Chapter 14-
When they got back to NCIS, Ed watched as the others tried to figure out a way to get Moore's still unconscious form into the building without anyone noticing since technically Moore didn't exist and it was apparently frowned upon to put an unconscious person into an interview room without medical personnel looking them over. DiNozzo was the one who came up with the idea.
"Why don't we go to the back entrance of the morgue and take him in that way?" He suggested and Gibbs looked at him for a moment before pulling out his phone and having a quick conversation with Ducky.
"Good thinking, DiNozzo." Gibbs said before turning to the BAU. DiNozzo looked really proud of himself. "We'll take Moore and Edward through the morgue. Ducky can have a look at Edward's shoulder while we take Moore up to interrogation. Ziva, go tell Vance what we're doing." He ordered and she nodded.
"The rest of us will wait in the conference room for you and Ed." Hotch said and Gibbs nodded. Mustang didn't seemed pleased that Ed would be out his sight but he hid it pretty well. Ed rolled his eyes at the older man, refusing to admit he was touched by the concern, and hopped in the passenger seat, leaving McGee and DiNozzo to sit beside Moore while Gibbs drove and parked next to the ME van. Ducky was waiting for them and he didn't look too happy.
"You couldn't go more than a few hours without getting hurt?" He asked as Ed stepped out of the car. The blonde grinned sheepishly while the agents hauled Moore out.
"I'd like to say that this is the quickest I've gotten hurt after being patched up but I'd be lying." He told the doctor who sighed.
"Well, come on. I haven't got all day and don't think you won't get questioned about him." He glared at them all while pointing to Moore. Ed dutifully followed the doctor inside, leaving Moore in the capable hands of the NCIS agents. Ed sat in the spot he'd vacated only a few hours ago while Moore was hoisted onto an autopsy table. Ed half hoped the man would wake up so he could watch him freak out.
"I had a paramedic look at it. She said I also popped a couple of my stitches." Ed told Ducky as he removed his shirt. McGee and DiNozzo barely stopped themselves from flinching when they saw the amount of scars and bruises covering Ed's torso. Even without the scars there, the amount of bruising was almost impressive. Ducky carefully removed the dressings the paramedic had applied and made a sympathetic noise.
"You'll need stitches in that cut and I need to redo at least half the original ones." Ducky told him and Ed nodded casually. "I don't know if I have any local anesthetic left." Ducky said as he tried to remember.
"Don't worry about it. Just stitch me up without it." Ed told him and Ducky looked horrified.
"You are not getting a dozen or so stitches without some sort of pain relief. I'll find something." Ducky told him sternly before heading off to do just that while Ed watched him, a little shocked at the adamant attitude. McGee and DiNozzo sniggered at his face until stopped by a look from both Ed and Gibbs. "I had enough local anesthetic." Ducky announced as he came back.
"Sweet." Ed said as he watched Ducky administer it. After a couple of minutes, he couldn't feel anything and he gave the doctor the go ahead.
"So what happened this time?" Ducky asked as he started stitching.
"Well, he was kinda pissed that he fell for the fake stones and I may have made a comment about his intelligence being non-existent. Turns out he had a knife stashed in the room and he started attacking me. He got my shoulder but buried the knife in the wall doing so. I punched him in the gut to get him away from me and Mustang hit him hard enough for Gibbs and Hotch to cuff him with minimal resistance." Ed told him and Ducky hummed.
"So why is he unconscious? Who knocked him out?" Ducky queried and DiNozzo snorted slightly.
"That would be me." Ed told him and Ducky looked confused. "I knocked him out because his voice was getting really annoying." He explained and Ducky looked exasperated.
"At least tell me you don't make a habit of doing that." He asked and Ed actually had to think about his answer.
"No, usually I knock them out during the fight or they're smart enough to mouth off after I'm out of striking distance." Ed answered honestly. "Moore was neither. Idiot decided to bitch about him being arrested and kept threatening me and Mustang so I elbowed him in the back of the head." He said, a little defensively.
"I'm not certain why that doesn't surprise me." Ducky muttered, continuing his work on Ed's shoulder. McGee and DiNozzo joined Ed's chuckle. Ducky soon had all necessary wounds stitched up and was just packing when Moore started stirring. Ed was kind of surprised the dude had stayed out as long as he had.
"McGee, take Edward upstairs to the conference room." Gibbs ordered and Ed went to argue but realised it was probably for the best he wasn't around if and when Moore started his bitching again. He heard the start of Moore's mumbling as the autopsy doors shut behind them and the elevator ones opened.
Opening the conference room door, he was greeted by far less noise than he expected. Though, now that he was thinking about it, it was nearly 5am and everyone was probably tired. Ed knew he was, despite his extended nap the day before. Mustang was the first to notice him, though Ed had the feeling that was because he was already watching the door, even though he'd been doing a good job at pretending he wasn't.
"Edward!" Mustang was, however, not the first person to greet him. JJ got that honour as she stood up to fuss over him. "Are you alright?" She asked, her concerned-mum voice coming out. She had his face in-between her hands and was checking the bruises she could see.
"Doctor Mallard patched me up. I'll be pretty sore tomorrow but I'm alright, Miss JJ." Ed told her and she looked at him for a moment before sighing.
"You should go back to the hotel and get some sleep." She said but Hotch spoke up.
"First, we need to know what happened after he and Agent David were taken. Everything from that moment until we showed up." Hotch said, looking at Ed slightly apologetically.
"Okay. So you saw Miss Ziva and I get put in that van, right?" He asked and everyone nodded. He started telling them everything and no one commented throughout the story, except to snort when Ziva reminded him he'd turned around and flipped Moore off as they were running. It took him a little while to tell it all and Ziva made some comments when Ed missed something, which he appreciated. "And then you lot turned up just as Moore stabbed me, the prick, and yeah. That's it." He finished.
"Thank you, Ed. Do you think you can tell us what happened in the building tonight? The Brigadier-General has already given us his version but we'd like to hear yours." Rossi asked and Ed scowled at the use of Mustang's title.
"Sure. So we snuck past the first four people. Mustang and I took down the next four. Then I snuck through the air vents and took down three people and helped Mustang tackle the only one in his trio that decided to fight. Then we headed up and I used the door Moore was hiding behind to take out one of the three idiots who decided to fight for him. The big fella eventually got me in a choke hold while the skinny one stole the stones and gave them to Moore. Moore fell for the trick, I broke the big fella's nose and the lanky dude took off. From what I heard outside, Mustang took care of him. After that, I fought Moore, who was really pissy I wasn't as dumb as he thought I was, and I'm pretty sure Mustang took the other dude out of the room but I was pretty occupied with Moore's knife so I don't actually know. Then Moore tried to stab me and kinda missed and I hit him in the gut and Mustang punched him. Then you lot came in." Mustang was kind of glad he wasn't the only person Ed reported to like that but Hotch didn't seem to mind.
"Well, that seems pretty consistent with what the Brigadier-General said." Ed rolled his eyes at the title. "Did you guys want to go back to the hotel for a rest?" Hotch asked and Ed and Mustang exchanged a look.
"We will but separately; just in case." Mustang told them and Ed nodded. Hotch and the others looked like they wanted to insist they both just go but decided against it.
"Okay. Who's first?" Hotch asked.
"Me. He did fuck-all and I need a shower." Ed said, jumping back up and dismissing Mustang before he could even talk with a wave.
"I'll agree you need a shower." Mustang drawled and Ed's hackles raised.
"I'll kick your arse." Ed warned and Mustang raise a brow in a 'what are you waiting for' manner. Ed saw it a second after Morgan did.
"As much fun," Morgan said as he caught Ed by the right arm, "as it would be to see you actually kick his arse, we should go before traffic gets too bad." Ed glared at Mustang before turning to Morgan.
"Sure. Let's go." Prentiss came over at a nod from Morgan and Ed flipped Mustang off as they left the room.
