Chapter Six - Concerning Chapter Seven – Concerning Protection, Rainbows, and a Detour
"And where do you think you're going?" a stern voice demanded as we crept down the stairs. I felt the blood drain out of my face, and could almost feel it drain from Ed's and Al's faces as well, even though Al didn't have any blood to physically drain from his face. The feeling was the same between all three of us as we slowly turned around and looked at Izumi.
"Um, the train station?" Ed tried nervously, and Izumi's frown deepened.
"Without saying goodbye?" she said in a voice that booked no arguments, and I could see Ed wince from his position standing beside me.
"We didn't want to wake you," Al jumped in quickly, and Izumi turned to look at him instead, much to the very visible relief of Ed. She considered Al for a moment, then turned to me instead. I felt like I wanted nothing more than to sink into a puddle on the floor.
"And why are you going with them, Rebecca?" she asked me seriously, and I fumbled around for an answer. If I said that I was going because Ed had arrested me, Ed would probably get thrown over a building, or worse, but if I said that I was going just because I wanted to, I might get thrown over a building, or worse.
"It's my fault," Ed suddenly said before I had a chance to think up a proper excuse. "I convinced Ray to come with us since we're going to be near her home. I think she should make up with her parents, so she's going to come with us."
Izumi then looked at me expectantly, so I just shrugged and nodded in agreement to Ed's story. Izumi narrowed her eyes slightly as if she wasn't quite sure whether to believe me or not, but she didn't contradict the story, so it seemed as if we were safe from being thrown over building. At least, we were safe for today.
"Ray?" I said, looking over at Ed curiously, realizing that he had used that name to refer to me.
"I give nicknames to all my friends," Ed said, looking over at me, and I could see the threatening tone that touched his eyes and not his voice. "Rebecca… Ray. Get used to it, you can't control nicknames." I snorted and nodded, remembering how I had once told one of my friends the same thing years ago.
Besides, I wasn't truly Ed's "friend," no matter how much I wanted to be. Once we left Izumi's he would drop the act, I knew. Once we were away and he wasn't scared of getting thrown over a building, I knew he would go back to calling me Rebecca in that same cold way that made the hairs on my arm stand on end.
I really wished I hadn't said what I had about Al earlier. I hated that I had just let my mouth run away with me, and now Ed seemed to hate me for it, while Al was barely even speaking to me. I had always imagined being great friends with Ed and Al if I had ever somehow managed to end up in their world, not be considered as an enemy. It was completely maddening.
"Don't forget your bike, Rebecca," Izumi said, suddenly jerking me out of my brooding thoughts. "It's out back." I nodded glumly and hefted my backpack over my shoulder more securely before walking through the house to where I knew the door leading to the small backyard was.
I found my bike resting against the wall carefully, and guessed that Izumi must have taken it back there in order to keep it safe for me, since I had left it outside the front door last I could remember.
I slowly wheeled my bike away from the wall and around the house until I was in front of the main door. I leaned my bike on its stand with a sigh, and then went in through the front door so I was in the shop part of the house.
"I don't appreciate this, Edward," I could hear Izumi say sternly. It still surprised me how loud her voice could become when she wasn't pleased with a set of circumstances.
"Don't appreciate what?" I heard Ed reply as innocently as he could manage, but I could also hear in his voice how he was scared of what Izumi's next move was going to be.
"I know why Rebecca is going with you, Edward. You can't fool me," Izumi said icily, and was greeted with absolute silence from both the brothers. "And I don't appreciate it one bit. Rebecca may know more than most people, but she is not evil."
"And how do you know that?" I could hear Ed huff in reply.
"The same way a mother knows her child didn't commit a crime they are accused of," Izumi said, and I frowned. She was treating me as if I were her daughter? But I knew I wasn't like the Elrics, and I had made it clear to everyone that I had a family waiting for me somewhere. Why treat me like a daughter if she knew I would just end up leaving her for my own family?
"Oh, so she's your kid now?" Ed snapped with a touch of venom in his voice. "Well, sorry, Teacher, I didn't know you just took us in because you're running a damn adoption house. I sure hope we didn't get in your way, so we'll just leave now. Don't worry about telling us when the next batch of kids comes in, we certainly wouldn't want to end up competing for affection."
"Brother—" Al started hesitantly, but was cut off by a loud, resounding smack.
"It's not like that Edward, and you know it," Izumi reprimanded sternly, and I winced at the tone even though it wasn't directed at me. "Part of why I took you on as students was because there was something about both of you that reminded me of myself when I was younger. You should get to know Rebecca more before you decide to be enemies with her, considering that something about her reminds me of myself, and therefore also of you, Edward. Except she has a vagina so she's even more like myself and less like you."
