The library was big. Very big. In fact, all Darcy could do was pinch the inside of her elbow (an old habit of hers) and try not to gawk as her eyes whizzed along rows upon rows of books, thick volumes and slim novels. Some had battered, yellow papers, while others seemed so new she could smell the crispness along their pages. She wanted nothing more than to shove Tally aside and scream, "Mine!" before disappearing into the non fiction section (because what was the use in heading to the fiction section and reading about things that didn't exist?).
Instead, she gave Tally a long look. The brunette was currently looking at the library with a wide-eyed gaze that was earning her a few looks from passerby. Darcy wanted to slap her. Yeah, sure the library was huge (their local library in Winevra was a shed compared to this!), but that didn't give her a reason to act like a total freak.
"Close your mouth," she said smoothly. "We wouldn't want flies getting in."
Tally's jaw went back into place. "Oh, give me a break. This place is awesome! You can't tell me you weren't shocked when you first came here!"
Darcy ignored the memory of her own deer-in-headlights look during her first visit and shook her head. "Oh, yeah, I flap my mouth around when I come to libraries all the time!"
Tally narrowed her eyebrows and mumbled something in French (how could she have forgotten her obsession with that damn language...?) before turning and stomping off to the fiction section of the library. Darcy sighed and ran after her, catching her wrist.
"Wait," she said.
Tally wrenched free and turned to look at her. "What?"
"Studying first. You'll have plenty of time to read your little fairy tales later."
Tally's cheeks tinted pink. "I-I don't read fairy tales!" she protested, in a way that made Darcy very quite sure she did read fairy tales.
"Right."
"Please? Just one book? Then we'll do whatever you like and look through the science geek section."
"Being intelligent doesn't make me a geek," she said, shifting her weight between her feet. "And no. Studying first."
Tally frowned, rolling her eyes. "Okay, okay. Let's go, then."
"Wait. We have things to discuss first." She tilted her head towards a corner table, away from possible eavesdropping ears. Tally huffed and took a seat.
"What things?" She said 'things' the same way a vegetarian may have said the word 'meat'.
"We need to get our plan straight." Darcy sat in a chair across from Tally, folding her hands on her lap and crossing her legs primly underneath the table, the way her mom used to make her practice when she was little, trying to get her to look like a 'proper lady'. "Our form of action. Rules."
"Rules were made to be broken."
"Funny. Too bad we're not crack-smoking delinquents, right?"
Tally twisted her lips, like she was tasting something sour. "Why do we need a plan of action? Study, find out what's going on, get a way home. Isn't that it?"
Darcy shook her head. "Too vague. Something will go wrong. And once things get out of line, it's only a matter of time before everything starts unraveling right in our hands."
The brunette considered this, then leaned back and crossed her arms. "What do you have in mind, then?"
Darcy leaned forward, over the table, trying not to smirk. The intoxicating feeling of being in charge was already reverberating through her fingertips. I knew you'd see it my way. "First of all: rules."
She sighed but nodded. "Go on."
"Number one: no close relationships. We'll be leaving this shithole soon enough. If we get attached to anyone, it'll be difficult to get to what matters."
"Got it."
"Second of all: absolute focus. You don't feel like getting out of bed? Too bad; I'll leave for the library without you. Tired? Well, that sucks! I'll give you a few seconds to rest while I head back home!"
Tally looked decidedly uncomfortable at this prospect, but she gestured for her to go on.
"And lastly? Do whatever it takes. Lie, cheat, steal, betray, whatever. We're getting home. That's final."
The brunette gasped. "You can't be serious! That's ... that's just mean."
"No one got anywhere in this world by being nice."
"Princess Diana did!" Tally shot back.
"And look at her. She's dead."
Tally was quiet.
"Listen to me." She reached over and grabbed onto Tally's shoulders. The teen yelped and pushed back. Her chair scraped against the floor, and a few others gave the pair questioning looks. Tally waved nervously. They didn't wave back.
"What are you doing!" Darcy hissed under her breath.
"You scared- ... startled me! You startled me. Mind warning me next time?" She rubbed her shoulders as if they actually hurt. Darcy sneered.
"Don't be a fucking baby," she snapped, glaring at the people still staring so that they turned away at the blink of an eye. "Another rule. Don't attract attention to yourself. You act weird enough-"
"Hey!"
"- And do you have any idea what they'll do if they find out who we are? Where we're from? How we got here?"
Tally glared. "No, because I still have no idea how you got here! I told you; you have to tell me. You owe me."
There was a gate and this person and words and oh, God, blood, so much blood and the pain was red-hot, like fire and- "They'll take you away," she finally blurted. She leaned forward, looking right into Tally's brown hues with her green ones. "They'll take you away and take you to a stupid lab with men in white coats and they'll experiment on you and torture you and poke and prod you with needles. You'll be dead in a few days, granted they give you some sort of fucked up injection while they cut your limbs off, one by one..."