It didn't take long for them to get to the hotel, though it took longer than Ed thought since there was still so much traffic. One good about Central, and Amestris in general, is there weren't this many cars. Ed headed up to his and Mustang's room before turning to face them as he opened his door.
"Wake me up in," he thought for a second, "five hours. That should be good enough. Then Mustang can come and get his beauty sleep." Ed told them and Morgan nodded but Prentiss looked a little concerned.
"Are you sure five hours will be long enough?" She asked and Ed nodded.
"Yup. I'll use my absorbing array while I sleep. It'll be fine." Ed told her and, although she didn't look convinced, she nodded and they left him be. The shower he took was amazing. He could feel the crazy from Moore and his lackeys washing off of him and he was grateful Ducky had thought to put waterproof bandages on him so he didn't have to worry about changing them when he got out. Throwing on a clean shirt and boxers, he slipped into bed and was asleep only moments after drawing and activating his array.
He woke up groggily to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them, he opened the door to see Morgan on the other side.
"If it hasn't been five hours-" He started threateningly but Morgan held his hands up in a calming gesture.
"Chill, blondie, it has been. You alright? Do you want more sleep?" He asked, doing a very good job at not staring at Ed's automail. None of them had ever seen either of the whole limbs and it was rather disconcerting but, Morgan grimaced internally, he'd seen worse. Ed glared at him blearily.
"No." He finally said, the threat of death vanishing from his eyes. "I'm awake now. Just give me twenty minutes? Yeah, that should be plenty. Twenty minutes and I'll be ready. But we need coffee. The stuff in here is terrible and I need decent coffee to wake me up from not enough sleep." Ed told him sternly and shut the door before Morgan could say anything. The FBI agent just nodded and went to tell Prentiss.
Twenty minutes later, Morgan and Prentiss where waiting downstairs in the lobby. Edward joined them a couple of minutes later, wearing another pair of jeans, his red hoodie from before and a black tee with the quote 'ask me if I care (hint: I don't)' written on it. Prentiss wondered if Garcia had been the one to pick it out. She was fairly certain she was.
The drive back to NCIS took forever, or so it felt, but that was only because of all the traffic and Ed needing food and coffee to function properly. He looked at the clock in the car and saw it was nearly 11am which meant they had over 25 hours before Al would open the portal again. Ed wondered if he could talk Doctor Reid into finding him some books to pass the time then he remembered some of the agents had said there was stuff they wanted him to try before he left again.
They finally got back to the building. Security was as thorough as ever and Ed wondered what would happen if they did find something. He was curious as to how they would respond. Almost immediately, the voice in his head (that sounded suspiciously like Al) was telling not to do anything stupid. For once, he listened to it. The second SUV was still there when they parked so he figured none of the others were out of the building. At least, he assumed that most of the BAU agents and his commanding officer were still inside. That theory was proven correct when they walked into the conference room and saw everyone, including Vance, there.
"Appropriate." Mustang smirked, eyes darting down to Ed's shirt and back up.
"You know it." Ed said, collapsing into his chair. He vaguely heard someone ask if he was alright, JJ, he thought, and gave them a thumbs up. "Just waiting for the coffee to kick in." He muttered and heard a familiar snicker. He flipped the older alchemist.
"I'll head to the hotel now that Fullmetal is back." Mustang announced and Ed lifted his head up. Rossi and JJ were standing near him.
"Thank fuck. You need all the sleep you can get in your old age." Ed snarked and Mustang glared.
"Keep it up, brat, and I'll tell Alphonse how little sleep you've been getting." He threatened but Ed looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"You think he doesn't already know? But go ahead. While you tell him that, I'll tell Miss Riza just how well-rested and eager to get to your paperwork you are." He quirked a brow, challenging Mustang to try him and the flame alchemist glared at the blonde before Rossi cleared his throat not so subtlety and Mustang nodded.
"Try not to blow the building up, Fullmetal." He drawled as he left.
"You're not in it. What would be the point?" Ed snapped as the door shut. He still glared at it, just in case. He looked back at the group and saw the bewildered look on DiNozzo, Ziva and McGee's faces. The BAU looked resigned, they were used to it after all, and both Gibbs and the director looked nonplussed by it. "What?" He asked the three shocked agents.
"Okay, do you two get along or not?" DiNozzo asked bluntly. He didn't seem phased by the 'seriously?' looks he was getting from his two teammates.
"Course we do. Wouldn't work together if we didn't." Ed frowned, confused. DiNozzo looked even more perplexed. Ed looked at him like he wasn't sure how he wasn't getting this. "If I don't like someone, I don't go near them and I certainly don't work with them. Sure, at first I hated him and worked under him simply because he knew the truth behind my and my brother's injuries and he'd offered me a way to find a way to fix them as long as I worked for him. He was very open about how he was just using me as a political tool to climb to the top of the military ladder and I couldn't, and still don't, give a fuck about that. As long as he kept our secret and let me search for what I needed, I didn't care. There have been plenty of military higher-ups who have approached me with kind words and amazing promises and I told them all to fuck off because it was obvious to me that Mustang was the only one in the military who would do me the common courtesy of telling me the truth, no matter how harsh it was. It wasn't until after Father that Mustang and I could actually talk without fighting and without worrying about corrupt dicks trying to use it against us." He told them, a little annoyed he had to explain this so soon after waking up.
"So the fighting?" McGee asked and Ed sighed.
"It's what we always do. If someone you worked with all the time suddenly changed the way they acted around you or someone you both work with, what would you think?" He asked pointedly and saw the moment they understood. "We act like this because it's habit to act this way around people. Even around our teammates and my brother. If Mustang and I weren't getting along, we wouldn't be taunting each other like this." He shrugged and sat up properly.
"That actually makes a lot of sense." DiNozzo said, sounding a little surprised. Ziva rolled her eyes at him.
"Of course it does. Now, what are we doing to kill the next 24ish hours?" He asked just before the conference room door burst open, startling just about everyone. Abby stood on the other side, Garcia close by.
"Mustang told us you were back." Abby said in way of explaining. She hauled Ed up and hugged him tightly before letting him go. He barely had time to react to that when Garcia swept him up in an equally tight hug. "Hey, Director Vance. We're stealing Edward." Abby said once she realised the big boss was in the room.
"And why are you stealing Edward, Miss Scuito?" He asked, deep voice tinged slightly with amusement. Ed had finally been released by the blonde and was now being lectured about worrying her.
"Oh, I ran blood tests on the Amestrians, is that right?" She asked Ed, who nodded. She faced the director again. "I ran tests on their blood. Scientific curiousity. I wanted to see the difference between us on a genetic level and also needed to type Moore's in case we had to I.D. a body." She informed him.
"And that has what to do with kidnapping our guest?" He asked, making her realise she hadn't actually answered the question.
"Oh! Ed was curious as well and all of the results are in now so I was going to show him if you guys didn't need him anymore. Sir." She added the last part quickly, like she'd almost forgotten to do so.
"Why are you with Miss Scuito, Garcia?" Hotch asked and Garcia looked over at him, stopping her fussing over Edward for the moment.
"Scientific curiousity." She said.
"You aren't a scientist." Hotch pointed out, brow quirked in amusement.
"But I am curious." She sing-songed back and Hotch allowed a small smile before nodding. She grinned before beginning to pull Edward through the door.
"We'd like him back in one piece, Miss Scuito. And," he added, looking at both Edward and Abby, "no more experiments with alchemy that result in explosions, no matter how minor." He warned and Ed gave him a sheepish grin.
"Yes, Director." Abby smiled her nicest smile. Ed looked over at Reid.
"Hey, Reid, do you wanna come with?" He asked and Reid looked at Hotch hopefully. The BAU team leader just nodded and Reid grinned, eyes glinting with excitement as he joined them. They were out of the door a moment later, oblivious to everyone's amusement at their excitement.
Soon they were entering Abby's lab and were surprised to see Doctor Mallard standing near the computer screens. A quick look around confirmed there was no one else down there and Ed theorised that maybe the good doctor was down here for the same reason; he wanted to see what their blood showed.
