Chapter 12- Flying Sucks
I jerked awake from my short nap in my seat, forgetting where I was for a moment. Then, I realized I was on the plane with Ed. I checked my wrist as where my Rolex was a few hours ago for the time to realize that we had sold it to a jewelry shop at the airport to get high-class plane tickets and have a lot of extra money for clothes later so Ed wouldn't stick out.
Disappointed, I turned to my left to see Ed sleeping, mouth open and snoring quietly. When we got on the plane Ed did not believe that it could fly, and did not like lift off at all. He then felt a little nauseous and promptly went to sleep about ten to twenty minutes in to let the time pass by quicker.
Again, I still couldn't believe that an anime character was right next to me, Edward Elric none the less. It was like… I had stepped into a dream. But everything was real, and there was nothing stopping the chain of events that happened like waking up.
Right then and there, in the not-so-comfy seat on the airplane to Houston, Texas right next to Edward Elric, I realized that I will stop at nothing to get Ed back to Amestris and, more importantly, to Alphonse. Ed had no one else in this world to trust, and was counting on me and the rest of the cast to help him on his quest back.
I sighed as the feeling that I just got into something bigger than I can handle settled. Then, a woman in a flight attendant uniform started to walk down the aisle. As she came closer, I said "Excuse me miss." She turned, and looked at me with what seemed like a forced smile on her face. I smiled back and asked "Is there Wi-Fi available on the plane at the moment?"
Luckily, she nodded and said "Yes sir, but only for a short while. Anything else?"
"Oh no, thank you though." Then she continued down the aisle, walking away. I then eagerly grabbed my backpack and zipped it open, making some noise that resulted in Ed turning to his side, facing away from me. More cautious than before, I put the backpack at my feet and then opened my laptop.
Turning it on, I logged onto my desktop with ease. Looking at the Wi-Fi signal at the bottom of my screen, I frowned seeing that it was only two bars. Fancy first class Wi-Fi you have here I thought. Right next to the Wi-Fi signal was the time; 10:05 PM. Opening the internet, I typed down the first thing that came into mind; news of Sakura Con.
It had since worried me as what had happened when the wall was knocked over by Scar. When I typed it in and pushed enter, I was bombarded with loads of news links about the event. I then, not wanting to waste loads of time searching for some specific website, I just clicked the first link on the page.
It led me to a website called ' ' which had the title "Freak Attack at Convention Center in Seattle"
I sighed as I quickly skimmed the article, which basically said that I was attacked by an attendee who witnesses say he cosplayed as Scar. Then the article continued to afterwards, where they say he had set off a bomb on the wall which killed five people in impact, destroying the Convention Center. I rolled my eyes at the bomb, due to Ed, me and a few others knowing that it was actually alchemy.
I scrolled down as the article showed two clear pictures with captions under each one. The first picture was of three cosplayers and each one cosplayed a character from Ouran High School Host Club; Tamaki, Haruhi, and Honey. The cosplayers had done exceptionally well with their costumes, as they looked the part and were all as happy as they could be. They were all in front of the convention center smiling in the photo. Underneath the picture was the caption:
"The siblings and their cousin Dave (left), Jana Ann (middle), and Willey Smith (right) all one hour before the attack. The photo was taken from Willey's camera and posted onto her Facebook soon before their death. These three and two unidentified bodies were also killed when the bomb had gone off."
I looked at the photo closer, and then realization hit me, including grief and shock. "Those were…" I muttered to myself, thinking back to the panel to the three Ouran cosplayers sitting next to Ed, all so glad to be there at my panel. Dave even asked a question to me… Oh God I hope they're with You in Heaven, I silently prayed.
Not wanting to look at the photo that much anymore, I scrolled down to see the second one. It wasn't as clear as the other picture, as this one seemed to have been taken on a phone while they were moving. From what I could tell from the picture, it looked like Scar trying to attack me and Ed with his red eyes ablaze. Alchemy sparks were at the tips of his fingers, but they looked just like red pixels from the bad quality picture.
The caption on this picture was longer than the other one. "Attacker as witness's state looked like a dark skinned man in his late thirties with a large x-like scar on his face (above center). Some say that he looked exactly like the anime character Scar from animes 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood', and let off a small firecracker-like bomb off onto the stage right after the photo was taken."
I sighed once more as I massaged my forehead, hoping the headache that was appearing would soon go away. "What the hell have I got myself into? People are getting killed because of this," I muttered. I decided that I did not want to look at the laptop anymore; I grabbed the lid and glanced at the screen before I closed it.
I stopped closing it and opened the lid to where it was before to get a better look at the picture right of the article, which was a link to another article. The title of this one was "Serial Killer Traveling Western America: Who Will Be Next?" The picture above it was one of those security cameras in black and white, with Scar turned and dark liquid that most likely was blood on his jacket and hand.
