So I was reading the fma wikia page and I was surprised by how much detail they go into on some of the subjects. If you have the time I would definitely go and check it out. Especially the page they have dedicated to things like Amestris.
Well, anyway, I've been rearranging some stuff in the rough draft for plot and I think I'm happy with how I've set it up for now. Ling should be showing up pretty soon too (yay!). Enjoy this chapter guys! Thanks for the reviews and favorites! You guys are awesome readers!
For the purpose of clearing up any confusion beforehand:
"This is regular speech." i.e. Everyone speaking Amestrian in Amestris or Japanese on Earth.
"This is used when they're speaking a foreign language."
This is thinking.
And large blocks of italicized text are flashbacks.
If that gets a bit confusing I'll probably make the flashbacks bolded or something, but I think it should be pretty easy to figure it out. Well, read on!
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Kaname sat on the bench tapping her foot. She was impatient. 'I can't believe they're going to drop me off in Tokyo right after telling me that Sousuke went missing. What do they think I'm gonna do? Sit around like a good little girl while they look for him?'
She had found out just yesterday about Sousuke's disappearance by overhearing Kurz and two other soldiers talking. When she had confronted Mao about it the woman had backed out of explanation saying that it was classified information and she shouldn't even have heard as much as she did.
Kurz was with her now. He was sitting on the bench across from hers seemingly thinking about nothing. He was whistling like there wasn't a care in the world. Kaname tapped her foot faster as her irritation grew. Finally she stood and yelled, "Ugh! Would you stop that?"
Kurz's whistling stopped and he opened his eyes giving her a winning smile. He didn't say anything instead allowing her to continue her rant. He knew why she was pissed off, and he was sympathetic towards her.
"How can you just sit there like that! I mean, Sousuke's missing and he's your teammate isn't he? Shouldn't you be out there looking for him or something? I mean aren't you event eh slightest bit worried he might be dead?"
Kurz leaned back on the wall. He eyed her for a minute before he spoke. "Now, now Kaname, give the guy a little credit. He's not going to die that easily." He heard her mutter something along the lines of 'if these are the people looking for him no wonder they haven't found anything,' which would have been quite insulting, if he hadn't known she was saying it out of frustration. He certainly did sympathize. He cared for Sousuke as well, though definitely not in the same way that Kaname did. Though he was sure Kaname wouldn't admit those feelings if he brought them up.
The buzzer sounded once overhead. It was the signal that they were nearly to the drop off point. He suddenly had a brilliant idea. "So." He started with a grin. "You want to help Sousuke huh?"
Izumi had kicked the three of them out of her house the moment they had finished eating that night. They met up with Winry at a hotel near the train station so they could get a room. She hadn't been able to get a train back to Rush Valley that day, but there was one that left first thing in the morning and she swore she'd be on it.
At the moment Ed, Al, and Winry were all relaxing in the 'living room' area of the hotel suite. Al had just convinced Sousuke that they'd be fine for the short amount of time it took him to take a shower. He had been reluctant to leave them claiming that it 'went against his duties'. When Ed said he'd 'court marshal him if he stunk the place up' and Al had told him they seriously would be fine for a few minutes he had finally relented. Before he had left the room though he had equipped each of them with a tazer, something he called mace (though to Ed it looked nothing like a mace), and Ed was left with a firearm which Al had promptly confiscated for fear Ed might shoot himself rather than an intended target. Honestly none of them knew where he had pulled the items from. He wasn't carrying much 'luggage'. He just had the clothes he was wearing and a spare set that Ed had let him keep in his suitcase.
"What's that sound?" Winry asked popping her head up from where she had been tinkering with what seemed to be the starting of a new automail hand.
Ed opened his eyes groggily and pushed himself up looking for the source of the beeping he too was now hearing.
Al stood and walked toward the small table that was situated near the door. Laying there was a jacket. "It's coming from Mr. Sagara's jacket." Al said picking up the article. He had had lifted it in such a way that something slid out of the pocket and hit the wood causing it to open. Immediately a voice poured from the small device. Al stumbled backward in surprise trampling Ed in the process.
"Jeez Al! Watch it. You could've crushed me!" Ed said angrily pushing his brother off of him.