I snickered softly and blushed at the same time, thinking of how Izumi was right in one thing, women seemed to have an invisible bond with one another, just because we all shared a common curse. We could easily sympathize with another woman going through her time of the month, while men could never truly understand.
I then sighed and frowned, realizing that I had been compared to the famous Edward Elric yet again. What was with these people? How could they see similarities between me and him? Ed was strong, brave, resilient, all sorts of things that I wasn't. I could barely run the mile at school while I figured that he would have no problem doing it. He could easily keep his head and fight against anyone who challenged him, while I blanched at the very thought. He could pick himself up after a horrible event and keep going forward, while I had refused to touch m bike for weeks after falling off it once. I was certainly no Edward Elric, not even a teeny tiny bit.
You don't cry very much. Neither does he.
I wrinkled my forehead as the small thought entered my head, as if a friend were whispering it in my ear. It was true, I didn't cry very often. I used to cry often, even when my mom was late for picking me up, but I had hated being made fun of for being weak, and so I had taught myself not to cry. But just a shared dislike for being weak and a lack of tears couldn't make me like Ed, could it?
You're stubborn too, just like him.
I rubbed at my forehead as the little voice in my head continued. The second statement was also true, and I knew it. When my parents had first been married, they'd had an argument over who was more stubborn; first one to give in loses. I had inherited the same stubborn streak that they both had, but even if that were combined with me hating being called weak, I still couldn't be comparable to the Fullmetal Alchemist. He was amazing, especially when he was a real person and not just a character, while I was just… ordinary. I couldn't compare to him.
Could I? Everyone else sure seemed to think so.
"Rebecca?" a soft voice asked, jerking me out of my thoughts. I turned and saw Al standing at the doorway, no emotion showing on his face just like any other time. "Are you ready to go?"
I nodded mutely as Ed appeared in the doorway beside Al with a red mark on his cheek. I then realized that the smack I had heard must have been Izumi slapping Ed across the cheek. Ed scowled and reached up to rub at the sore spot before looking at me angrily.
"Come on, let's get out of here before the train leaves without us," he muttered before stalking out the door. Al and I glanced at one another before turning and hurrying after Ed.
I sighed and shifted adjusted my grip on my bike as we walked down the path in complete silence. Al had offered to carry my suitcase for me since it was a bit difficult to manage with my bike, and I had been grateful for the offer. I then turned and looked back at the house to see Izumi standing at the front door, watching us leave. I smiled and waved goodbye to her, half hoping I could stay, and half relived I was going before she had a chance to really cover my body in bruises.
"Hey, Ed," I said quietly, nudging his shoulder. "Your teacher is waving goodbye to you. Why don't you wave back?" Ed sighed and rolled his eyes in response before sticking his hand up in the air and waving without looking back. I sighed and turned a second time with Al copying my movement and we both waved goodbye to Izumi. I felt it was a fitting way to move on from one part of my adventure and on to the next. I was travelling with the Elric brothers now, the very same I had ogled over in my manga and in the television series.
"You're really going to have to learn to blend in," Ed said, interrupting my thoughts suddenly. I turned to look at him, but he just continued to stare straight ahead at the road, clutching his suitcase in his right hand.
"Oh really?" I managed to say, though my throat felt as if it had been coated in sandpaper. I coughed in an attempt to clear it, though it didn't do me much good. "Why? And how are you going to make me 'blend in'?" Ed turned to look at me, and I almost wished he would go back to staring straight ahead instead.
"Why?" he said with a bark of a laugh. "Why? Because you stick out like a cow in a herd of sheep, that's why." I bit my lip and slouched my shoulders in shame as I stared down at my feet. I hadn't known I was so different from everyone else in Amestris, and really, all things considered, I thought I had managed to blend in somewhat decently, not like "a cow in a herd of sheep."
"As for the 'how,' I'm not as sure," Ed muttered, his tone turning serious again as he looked back to the road. "I suppose that the first matter of business would be to teach you some basic Amestrian so that you don't go around speaking in ILT all the time…"
My heart leapt at the thought, but I tried my best not to show it. I wanted to try and prove myself to Ed and act as cool as I could possibly manage. However, the thought of learning his and Al's language still excited me, even though I had a terrible time with grammar in German. Judging by what I had heard of Amestrian, it certainly had some ties to German, which made sense since the Fullmetal Alchemist movie had taken place in Germany.
But that didn't line up well either. I had already decided I was in the manga plotline, so this world couldn't follow the rules of movie or the anime, would it?