I immediately clicked the link to read the article, as this one I did not skim like the last one.
"After the Convention Center bombing in Seattle, Washington today, April 14th, the main suspect of setting off the bomb is believed to have murdered two more people; both police officers who were ordered to kill on sight after the suspect fled the scene of the Convention Center.
The unnamed suspect some call "The Scarred Man" or "Scar" due to the large x-like mark upon his face when witnesses describe him, and his uncanny resemblance to the Japanese anime character of the same name from the shows 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.'
"There were red sparks of light, like electricity or fireworks or something. Then… they were dead. They looked like… their insides were blown up" eyewitness Jonathan Stark stated in an interview with Q13 Fox News about witnessing the deaths of police officers Bella Swan and Mary Sue.
"Scar" was last seen near the Northern part of the Duwamish River heading southeast. He is a large black man in his thirties with short grey hair, supposed red eyes, and a large full arm tattoo on his right arm. If you have spotted him, please call the police and report the sighting.
The article was shorter than I expected, but was helpful none the less. Without thinking, I put my hand on Ed's arm and shook him promptly. A small groan was heard from him as he turned to his right, facing me and saying slowly "what?"
"Scar killed some after we ran from the convention. Here, read this." Ed stopped in mid-stretch of his arms and took the laptop from my hands. I saw his eyes quickly move across the screen from one side to the other, reading the article. Then he looked up at me, fire in his eyes as he quickly and forcefully handed the laptop back at me.
Then, crossing his arms and facing forward he said grimly "Were there any other deaths because of him?" This question was hard for me to answer. Crap, do I say yes and tell him that three of his friends died? I thought. Slowly, I stated "Yes. Five… but they were unidentifiable from the rubble of the wall that fell from the Convention Center."
I hate lying, I thought as Ed frowned even more. Lowering his head, his bangs got in the way of his face, making it hard to read his emotions. "And it's my entire fault… If I didn't go to find Scar in Central then none of these people would have…"
"No Ed." He then looked up at me, surprised at the anger in my voice. "This was not your fault. Scar is the one using the alchemy, and he's the one that sent you here. This is his doing, so don't put the blame on yourself! I will not allow you to do that."
Ed looked at me one more time, and then turned to the window outside. I then promptly shut my laptop off and closed it, putting it away. I looked at the window to see the same dark night sky he was looking at, stars barely visible.
"I hate flying" Ed said behind me as we got my luggage. I turned my head toward him and said "Stop complaining. The trip is over, and be glad that you didn't throw up."
"I felt like I would have if it continued any more…" I rolled my eyes as I turned my phone on and put it in my pocket. I turned around to see Ed lift one of my suitcases off the luggage belt and put it down. "Is this the last one?" he said, pointing at the bag as I saw again a glint of automail from his glove. I nodded as a small grin appeared on my face.
"Let's not do that again…" He quietly said as we started to walk away from the luggage belt. "Hey, be glad that this is faster than driving or even walking like you do in Amestris."
"Whatever…" Ed grumbled behind me. We walked to an escalator with Ed following me, as we rode up to the next floor. Hmm, no remarks from Ed, I thought. Glad he's getting used to the tech; I'm getting tired of explaining everything.
We got to the top and I walked a foot or two away from the escalator so I wouldn't be blocking it for people coming up like us. Ed then stood on my left and dropped the luggage he was carrying in between us.
"Where is that exit…" I mumbled to myself, putting the bag I was carrying to the ground at my side. I glazed over the people in the crowd loitering or walking, trying to find the exit. Suddenly, I did a double take. A man and a woman were standing about twenty yards or so away, talking to each other. The man was taller than the woman, with black hair and a long face, while the woman was shorter, about my height with wavy dark brown hair, facing away from Ed and me.
No… is that…?
The man glanced towards us and like me, did a double take too. Staring at us, he grinned largely. His wife turned to see what her husband was staring at, and looked at us. She smiled too, as Ed said "Wait a second, are those two people…" trailing off.
I walked over to them, as the man walked over to me and gave me a large hug.
"Hey Travis."
"Hi Vic."
Alright! There's the next chapter for you guys! Sorry for slow updates, high school is tough when you have all honours classes and a stupid amount of homework every day. The next chapter will be up on... November 2nd!
And by the way... POKEMON X AND Y OH MY GOD I CANNOT WAIT. Sorry, had to get that out. (I'm getting Fennekin and Squirtle, btw.)
PLEASE REVIEW. If there's something I need to change, review. If there's something you don't like, review. If there's something you do like, review. Talk to me through reviews!
Thanks again, and may your pencil stay sharp!
~Azorria
