"Alphonse?" Eden said his name, with it rolling off her tongue as if foreign. She was looking up at something that wasn't human except...those eyes; they were her own shining amber eyes, inherited from their late father.
The Homunculus stared down at her, confused. "What did you call me?" He seemed just as perplexed as Eden was before he suddenly reared back and yelled, holding his head as if it were about to split open.
"W-what's-" Eden reached for the Homunculus, but her hand was swatted away.
"No! Stay away from me!" He yelled.
"Eden!" Izumi and Ling rushed to the scene. Upon seeing them closing in, the Homunculus fled, racing off in the blur he'd come in on, leaving the books behind.
Eden watched after him in a dazed stupor, not processing that Wes and Rose had caught up, Rose was shaking her and calling her name, and that Wes then carried her back to his workshop.
It's just...how? Eden didn't even care about the why, like "why was Alphonse on the side of the enemy?" It was just "How is Alphonse alive?"
Eden ran every possible idea through her head, using the knowledge she had prior to the encounter, to come up with a reasonable explanation for Alphonse's appearance, but there was nothing that could erase that one undeniable fact: Eden Elric had seen Alphonse Elric get shot through the chest, and saw the light fade from his eyes.
It only took until that night, when the first crack of thunder sounded, for Eden to wake up and run away. That was what she did when her mother died; she ran away through studying Alchemy. That was what she did when Alphonse had died; she ran away through trying to bring him back. And now, she just...ran. Ran far away, hopped on a train and just left everything behind, except for the rain that followed her; hanging over her and dampening her golden glow that had resonated so brightly in rebellion all of this time. Eden left her work, her friends, allies, books, everything, and went back to where it all began; Resembool.
Perhaps she was subconsciously trying to retrace her steps, starting back at the place she'd called home, all that time ago, but if that were the case then she might've actually been searching for something. Sure, she'd passed by the train tracks, the grocery store she'd travelled to everyday right after her mother had died, to provide for Alphonse, the river she'd spent playing with Alphonse and Wes during her early childhood, Wes' house, where she'd gotten her first Automail prosthetic, and where Wes became her mechanic; after suffering an amputated leg and the death of her mother from the riots, and finally, past the house she'd grown up in, with Alphonse and her mother eating peacefully at the kitchen table, not a care in the world and discovering new things everyday.
Even then, Eden couldn't find the answer she was looking for. She couldn't even find the question. The rain had begun to soak Eden's Automail prosthetics, and both were beginning to lock up on every little movement. Eden went up to the big hill that overlooked the entirety of Resembool, and sat underneath its branches, trying to shield herself from the rain, but even then it never let her escape. The pellets dropped onto her from the leaves after they'd clumped up and become heavier and heavier on the foliage. Her Automail was useless in the rain, the excruciating pain from the rain making her want to throw up, but in her current state, she never processed that little detail, and remained static.
She was a statue; the endless wanderer, who wonders why she was put into this life of misery, chaos, and uncertainty. Eden let her Automail arm hang lazily across her body, holding her Automail leg which was stuck into a folded-in position, her other arm clinging onto the metallic surface of her prosthetic. Finally, after all of this time, the tears fell.
With the encounter in Rush Valley, Eden's scars from that day were reopened and doubled in size. It was a wound to her soul so severe that it couldn't be closed by even the loss of a limb in a misguided attempt at playing God.
Eden feared this wound would never close, and the tears would continue to spill in place of the blood that she would've been glad to pay, if nothing else than to get rid of this pain in her chest; the gaping void that wouldn't close.
It wasn't long before someone walked up to her, perhaps five hours, and it turned out to be Wes, though Eden kept her gaze low and motionless, as it had been since she first came to the hill. He held his usual calmness on his person, carrying an umbrella to shield himself from the sadness Eden's storm was spreading around her.
"You know you'll catch a cold," he said, trying to act nonchalant. Eden lifted her head up slightly to look at him, but then she lowered it again. "Come back to us, Eden."