But then again, ILT or Amestrian had never been mentioned in the anime, manga, or movie. Not even any fansites or fanfiction I had looked at in my obsession. Could it be possible that the world I was in didn't follow the actual laws or the anime or manga, but was instead the real, actual world that FMA had been based off of? But how could Hiromu Arakawa know the story of this world if she had never been to it? How did she know the history of a boy named Edward Elric when he had never lived in our time? Then again, how could I be walking down the road beside the very same boy?
"Maybe we'll have to find a way to disguise you as well," Ed says, looking back towards me. "We can't really make you shorter," he said with a scowl. "but you could wear the flattest shoes we can find, and maybe see if there's some clothes that create the illusion of you being shorter than you are. And don't stand too close to me either. People already know… my size. If they go comparing me to you, then any illusion we create will be lost."
"Okay," I agree, barely managing to hold back a laugh. It might make me look taller than I was supposed to be, but it could also make Ed look shorter than he was supposed to be. Of course he wouldn't want that to happen. "I'm not that tall though, am I?"
Ed turned and gave me a look that needed no words to be said with it.
"Well, I mean, I'm only a head or so taller than you," I said slowly, comparing myself with him. "That's not too much—"
"Only half a head, and you're a freakishly tall foreigner!" Ed protested quickly, and I had a hard time holding back my laughter. I glanced over to Al to see how he was doing, but his face was the same blank mask as ever, and he just continued to walk on in silence.
Ed then sighed and relaxed his posture before saying thoughtfully, "It's going to take a lot of work to make you able to blend in…"
"Why?" I asked, frowning. If Ed acted as he felt and really didn't enjoy my company, then why would he put so much time and effort into keeping me safe? I was just the sudden teenage girl that showed up who was far too tall and had a big mouth to match her big size.
"Because you stick out like a dislocated knee, I thought I said that already," Ed frowned simply. I snickered slightly at the thought of me sticking out like a dislocated knee. "It's going to take a lot of work to make you look like you're from Amestris when you're so obviously… not."
"No, not like that," I said with a shake to my head, and Ed cocked his head as he looked at me. "I mean, why would you put in all this effort to help me when I'm just some arrested suspect you picked up? Why would you care what happens to me?" At this question Ed seemed to falter, and he frowned even more heavily before looking back to the road once again.
"Because…" He stopped and sighed heavily. "Because I know that you know something about Al and me, and I don't want you to be taken away to some military jail cell or something before I have a chance to question you properly."
"Oh." I nodded silently and kept walking, wondering to myself what kind of answer I had been hoping for.
"And because," Ed started slowly, and I looked at him curiously, wondering what else he would possibly say. Ed just sighed and ran his left hand through his bangs. "Because…" he started again hesitantly. He then muttered under his breath and continued in Amestrian, "Am taiesh san Rebecca no gah meiketo." He glanced back at me with an unreadable expression before huffing and storming ahead.
"What?" I said in bewilderment as I stared after him. I then turned to Al, hoping for answers. "What did he say? Tell me what he said, please!" I said breathlessly. I still wasn't sure what I was hoping for, surely Ed hadn't confessed of his love for me in a sentence of Amestrian.
"I don't know if—" Al started, and I grabbed his arm, hoping I could somehow convince him to tell me what Ed had said.
"Please, if I was anyone else in this country I would have just known what he was saying," I said, hoping that would be enough to get Al to translate.
"If you were anyone else in the country, you probably wouldn't be coming with us in the first place, and even if you were, then Brother wouldn't have said it at all," Al countered.
"Exactly," I said quickly. "He shouldn't have said it if he didn't want me to know at all. He knows you could translate for me if you wanted to. He shouldn't be able to just say whatever he wants because I don't speak your language."
"Fine," Al said hesitantly. "You have a point, and I don't think you're going to give up easily. Teacher was right, you are similar to Brother." I frowned and opened my mouth to protest, but was cut off by Al. "What he said was along the lines of 'You're the type of girl that needs protecting, Rebecca.'"
"What? I do no—" I started to protest, but then suddenly realized that in this world, I had been acting like the typical scared damsel in distress. I clenched my jaw, upset at the thought. I didn't want to be that type of girl, and I was not going to act like that anymore. I didn't want my classmates to see me as weak, I certainly didn't want Edward and Alphonse Elric to see me that way either.
"Thank you for telling me," I said to Al, and then continued down the path with a more determined step. I was going to be braver if it was the last thing I did. And hanging around Ed, it very well could be. The thought nearly made me drop my attitude—and my bike, for that matter—and run screaming back to Izumi.
It didn't occur to me until long after that what Ed had muttered in Amestrain was actually a sweet thing to say, not an insult.
