please don't give up on me!!
Chapter Four coming soon: The road of no return.