"Hey, Doctor Mallard." Ed greeted the coroner as they piled into the lab. The elderly man looked up, mildly startled at their arrival.
"Ah, Edward. How are you this morning? Or, rather, afternoon. You haven't gotten into another fight, have you?" He asked and Ed shook his head.
"Nope. Went back to the hotel and crashed for a few hours so I'm good. You down here to see what Miss Abby found out?" He asked and Ducky nodded.
"Oh, yes. I admit I am rather intrigued by what differences there could be in our blood. Abby has, of course, already shown me the results from your blood tests. It's rather remarkable that your DNA doesn't share a link with any ethnicity in our world." Ducky sounded curiously excited about it.
"To be honest, my brother and I are the only people in Amestris, that we know of, who are members of a particular race that was wiped out hundreds of years ago. We're half Xersian, half Amestrian. I'm not surprised you don't have a race here that matches that. Apparently, gold eyes are unheard of in both our worlds." Ed grinned at him. Ducky looked very interested.
"My, that is fascinating. How is it you are half - Xersian, was it?" Ducky asked and Ed nodded. "Half Xersian if that race went extinct hundreds of years ago?" Ed contemplated the answer, not really knowing what to say in response.
"My father," no one missed how he practically spat that word, "Hohenheim, was the alchemist Father had deceived into wiping out a whole civilisation in order for him to gain eternal life and a human body. As a reward, I suppose, Father turned Hohenheim into a homunculous. They look human but they have a Philosopher's Stone inside of them that practically makes them immortal. Unless you're me and they piss you off so you find ways to destroy stones permanently so you can kill them. Anyway, Hohenheim was Xersian so we're half Xersian." Ed explained and Ducky nodded.
"I'm assuming from what you mentioned, your eye colour is a trait of the Xersian race?" Ducky asked and Ed nodded. "I see. Well, you are right about your eye colour being unusual. I've certainly never seen or heard of anyone coming across people whose eyes were naturally gold in colour." He said.
"This is all really fascinating, and no I'm not being sarcastic, but let's get to what we came down here for." Abby interrupted and Ed scratched the back of his neck self-consciously.
"Sure thing, Miss Abby. What'd you find out?" He asked as he moved closer to the computer screens. She tapped at the keyboard for a moment before the big TV in front of her had multiple files opened on it. She moved them around to it so they could all see.
"Okay, so this is Moore's blood. This one is Ed's and this one is Mustang's." She told them, pointing at the screens in question. They nodded to show they got it. "So, first thing I did was look at the genomes that indicate race. As you probably heard, Ed's doesn't really show up anywhere. Some of them indicate he could be of German descent but they aren't an exact match. Moore's closely resembles German descent so I'm assuming that Amestrian DNA would register German as being the closest match. Mustang's indicates more of an Asian descent, maybe Japanese, possibly Korean. I'm assuming Mustang isn't descended from Amestrians?" She asked and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, his parents were Xingese, from what I know." He told her and she nodded.
"Okay, so Mustang would be registered as Asian descent." She concluded. "But like I said, none of their race genomes match exactly to any region. They just share similar markers to ones we've registered here." She sounded completely fascinated by this. Ed was intrigued by that as well.
"Oh, what about that second anomaly you found, Miss Abby?" He asked, remembering how it was the whole reason they made Mustang give them blood. Abby immediately pulled up the files she needed.
"Okay so this was the second thing that really got me curious." She said before using her pointer to show them what she meant. "Ed already knows what my hypothesis is for it. I think it's their alchemy." She tells the rest of them.
"Why?" Reid asked, not condescendingly but rather curious as to how she reached that conclusion.
"It was something Ed said. He was born with the talent and the brains to do it. So I figured it had something to do with his genetic make up and this anomaly is present in all three samples, though it's very faint in Moore's. Therefore, alchemy." She explained and Ed nodded.
"She's probably right. Moore has alchemic talent; he just doesn't have enough for it to count. There are probably hundreds of people in Amestris who have the energy inside of them but lack the actual ability to use it." Ed told them. "There's a difference between reading about something and actually doing it. I don't really know if that makes sense. I guess the best way to put it is there's something instinctual about performing alchemy and if you don't have that instinct, you can't transmute." Ed tried to explain and he was relieved to see they understood what he was trying to say.
"So you think Abby's right? That anomaly is your alchemy on a DNA level?" Reid asked and Ed nodded. "That's amazing. I wonder what else we could find out if we did an in-depth study of your blood." He mused and Ed shook his head.
"Miss Abby's destroyed all of our blood samples, right?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yeah as soon as I was done with them, they got incinerated. I'll end up scrubbing the results from my systems as well." Abby said, sighing a little sadly.
"Thanks, Miss Abby." Ed said sincerely, giving her a grateful smile. Reid distracted Abby with all sorts of questions that she and Ducky took turns in answering. Ed joined in while Garcia asked more clarifying question as she was into tech stuff, not icky stuff, so she wasn't always able to follow what they were saying until she had them explain it a bit more for her.
They'd moved on from the blood samples to technology when Ed had admitted he wasn't sure what half the stuff in the lab did and that the most advanced things they had in Amestris were phones and cars. Reid and Garcia already knew this from his last visit and Abby and Ducky had suspected but the two NCIS employees hadn't realised how badly behind his world was. Morgan and DiNozzo walked in on that conversation and were admittedly confused considering they were expecting the conversation to still be about the blood samples and stuff.
"Hey, Boo." Garcia greeted Morgan as she spotted the two men entering.
"What up, loser?" Abby greeted Tony in turn as Ed raised a hand in a half wave.
"Hey, baby girl." Morgan smiled, sliding to stand behind Garcia while Tony went to stand next to Abby.
"Hey, nerd." He said, squeezing her in a half hug as he spotted Ducky. "Oh hey, Ducky. Didn't realise you'd be down here." He said, giving the doctor a grin.
"Well, I was admittedly intrigued when Abby showed me the results from young Edward's blood. I just had to see the other results myself." Ducky told him and Tony nodded. He didn't understand the fascination over some blood but he could understand why Ducky would be interested.
"I'm sure you two aren't here to see what Abby found so what's up?" Reid asked and Morgan nodded.
"You'd be right. Prentiss and JJ want Ed for some reason." Morgan said and Ed furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Did they say what they wanted?" He asked. He couldn't remember them asking him for anything.
"Nope. They just told us to come get you. You don't argue with JJ when she's using her mum voice." Morgan told him and Reid and Garcia snickered behind Ed. "You two, shut your mouths." He ordered but the humour in his eyes kinda lessened the effect.
"Come on then. We better not keep them waiting." Ed said before facing Abby. "Thank you for showing me the results. They were really informative." He said, dipping into a small bow. Abby immediately swept him up into a hug once he'd straightened.
"Thanks for letting me do the tests. It was fun." She said as he hugged her back, pretty much resigned to the constant hugs he got from Abby and Garcia now. He was finally released and allowed to leave, everyone except Abby and Ducky accompanying him back up to the conference room. Vance was no longer there and Ed wasn't surprised to see Rossi and Mustang weren't there but he was surprised JJ wasn't there either.
"I thought you said Miss JJ was the one to ask me back up here?" He asked Morgan.
"Yeah, she called. Someone's taking you and Prentiss back to the hotel so that person can switch with JJ." Morgan explained and Ed blinked before deciding to roll with it.
"Oh. Okey dokey. I'm ready whenever you are, Miss Emily." He said and she smiled at him before turning to Garcia.
"Are you coming with us?" She asked and Penelope nodded.
"Yup. Just let me get my bag. I'll meet you at the car?" She offered and Prentiss nodded so Garcia disappeared out of the room.
"Reid, do you want to head to the hotel with us and switch with JJ?" Prentiss asked and Reid considered for a moment.
"Sure. I can get some reading done." He said finally. Ed realised in that moment that he'd neglected to ask something.