I sat silently on the train staring out the window with an arm wrapped around my stomach. When I had imagined falling into Ed and Al's world, I hadn't imagined them being so suspicious of me, and I certainly hadn't imagined periods thrown in the mix. It was enough to make any sane person want to jump up and simply yell "I quit!" rather than deal with the mess I was in.
I had been stuck sitting beside Ed, since Al practically took up the whole seat on his own. Ed had grumbled for a while about not having the window seat, but I refused to let him have it, and eventually he had shut up about it. I always sat beside the window on trains, otherwise I got bad headaches that were no fun at all. Without realizing what I was doing, I started to hum under my breath right in front of both brothers as I stared at the scenery rushing past. Ed and Al both turned to look at me, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts of what I was going to do next to really notice them.
"What song is that?" Al asked quickly, making me jump in my seat and turn to look at him. "That song you were humming," he pressed. "It's pretty. I've never heard it before. What's it called?" I frowned and ran over the last line in my head, realizing that I had just been humming without thought to it and couldn't remember the actual song without hearing it again and thinking about it.
"Over the Rainbow," I answered after a minute. "It's from this story about how this girl wishes she were somewhere where she thinks everything else would be better. But when she does actually get there, she realizes that no matter where you go, you still have problems, and if your heart's desire isn't where your heart is, then it's silly to run off looking for it."
I paused and bit my lip as the words sunk in a little closer to home than I would have liked. I had never been able to relate with Dorothy so well before, considering that I had never even really gone out of the state before unless I was accompanied by my parents. Now I was farther than I had ever been, and realized that no matter how often I had wished to be away from my boring little town, it was still where I belonged. I had a family there, people who loved me unconditionally, and nothing could truly replace that. Yet I had still wished to be in Amestris—somewhere over the rainbow where skies are blue—and I had gotten that wish.
"What are the words that go with it?" Al asked curiously, and I frowned and bit my lip. Over the Rainbow didn't seem like the sort of song you could just recite to someone like poetry, but I didn't want to sing the song aloud on a train either.
I glanced around quickly, then realized that everyone else on the train was caught up in their own conversations. I smiled slightly as I realized that when I listened, I really could hear that people were speaking in a language different from the English I was used to. Amestrain flowed differently, it was smoother and rougher in different places than I was used to, and it had a different sort of energy to it compared to English, or ILT, as they called it here. I turned back and looked at Al, figuring that everyone was too busy talking to pay much attention to one girl singing softly. Besides, I had just promised myself to be braver anyway, hadn't I?
"Some—" I started nervously, then stopped myself as my voice wavered slightly. I frowned, then fixed my gaze out the window. It was easier to sing if I couldn't see the person I was singing to, whether I could read the expressions on their face or not.
"Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Way up high,
There's a land that I've heard of,
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away, above the chimney tops
Is where you'll find me
Somewhere, over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then, oh why, can't I?
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away, above the chimney tops
Is where you'll find me
Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Way up high,
There's a land that I've heard of,
Once in a lullaby
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why, can't I?"
I finished the song softly and licked my lips. I couldn't believe I had managed to sing the song aloud, and on a crowded train no less. I hadn't even realized I had known all the words, and was even half worried I had left something out before realizing that no one here would know the song anyway, so it didn't really matter.
"Silly song," Ed muttered, and I turned my head to look at him. He was resting his chin in one hand and staring at me with a dull expression on his face. "Not like rainbows are all that special anyway, they're just particles of water reflecting light. Flying over a rainbow wouldn't do much other than make you wet. Doesn't sound like fun to me."
I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him that flying over the rainbow was merely symbolic language, not meant to be taken seriously, but instead myself murmuring, "You're right." There was an odd truth to what he said, even though he was taking the song very literally. "You're right, rainbows aren't that special. Flying over them would just make you more miserable than when you first left. Better to just keep your feet on the ground and stay blissfully ignorant of what lies over the rainbow rather than find out that all your dreams were stupid and impossible."
"Umm…" Ed said slowly, and I turned to look out the window, feeling angry with Ed, with myself, with practically everyone in Amestris for almost nothing at all. "Do rainbows have a double meaning where you come from or something?"
"No," I muttered, leaning my head against the cool glass of the windowpane. I realized that at some point I had stopped denying that I came from somewhere completely different than Amestris. Now Ed wasn't trying to weasel the name of my home country out of me, and I was simply accepting that I came from somewhere else and wasn't protesting to him saying it anymore. We were just happily ignoring the fact, but I knew it would have to be addressed again sometime. Knowing Ed, it was more likely to be addressed sooner rather than later.
