Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Fullmetal Alchemist.
Alphonse checked his brother's temperature again for the third time that hour. It had been easier once Sabine had walked him through how to use an electronic thermometer, but the numbers hadn't been too promising early on.
Beep. He looked at the display, frowning. 39.6 degrees Celsius. The fever was going down, which was an improvement, but it wasn't what he had hoped for. Edward's temperature was still way too high.
"Damn it," he muttered, glancing at Edward. From the looks of it, the fever dreams seemed to have subsided for the moment. The former alchemist was sound asleep, although he occasionally showed signs of discomfort from the temperature. Xiao Mei was sound asleep on the man's chest, the panda's soft breathing helping Alphonse relax a bit.
More beeping sounded. Alphonse looked down, noticing the communicator Sabine had left with him on her previous shift. He pressed the "on" button, still marvelling inwardly at how wireless the transmission was. "Hello?"
"How's your brother's condition?" Sabine asked.
Alphonse sighed. "Temperature is at thirty-nine-point-six. It's going down, but he's not looking too good."
"At least it's going down," the Mandalorian said bluntly. "Ahsoka's taking the next shift in about twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes. Alphonse frowned. "I appreciate it, Sabine, but I should—"
"No offence, Alphonse, but the last time I looked in on you, you looked like you were dead on your feet," Sabine retorted. "You need to get some rest."
"But—"
"No buts," Sabine snapped. "We need everyone operating on all cylinders, especially if Ed has a chance of surviving this."
He's already made it through one standard night. He'll be okay if you get a little bit of rest. Alphonse nodded, even though he knew Sabine couldn't see him. "All right," he conceded. "Just wake me when it's my turn."
The transmission ended. Alphonse looked at Edward's unconscious form, the older sibling pale underneath the blankets. He didn't know if his brother was having more fever dreams, or if he was too weak to even give any indication of what was going on in his head.
It felt like an eternity, but the twenty minutes Sabine had given him soon arrived. Ahsoka walked in, a tired expression on her face. He could sense her wariness of him clear as day, but he decided not to bring that up.
"You should sleep," the Togruta said briskly.
"Same goes for you," Alphonse retorted.
Her eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time to argue, Alphonse."
"I don't exactly give a damn at the moment," he snapped. "Ed needs to be watched—"
"And I'll watch him," Ahsoka said sternly. "If you want to help your brother, get some rest. Otherwise, go keep an eye on Sabine. I think she's starting to become an alcoholic."
"She can deal with it on her own."
"Can she?" Ahsoka challenged. She folded her arms. "I'm starting to wonder if you can 'deal with it' either."
Alphonse knew what "it" was. He rolled his eyes. "You have no idea—"
"Try me." The Togruta's voice was pure venom.
There was a sudden feeling in his gut that he shouldn't argue with her at the moment. He sighed, seeing no other way out of this. "Okay, fine. I'll rest." He got up and went to his own bed, where sleep took over almost instantly.
Ahsoka heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she saw that Alphonse was finally asleep. "I am so glad that's over with." She glanced down at Edward. There was something weird about the brothers…at least, in terms of the Force. Alphonse's presence had the coldness of the dark side, but he had not fallen yet. Edward…he was like a river, ebb and flow. Sometimes she could sense him, but other times she could not. If she didn't know better, she'd argue that he was similar to the Bendu, but that wasn't the case here. The former alchemist's presence was, for the lack of a better term, ambivalent. She turned her thoughts towards Alphonse's girlfriend, Mei Chang, and found that she leaned more towards the Light Side of the Force. She might have made a good Jedi…but given what the Order had doomed itself to that very notion was questionable. Ahsoka shifted her focus to Xiao Mei and found that the tiny creature was semi-sentient, in addition to having a very strong bond with Mei Chang.
That explains Alphonse's weird vibe, she thought. As for his brother…what is he? How could I not have sensed any of this earlier?