Despite how ridiculous this claim was, Tally paled. "Shut up..." she muttered. "Stop. You're freaking me out."
Darcy inhaled sharply and in sucked the crazy in her eyes. She sat back down in her chair, folding her hands in her lap, like nothing had gone on at all. "I don't owe you, Kingston. I'm smarter than you. You'd be gone without me. You owe me."
Tally stood up angrily. "Not true!" she said. "I'm not an idiot! Just because I don't spend my days reading math textbooks doesn't mean I'm retarded."
"Really, then? Can you do it?"
"Do what...?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Spend your days reading math textbooks?"
"..."
"This place is hard. People here, they're smart, smarter than you think. Their ... Their everything is different. Forget math textbooks! You'll have to look through college-level algebra books to find anything worth using." Okay, perhaps this was an exaggeration. But, hey, anything to get Tally to believe was fine by Darcy.
And it worked. She looked nervous, scared, almost. She bit down on her lower lip. "Okay, fine. So you can read textbooks. Big deal! I'm not an idiot."
Jesus, are we really back to this again? "Face it. You're smart in your own way." Her voice was mocking, like a sickly sweet teenage snob complimenting a naive loser. 'Am I pretty?' 'Oh, you have a great personality!' "But that way doesn't work here."
Tally was quiet.
"That's what I thought," Darcy said smugly. "Now, do you agree?"
"Agree to what?"
"The rules. All of them."
"They're all stupid..." she murmured, looking down at her fingernails. "Especially the one about betraying people. I ... I don't ... it's not necessary."
"Agree and to the books we'll go."
Tally glanced at the volumes behind her and shrugged. "Alright. But on the off-chance we do make friends..."
"We won't."
"You said yourself plans can go wrong!" Tally snapped. While Darcy silently mulled this over, she jumped in again: "On the off-chance we do make friends, I'm not abandoning them, okay? It's stupid. And cruel."
"Playing the hero card?" Darcy mused. "Interesting. Don't expect me to drag your ass home."
"Oh, trust me, I won't."
There was a minute of quiet, but it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was tense, filled with unanswered questions and claims, rules that were unfair, facts that didn't make sense, pieces of the puzzle that were too big and too small and everything in between. Soon, Tally stood up, obviously not able to handle it much longer. She walked and disappeared into a row of shelves with books, above which was a sign labeled 'Biology'.
Darcy looked after her and sighed; she felt like she was babysitting a child. Tally Kingston was immature, annoying, and labeled crazy by many of her friends, whom she wholeheartedly agreed with. Everything about her, from her obsession with French and arts subjects (yet her barely passing grades in other grades) to the way she didn't notice peoples' stares whenever she acted strange screamed 'insane'. It was social suicide!
But here, she had to admit that having someone like Tally around would keep her grounded. Because a part of her was tempted to lie in bed and do nothing all day, even after doctors had operated on her. Do nothing but wallow in self pity and sorrow because, hey, what did she have now? A crazy frenemy? An enemyship with two members of the state? A few books? Some bare earnings from a brief restaurant stint?
In other words, nothing.
Tally wouldn't let her. Tally would keep her sane (in the loosest definition of the word) and make sure she did what she had to do to get home. Tally would drag her out of bed every morning so they could study and search and look for the truth. For home. Because if Tally was here, a piece of home was here. And that was all the motivation she needed.
And, yeah, okay, maybe she was a teeny bit terrified of everything and having Tally around showed her that there was connection to home somewhere, somehow, and that kept her from jumping off the highest building she could find.
But she would die before admitting that.
"Coming?" Tally poked her head around a shelf, a book in hand. Darcy nodded and pushed all thoughts out of her mind as she followed the teen back into the ocean of literature.
If there was one thing Ed hated, it was being tricked.
After much thought and observation, - and some encouragement from Al and Beth - he had finally decided to try and act a tiny bit less brash towards Tally, despite the rough introduction that had occurred during their first meeting. Besides, she hadn't done much but retort (quite uncleverly, he might add) to any comment he may have made. And, yeah, sure, maybe he had been sort of horribly rude but, hey, nothing they couldn't put behind them, right?
Wrong.
Because now, she probably knew all about their secrets, thanks to the satanic redhead (Delilah? Dena? Daria?). The last thing he had expected was her to be there, albeit out of the wheelchair she had been propped in during her stay in Central. Even in the metal rolling chair that rendered her crippled, she had been a menace, snooping, insulting to the best of her abilities (which, even he had to admit, were pretty polished), and being generally terrible to everyone. When she had been rolling down the street in Central, he had caught her eyes, which sparkled evilly. She smirked. He glared.