I scowled as I realized that neither of the brothers was going to ask me if I was alright when I obviously wasn't, and then I curled into a tighter ball and closed my eyes in an attempt to block out the rest of the world.
I exhaled slowly through my nose as I became aware of my surroundings without opening my eyes. I could feel my head pressing against something hard, and realized I had fallen asleep on the train. I wanted to get up and stretch, but my body was still too tired to listen to me, so instead I just stayed in my position silently.
"Hey, Al, does Rebecca remind you of anyone?" I heard Ed ask softly, and I frowned in surprise. If Amestrain was his mother tongue, then why was he speaking in ILT? It didn't make sense, especially combined with the fact that the brothers didn't really seem to trust me anymore. No matter though, whether he was talking in ILT or Amestrain, there was just something wonderfully comforting to Ed's voice, especially when I was in a sort of half-asleep state.
"Why, does she remind you of someone?" Al asked, and I exhaled slowly. If either one of them ended up saying I was like Ed, I figured I would probably jump up and strangle someone. Why couldn't people just realize that I was not Edward Elric at all?
"Yeah, she does," Ed muttered as I exhaled slowly through my nose again, trying to calm myself. "She smiled at me the other day, and it… it reminded me of Mom," Ed said softly before ending with a sigh. "Yeah, crazy, I know. She's nothing like mom, right?"
"Well, actually…" Al said slowly, as if he were chewing over the thought in his head. "Now that you mention it, she does look a bit like Mom, especially when she's asleep and looking so peaceful like that." Al stopped talking for a moment, and Ed sighed heavily.
Trisha Elric? Now I was being compared to Ed's mom? Okay, it was a bit more plausible than being compared to Ed himself, but it was still in the Elric family! Everybody seemed to think I was capable of being an Elric when I sure didn't think I was.
"There's so much about her that I don't want to trust," Ed continued slowly, and I bit my lip as I realized that by now I was eavesdropping for the second time that day, which certainly wouldn't help the trust issue if Ed or Al found out. "But at the same time, part of me wants to trust her. I just… It's like I can't help it," Ed muttered, and was only met a small giggle from Al.
"What?" Ed demanded with an irritated edge to his voice.
"What, are you afraid of being friends with Rebecca?" Al asked amusedly, and I could feel Ed stiffen on the seat beside me.
"Well— I—" he stammered nervously. "But what about all her secrets? We shouldn't trust someone like her."
"And we don't have secrets?" Al said, and was greeted with silence. "If your gut says to trust her, then I say you should follow that sense for now."
"And what, forget about questioning her about what she knows about us?" Ed snorted. "I don't even know how she found out about whatever she may know, and I want to figure out who told her about us. Someone had to have told her."
"Maybe she doesn't know anything. If you see someone always walking around the house in a suit of armor, even when he's relaxing, wouldn't you be a little suspicious as well and start trying to make guesses as to what he's hiding? We don't really live in the time of kings and knights anymore."
"But—" Ed started, and then seemed unable to think of anything else to say.
"Besides, other people have known about us before," Al continued gently. "Rebecca doesn't seem like the type who would use it to try and blackmail us or just go proclaiming it to everyone on the street."
"I guess," Ed mumbled.
"And if we become friends with her anyway when she doesn't know anything about us, then we would have had to tell her sometime," Al persisted. "It's not something we can usually hide forever. But if she already knows and we become friends with her, then we never have to worry about telling her."
"Well, aren't you positive."
"Someone has to balance out my raincloud of a brother," Al laughed, and the two fell silent for a few minutes.
I slowly realized that I was no longer keeping my eyes closed because I was still tired, but because I wanted to hear what they were saying. It seemed funny to me how after growing up in a tiny apartment where you could always hear someone talking, eavesdropping didn't seem like that major of an offense to me. I had learned to just be careful what you say, since there could always be the chance of someone listening in. Hiding Christmas presents had always been a bit of a pain over the years.
"So why are we going back to Central?" Al asked finally, and I felt Ed's muscles tighten at the questions.
"Because we have to go back to Central sooner or later," Ed replied tensely. "Besides, we were going to go back to Central anyway, our train just got rerouted to Dublith. Funny how the trains have been having problems recently. I wonder what's causing it."
"What do you mean?" Al asked, and I listened even more intently. I knew my train from Resembool had been rerouted to Dublith, but I hadn't given it much thought.
"Apparently lots of trains have had to be rerouted to different towns recently," Ed said nonchalantly. "They don't say anything other than that there's 'some trouble with the tracks up ahead' and the train has to take a 'detour.' I haven't found out anything other than that, but I've got the feeling that something's going on. Maybe I can try digging up some info about that as well when we get to HQ."