"Hey, how's Moore?" He asked Gibbs, who sighed slightly.
"He's very... vocal." He told him irritably. "The director has had a few people comment about the amount of noise he's making." He told him and DiNozzo felt the need to add on to that.
"I'm honestly impressed he hasn't given up yet." He said and Gibbs glared at him.
"I can go shut him up again. It honestly wouldn't be an issue and I'd genuinely enjoy it." He offered, smirking a little.
"Tempting but no. We can't let you knock him out." Gibbs didn't sound overly happy to be saying that and Ed pouted a little.
"Not even if I use chemicals?" He asked and DiNozzo, Ziva and McGee certainly looked ready to take him up on it but Gibbs still shook his head.
"Not even than." He said reluctantly.
"Okay. But if you change your mind..." He trailed off pointedly and Gibbs almost smiled.
"I'll keep it in mind." He said dryly and Ed nodded before being hustled out the door by a now impatient Prentiss and amused Reid.
Prentiss didn't tell Ed anything about what they were doing during the whole drive and Garcia was just as quiet. Apparently, JJ was the one with the plan and wanted to tell Ed so they were respecting that, which was something Ed himself could respect. It only took him ruining a surprise from Winry for Al once before he learnt that lesson. Evidently, Al had also only needed to be taught that lesson once as well. They got to the hotel and JJ was already waiting outside for them. She and Reid exchanged a few words before Reid waved goodbye to the group and headed in. JJ took Reid's spot in the front passenger seat and gave Prentiss instructions.
"So where are we going?" Ed asked now that JJ was in the car and could answer him.
"I thought we'd take you to do some shopping with us so you can see what our country has to offer and after that, we're going to go see a movie I think you'd enjoy." She told him and Ed had to think back to when he first met Garcia and she was explaining pop culture to him and delved into movies. The idea of seeing a movie had excited Edward and JJ had been sad he never got to see one before he left so she was determined to make up for it now.
"Really?" He asked excitedly and JJ nodded.
"Yup. Though you'll probably appreciate the fact that you get to sit down after we're done shopping more. I've been told we're hard to keep up with." JJ said, half apologetic and half amused.
"I've had Winry drag me around the entirety of Central searching for one stupid wrench she wanted. I think I'll live." Ed grouched at the memory. It had taken forever to find the stupid wrench and, naturally, it was in the last fricking shop they'd looked at.
"I think he's challenging us." Garcia said to the other two women and they all had a twinkle in their eye that would've made Ed nervous if he hadn't been around Winry his whole life.
"Bring it on." He smirked and they all laughed at him. He kept asking questions about what they were going to do and see but JJ was still tight-lipped about it all, telling him he'd just have to wait and see.
Ed soon discovered that shopping with these three was quite different than shopping with Winry and the one time Miss Riza had asked him to accompany her so he could help her carry her purchases back to her apartment. The reason mainly being that both Amestrian women had known exactly what they were looking for. The three American women were just flitting in and out of random shops when something caught their eye, dragging Ed along with them. They kept trying to by him things but Ed had asked how they expected him to take the stuff home, hoping the question would deter them from buying him the stuff they wanted to. They seemed to deflate a little and Ed called that a win until Garcia suddenly perked up.
"We can buy him a backpack to store it all in!" She exclaimed and the two other women were immediately on board with the idea.
"Guys, you do know you don't need to buy me things? Don't go spending your money on me. I can't pay you back for it." Ed finally said as they were dragging him to a store that would sell bags.
"We know, Ed." JJ told him.
"We want to though." Prentiss assured him.
"Besides, in the unlikely event we end up in Amestris somehow, you can return the favour." Garcia said cheerfully and that seemed to end the conversation for them. Anytime Ed raised an objection them buying him something, he was overruled. Except when Garcia tried to buy him something techy. JJ and Prentiss were on Ed's side then when he reminded her he wouldn't be able to use it in Amestris because of their lack of tech. Garcia had pouted but ultimately listened.
By the time JJ had announced they needed to head to the cinema, Ed was almost as tired as he was after one of Winry's visits. He had to admit, women shopping in both universes was just as exhausting as each other. They headed to the movie theatre after putting their purchases in the car since they'd bought too much stuff to take into the theatre. JJ went up to the ticket seller and bought all of their tickets to see a movie called 'Real Steel' and soon they were leading Ed into a darkened room with a massive screen and were taking their seats.
When they left after the movie was over, Ed couldn't stop asking questions about how the movie was made and some things he didn't understand that happened in the movie. Garcia did her best to answer the technical stuff and what she didn't know, she whipped out her phone and after a minute or so, she'd be able to tell him. It had blown his mind to learn that the movie was fictional, that most of the movie had been created with special effects and from computers. The other two women switched their mobiles back on and Prentiss excused herself as she called Hotch back. The other three members of the group kept walking towards the car. By the time Prentiss had caught up with them, they were organising the purchases they had made for Ed into the bag they'd bought him. Garcia had, once she'd seen them, declared backpacks too small and went and found him a duffel bag.
Ed had been forced to turn away since some of the gifts were supposed to be surprises and thus was the first to notice Prentiss rejoining them. She was still on the phone but from her casual joking with the person on the other end, Ed was fairly certain she wasn't talking to Hotch anymore. She hung up one whoever it was just as she reached the blonde alchemist.
"They're packing your stuff up, huh?" She asked and Ed nodded.
"Apparently, I'm not allowed to know what they got me until I get to Amestris." Ed told her and she didn't seem surprised. "What did Hotch want?" He asked.
"He wanted me to let you know Mustang was back at NCIS." She said and Ed nodded. He'd figured Mustang would've been awake by now.
"So who were you talking to just then?" He asked and Prentiss smirked.
"So you noticed I was on the phone with someone else, huh?" She asked and Ed nodded. "Good job. I was talking to Agent David. She asked that you not have anything to eat before we get back. She's cooked dinner for everyone." Ed perked up at that.
"She said she wanted to cook some of her home country's food for us but I didn't know if she would be able to." He said excitedly and Prentiss had to grin at how enthused he was. They hadn't really seen Ed act his age.
"I'll go and help those two so we can speed this up and get going, shall I?" Ed nodded his head so enthusiastically, Prentiss thought it was going to come off. She laughed, ruffled his hair, and made her way over to the two blonde women. She packed away the stuff she'd bought Ed as well and helped the two women, like she'd promised and in no time at all, they were telling Ed he could get in the car.
The trip back was a little quicker than the trip out there since they didn't have to go to the hotel to pick anyone up. They spent the car ride actually talking about the shopping trip and the movie since all of Ed's questions about the technical side of it had been answered. Garcia had decided the best part of that movie was Hugh Jackman and the two women agreed while Ed rolled his eyes once Garcia had informed him who Hugh Jackman was.
The drive through the security was as uneventful as it was every other time and soon they pulled up beside the second SUV and were clambering out. There was a moment where they considered taking the shopping inside until it was pointed out that they'd have to bring it back out and no one would steal it from the car anyway so they left it. They could smell the food as soon as they left the elevator and their mouths watered. There was no hesitation to enter the conference room.
"Hey, we're back." JJ greeted as she walked through the door, followed by Prentiss, Ed and Garcia. Greetings were exchanged and they took the seats left for them. Ed sat in between Mustang and Ziva while JJ and Prentiss sat next to Morgan and DiNozzo and Garcia sat on Morgan's other side. The only person missing was Vance, who wasn't able to join them due to prior arrangements, according to Ziva when Ed asked.
"I hope you all enjoy the food. Dig in." Ziva said when Gibbs pointedly looked at her and then the food. No one hesitated after she spoke. Ed grabbed some of everything, Ziva whispering what was what to him as he reached for each item. He was nice enough to pass along the information to Mustang.
Conversation was kept light, mostly everyone asking Ed and the three women what they got up to after they'd left. Ed left most of the answering to the girls, too busy enjoying everything he had on his plate. Ziva seemed pleased whenever he tried something new, like the Ptitim or the chicken albondigas, tentatively before digging into the rest of it with vigor. He was just trying the falafel when he heard his name. Looking up, he saw it was Rossi who was talking to him.