And things went downhill from there.
Now, he realized that Tally was buddy-buddy with the very girl who had nearly gotten Al sent off to a lab. Which meant she was probably evil, too. And they were probably currently in the library discussing what terrors to wreak next!
He knew she couldn't be trusted!
"Brother?"
Ed looked up, startled out of his thoughts by his younger brother's voice. "Yeah?"
"Can you at least try being kinder to Tally? She didn't do anything wrong!"
Ed snorted. "Right! Al, she's with that ... that girl! The one with the bright hair!"
Al sighed. "Darcy. That's her name, I think."
Edward clenched his hands into fists. "I don't care about her name. She ... She just started talking openly about your suit of armor! In public!"
"But that's Darcy. Tally wouldn't do that."
"How would you know? You barely know her!"
Al squared his chin. "I know her well enough to say that, Brother. She doesn't even know about my armor. She thinks it's a costume."
Ed had to swallow than a burst of laughter. A costume? he thought. What kind of freaks does she think we are?
"Still. I don't trust her." He crossed his arms stubbornly.
Alphonse sighed. "Well, fine. You don't have to trust her, but try being a little nicer."
"No promises."
"This is useless!"
Tally tossed yet another book onto the floor, wringing her hands like a mad woman. She certainly felt like one right now.
She and Darcy had been here for hours, now, and no information so far had been of any use! There were more textbooks here on biology and medical sciences than anything else. And almost nothing decent on supernatural sciences. Tally was about two crappy books away from tearing her hair out in frustration.
"Stop whining," came the silvery voice from behind a shelf. Darcy poked her head around the rows of books to glare. "We won't get anywhere by whining."
"Easy for you to say," she muttered darkly. "You actually like this stuff."
Darcy disappeared behind the shelf, running her fingers along the volumes. "Correction: the only thing I like right now, Poodle, is the thought of getting home."
Tally dropped her arms to her side. "'Poodle'? Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Your hair."
Tally ran a finger along her curly dark locks and huffed. They were frizzier than usual today. "What about it?"
"You look like a poodle. Sort of an ugly one."
"Well, you're not Cinderella yourself," she shot back.
Darcy grinned. "Jealous?"
Tally took in her auburn waves. Yes. "You wish."
The redhead threw her head back and cackled. "Right. You are so jealous. Hey, why don't you just shave your head? Maybe then it won't classify as a deadly weapon." She leaned close, rubbing a strand of Tally's hair between her fingers.
The brunette pushed her away. "Fuck you."
"You wish," she mocked.
The past few hours had been anything but easy. Tally cursed herself for picking Darcy over the Elrics. At least Al was nice. Ed was tolerable. Darcy, on the other hand, was uncomfortable at best. Pain inducing - mentally - at worst. Paired with their failure of a search, pain inducing described her current state mildly.
"It's almost five," Tally pointed out after a few minutes of agonizing silence. "The Elrics'll be here soon to pick me up."
Darcy made a face. "Ditch 'em. You have me now."
Tally shook her head. "Can't. I'm not a bitch, remember?"
"Nope."
She narrowed her eyes. "No. I'm going with them."
Darcy was quiet for a moment, flipping through a particularly thick book. "They're freaks," she finally said. "They're both freaks."
Tally looked up from a chemistry textbook, from which she was trying to dissect the geek-speak from normal-speak. "Say what?"
The auburn-haired girl ignored this inquiry. Instead, she chose to sigh and stand up, picking a few books up off the ground as she did so. "We're going to Central."
Tally furrowed her eyebrows. "What? When did we decide this?"
"We didn't. I did."
"Thank you so much for asking for my opinion. I really appreciate it." Tally's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Central has the biggest library in all of Amestris," Darcy explained. Tally nearly missed the excited spark in her eyes. Nearly.
"So?"
"So we'll be bound to find information there. On all sorts of things. I wanna look into alchemy."
Tally stood up and began to put a few books back on the shelf. She gave Darcy a confused look. "Alchemy...? What's that?" It sounded like a type or cooking spray or something. Foreign. With chemicals.
"Honestly? It's confusing. A science and magic and physics are mixed into one." Darcy stuffed a thin volume between its siblings. "There are certain rules and laws that apply to it. But you can do almost anything."
Tally snorted. "Yeah, right! That sounds ridiculous."
The words were barely out of her mouth when something was shoved in her hands. This something had pages and pages and pages. It was labeled 'Advanced Alchemic Theories Throughout History'. Tally blinked at it.
"Page eighteen, paragraph three." The redhead examined her nails like, no, this wasn't weird at all.
"How do you-"
"I knew you were gonna want proof of alchemy. I did, too." She snapped her fingers urgently. "Go to the page."