"Sorry brother. It surprised me." Al said still eying the table.
Ed stood and grabbed the small gadget. "What the hell is it anyway?" he asked turning it over only to be met by a video feed of a man and two women. At first they didn't move and he just assumed Sousuke had a strange picture in his jacket then the man lifted his hand and Ed nearly dropped it again in surprise.
"Hello?" the man said as though unsure if Ed would hear let alone understand him.
"Uh…hi." Ed said incredulously. "Hey Al." Ed looked to his brother. "I'm not going crazy right?"
"Oh Ed." Winry said rolling her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic." She snatched the small machine from him. "I wonder how this thing works."
Ed snatched it back. "Oh no you don't! I'm not getting shot up by that lunatic because you broke his toy."
Winry pouted.
"Hello?" the voice from the device called again.
"Oh, right." Ed said lifting it so he could see the people inside the small square screen. "So…who are you?"
"I think I'm going to go get Mr. Sagara." Al said exiting toward the bathroom where they could still hear the water running.
"You wouldn't happen to know where the owner of this device is would you?" the man asked Ed.
"Taking a shower." Ed said sheepishly. It felt weird for him to be talking to people on the small device.
The man's face seemed to relax instantaneously. He said something to the two girls behind him, and they too seemed a bit relieved. Ed wasn't sure why. One of the girl's stepped forward. She had long hair that was silvery. A strange color, Ed thought. She said something to the man and he allowed her to take the space directly in front of the camera.
"H-hi." She said shakily. "I'm not very…fluent in this language."
Ed blinked. Sousuke didn't appear to have a problem talking to them. Why did this girl? She was from the same place as Sagara right?
"I…um…need to speak…with Sagara." She got out seemingly proud of herself.
"My brother went to get him." Ed said a bit slowly so the girl could work out what he'd said. "He should-"
The device lifted from his hands even as he explained where Sousuke was. Sousuke stood over him looking into the device with a serious expression.
"Captain." He said with a salute.
Must be talking about the old guy, Ed thought stepping back.
"Sagara! Thank god you're alive!" Tessa cried out over the speakers. She had reverted back to Japanese.
"Of course. Though I'm more than a little lost." Sousuke said easily changing languages as well.
Winry returned to her work while Ed and Al sat listening to the conversation that they couldn't understand a word of.
"Sergeant Sagara, where are you?" this time it was the man again.
"I'm not sure sir. When I woke in the Arbalest I had been transported a completely foreign area. When I asked locals they said it was called Amestris. The Arbalest can't help either. Something strange has happened."
"What do you mean strange?"
"My coordinate read outs within the Arbalest are showing I'm in the middle of an ocean. All the maps I've looked at show countries that don't exist and to top it off nobody here has ever heard of Germany even though they're clearly speaking German. The man who found me has some strange ideas about what might be happening."
Kalinin paused. No one was sure what to make of that long description.
"What's the last thing you remember before being knocked unconscious?" Tessa asked from behind Kalinin. She looked worried.
"Gauron was there." Sousuke said harshly his obvious distaste for the man leaking through. "He said something then there was a bright light of some sort."
Tessa was nodding. Kalinin and Mao watched her. It was obvious she was more clued in on this than the others.
"Is there something you want to share Captain?" Mao said irately. She was relieved they had found Sousuke, but she was still on edge from days with little sleep and anxiety pushing her forward.
Tessa hesitated frowning. "There've been…experiments using inter-dimensional matter transporters. They were shut down years ago because of the instability of the machines and inability to deliver human occupants safely."
"Inter-dimensional…you think he's in another dimension!" Mao exploded. This was way over her head. Hell, she didn't even know other dimensions existed!
Ed looked up from a book he had started reading as he heard Mao's voice blast through the speakers. He couldn't help but think that whatever they were talking about wasn't pleasant.
"Sergeant Major Mao." Kalinin said giving the woman a look that clearly told her to keep her voice down. "If you continue to be disruptive…"
"It explains a lot actually, and the Colonel thought something similar." Sousuke said lowly not meaning for the people on the other to hear him though they had.
"Mr. Sagara." Tessa said gaining his attention. "Are you safe where you are now?"
"Affirmative. It seems safe enough." Sousuke nodded.