"Sorry, what?" He asked after he finished his mouthful. Mustang snorted and tried to pass it off as a cough. It didn't work but Ed didn't get the chance to retaliate because Rossi was repeating himself.
"I asked if you had fun. You were being pretty quiet over there." He said and Ed nodded quickly before Garcia could look too worried.
"Oh, yeah, it was awesome seeing how different shops here are. You guys sell so much more varieties of the same stuff than we do. Plus, the movie was really amazing to see. I hope Amestris catches up in terms of technology quickly. I am sorry for not answering more questions but the food is just really good." He smiled sheepishly and Ziva flushed a little at the praise.
"You're lucky Fullmetal heard you at all. Good food seems to capture all of his focus." Mustang teased and this time Ed did retaliate by stamping on his foot with his automail one. Though he was nice enough to not put all of his strength behind it; just enough for Mustang to get the point. The growl the flame alchemist emitted told Ed he had.
"I'm glad you two are enjoying my food." Ziva said, smiling happily and Ed grinned back before digging back into his serving; though he did pay more attention to the conversations than he did before.
"You are an excellent cook, Agent David." Mustang complimented her and she gave him a sunny smile. "I'd ask for recipes but I doubt I'd do these dishes any justice." He said, complimenting her but giving Ed an opening.
"Yeah, I heard last time Mustang was allowed in a kitchen, he burnt the water he was boiling." Ed told her and she wasn't able to stop her laughter in time. Mustang made an indignant noise.
"Who told you that?" He demanded to know and Ed looked at him.
"Elysia. Gracia backed her up after she finished laughing." Ed told him and had the pleasure of witnessing Mustang turning red with embarrassment.
"Who's Gracia and Elysia?" McGee asked and Ed looked over at him while Mustang was still trying to control himself.
"Mustang's best friend's wife and daughter." He told him and McGee nodded before being engaged in conversation with Garcia.
"I don't think I like the fact that you're staying with them any more." Mustang muttered as he dug back into his ptitim.
"I don't think I care." Ed told him as he tried some of the barbecued, or as Ziva called it 'mangal', meats that were offered. Ziva and Reid, who was sitting on Mustang's other side, snickered.
The rest of the night passed with more pleasant conversation and laughter. Abby, who had appeared a few minutes after they'd started eating, had disappeared again when her phone chimed to tell her some results were ready for a separate case. She came back fifteen minutes later, having e-mailed the results to the agent-in-charge, just in time for some dessert that Ziva had also whipped up, though she did have help from Ducky so is wasn't just Israeli food at the table now. Ducky was regaling them with stories from his younger years.
They spent the next couple of hours just relaxing at the table and discussing some of their cases, missions in Ed and Mustang's cases. They seemed to be taking it in turns, the BAU would talk about a case then NCIS would then Ed or Mustang. So far, they'd heard about the Zodiak Killer copycat, the woman who turned her victims into dolls, the cannibal who'd actually served one of his victims to a search party who was looking for another victim and a comic book writer who blacked out and hunted down his fiancee's killers. The NCIS team had told them about the serial killer who'd cut off and ate his victims toes, the military chaplain who had kidnapped multiple women so he could turn them into his wife before killing them, the Navy K-9 handler who everyone thought had been killed by his own dog (apparently the dog now belongs to McGee) and the NCIS agent friend of Abby's who had been killed trying to get a painting to her. DiNozzo had been a flustered mess when Gibbs recounted their ride up to the painter's cabin.
Mustang had told them about a few cases he and/or Hughes had worked before he became strapped to his desk. Ed had listened intently once he realised these weren't missions he'd heard about. He laughed when he realised that Hughes always planned his appearance for after the alchemic fights were over. Ed, in turn, told everyone about Father Cornello, Garcia being the only one who'd heard some of that story, the would-be train hi-jackers Hughes had helped him take care of, his fight against the Slicer brothers in lab 5 and how he'd tricked a greedy First Lieutenant into selling him a town he'd gained ownership of by tricking the townspeople and was bleeding them dry. He'd finished telling them about how Yoki had walked in on him having dinner at the newly built inn to complain the gold he'd given him was now coal only to find that Ed had given ownership of the town back to its people in exchange for a room to sleep in when Mustang shook his head.
"I feel like I shouldn't be surprised that you lied on that report. I knew it read too well." He sighed and Ed flashed him a shit-eating grin.
"If you knew half the shit I 'forgot' to put in my reports, you'd have to kick me out of the military." He told him and Mustang sighed.
"I don't ever want to know. I can imagine the paperwork that would go with it." He shuddered, causing Ed and a few of the others to laugh at him but he didn't seem to mind. They exchanged more stories until Gibbs had spotted that it was nearing midnight.
"Go home, or back to your hotel, and get some rest while none of us have a case." Gibbs said and Hotch had given his a team a look telling them not to argue. Ziva was glad to see she wouldn't have to deal with leftovers when she actually looked at her dishes. Everyone helped her stack them and carry them down to her car as they left, Garcia and Abby included.
"Thanks, guys." Ziva said as they finished loading the dirty plates in it. "I'm glad you all enjoyed it." Ed looked at all of the dishes and frowned.
"Will you be alright unloading all of that?" He asked. "Do you want us to help you?" He offered and she gave him a thankful smile but shook her.
"No, it's okay, Edward. Tony and McGee have already offered to help but thank you." Both aforementioned agents nodded and gave him a thumb up each. Ed nodded.
"Okay. Thank you for dinner, Miss Ziva. It was delicious." He faced Ducky. "And the desserts you made were really yummy as well, Doctor Mallard." He told him honestly.
"Yes, both dinner and dessert were delightful. Thank you." Mustang said and everyone else chorused them. Both Ziva and Ducky assured them it was no trouble and that they were glad they enjoyed themselves. After that, everyone bade each goodnight and they split up, heading for their own vehicles.
Before he knew it, they were at the hotel and parking the SUVs before heading upstairs. JJ and Prentiss were holding onto Ed's bag for now and he shook his head at them but didn't argue. They exchanged their own goodnights and Ed beat Mustang into the shower by simply getting there before the older man could even ask. By the time Mustang had emerged out of the shower after Ed, Ed is curled up in his bed with a new book he'd been leant by Reid.
"What are you reading?" Mustang asked and Ed flicked his eyes up to him before returning to the book.
"It's 'War and Peace' by a Russian author, Leo Tolstoy. Reid loaned it to me." Ed told him. Mustang snatched the book out of the boy's hands, ignored the 'hey!' yelled at him and flipped it over so he could read the pages Ed was on. Except, he couldn't read them. The book wasn't written in any language he could read.
"Are you even able to read that?" Mustang asked handing the book back to Ed who snatched it back and glared murder at him.
"Course I can. Reid said this was Russian but it's similar enough Drachman for me to figure it out." He growled as he settled back into his blankets to keep reading. Mustang shook his head. He didn't even know Ed knew Drachman. Utilising a skill he'd perfected during the Ishvalen Civil War, Mustang soon drifted off to sleep, despite the light and the occasional whisper of paper as Ed turned the page.
When Mustang woke up later that morning, he noted the time first. Groaning as he realised the clock was telling him it only 7:00am, he rolled over and he couldn't not grin at the sight he saw. Ed was still in the same position he was last night but fast asleep, with only a finger placed in-between the pages of the book to mark where he was up too. His hair was splayed over his face and his flesh hand was tucked up under his cheek. Mustang was always so surprised at how much younger he looked when he slept.