"Truth," she whispered aloud, knowing the answer. "I was so caught up in what had happened with me that I wasn't paying attention to what was going on." She sighed. "I should have seen all of this; Sabine's alcoholism, Alphonse going down the warpath, Edward…all of it. How could I have been so blind?"
Edward's unconscious form gave no response. She hadn't expected one, really. There were two things she took away from that experience: one, she had to find out how best to stay alive without her kinaesthetic echolocation; two, the Elric brothers needed to get their Force issues under control.
It was the only way they could even hope to survive.
The afternoon was not a fun time to be awake on this planet.
Five pots of coffee, Alphonse soon realised, was not the best way to acclimate to a seventy-two-hour day. It was already bad enough that just thinking about it made it go so much longer, but they would have to go over a standard day in what would normally be eight hours or so of sunlight.
And then there were Edward's fever dreams to worry about, not to mention that holocron.
SEVEN YEARS EARLIER…
Alphonse felt something calling to him. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something calling to him. Not verbally, though; the weird part was that this feeling was resonating with his soul. The closest thing he could think of that would match this feeling was when his soul had started to reject the armour in favour of its body (which had been wasting away at the Gate), but it wasn't like that.
It was just…strange.
The merchant bazaar this part of Xing was crowded, with several street vendors shouting towards pedestrians, advertising the prices on whatever products they wanted to sell. The twenty-six-year-old alchemist had seen it before on his previous trips to Xing; why should this one be any different?
Alphonse kept walking, barely paying attention to whatever it was the vendors were shouting about. All he had come down to this street for was to pick up some food for dinner. DINNER. Nothing else. He had told himself that countless times throughout the past several hours. None of that seemed to matter now, because he found himself being drawn toward whatever was resonating with his soul. Alphonse relied solely on instinct to guide him to his destination, all too uncertain about what was going on.
Now might be a good time to practice my Xingese, he thought. Even though he had been studying the language for the past three years, he was barely proficient. Mei had taught him the basics, but he had rarely been able to use it in Amestris. He hoped a more immersive experience would help improve his language skills.
"Fans! Only fifty yang!"
"Get your buns here! Six yang! Six yang, my friends!"
"Six? Ha! I'll give my buns to you people for four!"
"Four?!" the second vendor bellowed to the third, outraged. "All right—" followed by something that Alphonse couldn't understand but was presumably at least one expletive. "I'll do it for three-point-five!"
Alphonse shook his head. The street vendors here are competitive, that's for sure. Even though he had stopped by the bazaar for food, something told him to come back for it later. The resonance in his soul continued to guide him, leading him toward a tent three-quarters of the way down the block. The alchemist paused. Whatever was resonating with his soul was definitely inside.
"If this is a tourist trap, I'm leaving," he muttered under his breath. He stepped inside, eyes widening at the various odds and ends inside. Items ranged from candles to jewellery to paintings and curios and so much more. Near as he could tell, this place was empty compared to the hustle and bustle outside.
"Okay," he whispered. "Not a tourist trap."
Alphonse couldn't describe the feeling that he had in this particular shop, but it had to be something between beautiful and strange. There were no electric lights here, just candles at various places in areas that would not ignite the tent. Alphonse looked curiously at a painting on an easel, seeming to depict strange whale-like creatures moving through the stars. Even though it piqued his interest, Alphonse knew that the image was not what had brought him here in the first place.
"Fine creatures, purrgil. However, that is not why you are here, is it, youngling?"
Alphonse stiffened. He heard the Xingese clearly, but the word "purrgil" was not a familiar one. The alchemist turned toward the speaker, a long-haired old man with a wistful look in his eyes. "How do you know that?" he asked in Xingese, amazed.
The man smiled sadly, wrinkles prominent around his onyx eyes. "I've seen the eyes of many different people throughout all these years. Your eyes betray your confusion…and your curiosity."
Alphonse looked at him, hoping he understood the language correctly. "What are you talking about?"
The old man gestured for him to follow. Alphonse, seeing no other option, obeyed. They went deeper into the tent, eventually finding an entrance to a chamber underground. The young alchemist followed him down the ladder, though he noted that it had to be several metres deep.