"In that case we'll begin attempting to find your location by finding the Arbalest. I think I know someone who can help."
"Roger."
"Sagara. This link we've established is stable at the moment. Send over the Arbalest's data from the night of the incident." Kalinin said. "Do everything you can to keep yourself safe. We'll be in contact soon with more information."
"Understood, Sir." Sousuke saluted as best he could while still keeping hold of the device. Dropping his one means of communication with the Tuatha De Danaan (besides the Arbalest) and breaking it when there was no way to get another would be very inconvenient.
The image and radio line disconnected and Sousuke closed the device.
"So who was that?" Ed asked glancing up.
"My commanding officers." Sousuke said donning his jacket.
"Oh? Does that mean you'll be leaving soon?" Ed asked trying not to let too much optimism leak into his voice. He was more than ready to stop being babysat
Sousuke said nothing. He didn't have an answer to that question, and speculation would get him nowhere.
Mustang rubbed his temples and reclined in his chair. He'd been doing paperwork ever since he got back from seeing to the giant robot. He smirked. It's not like he was used to thinking about giant robots in a realistic sense yet. It still sort of made him feel like he was losing his mind.
He checked the clock. Still another hour before he could leave. He supposed it was a good thing Hawkeye had been called out of the office or he wouldn't even have the chance to take this small break.
One of his subordinates in the other half of the office shuffled probably angry that Mustang was taking a break when they couldn't. He stretched, not caring much. After all, they were never the ones who got shot at. Nope, that was always him. Well, unless you counted the recent 'Sagara attacks'. He'd found it all kinds of amusing how quickly the kid would pull a gun on someone if he thought they were in any way a threat.
Before he knew it was caught up reminiscing about his first proper meeting with boy.
Sousuke stood uneasily in front of Mustang's desk. It had taken nearly a day, and several trucks, to get his behemoth of a robot off of the random street it had dropped on and into the gates of the laboratory where it now rested.
"So." Mustang said leaning forward. "Sousuke Sagara right?"
"Affirmative." Sousuke said giving him a level look. Mustang raised an eyebrow in Hawkeye's direction. She shrugged.
"Right…So you seem to be a bit…lost." Mustang ended with 'lost' as 'ignorant to your surroundings' sounded a tad harsh.
"Affirmative."
"How old are you Sagara?"
"17."
"And you're military?"
"Essentially, yes."
Mustang frowned. He could just kick the kid out of his office now. He didn't owe him anything. In fact, the kid owed him a bit in grievance. After all they hadn't been able to completely avoid damaging the car when a two ton robot came falling out of the sky. But something inside of him told him not to dismiss the kid. He was sort of interesting. His mannerisms were severe even for someone with a military background.
"If I may ask..." Sousuke started and Mustang waved him on. He certainly didn't know what to ask the kid. "How is it that you don't know of the largest country in the world?"
"The largest country in the world?"
"Russia." Sousuke supplied.
Mustang frowned. "Quite simply. There is no such country as Russia."
Sousuke expression didn't change much, but the slight drawing together of his brows did nothing to lighten the tension in the room.
Mustang didn't know what to make of him. He was spouting off about places that didn't exist as if they did. Usually that would earn him a one way trip to the loony bin, but there was a complication. The 'A.S.' as he had called it. Technology of that sort had never been seen before. It was decades, possibly even centuries beyond anything in use at the moment. With that robot sitting there it brought all sorts of strange possibilities to the field.
Mustang pulled out a map and unrolled it. It showed Amestris in the middle and all its neighboring countries. Sousuke stepped forward to view it. "This," Mustang said plating his finger dead center on the map. "Is where we found you. This, is where we are now. This is Xing."
He pointed out the more countries each time trying to see if Sousuke had a reaction, but nothing happened. He unrolled a second map. This one was slightly larger and showed the two halves of the planet. This time Sousuke had a reaction, but wasn't one of recognition. He picked up the map and shook his head.
"This isn't correct." Sousuke said setting the paper back down. "These maps are wrong. Even the continent shapes are wrong."
It took hours to convince Sousuke that their maps weren't incorrect and by that point everyone was tired. They had booked a room for him in a hotel, which Mustang had said he'd write off later as 'travel expenses'. He'd be staying there for the night with Breda. When only Mustang and Hawkeye were left in his office he let out a sigh.