Tally narrowed her eyes. "You don't have to snap your fingers at me! What am I? A puppy?"
"A poodle, to be exact. Now flip."
Tally did flip. She flipped her off.
Darcy sighed. "Okay, fine, fine. Sorry, Pood- Kingston."
Tally sighed, but obeyed, knowing this was the closest she'd get to a proper name. She opened the book, flipping through the pages with clumsy fingers until she reached her destination. She lifted the book closer to her face and read aloud:
"Introduction to alchemy: alchemy is a scientific study and demonstration of manipulating molecular makeup. Its primary mission is to break down and reconstruct anything from the most simple elements to those of complex structure. Three stages are thought of in alchemy. The first is to study and take in the chemical composition of the object and understand everything, down to even the lesser components. The second is to begin the process of breaking it down, into individual- Okay. This is just weird. What does this all mean?"
Darcy gave a sigh. "Here. I'll put it into stupid terms for you. You draw a pattern - known as a transmutation circle - and clap and slam your hands down on it. A pretty little light shines and boom! What you just transmuted turns into something new."
Tally stared at her for a few moments before bursting into laughter. "Y-You're joking!" she giggled. "That's hilarious. Pretty little light? Turns into something new? And I'm a cat!"
Darcy clenched her hands into fists, glaring. "I'm not bullshitting you. It's real."
"Right. Have you ever done this little mystical alchemy before?" she teased.
"I've gotten close. I keep messing up the formula ... o-or something..." Her previous attempts should have been perfect! She had done all she was supposed to - drawn the circles to perfection, though it took her hours. She had gotten the correct materials, and had the exact image of what she wanted in her mind. The composition had been correct down to the last grams. Yet, when she had pressed her palms down ... nothing. Not a single spark. Those materials lay there, mocking her. You can't do it! You can't do it! She had scowled and tried again. And again. And again. And again.
Nothing.
"Well, then you can't prove it to me!" Tally continued smugly.
"I can, too!" she snapped.
"Can not!" Tally sing-songed.
"Can too!"
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
"Prove it." She grinned mischeviously. "Do it."
Darcy uncurled her fists and blinked. "What? Now?"
"Right here. You claim to be the Almighty Alchemy-Person-"
"Alchemist," the other girl sigh-corrected.
"Whatever. So prove it. Right now."
"Fine!" she hissed. "I will!"
She snatched the book from Tally's unexpecting hands. The brunette stared as she flipped through the pages angrily, obviously not expecting those actions to occur at such a speed. Nonetheless, Darcy was soon at her desired page, for she was examining it with critically narrowed eyes.
I'll show her! she prayed.
"I need materials," she said.
Tally cocked her head to the side. "What kind?"
"Anything. Preferably wood." Wood was easy. Simple. Easy to carve and manipulate its fibers to her desires.
The girl nodded and looked around. Her eyes landed on a tiny wooden figurine decoration that lay on the table. She eagerly snatched it up and handed it to her. "Here. This'll do, right?"
Darcy observed it closely. Me? Stalling? No, of course not! "Yup," she finally said. It was mahogany-colored, shaped like a little sphere. Good, she thought. Easy and simple.
She set it on top of the circle. Then, she took deep, slightly shaky breath. She closed her eyes, remembering her books and instructions. Calm and clear the mind as much as possible. Remember only your task at hand. Press your hands to the circle, exact compositional breakdown in mind and-
Without warning, she slammed her hands down onto the circle...
... and ...
...
...
...
Nothing.
Tally clicked her tongue apprehensively. "Wow. Great job. No joke. It's absolutely amazing. Really. I'm astounded." She held one hand to her heart and used the other to brush a faux-tear away, all the while smirking.
"I ... my formula wasn't right."
"Yeah! Maybe! Or ... maybe you just suck at alchemy."
Darcy did all she could to ignore this, staring intently at the book. Then she snapped up, pretending to have had an epiphany. "Wait! The circle is incorrect!" she lied. "My formula was flawless."
Tally snorted. "Liar. This book was written by some really smart person! He wouldn't have gotten the design wrong."
"I'm telling you, it's-"
"The circle's fine."
Both girls looked up from their argument to see who had dared to intrude upon them. And there, lo and behold, stood a blonde. A short blonde with long hair and bright red coat. Beside this blonde was a suit of armor.
The Elric brothers.
Darcy stood up angrily. Out of all the people to show up, it had to be the two most famous alchemists in all of Amestris. Not to mention, the most infuriating boys (that sort of hated her guts) in all of the world. And, to make things a tad bit worse, they were sort-of-friends with her frenemy. "What the hell are you two doing here?"
Al pointed to the library clock. "It's five," he answered and Darcy's stomach sank. Shit.