Hauling himself out of bed, he went through his normal morning routine, trying to be as quiet as possible so he didn't wake Ed up. He knew the kid was still tired from all of the alchemy he'd performed over the past few days and that he was still catching up on sleep he'd been denying himself in Amestris. He also knew that Ed would be the one to figure out a way to get them up into the portal, likely using alchemy somehow, so he was willing to let him sleep in. It didn't hurt that if he was asleep, he wouldn't be able to sass Mustang. He decided against the coffee in the room so he didn't wake the blonde up with its scent. He swore the kid was part blood-hound when it came to coffee. He'd just slipped out of the room to try and find more coffee when he ran into Rossi.
"Oh, I was just coming to see if the two of you were awake yet." Rossi explained and Mustang shrugged.
"Well, I am. Fullmetal is still asleep and I'd like him to stay that way for a little while more." Mustang not-so-subtlely requested and Rossi observed him for a moment before nodding.
"That's fine. We don't need to be at NCIS for a little while anyway. What are you doing up though?" He asked.
"Looking for coffee. If he smells it, he'll wake up." Mustang said, gesturing to his closed door.
"Well, you're in luck. I was just about to head down to a coffee shop that's near here once I'd checked on you. You're welcome to join me?" He offered and Mustang took him up on it.
Despite the fact that it was barely 7:30am, the coffee shop was packed. The workers were doing their best to keep up with the customers but it was barely enough. Most of the customers seemed to realise this and were happy enough to wait but there were a few who muttered under their breath to each other about how ridiculous the wait time was. Rossi and Mustang eventually reached the front of the queue and Rossi placed his order with Mustang's tacked on last when prompted. Having paid, they joined the crowd who were also waiting for their orders. They got their order and were back at the hotel by 8:00am, much to the delight of the other BAU members who were eagerly awaiting their caffeine fix.
Ed woke up slowly and blearily. The first thing he remembered was he was reading before nodding off and immediately checked the book. Happy to see it in good condition, he memorised the page number he was on and sat up. The second thing he remembered was Mustang annoying him and he eyed up the other bed but it was empty. The bathroom was open and the kitchen abandoned so he assumed Mustang had been awake for a bit and had either joined the BAU team or was at NCIS already. A glance at the clock told him it was only 9:15am. He groaned as he stood, stretched until he felt all of his bones crack and pop into place and went for a shower. Emerging, he packed all of his stuff up and wore his original clothes. Brushing and plaiting his hair, he placed the borrowed hair brush on top of the clothing he was bought so he didn't have to dig it out to give it back to JJ. Finally, he left the bag on a chair and headed out of the room only to have JJ appear right in front of him, fist raised to knock on the door.
"What up?" He asked once they both got over their little shock.
"Not much. Came to see if you were up or not. Guess you answered my question." She said, pushing a coffee cup he hadn't noticed into his hand. He took it, brow raised questioningly. "I grabbed it before I came up here. I was going to wake you up anyway. Mustang said you would wake up yourself if you smelt coffee." She explained and he took a sip. It was good coffee.
"Well, he ain't wrong." Ed told her and she chuckled before gesturing for him to follow her. They headed two doors down and JJ opened the door for them. Ed walked in to see Rossi, Mustang and Prentiss sitting at the little table. "Yo. Where's everyone else?" He asked as he leant up against the benchtop, sipping at his coffee.
"Already at NCIS. Garcia needs to pack up her equipment and Vance had requested Hotch meet with him this morning so they could work out an official report to give to Assistant Director Strauss." JJ told him, sitting down next to Emily. "We're leaving almost as soon as you go home." She added and Ed made an 'ah' noise before taking another sip. They were pretty quiet, each sipping at their own coffees before Mustang stood up.
"I'm gonna go pack up anything of mine." He said, looking at Ed pointedly. Ed ignored him in favour of drinking more coffee.
"All my crap's already packed, Mustang, so stop staring at me." He told him after a few moments, causing Prentiss and JJ to giggle and Rossi to smirk into his coffee. Mustang rolled his eyes but left.
Once Ed had finished his coffee, he followed Mustang, tossing the cup in the bin on his way out. He snatched his bag off the chair he'd left it on while Mustang grabbed the last of his things and they both did a final once-over of the room before meeting up with the others again. Ed handed JJ the brush but held onto the book. He wanted to finish it before they left, if he could.
The drive to NCIS went quicker than it usually did but Ed gave the credit for that to him having something to do instead of staring out of the windows. By the time they passed through the security checkpoint, unloaded themselves from the car and headed into the building, it was a few minutes past 10:00am. DiNozzo, Ziva and McGee were all at their respective desks but their team leader wasn't anywhere in sight. Ed couldn't see Hotch or the other BAU members either.
"Mornin'." DiNozzo greeted, prompting his teammates to do the same. The greeting was echoed by the alchemists and BAU members present.
"Where is everyone?" Ed asked for the second time that morning.
"Our bossman and their bossman," he gestured to the BAU members, "are in a meeting with our big bossman. I believe Garcia dragged Agent Morgan down to cyber to pack all of her gear up and I'm not sure about Agent Reid." He admitted. Ziva rolled her eyes.
"Agent Reid went with Agent Hotchner to talk with Gibbs and Director Vance." She told him and DiNozzo snapped his fingers.
"That's right. Something about the kid's crazy memory being of help." He shrugged. Rossi, JJ and Prentiss nodded understandingly. "I was just about to head down to check on Moore if any of you want to come with." DiNozzo offered and Ed and Mustang immediately nodded. Rossi agreed to accompany them after exchanging looks with his teammates. Ed felt like that decision had something to do with the fact that he'd knocked Moore out before.
Ed couldn't believe his eyes when he was taken to the observation room. There was a little computer system set up to obviously record and monitor the interrogation room but it was unmanned and dark so Ed assumed it also wasn't on. But that's not what had Ed gobsmacked; that honour went to Moore himself.
The man was both cleaner and more disheveled than when Ed had last seen him. It was obvious someone had thrown him into a shower and he was now wearing a NCIS pants and sweatshirt, similar to what Ed had worn himself when he first got here. But his hair was lanky and greasy, his skin was pale and haggard, he had bloodshot and crazed eyes and his whole demeanour had Ed thinking of a caged animal ready to strike at anyone who came near. Ed could see the cast and bandages were clean so he assumed Ducky had been in to offer medical assistance. But the thing that Ed found most unbelievable was that Moore wasn't making a sound.
"Yeah, he actually yelled himself hoarse." DiNozzo told him when Ed had asked and Ed couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up. Mustang looked amused as well.
"Are you for real?" Ed asked and DiNozzo nodded, an amused smirk forming because of Ed. "That's fucking great! He complained so much he lost his voice!" Ed cackled and they heard a faint growl coming from the other side of the glass. Ed looked at Moore, who was doing his best to snarl, and looked up at DiNozzo.
"McGee messed around with the intercom over there so it's on all the time now. He can hear whoever is in this room and we can hear him. Or we could until he lost his voice." Another growl came from the room. Ed snorted.
"You sound like a demented rabbit; knock it off." Ed told him and Moore recoiled at the insult. "It's not our fault you're locked in there. If you'd just accepted your brother was a scumbag who got what was coming for him, you wouldn't be in this mess and, most importantly, neither would we." Ed told him sternly.
"You'll get what's coming to you for murdering my brother." Moore's croaky voice snarled and Ed simply sighed resignedly.
"Stop talking. You sound like a three year old trying to be a demon." He told him before gesturing they leave. They could hear Moore muttering to himself as they did. "Glad to see his time in there hasn't affected his level of crazy." Ed said sarcastically.
"Why do you have to stir up every criminal you come across?" Mustang asked, letting out a long-suffering sigh.
"For shits and giggles." Ed deadpanned. He glanced at the nearest clock. "We got an hour and a half before Al opens up that portal. Do we need to do anything before than?" He asked the two agents who both shook their heads.
"No, I don't think so." Rossi told them as they got back to the others. Ed snatched up his Tolstoy novel and sat in the first empty chair he could find, found his page and started reading, ignoring the rest of the world.
"Does he know he's in Gibbs' chair?" DiNozzo asked as he sat at his own desk. He sounded a little afraid for Ed. Mustang shrugged.