There were those words; the ones that had haunted her since that day. Eden began shaking uncontrollably and the tears came on in an explosive new wave. Eden held her still-functioning hand to her face, letting out raspy, unattractive moans and whines and whimpers, all the while trying to hide from the man who'd stood by her side; the only one who truly believed in her and her goals, and for him to see her like this…
Wes sighed. "You know, sometimes I wonder why I even allow you out of my sight. You're irresponsible, and recalcitrant, and you never listen, not to mention you're prone to find trouble wherever you go, and you're so unstable, it's a wonder you can make it through the day at all," he kneeled down to look her in the eye, taking her hand into his own. "Now, I'm not saying that you aren't all of the above, but whenever I look into your eyes...your beautiful sparkling eyes, when I saw the glint of mischief, or the fires of determination in them, I know that all I need to do, to help you, is to be there."
"Well, you're not *sniff* helping me now…" Eden moaned in protest.
Wes smiled. "Maybe not until you're ready for me to help, but I promise I'll be by your side," he assured, handing her the umbrella and then picking her up and walking her over to her former house. "By the way, count yourself lucky that I still have the key to your house," he said as he unlocked and opened the door.
Eden had ceased listening, becoming lost in her own thoughts. Each time she delved too deep she tried to focus on the warmth she felt from Wes' body as he carried her. While she certainly wasn't used to or even particularly wanted the coddling, just feeling the warmth of another human felt so grounding to Eden.
Before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep, mentally exhausted from the ordeal.
xXx
xxxXXXxxx
xXx
The Alphonse lookalike ran far away from Rush Valley, back to the place that was closest to his own home. It was a dark little place, which he shared with four others. He burst in without warning, sooning collapsing onto his knees, and gripping his head in vain, trying to alleviate a bit of the massive pain that had formed when he'd heard that name. Alphonse...who was Alphonse? And why did it cause such agony within him.
One of the others in the room, Lust, chuckled. "What's up, Sloth? Did the Fullmetal Toddler get the best of you?"
"Shut up!" Sloth yelled back, his voice bold and forceful in an attempt to convey strength during this strange moment of weakness.
However, that only made Lust bust out laughing. "And I see you didn't even bring back the prize! Hahaha!"
Sloth stood and clenched his fists, only to collapse again, as the extra movement sent his head reeling. "Hey," Greed, another person in the room, started. "You okay, kid?"
"Not so hot when your fun is whisked away, like you did for us back in Lior, am I right?" Lust mocked him.
"Now, now…" a figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a pristine uniform with four stars on each shoulder. "Brethren like us has no need for these squabbles. You know that for the plan to work, we must have careful planning and cooperation from everyone," the man that had appeared was old, almost decrepit, and yet his commanding presence and sense of experience that he let off was enough for even Lust to acknowledge.
"Sure, whatever you say, old timer," Lust tried to play it casually.
"Very good. Sloth, report."
"There was a...girl. Could've been the one on the train, but I don't know; I was moving too fast to make it out. She was an Alchemist. There was another one, older; they cornered me and the girl caught me. When she saw me she called me...Alphonse."
"And you ran away?"
Sloth ignored the question. "Please, Pride, tell me who Alphonse is? Who is he? Who am I? And why does that name make me feel so weak?" Sloth ignored the question. Pride, the 'old timer' kneeled down and put a hand onto his subordinate's shoulder.
"Alphonse was a boy who was caught in the crossfire, nothing more. Of that, I can assure you. As for this girl, she was merely a pawn in the plan. I realize now that it was foolish to send such an inexperienced Homunculus to stop her. For now, you should recover your strength," Pride stood. "Wrath," he turned to the final figure, barely standing three and a half feet tall; merely a child really. "I believe it's time for you to make your debut to the Fullmetal."
Wrath's blank eyes remained neutral. "Alright," she dropped her arms to her side, the doll of a dog chimera hanging by its paw in her tiny hand. "I'll go now."
"Wait!" Sloth stopped them. "Those books you sent me for; they're useless to them. If they're Alchemists, then they'll seek more knowledge, right?"
"And there's only one place in the country with that much Alchemical knowledge," Greed agreed, with the others quickly picking up on the idea.
xXx
xxxXXXxxx
xXx
When Eden next awoke, she was under the cover of something soft, with her head resting comfortably. What was this...warmth? The warmth underneath her cheek.