Ed, however, made no move to signal any sort of interest in the time, and what came with five o'clock. Instead, he took a seat beside Tally, and pulled the book with the transmutation circle close to him. Tally edged away, but gazed at it with mild curiosity.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Ed drawled in a way that made Darcy very quite sure he had meant to overhear all along, "and I just wanted to say that there's nothing wrong with the circle."
Darcy scowled. "Well, woo hoo. What an honor to hear this. Now that you're done, why don't you just go along on your merry business?"
Edward glared at her, but grabbed the little figurine on the circle and straightened it. Darcy huffed and pretended she wasn't hanging on his every movement, following his hands as they fiddled together. Then, without warning, he slammed his palms down on the circle...
And it glowed.
It glowed in a very out-of-this-world way, and Darcy gawked at the blue-white light that shone brightly. Even a few others in the library looked at it with awe. Tally squeaked and fell out of her chair.
Once the light died down, Darcy's eyes widened. Right where the little sphere-shaped figurine had rested moments ago was now a tiny dog shaped statue. Same material, same color, same size, different shape. Different.
He had done what she had failed to.
Darcy was busy fuming when Tally scrambled back up, looking at the little dog with awe. She reached out a cautious finger and poked it lightly. When it fell over, she gasped. "I-It's real!"
"It's alchemy," Alphonse explained. "You simply shift the composition and the shape and it changes form."
"So ... so alchemy really does exist," Tally breathed.
"Told you!" Darcy shot in. "I told you alchemy existed!"
Tally turned red. "Well, that was different! You couldn't do it. You had no proof."
It was Darcy's turn to pinken, although it was more from anger than embarassment. "I ... right. These guys have had tons of practice. I haven't."
"Actually," Ed put in smugly. "We got our first transmutation right on our first try."
"Brother!" Al elbowed his older brother and gave him a look. "Don't gloat!"
"Well, it's true, Al!"
At this point, Darcy was considering different methods of torture suitable for the Elrics (cut their fingers off, first? Or toes?). If she was back in her own world, no one would dare humiliate her like this! Hell, hallway crowds parted like the Red Sea when she crossed. One look at her and they knew: don't mess with this girl.
Apparently, things were different around here. And Darcy didn't like it one bit. Not one bit.
She grabbed Tally's wrist, pulling her in the opposite direction. "Come on, Kingston. We've got work to do."
Tally twisted free of her grasp. "Cut that out, will you? And no, I can't come. Beth says I've got to stay with the Elrics."
"Beth? Who the hell is Beth?"
"This woman. She took care of me since I was here. I would have died without her. Or gotten kidnapped. Whichever came first..."
"So? You can break a few rules, no problem."
"I can't."
"You promised, remember? You promised you wouldn't get close to people."
There was a bit of silence in which Darcy was sure she had won. But then Tally looked up and squared her chin. "Number one: Beth isn't 'people'. She's Beth. Number two: Listen. She's done a lot for me. This is the least I can do in return. She'd be real disappointed if I disobeyed."
This statement did nothing but agitate Darcy even more. She gripped her hips and scowled. Because, well, sure, maybe they were in a different world. Maybe they were part of a different society. Maybe they were among a different hierarchy. But still. She was Darcy Robertson, for fuck's sake! People loved her. Girls envied her. Boys wanted her. Her parents showed her off. Others obeyed her.
So who the fuck did Tally Kingston think she was?
She pursed her lips, then. "Fine. We'll listen to the Elrics. But then we're going to Central. Okay?"
Tally nodded. "Sounds like a deal. But, uh, your outfit..."
Darcy looked down at her body, still encased in the hideous hospital gown. Tally had managed to switch clothes before their library trip. "Oh, yeah. I'll have to change. Go talk to the brothers and I'll go find something semi-decent to wear."
And before Tally could answer, she turned on her heel and walked off, trying to seem like she didn't care, one way or another, what Tally thought of her command.
Because she was Darcy Robertson. And people obeyed her, no matter what.
When Tally got back to the Elrics, she was expecting anger. Rage, yelling, making a scene. General negativity. Anything of such a nature, really. Instead, she was greeted with suspicion. She wanted to protest the claim she had been stuck with, but a quick recount of her story immediately blanched that attempt: a teenager an odd one, no less, with a strange case of amnesia. Taken to a hospital, upon direct order of a blonde hippie. And friends with an enemy of her escorts/bodyguards/babysitters/nuisances. Yes, the truth was blatant. Tally Kingston was suspicious.
But that didn't mean she had to like it.
"You know her?" Ed demanded, the second she got back.
Tally frowned at his rudeness - he could have at least let her say hello! - before answering. "Yeah. Sort of."