"Probably not." He said unconcerned. "Just leave him be. Disturbing his reading when you're not Alphonse is not a good idea." Mustang told them and they hesitated before turning away to do their own thing. Not twenty minutes later, Gibbs, Hotch, Reid and Vance came down from the Director's office. Vance and Gibbs looked bemused to see Ed sitting at Gibbs' desk and Gibbs' team weren't the only ones who were anxious to see what Gibbs was going to do about it. To their surprise, Reid was the first one to move.
"Oh, hey, you're reading Tolstoy! What do you think to his work?" Reid asked Ed excitedly as he headed over to the desk. Mustang's jaw dropped when all Ed did was look up and smile at the interruption.
"He's really good! It's a fascinating read. I normally don't like fictional works but this is just so well written. I can see why it's a classic." Ed told him. "I mean, it took a little bit for me to translate the wording but Russian is pretty similar to Drachman so I had it worked out in no time." He told him and Reid looked thrilled. Before they could actually talk about the book in depth, Gibbs cleared his throat and looked pointedly at his desk. Ed looked back him for a moment before shrugging and heading over to the spare desk next to McGee's with Reid so they could talk about the book.
"Disturbing his reading when you're not Alphonse or Agent Reid is not a good idea." Mustang amended his previous statement to the amusement of the others.
As the time grew closer to when Al would attempt to open the portal again, everyone grew a little antsier. Ed was still nose-deep in 'War and Peace' but he was bouncing his right leg, a clear sign of nervousness. Mustang and the others made attempts at small talk but the conversations always fizzled out. Finally Ed put his book down.
"At what time did you send that note?" Ed asked Mustang.
"Near noon." Mustang reminded him and Ed shook his head.
"No, I mean the exact time. You can bet that one of your team checked their watch once Al had read that note out loud so they knew what time to open the portal again. I'm not going to risk Al, Teacher and whoever else holding that portal open for longer than absolutely necessary." Ed said and Mustang paled a little at what Ed was implying.
"I don't know. I never checked the time before I sent the note. I only saw the time when I got back in the car." Mustang admitted and Ed's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Mustang sent the note at 11:49. We should prepare for the portal to open at 11:50." Reid spoke up and Ed looked at him.
"At least someone was paying attention." He grouched and Mustang really wanted to point out how ironic it was that Ed was saying that. "It's nearly 11:00 now. We should get Moore at 11:40, gives us time to drag him the whole way into the car park if he's being difficult." Ed said decidedly. No one bothered to argue or question him. Once he realised there were no forthcoming comments or arguments, Ed went back to his book.
At 11:30, everyone started moving again. Reid got Ed's attention, after everyone basically saying he was probably the only one who could without getting a bone broken. The Director had gone back up to his office after Ed had moved chairs but was now back down with them so he could say goodbye to the BAU and the two alchemists. Finally, DiNozzo, Morgan and Ziva had disappeared to go and get Moore. The rest of them headed down to the car park, where they found Ducky and Abby waiting for them. Abby immediately swept Ed up into a hug.
"I'm gonna miss you!" She sniffled as she felt him hug her back. "It's been so much fun learning all about you and your world." Her voice started sounding a little watery.
"I'll miss you too, Miss Abby. Thank you for everything you taught me." He said sincerely, not at all surprised when she didn't release him just yet. She sniffled once more before letting him go and latching on to a very surprised Mustang. Ed laughed at him before he found himself in another hug, this time from Ducky. It was quick and Ed barely had time to give the older man his own hug before he was released.
"You take care of yourself, young man. Don't get yourself too hurt." He lectured, pointing a finger at the blonde.
"Thanks for patching me up, Doctor Mallard. I can't promise you that, though. I always seem to get sent on missions that result in me dealing with stupid criminals who refuse to surrender." Ed laughed and Ducky didn't look too impressed.
"Don't worry, Doctor. Edward's brother will be joining him on future missions and he is the more mature of the two." Mustang assured Ducky once Abby had let go of him. Ed flipped him off but Ducky seemed appeased by his words.
"If you two ever find yourself in this world again, don't hesitate to come see us." Ducky told them and Abby nodded enthusiastically.
"You have to promise that you'll see us if you end up back here." She demanded and Ed laughed at how serious she was.
"I promise." He said. Anything else that was going to be said was forgotten as Moore, Ziva, DiNozzo and Morgan appeared. As Ed thought, Moore was being difficult. DiNozzo and Morgan were literally dragging the man while Ziva brought up the rear. Despite the fact that Moore had damaged his voice, he was now screaming bloody murder.
"YOU CAN'T SEND ME BACK WITH THEM! THEY'LL KILL ME JUST LIKE THEY DID MY BROTHER! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! LET ME GO NOW!" He screeched but no one paid him any attention. DiNozzo and Morgan both looked two seconds away from punching him though. Moore's eyes found Mustang and Ed. "YOU TWO! YOU'RE TO BLAME FOR THIS!" He screeched and, before anyone could react, was running flat out at both of the alchemists.
DiNozzo and Morgan had obviously not expected the sudden change in pace as they both nearly fell over as Moore wrenched himself out of their grip. Mustang raised a hand to snap but Ed stood in his way. Bracing himself as Moore charge at him like a crazed lunatic, Ed brought his right arm up and, in one clean sweep, smashed his elbow into Moore's jaw, sending the would-be alchemist sprawling to the ground, howling as the pain from his now-broken jaw registered.
"Good job." Mustang said as he moved past the blonde to haul Moore back to his feet. The man was now ugly crying, trying to cradle his jaw as best he could, drool escaping since he couldn't close his jaws. Ducky went to step forward but Ed stopped him.
"We'll get him into a hospital in Amestris. The portal's about to open so you don't have time to do anything." He told him. Ducky didn't like it but he knew Edward was right so he stepped back.
JJ, Reid and Prentiss disappeared and reappeared a minute later with Ed and Mustangs bags. Ed accepted his, throwing the duffel over his shoulder and sticking his hand through the handle of the shopping bag. He looked at Mustang before accepting his bag, deciding he had his hands full enough as it was.
"Three minutes." Reid said and everyone seemed to go still for a moment before Mustang and Ed walked over to where the portal would open above them. Mustang had to drag Moore, who was now mumbling unintelligibly while crying. Everyone came up one or two at a time to say their goodbyes.
"It was a wonderfully unexpected surprise and I almost hope you get to come back one day." JJ said as she hugged both alchemists. Prentiss said almost the exact same thing when she hugged them.
"I hope you enjoy everything we got you. Some of the stuff in there is for Alphonse as well. Some of the stuff is things you can share with everyone." Garcia said as she hugged them goodbye, not even trying to pretend she wasn't crying. Ed was surprised at how emotional everyone was getting. "We're gonna miss you, you idiot! You're basically part of our weird little family!" Garcia scolded him when he mentioned it out loud.
"I'm glad to part of your family, Miss Penelope." He told her, laughing a little. The sincerity in his voice made Garcia cry a little harder.
"I put a few books I thought you'd like in your bag." Reid said, hesitated then hugged Ed, who returned it. "It was surreal seeing you two. It was nice having someone to talk to without worrying if I was boring them." He admitted.
"I learnt a lot from you, Doctor Reid. I'm glad we got to talk again." Reid grinned before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a familiar bag. Ed grabbed it a slipped it into one of his own pockets. "Thanks for holding onto that for me." He said and Reid nodded before moving to shake Mustang's hand.
"You and your weird science-magic can come back anytime, kid." Morgan grinned, ruffling Ed's hair as the boy scowled. Morgan pulled him into a brief hug. "I'm serious." He said, pulling away and Ed grinned.
"I have to say, it was a real trip meeting you two and learning about everything." DiNozzo said as he shook Ed's then Mustang's hands. "Make sure to hit us up if you're ever back in America. There's plenty of good, old, American foods I didn't get to show you." He winked at Ed, who laughed before DiNozzo was shoulder-barged out of the way by Ziva.