"Do you think Colonel Mustang might know anything about it?" Al asked, and Ed made a sound that sounded like he didn't know and didn't very much care if Roy knew anything.
I, meanwhile, had felt like my heart had been dropped down an elevator chute. I had completely forgotten about Roy Mustang. He had talked to me over the phone, and I had even given him my name. What if he remembered my voice? Heck, what if Ed even just introduced me as "Rebecca Jacobson"? What would Roy do once he realized who I was?
I felt like I could melt into a puddle on the floor. I wasn't ready to go to Central and face him, I just wasn't. I needed more time. I needed some sort of… distraction that would take us away from Central for the time being, even if just for a day. What I needed was one of those train detours Ed and Al had just been talking about. I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately wishing the announcer would come on and tell us we wouldn't be going to Central after all.
The train suddenly screeched to a halt, and I frowned in surprise but continued trying to think of some sort of plan. I couldn't show up in Mustang's office without any sort of plan at all.
"I'm very sorry folks, but it seems that there's some trouble with the tracks up ahead," a voice over the intercom crackled. "We regret to inform you that this train will have to be detoured to Bakenhaert instead of going to Central as planned." I froze in my frantic planning as Ed let out a curse and the train started again.
"Again?" he groaned angrily. "If this keeps up we won't get to Central until my birthday!"
I stayed completely silent in my spot as I realized what had just happened. I had wished the train would get detoured, and then two seconds later, it had happened. Sure, there were some coincidental things that would occasionally happen in FMA, but that seemed way too convenient.
I almost wanted to sit up and tell Ed and Al about what had happened, but that would mean admitting to the part that I had been pretending to be asleep for at least a small portion of their conversation. I wasn't ready to admit to that, so instead I stayed in my curled position, lost in my thoughts that seemed to be going a mile a minute.
It felt like it had only been five minutes when I felt the train finally screech to a halt, but I had a feeling it had to have been at least half an hour. A hand then lightly touched my shoulder, and looked up in surprise at Ed, who was standing and holding his suitcase in one hand.
"Our train got detoured," he explained simply. "We have to get off here and see if we can buy tickets for another train to Central." I nodded, then stood up with a groan, slung my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed my suitcase.
"Don't forget my bike," I said softly, and Ed nodded while I was still half lost in thought.
Fifteen minutes later we found ourselves in front of the ticket booth with a bike, two suitcases a backpack and three people, one of them being bond to a suit of armor. All in all, we were taking up a lot of space, just wanted to get out of the line, and the people behind us seemed to want us out of the way as well.
"Here's your refund," the man at the ticket booth said, taking our three torn stubs and presenting Ed with a small bundle of cash.
"Now we need to buy three new tickets from here to Central," Ed said, quickly counting over the cash to be sure he had the right amount.
"Sorry buddy," the ticket man said, and Ed whipped his head up to look at him. "No more trains coming in today. This one wasn't even supposed to come in, but I got called down here because of the detour. This train station isn't going to be having any more passengers today."
"Why not?" Ed demanded, angrily banging his fist on the counter between him and the man.
"It's a holiday," the man shrugged simply. "Celebrating the anniversary of the town being founded. Everything's closed down until tomorrow. Except the inns, of course. You'll just have to get a room and wait until tomorrow."
"We could just follow the tracks to the next town," Ed said, obviously desperate for some way to keep moving toward their destination.
"Brother, maybe we could on our own, but we've got Rebecca with us now," Al said gently, and I frowned. I was being treated like the delicate woman again.
"I can do it," I said determinedly, and Ed and Al turned to look at me in surprise. I just grinned at them in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. "Walking, no sweat. These boots were made for walking, right?" I laughed slightly, holding out my foot and pointing to my work boot. Ed raised an eyebrow, looked me over, then turned back to look at Al with a heavy sigh.
"Fine, we'll find an inn." Ed scowled, then picked his suitcase up with a huff and stormed off. Al quickly thanked the man for his trouble before picking up my suitcase and following Ed. I sighed, and gripped at the handlebars angrily. Ed thought I couldn't handle walking a few miles. And I knew it would be hard, but I would still push myself to do it. I wasn't a wimp. I sighed, then rolled my eyes, climbed onto my bike and rode after the two.
Lesson of the Day—The Amestrian Language:
"Am taiesh san Rebecca no gah meiketo."
Ahm tie-eh-sh sahn Ray-beck-ka no gah mike-et-oh
You're the type of girl who needs to be protected, Rebecca, or Rebecca is the type of girl who needs to be protected
The words for "you" or "girl" are not actually in this sentence, moreso implied through the name Rebecca and Ed's tone. A more literal translation would be along the lines of "Rebecca is a sort of person who requires protection." If the name Rebecca is removed, a pronoun would have to be added in its place.