"Where did you guys meet?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously, and the girl found herself staring. They were the oddest hue she had ever seen. Gold. Like honey. She had never seen such a color before. Brown, hazel, blue, green, gray. An occasional purple or unusually bright color, perhaps. That was the norm. But gold? That was just weird.
She shook these thoughts from her head before managing to think up an excuse, for the truth to his inquiry was a lie. She had met Darcy in Winevra, at school. But Winevra didn't exist here (she shoved that stomach-wrenching thought away quickly). She needed an excuse.
"Erm, well..." Sweat tickled at the back of her neck. "We met for a bit before I got to Beth's place, see. And, uh, we both have ... issues. Medical issues. And stuff. So we kind of bonded over that."
Ed looked even more confused. Luckily, Al cut him off before any more inquiries could be made. "How did your hospital visit go?"
Tally instantly relaxed. "It was okay. The usual checkup. Darcy just went off and promised she'd pick up my results and-" She noticed the dark look that passed the older brother's face. "What's wrong?"
Edward blinked, like was snapping out of some deep thought. "Huh?"
"That face you were making. It looks like you just ate bad sushi or something. You must really hate her."
"I just ... we haven't exactly had the best history..."
"What happened?"
Silence. She bit her lip and turned to the younger brother, eyes wide for an explanation.
"We just got off on the wrong foot," he offered cryptically.
Both seemed very suspicious (she wanted to laugh at the irony of it); there was obviously more to the story then they were letting on, and she sighed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes before crossing her arms. "You guys are way too secretive."
The brothers exchanged glances.
"But..." At this, she raised a finger, pointing it fiercely at the two. "Mark my words! The Elric brother mystery will not go unveiled! I'll find out one day!" She grinned with determination.
"Don't count on it."
The three turned in the direction of the snarky voice. And there stood Darcy Robertson, in a fresh blouse and pants, a haughty look on her face. In her arms were two folders - which Tally presumed to be her results. The brunette could vaguely hear a sarcastic, "Great..." mumbled from a certain Elric. Another Elric, this one being more kind and tolerable, nudged him with a, "Be nice, Brother."
Darcy gave said Elrics an innocent smile before turning to Tally, holding up two train tickets. "Come on, Poodle. We've got a train to catch."
Darcy Robertson was a very scientific girl. All her beliefs were based on fact and truth. She didn't dare shed any possibility in the theory of fate. It was completely stupid, the idea that some things were just laid out to happen, with no aid needed by humankind. Ridiculous.
Of course, there were moments that just seemed too coincidental, too how the fuck did this happen and what are the chances?
Such as this current moment.
"Where are you two heading?" Al asked.
Darcy snapped, "None of your-"
Tally kicked her lightly. "Central City. The library."
And then It happened.
"Brother, isn't that where we're heading?"
Ed's eyes widened. "What? Central? The Central?"
"There're two Centrals?" Tally wondered out loud.
The three glanced at her confusedly for a few seconds before turning back to their conversation.
"Yes, we're heading to the Central," Darcy said with a roll of her eyes. "Where else?"
There was a bout of awkward silence, before Edward spoke up, grimly. "Well, as fate would have it, that's where we're heading."
The redhead's stomach clenched. "What?" she screeched.
"I know you heard me," he replied. "Central city."
"But ... you can't!"
"Actually, we can! And we are!"
"But ... But..."
Tally spoke up. "Hey, can we all just skip the arguing and just go?"
Alphonse nodded. "She's right; fighting won't change a thing."
"And besides, I'm hungry," the brunette added.
Darcy blinked. What was Tally doing? Making friends? With the enemy? The nerve of her! She glared at the girl, who simply rolled her eyes in return and mouthed, Get over it.
And then something else hit her.
What was she doing?
Acting like a child. Whining. Pouting. Complaining. Doing all the things she sneered at back at home, the habits she used to be glad she dropped.
And if her friend was acting more mature than she was, something was definitely wrong. Very wrong.
So she bit her tongue, squared her shoulders and pasted a smile on. "Fine, then. Shall we go?"
Tally gave her a curious look, but kept her mouth shut, for which she was grateful. "Not yet," she said. "I need to call Beth first, and let her know." She turned to the Elrics. "I'll only be a few minutes."
Ed frowned. "Hurry."
She nodded. "I'll be right back!" And she ran out of the library, hopping over dropped books and dodging people along the way, leaving Darcy alone with the Elric Brothers.
Darcy turned to said brothers with a mischievous smirk. "So, I suppose we're all stuck together, eh, Shrimp Boy?"
"WHY YOU-!"
There was a payphone right outside the hospital, and it looked relatively easy to use, for which Tally was grateful. She wasn't accustomed, at all, to the old-fashioned telephones that littered this strange place, so some familiar technology was like a glimpse of home. As she walked over, she made a split second, stomach-clenching decision.