"Where are we going?" he asked, knowing his Xingese was heavily accented.
"Down," was the only response he got. And down they went. Alphonse could not tell how many minutes had passed, but they eventually reached the bottom. The alchemist disembarked from the ladder, the resonance in his soul growing stronger.
He noticed a strange crimson pyramid in a glass cabinet several metres in front of him, and everything seemed to click.
NOW…
Alphonse removed the pyramid from his pocket, glancing at it briefly. "What is it that I am becoming?" he whispered. "The Dark Side…just what the hell is it?"
He heard footsteps and immediately hid the holocron. He looked up, half expecting Ahsoka, but instead saw Sabine. The Mandalorian looked exhausted.
"How's Ed?" he asked.
Sabine shrugged. "Still feverish, still out of it. The shock really did a number on him." She frowned. "I don't get it; getting drunk twice in a couple of days shouldn't have done that. The seizure, yeah, that, I can understand. But the other stuff?"
Alphonse shrugged. "His automail ports were on the fritz, so that made things worse." He didn't want to bring up the mirror. Not yet.
Sabine tilted her head. "You keep talking about that prosthetic as though it was an actual part of his body or something."
It was during one of these times that Alphonse wished Winry was there to explain the full concept of it; Edward knew first-hand how automail worked but Alphonse didn't know as much as either of them did. Alchemy was his main area of expertise. He glanced back at Sabine, knowing that he had to at least try to provide some form of an explanation for what his brother was going through. "Automail is complicated," he said finally. "From what little I understand of it the user has to go through excruciating surgery just to get the ports installed in the first place. That includes putting each individual nerve through an interface so the limb can respond as though it was part of the organic component. Every now and then, the limbs need to be adjusted or replaced, hence why automail engineering is a major field of study in Amestris."
Sabine nodded, evidently impressed. "For a planet that hasn't developed air transportation, your homeworld looks to be highly advanced in terms of prosthetic technology…more advanced than some other parts of the galaxy. Why not share it with the rest of us?"
Alphonse folded his arms. "It's not like we have a lot of access to offworlders. Besides, Hagane isn't the safest planet out there; we're just about always at war over one thing or another."
"I'm just amazed you were able to stay hidden from the Empire."
Alphonse chose not to respond to that remark. Not only did he not understand galactic politics, he just didn't want to talk about some of the nastier situations Hagane, Amestris in particular, had experienced over the past several centuries. He hated not knowing enough about a problem that needed to be solved.
Sabine stood. "Come on; I want to show you something."
Alphonse got up, following. They walked over to what looked to be a communication relay a few doors down from the bridge. Sabine gestured to the array of technology. "This is where we can do our ship's logs if we want to," she explained. "The chronometer is right here"—she gestured to a clock on the desk— "and the data recorder is here." She pointed to a computer, switching it on. "Mei set the date to the Amestrian calendar so it will be easier for you to access if you want to see information from a certain time."
Alphonse tilted his head, marvelling at the technology presented to him. "Wouldn't it make more sense to write it down?"
"Perhaps," Sabine admitted. "However, paper hasn't been used by the majority of the galaxy for several thousand years. We rely on this sort of technology in addition to electronic data pads. In some cases, video logs such as this one might be more convenient."
Alphonse sat down in the chair, looking curiously at the screen. "Is this thing recording?"
"Not until you push the green button in front of your face."
SHIP'S LOG: 14 SEPTEMBER 1933, 1453 HOURS GST
ALPHONSE: Well, this is interesting.
*Alphonse turns to face Sabine*
ALPHONSE: So, I just talk into this thing, right? I can say anything?
*Sabine nods*
ALPHONSE: Okay, great, thanks.
*Alphonse sighs, turns back to face the screen*
ALPHONSE: Here goes.
ALPHONSE: Hello. My name is Alphonse Elric. I am an alchemist from a planet known as Hagane.