Ed is showing his confusion over Rebecca by purposefully making his sentence brunt, but at the same time also using a softer speech by calling Rebecca by her first name rather than simply "she."
Rebecca would be pronounced with an accent. In America it would start with the "reh" sound, while in Amestrian it starts with the "ray" sound instead, and the r is also rolled more than in English. Hence why Ed nicknamed her "Ray."
Author's Note:
SCHOOL'S OUT! FOR! SUMMER! –dances- Mm, I'm happy now. Part of the problem with updating Wish Granted is that the chapters are so long I always have to keep getting up and leaving them uncompleted, maybe even read over huge chunks of what I've already written just to know where I am… etc, etc…
And I don't own The Wizard of Oz, obviously. I just ended up humming that while I was writing and then went "Hm, that fits strangely well…" So I ended up using it in this chapter. Strangely ironic, since if I hadn't changed Rebecca's name, she would have ended up being named "Dorothy," lol. Guess Ed's the scarecrow and Al's the tin man, haha. Which would make Winry a munchkin and Izumi would be Glinda…? Interesting drawing idea there, I might do that sometime… -scratches chin-
I was originally going to have Mustang in this chapter, but… muses sure do have a mind of their own. I went for a long time without being inspired at all for this, and then when I wanted to work on a different story, I suddenly got the urge to work on Wish Granted and couldn't really ignore it. Ah well, I'm sure none of you are too broken up over that, are ya? ;) I wrote this at a ridiculously fast speed compared to how slow it usually goes, so hopefully now I can go back to working on my contest entry, heh.
Review Replies (thanks all!):
Kagami no Renkinjutsushi: Haha, yeah, I'm looking forward to Roy as well. Too bad that muses have a mind of their own, for sure. As to whether he'd remember her voice or not, well, you'll just have to wait and see! ;) Yes, I know, I'm evil.
agent000: Yeah, I know, haha. When I wrote out the response for that chapter the first time, it was right after you reviewed, then I went over it again once I had finished the chapter and went "NaNoWriMo? Sheesh, I took waaaay too long." Funny how much just a bit of time can change things so much.
Haha, yeah, it was awesome to work the Amestrian language into this chap. Ed probably did have something to do with it, how did you ever guess? I just couldn't think of a reason for a real long time, and then BOOM! All of a sudden I have an idea. Coincidence? Well, I know what you think about those… ;)
Haha, that's good to know. I was always a bit worried about my pronunciation. And yeah, seeing Ed storm in there and talk to Roy will be pretty funny, lol. I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it. Now I just HAVE to do it, haha. XD
As for the geeks issue… Well, yes, it would be a country of geeks. Or she could be very, very lucky. Or I could be avoiding the question a bit… ho hum.
Haha, yeah, I suppose I have gotten to know the characters much better than the last time I wrote the chapter, And probably even more so now. I'm probably going to get to know them better and better as more time goes by if this keeps up. ;)
Thanks for the huge review… forever ago. It's nice to still have it around to respond to now, even though it takes me a while with these chapters. –hugs-
Yakami: Haha, well, I'm glad to hear it. Here's the update for you, sorry that the next one will take a bit before it gets out.
Eloquent Liar: -claps and transmutes scissors into a demonic looking teddy bear- 'Kay, go ahead. :D
MyDarkSideHasAWayOfHerOwn: Hey, looks to me like somebody changed their penname! And I'm glad you liked the chapter too. ;)
And I wouldn't really be surprised at the fact that Eckhart was some dude. I mean, look at her shoulders, those were ridiculous. Hm… well, would Hillary Clinton count as a crazy female in power?
Abruptly Wandering: Heh, yeah, my updates on this can take a bit of time, sadly. Sorry about that. I'm glad to know you liked it though, haha. I don't have much patience either, especially when it comes to fanfiction, so I totally get you there, heh.
Haha, and a Finnish polka? That sounds like a pretty song. :D
Colonel Bastard: Haha, well, I was thinking in regards to the song Vic sings. There isn't really any actual proof that Ed the character sings, it's just one of those things that "fits" with Ed, you know? It seems like the sort of thing he would do. But Rebecca was thinking back to the fact that Vic could sing.
And yes, cloth underwear. Got that from reading a book, surprisingly, all about periods, lol. It stuck around in my memory for a while, to say the least, heh. And yeah, I'm the type to just pick up books like that out of curiosity and read them all the way through.