A decision that The Voice was currently mocking.
You're going to tell Beth the truth? The whole truth, this time?
Yes! I have to! she thought. I'm going to die if I don't, keeping it a secret from everyone!
Save for the ginger.
She doesn't count as human. Anyway, I have this weird feeling. That Beth may help me find some answers.
Ha! The Voice chided. Yeah, right! Your feelings always lead to trouble!
But I have to take this chance!
No, you don't. Are you an idiot? Beth will know how psycho you are and send you to some crazy hospital!
Tally stopped walking, though her heartbeat broke into a run. Sh-She wouldn't do that!
Oh, yes, she would. No one wants a mental friend.
She wouldn't! I know she wouldn't!
Oh, so now you know her completely, after living with her for one week? Please. You're just as crazy as she'll give you merit for once she hears your story.
"Shut up," she muttered to herself, resuming her walking. "Shut up, shut up, shut up."
When she finally reached/bumped into the payphone, the voice had slithered away, much to her relief. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few cens (the odd currency which Amestris used) along with a small piece of paper on which Beth had scrawled her digits in uncharacteristically messy writing. She dialed quickly and waited.
"Hello?"
At Beth's voice - as serene as ever -, her nerves calmed down and she stood up straighter. "H-Hi. It's me."
She could practically hear the smile in her voice. "Oh! Tally. I was waiting for your call."
"Oh," said Tally, not quite knowing what else to say to this. "That was nice of you. Thanks." She cleared her throat and shifted her feet.
Luckily, she was saved from awkward silence. "How did your appointment go?"
"Good. Well, I think it did. I have the results, see, but I haven't looked through them yet."
"Ah. Well, I suggest looking through them as soon as possible. If you have any issues, then it's best to get them sorted out with the doctor before you come back to Kriasin, right?"
It was time to drop the bomb. Tally swallowed hard and shut her eyes. "A-Actually ... I'm not coming back." She waited for the explosion.
There was a few seconds of surprised silence before, "Why not?" Beth's voice was tinged with curiosity, not outrage, so Tally let herself breathe.
"Well..." She took a deep breath. "ImetafriendtodayandI-"
"Slow down," the blonde on the other end laughed. "Don't be nervous. I won't bite."
"O-Okay. I ... I met a friend today."
"Did you?"
"Yeah. Her name's Darcy and ... she likes studying."
Smooth.
Shut up.
"Wow. That's great. Studying will take one far, no matter what the field may be."
"Yeah. I know. So, she invited me to travel with her and stuff. Like ... study."
You've been hit by a smooth criminal!
Shut up.
"Ah. And you wish to go?"
"Yes. I do." She paused, then rushed on, "I really hope you're not offended, because it isn't personal, and I really, really didn't want to tell you like this but I thought another train ride back to Kriasin would be expensive and inconvenient and-"
"Tally, I'm not mad."
"-and no one likes inconvenience, unless you're, like, a total freak, Which I totally don't think you are and- wait. You're okay with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm not your boss, sweetie. Nor am I your mother." She sounded amused.
Yes, but you're the closest thing I've had to one. "Oh. True. But ... I just thought..."
"I'm glad you're beginning to make a life for yourself here. Amnesia can be traumatizing. And you're getting over it, which is fantastic."
"Y-Yeah..."
"You go on ahead with your friend," Beth said kindly. "I'm fine here, you know."
"Okay." She didn't know what to think. She was too relieved to feel anything but glad. Then, another thought struck her. "Oh! Beth, I have something else to tell you."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Er. Okay. Uh..."
How could she put this?
I'm from a different world.
I'm not from this dimension.
I don't have amnesia; that was a lie because I don't want to go to a mental hospital!
I'm a dirty liar.
"Er ... I don't want you freaking out on me, okay?"
"Tally? What is it?"
"And it's not a big deal, but you have to promise not to tell and not to freak out."
"I promise."
"Okay. I ... I..."
Suddenly, a smooth, technical voice cut into their conversation. "Please insert ten more cens to continue this conversation."
Tally reached into her pocket and came up with ... nine. Nine cens.
"Shit!" she hissed, stuffing them into the slot quickly and hoping for the best.
The voice popped up again: "One more cen, please."
"I don't have one more, you bitch!" she spat. A few passing pedestrians gave her odd looks.
"This call is now ending," the Troll-Voice continued. "Thank you for using Grodowne Telephone Lines. We look forward to seeing you next time!"
"What? No!" she cried out. "I need to talk to Beth! Beth! Wait! Don't go! I love you! I'm an alien! Fuck this!" With a final growl, she slammed the phone down on the receiver and stomped out of the payphone.
You've been hit by a-
I AM NOT IN THE MOOD!