*Alphonse briefly marvels at his surroundings*
ALPHONSE: It feels surreal being in a different part of the galaxy, let alone being on another planet. I don't know how long we will be here. I don't know the name of the planet, or where the hell we are right now, except for the fact that we're somewhere in what's known as "Wild Space". So…that's pretty much the story of where we've been for the past four days. The whole eastern hemisphere of this planet is covered with some sort of massive transmutation circle that I've never seen before, but I don't want to describe it too much because it definitely looks to be in violation of a tonne of alchemical laws. What I can say is that it's a transmutation circle that's got taboo inside of a much larger, much stranger circle. Other than that, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.
I'll be honest, I have no clue how these ship's logs work. Is this data for the ship, or is it a tape recorder of some sorts? I've never seen technology like this. It's amazing.
*Alphonse turns back to Sabine*
ALPHONSE: What is "GST?"
SABINE: Galactic Standard Time. It's the time zone that most people adhere to when travelling outside of their home planets.
ALPHONSE: I don't get it.
SABINE: Give it time.
*Alphonse shrugs*
ALPHONSE: Okay…
*Alphonse turns back to the monitor, not taking his eyes off of the screen*
ALPHONSE: Today's date is 14 September 1933. Who knows what could be going on back home. Ed got recruited for the war effort to push back Drachma, but this mission evidently takes precedence because Führer-President Mustang said so. Right now, our main goal is to take out that transmutation circle and get the hell out of here. At least one person has already gotten hurt—there might have been more. Who knows.
Speaking of Ed, I think he'll be okay. We're all taking turns keeping an eye on him so he doesn't do anything else that could end badly. Speaking of…my next shift starts in a few minutes, so I'll make this quick.
I'll start out by summarising how this all started in the first place. Two offworlders visited Amestris almost a week ago, in search of fuel. They're actually here with us. Sabine Wren is right behind me. She's from a world known as Krownest, which, judging from what she had described to Ed, and from what he later told me, seems to be a planetary version of Briggs. Ahsoka Tano, on the other hand, is vastly different. She isn't human at all; she's a Togruta. She's from a different part of the galaxy than Sabine is, but I guess the technology is possible for anyone from any part of the galaxy to meet one another and speak the same language. Just…not on Hagane. Not at the moment…give or take the language part.
Ahsoka lived through two galaxy-wide wars: the Clone Wars, and the Galactic Civil War. She used to be in the military during the former, although I don't know what rank she held. She also used to be a Jedi. From what I had heard, the Jedi were wiped out right as the Clone Wars ended, so I guess she's essentially lucky to be alive. She also seems to be pretty knowledgeable about the Force; I'll have to ask her about it sometime later, because I'm still trying to understand it myself. Turns out all alchemists are Force-sensitive, so that includes me, my girlfriend, and my brother.
*Alphonse leans forward on the desk, resting his head on his hands, propped up by his elbows and the lower parts of his arms*
ALPHONSE: Truthfully, with regard to Ed, it's complicated. In giving up his Gate of Truth, Ed's connection to the Force started to abnormalize. It's as though there's some sort of…Force mirror or something. There's not really a name for it. It's just there.
*Alphonse checks the on-screen chronometer, which currently reads 1458 hours GST*
ALPHONSE: Crap, my shift's about to start.
*Alphonse looks frantically across the screen*
ALPHONSE: How do I turn off this thing?
Maybe it's the red button…
Yep, it was indeed the red button. Alphonse stood, exiting the room to keep watch over his brother. Sabine, meanwhile, made to exit the ship. When the alchemist arrived, the sight he saw was not encouraging. Edward was still sleeping but looked paler than the last time Alphonse had checked in on him. He put a hand on his brother's forehead, feeling the heat roiling from the sensation. The thermometer yielded fewer promising results; Edward's temperature had climbed again, this time to 39.9 degrees Celsius. Even though it had only gone up three tenths of a degree since he had last checked on him, Alphonse found that small amount unnerving. All he could hope to do about the fever right now was wait.
A/N: Some tidbits:
I. 39.6 ºC = 103.28 ºF
II. 39.9 ºC = 103.82 ºF