"Don't listen to that idiot. American food isn't that great." She said before enveloping Ed into a hug. "Thank you for saving me. Next time you're here, I'll cook even more food for you." She promised and Ed squeezed her back.
"Sounds like a plan, Miss Ziva." He smiled before she turned to Mustang, promising him food as well. McGee came up next and offered his hand. "Sorry for scaring you with that array in cyber." McGee winced at the memory.
"Yeah that was no fun. If we see each other again, you should try not to do that again." McGee half-joked and Ed grinned, shaking his hand.
"See you around, kiddo." Rossi smiled when he came up. Ed shook his hand, thanking him.
"Next time you decide to visit, maybe leave the homicidal alchemist back in Amestris? I think I'd like to see you two without one of them running around." Hotch said, completely straight-faced but the amusement in his eyes ruined it.
"We'll do our best." Mustang told him, shaking the man's hand.
"Thanks for coming down here so quickly when I turned up." Ed said, showing the tiniest bit of vulnerability. He had no clue how he would've reacted if he hadn't been able to contact them. Probably would've done something stupid like taken off.
"Of course. Just remember to call Garcia if you ever find yourself back here again." Hotch told him and Ed nodded before grasping Hotch's hand.
"The portal should be opening up any minute now." Reid said. Hotch headed back over to the group, who all moved a few more steps away.
"It was certainly an experience, meeting the two of you." Gibbs said, catching both of the alchemists eyes. "Like they all said; if you ever find yourself back here, give us a ring. We'll come find you." He told them. Both of them nodded.
"It was a pleasure meeting the both of you. I am glad NCIS was able to assist the two of you and the BAU in hunting down the fugitive. If we don't see you again, I hope everything on your end works out." Vance said.
"Thank you, Director Vance, for offering us somewhere to stay and for letting your agents help us locate and apprehend Moore." Mustang saluted him and Ed barely held back an eye-roll. Vance saluted back.
"Since Truth is a dick, this could possibly happen but if you ever find yourselves in Amestris, hit us up. Find the closest military person and tell them you need to see the Fullmetal Alchemist as soon as possible. Throw Mustang's name in there if you have to. Ask them to get you to Central City. They'll get word to us and we'll find you." Edward told them before grinning. "It'd give us a chance to pay you back for everything." He said just as he felt the air above him become overloaded with alchemic energy.
Both he and Mustang looked up and saw the sky over them waiver. Moore struggled to get away again but Mustang held him firm. Neither of them moved until the portal cleared up and they could see the warehouse ceiling on the other side. Ed found Alphonse immediately and his brother gave a relieved grin. He saw Teacher and Armstrong kneeling next to the portal, providing the portal with the extra power it needed.
"You good?" Ed asked Mustang who nodded and tightened his grip on Moore. Both of them looked back at the group of friends they were leaving behind and Ed waved before clapping his hands and using an array to transmute a pillar of stone to lift them up and through the portal. The moment they crossed the boundary of the portal, they felt like they'd taken a dip in ice water. Al waited until the stone had cleared the portal about an inch before calling for them to stop. All three alchemists immediately pulled their hands off the array and Ed's last view of the other dimension was of everyone waving up at them.
"Brother!" Alphonse called, racing for Ed and tackling him off the stone in a big hug. "You're okay!" He cried as Ed wrapped Al in his own hug.
"I'm back. I'm okay." He reassured his little brother who was now crying into his injured shoulder, causing Ed a little bit of pain but he didn't care. He was so glad to be home, so happy to be able to see and hold his brother again. He watched as Teacher was fussed over by Sig and felt a wave of relief that she and Armstrong were alright. The aforementioned State Alchemist used his own alchemy to send a crack through the array on the ground, breaking it's outer circle so it couldn't be used again.
Mustang was greeted by his own team. He got a clap on the shoulder from everyone and a stern yet relieved look from Hawkeye as he handed Moore over to Havoc and Fulman, with instructions he be taken to the hospital immediately and for the two of them to meet him and Edward at Gracia's home for the debrief. They nodded and grabbed Moore, who was still wailing as best he could through his broken jaw, before hauling him out of the warehouse. Everyone still left made their way over to the Elric brothers.
"You two alright?" Ed asked Teacher and Armstrong as Al still clung to him.
"Exhausted but I'm fine." Teacher said, leaning on Sig a little more than normal.
"I, too, am alright." Armstrong boomed. "I am pleased that you and the Brigadier-General made it back unharmed." He told them joyfully.
"Well, I wouldn't say unharmed." Mustang said, a knowing look being tossed at Ed.
"I hate you so much." Ed hissed as Al abruptly pulled back.
"You're hurt?! How bad? Where?" He asked, already going into mother-hen mode as Ed glared daggers at a now-smirking Mustang.
"I'm fine. There was a doctor this time. He helped patch me up. I just got a few stitches and a lot of bruising." Ed promised him and Al looked like he wasn't sure he should believe him as he raked his eyes up and down Ed's body like he had x-ray vision and could see his injuries. "The only painful thing was hearing Mustang claim how good it was being away from all of his paperwork all the time." Ed told him, eyes flicking up to Mustang as a shit-eating grin tugged at his lips.
"Really? How interesting." Hawkeye said, eyes burning holes into Mustang's head as the man glared at Ed with all of the intensity he could muster.
"You're really okay?" Al asked and Ed's focus came back to him, even though he kinda wanted to watch Mustang try and convince Hawkeye it wasn't true.
"I really am." He swore and seemed to believe him. The rest of Mustang's team seemed to take this as permission for them to come over and welcome Ed back, clapping him on his automail shoulder and back when he flinched away from Breda trying to touch his left shoulder.
"You little idiot!" Teacher hissed as she wrapped Ed up in one of her rare hugs. "You went and worried everyone! Don't you dare do that again!" She warned him and Ed nodded.
"I'll do my best." He promised as he hugged her back before she released him and smacked him over the back of the head, earning her a yelp from him. Sig clapped one meaty hand on his automail shoulder and rumbled his own welcome back. Armstrong tried to take his shirt off from all of the joy he was feeling but Maria and Denny managed to get him to keep it on in-between saying hello to Edward.
Edward was certainly going to miss all of the friends he made in America but looking around the warehouse as Teacher glared at him while Sig looked at her lovingly; as Hawkeye stared at Mustang coolly while he tried to convince her Ed was lying; as Maria and Denny alternated between trying to keep Armstrong from ripping off his shirt and running away from his hugs as the tearful giant expressed his happiness; as Mustang's team watched all of this in amusement and as Al looked at him, so happy he was back; Ed knew he wouldn't give this up for anything even if he did have a worried Elysia, a very worried Winry and a very worried Gracia to confront still.
"Mustang, give up. She's not going to believe you." Ed hollered at him, causing the black-haired man to glare at him again while Hawkeye shot him an amused and relieved smirk.
"It's good to have you home, Edward." She said, shooting him a warm smile and Ed returned it.
"Yeah, I'm glad to be back. Let's head over to Gracia's now. We can tell you everything that happened this time." Ed said, grinning as he adjusted the bag he was still carrying. He followed everyone out of the warehouse, Al refusing to leave his side and clinging to his arm, and smiled as he felt the Amestrian sun on his skin. Yup, he was glad to be home.
A/N - Wow. This is the final chapter. I am so thankful to everyone who stuck with this story until the end. I'm almost sorry this chapter went for so long but I couldn't think of a good spot to cut it in half and decided why not make the last chapter almost double the length of every other chapter? XD
But seriously, thank you to everyone who commented and critiqued "Alchemists meet Agents, Again'. All of your comments helped fuel my motivation to write this story and finish it. I've toyed with the idea of a third installment but we'll see how the rest of my stories go. I really do want to keep going with 'Spirit Animals'. Maybe now that I've written up all of the stories that have been floating in my head, I can get back to it.
As always, please leave me a comment telling me what you thought to this chapter and of the story as a whole now that it's done! See you next time!