*hides from thrown fries, pans, and purses* i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry!
okay. yes. this update is late. *dodges more thrown objects* okay, okay, very late! i get it! i'm sorry! a lot of shit has happened and thus, this lateness has been born. eheheh... *scratches back of neck nervously*
okay! fine! i admit it! writer's block has struck me! Dx
and it's downright awful. sitting down and looking at the paper and trying to write but everything turning out crappy. :( worst. experience. ever! that, paired with my art, dance, school, homework, and social life has equaled to a very busy Lia. and a busy Lia is a non-updating Lia.
though i'm sure most of you are pissed at all kinds of Lias right now.
however, this chapter is over six thousand words long! that's good, right? right? right?
...
erm.
well.
it seems as if Lia is going crazy. lucky for you, i have a friend named Ana - who Darcy is based of off, which should give you a clear perspective on her - who forced me to write this. and i also discovered some cool music! the inspiring kind! that killed my writer's block, and gave me enough time to finish it before it could retaliate! *shifts eyes, clutches spork menacingly* but i'm still on my guard. we never know when it can strike...
:D
now! it's time to reply to the beauties that reviewed this little story of mine (i'm gonna let it shine!).
Moka-girl: yup! an update, that was! ^_^
you're leaving the country? :O woah! that sounds fun. but...
NO INTERNET? FOR TWO WEEKS?
dude. *tips hat* kudos to you for surviving.
Rokuchuchu: it is, isn't it? :D reading long chapters = awesomesauce.
Naruto fandom? wow. i'm not that into Naruto, but you guys are lucky to be able to read long ficcies. :3
eheheh ... update before you forget, right ... erm ... hopefully, this is good enough. ^_^
SweetSirendipity: i'm real glad to hear you like the chapters! i try my best, hehe. and although my best may not be the best, it's still not bad, no?
*sigh* yup. she probably should have gone with the Elric brothers. but Tally just craved understanding. Darcy, as annoying as she is, offered her that. so there's her decision.
hmm ... perhaps Darcy does know. i suppose we'll just have to see, won't we? ;)
faded colors: nooo! spare the baby seals! they're so ... so ... BEAUTIFUL.my cries!
aww. :) thank you for all the sweet words, m'dear. ^^ they kind of made my day, to be honest. :D
hmm. she is the anti-Tally, isn't she? that's a cool way of looking at it. and, yup, she is pretty important, to be honest. who doesn't love the main character being stuck with her enemy?
yup, Tally snapping and causing harm/murder to Darcy would not be ... convenient. hehe. fun, perhaps, but not helpful to her goal. so they're pretty much stuck together. :P
however, if hurting Darcy would spare the baby seal ... *holds out Darcy with a grin* she's all yours.
*sighs* fiiine. *takes Darcy back with a pout* you're no fun.
the only ones that fall into odd worlds and think, 'TIME FOR A LOVE STORY!' are ... MARY SUES. and no one likes those. no one. no oooonee.
here's the next chapter! ^_^ i hope you enjoy!
NinjaCatNyan: hello, Melting Snow! :P *eyebrow waggle* how do you fare?
Rarity scoff? four for you, Glen Coco! four for you! :D
yeah, i probably did put her in too fast. *shrugs* but that was the way i imagined it, so...
my brain has its reasons.
we have the same death theories? *gasps* oh my god! i've found another weirdo! see, Ana? i told you i wasn't the only one! *smug look*
Ana: keep telling yourself that.
shut up!
TheBonesOfMe: oooh! it's my sexy twinster! :D hello, darling. :3
pfft. my updates are always sextactical! mwahahaha!
the first two: yupyup!
and then...
ROY, IF YOU CORRUPT MY BABY SISTER I WILL CUT OFF YOUR BALLS AND MAKE THEM INTO HATS.
juniperlei: well, you'll just have to read on, won't you? ;) not giving away spoilers! *evil grin*
TheWaffleAlchemist: yupyup! she is pretty crucial, you'll see.
interesting, mean and cruel are all good words to describe her, though. ;) *hands you lollipop*
*sighs and pats Tally on shoulder* hehe. yup! Al and Beth have decided to spare her from their clutches. Ed and Darcy, on the other hands ... not so much.
and there you have it, folks! those awesomesauce mcsexy sexy pants that reviewed! ;) if you would like to be viewed in such high level in my mind, then review, my lovelies, review! :D
thank you to all those that read, review, skim through, alert, favorite, or even think, this looks cool.
seriously, though. the words of readers can carry a writer on wings. and i'm soaring high.
:D
good god, that was cheesy as fuck, wasn't it? *sighs* sorry about that.
well, that's all for now, docs! buh-bye! *disappears in a poof of rainbow-colored smoke*