"What do you think Lieutenant?"
"About what, sir?"
He waved his hand at the door Sousuke had exited through. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"
"I think he believes that what he's saying is the truth." She supplied.
"You don't think it's some sort of lie? He might be a spy." Mustang said truly curious what her thoughts on the matter were. He already had a nagging suspicion about the boy's circumstances. All he needed now was proof.
Hawkeye shook her head. "The story is too suspicious for a spy to use. A spy would use a story he could more easily get away with."
Mustang nodded. He had thought the same thing. To use a story like this without any hard proof was like signing his own death warrant if Mustang decided to hand him over.
"What do you think, Sir?"
"I think he's lucky it's me he nearly crushed. A lot of the higher ups would have just sent him in to be questioned by the 'proper' authorities."
Hawkeye barely stopped the smile from crossing her face. Mustang did have a healthy interest in oddities. It was how he had found the Elric brothers after all.
"Why don't you call it a night Lieutenant?"
"What are you going to do Sir?"
"Research."
And research he had. He didn't stop until nearly five the next morning. Hawkeye had, as usual, refused to leave his side. However, when morning came around again at least Mustang could say he believed his theory to be correct.
Mustang met up with Sagara again after a much needed nap. The boy obviously hadn't slept much. He was probably too busy trying to figure out his current situation.
"We had several officers looking into finding the places you mentioned without any luck." Mustang started.
Sousuke nodded, but said nothing.
"From what we've gathered none of those places exist."
Sousuke looked ready to protest that so Mustang hurried on.
"I'm not saying they don't." he said to quiet him. "What I'm saying is that we don't have the means of finding them. Which is quite troublesome because, if you think about it, if we can't find them from here, despite knowing where we are, I doubt you can."
Sousuke frowned, but seemed to agree.
"Do you know what you want to do?"
The boy's face was unreadable. "Normally I'd contact headquarters, but when I attempted to use the code on a phone last night it didn't connect." He said with just the hint of a frown. "So I'm not sure where to start."
"I don't suppose you have money do you?" Mustang leaned back in his chair. The conversation was going smoothly in the direction he had figured it would.
"Negative. I don't usually carry currency during missions."
"And even if you had I doubt it would be worth anything in Amestris seeing as you've never been here."
"Affirmative."
"So right now you're penniless and lost."
Sousuke gave the man an odd look. "Affirmative."
"Well then. How about we strike a deal?"
"A deal?"
"Your services in return for our information. Sounds equivalent, right?"
"Services?"
"Correct. I'm sure you've noticed I have small group of soldiers who work directly under me. I'd like you to join that group. You have military experience, and you seem to have expert control of firearms."
Hawkeye shifted uneasily in the corner. Sousuke's eyes darted to her and then back to Mustang. "Why would you need more soldiers? You seemed to have quite a few."
"One can never have too many people under his command."
Sousuke frowned at that. Mustang wasn't sure if he'd hit a nerve. "What would I be required to do?"
Mustang shrugged. "Patrols, protection, things of that sort."
Sousuke seemed to think it over.
"Of course, as an added bonus, we'll cover your expenses as well."
"And when I find a way back?"
"You can leave." Mustang said smirking. He knew he'd won the boy over already. Information, nourishment, and shelter everything the boy needed at the moment offered all in one swoop.
"I'll do it on one condition." Sousuke offered.
"That being?" Mustang said the smirk fading a little.
"I won't do anything that goes against my previous orders."
Mustang smirked. "Deal."
Alright, that's it for this chapter. I felt like this was a good place to stop. I actually hadn't planned to put that flashback in until later, but a reader brought up that Sousuke was a little too willing to follow Mustang and Mustang was a little too willing to trust Sousuke. Problem fixed right? I'm sorry if I put it off too long and it seemed odd or something.
Next chapter, the plot thickens. Distrust spreads, the homunculi plot, and Winry gets pissed off again. (because when is she not? And am I the only one who thinks Kaname and Winry have startlingly similar personalities?) Oh, and next chapter will probably be another long one. I've been wnating to write that chapter for awhile. :D
Well, 'til next time then!
~Kanathia