Haha, mixing up characters now, are you? Rebecca certainly isn't Robyn, even if their names start with the same first letter. ;)
AlmightySquirrelQueen: Haha, thanks so much! I'm glad that the style of the chapter flows nicely, considering how long they can take to write. Sheesh.
I'm glad you like Rebecca as well, haha. And the Elrics will eventually warm up to her, of course, but who knows how long that might take? –smirks- I'm so evil, aren't I?
Thanks for reading and reviewing, here's the update! :D
Zilo Sugarpill: Someone gave her sugar, didn't they?
Ed: It's right in her name. Duh.
Yeah, she changed it to include sugar right in her name… Oh, great. Just great. Absolutely peachy. Is the china locked up?
Ed:…No.
-sighs- Oh well. But it's nice to know that the chapter got you so worked up. ;) I've had times where I've gone running around the room screaming when I'm writing the chapter, so I can relate pretty easily.
Ed: I'm going to put sleeping pills in her drink one of these days just to calm her down.
Meh! And yes, I did put a period in that. XD And nooo, it didn't have to do with the fact that every time I got inspired I was on my period, of course not.
Ed: Yeah, of course, and now I have to suffer because of it.
Suffer my eye. :P It's always bugged me how girls keep going on big adventures with Ed, but no one mentions periods! I mean, they had to have had different ways of dealing with it, and that would probably be a tad difficult for a girl to go through while also around Ed, I'm sure. So yes, Risty, I agree, periods stink on an adventure! XD
Ed: …I wouldn't know.
I would hope not… Heh, and betraying the Elric's trust just seemed to me like the most realistic thing that would happen with the characters. So yeah, it sucks, but it's uh… for zee good of zee storee!
Ed: …
Shup. And yes, she'll get to meet the "military peeps." Somehow, when I read that, I thought of a blue peep with black hair. Rather strange image, I must admit, and now I wanna draw it!
Ed: I wanna eat it. Starting with its head. And I'll chew slowly. Or maybe I'll roast it and make it into a s'more.
Very nice. As for Envy though… Well, she's already met him, and she's traveling with the Elric brothers, so she's bound to meet him again. He is very evil indeed. But at least she's hanging around nice strong Ed so she has protection!
Ed: Meh.
Or she has… Zilo? Maybe Ed won't be quite so helpful… Anyway, thanks for all the positive feedback and awesomely long review once again! :D I'm glad you like the ILT thing, though it's frustrating to try and figure out another language from scratch!
Ed: And why take five billion dollars in Monoply money when I can transmute gold?
Shush, Ed. –slaps hand over his mouth- Thanks for reading and reviewing, here's the update! :D
Ed: -talking through AA's hand- Mand don'f call meh Edo!
Meggy: Thanks so much! I try really hard to make Rebecca as normal as I possibly can, though it can be quite difficult sometimes. Along with making the chapters long, but in my mind, it's worth it. :D
Here's the update, sorry it took a bit!
kiseki.megami: Haha, well, I'm glad you finally worked yourself up to reviewing, I appreciate the feedback I get from every single one! :D And thanks, I do try pretty hard to make Rebecca believable when I want so hard to make her perfect sometimes. It's quite the task at times. ;) Though yes, she can be pretty brave when you put it like that. Or maybe landing butt-first in Amestris has a way of bucking people up? XD
And finally, someone said that Amestrian bugged them! When I wrote that chapter, I was expecting everyone to write in saying how weird it is and all, but instead I get a bunch of reviews saying it's awesome instead. Really, I'm a bit partial to Ed and Al speaking English myself. But it also doesn't make complete sense when you think about it, so there's ILT and Amestrain and all that jazz. Thanks so much for speaking your mind! :D
Thanks for reading and reviewing, here's the update for ya! ;)
anime.storm: -smashes air guitar on floor- Oh, wait, not that kind of rock? Oh, alright then. Well, thanks very much then. I'm glad so many people love Rebecca so much! :D
Here's the update, sorry it took me a while! –sighs-
Fadedphantom: Haha, good to know, good to know.
I figured some girls would probably guess it from me saying that right at the top. XD I mean, what else might there be to scar poor boys? Bra shopping? I might just pick the period over that.
And yes, they should say goodbye to Izumi… -scratches chin- Congratulations, you gave me the inspiration for the first part of this story, so give yourself a pat on the back!
Haha, well, keep guessing! It's meant to be confusing right now though, as more things unravel it might get clearer, but it's nice to know I still have the readers trying to figure things out! ;)
Here's the update, thanks for reading and reviewing!
Akatsuki's Flower: Okay, okay, here ya go! Please don't bite me!