Eden slowly opened her eyes, not only to see what it was, but keep herself from falling back asleep. However, any thoughts of working were immediately put on hold as Wes' face was just inches from hers, his hand under her cheek as a pillow. Both of them were lying underneath the kitchen table; how they got there and why they chose to sleep both together and under the table was beyond Eden.
Immediately upon recognizing his face in front of hers, Eden froze, tightening up every muscle in her body until she could lift her head and move back without any extra movement. Slowly but surely, Eden managed to stand, slowly recollecting the events that led her to that position, and having a fresh wave of melancholy strike her heart. Still, her tears had dried up, and they would remain that way until the next tragic reminder of her failures came along.
Eden sighed, walking outside into the brisk morning air, trying to get the redness to evaporate from her face from her awakening. She leaned on the railing and plopped her forehead onto her arms, closing her eyes as she did.
Perhaps five more minutes wouldn't hurt…
No! She jerked back up and shook her head. Though even then her body felt sluggish, as if she were underwater.
"You never were a morning person," Wes said form the doorway. Eden jumped and yelped at the surprise, turning and glaring at him. "So, bed-head, what do you want for breakfast?"
"Breakfast? What? You're just gonna act like yesterday didn't happen?"
"That's something I took from you," he waved off the concern as she reentered the house.
"H-hey!" She ran after him. "Get back here and make me food, grease-monkey!"
Their breakfast was peaceful. They talked the whole time, about anything except the previous day, and when it was over, they just sat staring at the other. Eventually, it had to stop, for fear of that awkward silence creeping in.
Wes reached into his back pocket. "Well, I've had this for a while, but since you were meeting up with Mrs. Curtis, I figured you wouldn't want it until after you saw her," he showed her the letter he'd found within the handgun. He turned it to show her the seal. It was a theoretical Flame Alchemy Circle, and it was the symbol Hawkeye had used to contact Eden through these messages since their meeting.
"Hawkeye?" Eden reached for it and snatched it away, ripping it open and reading it aloud.
"Fullmetal,
I'd overheard on the train that you were meeting up with your Alchemy Teacher to read up on that creature we saw on the train. While I don't don't the woman's expertise, I figure you'd want more pragmatic materials. In case you were interested, there's a ball being held the Commons of the National Central Library. I, holding the rank of colonel, am allowed two guests of my choosing. I've invited you, if you so choose to participate. If you accept, I'll be stopping Rush Valley on my way there, and you may join me.
Sincerely, Riza"
"Riza?" Eden wondered. She'd never used that name to sign her letters before.
"First name?" Wes guessed.
"Must be," Eden agreed. "Maybe it was a mistake?"
"Or maybe she just trusts you," Wes offered optimistically.
Eden chuckled. "Yeah, right; Hawkeye couldn't trust me any farther than she could shoot me."
"I don't think-"
"No one cares what you think," Eden interrupted, standing up. "Because right now, I just got a free ticket into the Central Library!"
"Uh, news flash," Wes said. "You're not exactly inconspicuous," he gestured to her fiery hair and Automail Prosthetics.
"Well, lucky for me, Hawkeye and I, and you, by the way, look a lot alike, so we could say we're relatives!" Wes didn't even try to argue against going with her. "The Automail isn't exactly uncommon in this country since the riots began anyway, so I could pass off with just an 'it was the riots' explanation. As for my face being wanted; that was totally the 'me' from three years ago."
"Yeah, you used to be kinda cute. Now you look like a horrible demon," Wes flicked her nose.
"Oh, piss off!" Eden swatted his hand away and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "Come on, we're going shopping for fancy clothes!"
Author's Note:
Hey guys, so I just want to say that I wrote this while half asleep and sick, so if there are any mistakes, please excuse that...*yawn*
Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I want to inform you guys that I've changed my mind on a small detail; the Homunculus that controlled water back in Lior I'm changing to Greed, and not Wrath. It'll make sense why I did so later, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to change it, though since it's already posted, it makes things a little awkward. But again, hot off the press and all that...
Anyway, why don't you guys leave me a review detailing your opinions? It would mean the world to me if you did, and, hey, it might actually make me feel like not total crap! It's a win-win situation!