Dislcaimer: I don't own FMA or
Authoress Note: I know there have been gaps between my updates and I apologize. This last little bit between chapters I was very busy (real life wise) and sometimes you just hit a block. I hope you lovely people who have stayed with me from the beginning will hold on, I do have an ending planned, and I don't plan to give up on this story.
With that in mind I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Obvious Grief
By: animeroxsmyworld
Chapter 21: Medical Help
He didn't remember calling for medical attention, or even asking for medical attention, but he did remember rushing over to Edward's side as the blonde lay motionless in the mud, Riza continuing to tell him "Yes sir, they're coming".
"Idiot!" Roy hissed as he crouched down and practically dug the boy from the mud's sticky grip. Blood trickled from blue lips as Mustang shifted the preteen's body. Riza crouched down on Ed's other side, her umbrella saving them from the onslaught of rain, though from the looks of it Ed was already drenched in the stuff.
How long had he been running?
With the weather he could be sick. Add that with his automail and dear god this child was so stupid. Roy couldn't help swearing again.
Riza pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began to clean the blood that was weeping down his chin and trailing down his neck, all the while muttering reassurances. It was so easy to believe her because she spoke each sentence like a statement, not at all like a cooing mother but like a soldier, strong and steady.
There was a reason why Roy needed her.
She grounded him.
She paused briefly over Ed's neck before her hand stiffened and she abandoned the handkerchief. Her fingers splayed over Ed's neck like lightning, her sudden change confusing Mustang for only a second until he caught just where her fingers were.
When she looked up and met his gaze, he had already guessed the words before she spoke them.
"There's no pulse."
He was on his feet within mere seconds, internally grunting as he picked Ed up. A burden that Riza immediately helped ease as she took his legs, leaving Roy to carry the boy's torso. The automail made even this small child way too heavy.
"You say they're coming to us?" Roy asked with a grunt.
"Yes sir, I called them immediately."
"Then we meet them halfway."
They ran as best as they could while juggling Ed's weight, heading in the direction of the hospital. Everything lay forgotten. The handkerchief, the umbrella. Nothing else mattered. People seemed to part seamlessly around them, no one asking any questions.
It turned out they didn't have to run halfway. The medics were closer than anticipated. They barely had to look at the blonde alchemist before they leapt into action. They probably would've leapt into all kind of procedures if Riza hadn't barked out two words.
"No heartbeat!"
They stopped in mid-action before switching their techniques. Ed's shirt was sheared open with scissors and a defibrillator was passed up to the man kneeling next to Edward's chest.
"Clear!"
Ed's body arched as electricity shot through him, but he flopped back lifelessly once it passed. The medic frowned before rubbing the paddles once more.
"Still nothing, I'm going to give it another go. Clear!"
Edward arched, gold eyes flying open as a silent gasp tore his mouth open. The medics broke into movement as his eyes began to roll.
"Al…I saw…Al…" Ed breathed hoarsely, his voice lost as the medics began to lift him up onto a stretcher.
"We got a heartbeat. Let's load him up."
"Does Komui ever clean his office?" Al asked as he picked up a stack of paper that had spilled over the purple-haired man's desk and had joined the pieces already littering the floor.
"I can't say I know." Lenalee admits as she stands next to the completely hidden desk, an armful of papers nestled in one hand while the other tries to push aside the already existing stacks.
"Where do these all even come from?"
"It kind of comes with the territory of being head of the science department." Lenalee explains as she manages to set her papers down, a smile lighting her face. "Or head of any department really."
Her papers then scatter like a house of cards and her smile vanishes as a vein in her forehead begins to throb. She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, hoping that it will help ease the growing migraine. Why she agreed to help Komui clean his office, she doesn't quite understand.
Her train of thought instantly vanishes as Al crashes to the ground, his helmet flying across the room and spinning like a top when it lands, from the shear force. Paper flies everywhere and everything is basked in a green glow.
She had seen the pale green glow of his Innocence before, she had asked politely once to see it. She knew that inside his armour, through the small holes, the light of Innocence shone through.
It had never glowed as brightly as it did right now.
"Al?"
He remained motionless, looking like a broken toy.
"Alphonse?" She tried again as she knelt next to him. She grabbed his armour by the neck hole and shook it gently. The rattling sound echoed and made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
It was eerie, seeing the armor so…empty.
"ALPHONSE!" She yelled as she gave a violent shake.
The light flared to a blinding white, Lenalee letting out a shriek as she snatched her hands back. Where they had been bathed in Innocence they were now burned, the skin peeling, blistering, bright red and blotchy. She was too scared to look.
Just as quickly it dimmed. It returned to its normal pale green and stayed that way for several seconds. And then a small rattle, like a tiny breath, moved throughout the metal.
"…brother…" Al whispered, the words almost too quiet for even Lenalee to hear. And then Al was moving, his body creaking as he sluggishly pulled himself into a sitting position. Despite the helmet she knew Al was looking around in confusion. She just couldn't tell where he was looking.
"Oh my god! Lenalee what happened?!"
Her response, despite how much she wanted to describe the events to him, was a quivering sniffle. She was trying so hard not to look down at her hands because she knew it would just make it worse, but even without that, she could feel the pain.
The numbing, horrible pain.
The sniffles continued until, to her dismay, her eyes began to wet with big fat tears.
"Stay right there, I'll get you help!"
She didn't argue, she only nodded and watched as Al went clunking out of the room. Where he had sat, charred paper outlined his form, scorching the wood floor beneath.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Allen looked up in alarm as Tim began to vibrate, shrilling out the same tone as a phone. The golem unfurled its wings and circled once around Allen's head before heading into the other room of the hotel room.
The room Cross was currently nursing a hangover in.
Allen was actually surprised his master had arrived home in the morning at all. He had been on quite a drunk streak the past couple of days, usually going weeks at a time before Allen would see him again before they moved towns. So seeing him fumbling through the hotel room door in the morning had surprised the white-haired boy.
"SHUT UP!" He heard Cross yell as the ringing continued. The redhead then came storming into the living room with Tim, still ringing, held firmly between his two hands. Cross had a look of murder on his bloodshot face. With a ferocity Allen always knew he possessed, Cross hooked Tim into the phone line and practically ripped the phone out of its cradle.
What?! How the hell did you get this number and you better answer honestly or else I will kill you. If you're the Black Order I will hang up this phone so quickly your ears will be ringing for weeks!" Cross growled.
"You gave me this number you moron."
Cross was still glaring but a calculating line was creasing in his forehead. The voice on the other line was familiar. Young, but yet full of anger.
Cross sighed as he ran his free hand over his face.
"What the hell do you want Edward?" Cross grumbled as he flopped onto the nearby couch.
"I saw my brother."
Families filled the room, children and babies sitting with their mothers or fathers as they waited. They played to pass the time, a few simply sitting and waiting, swinging their feet and humming while the parents watched the nurses walk by anxiously, waiting for their names to be called. It's been close to a year and Shou Tucker's Medical Practice has taken off…with Tyki's help of course.
Tyki watched as one little boy clutched to his older brother's arm, the older of the two finding ease in a book while the other simply stared about. And then the smaller one began to shake.
It started low in his tummy and worked its way up until his whole body was rocking, raw, throat ripping coughs raking their way from him and catching the eye of a few of the parents.
The older boy was quick to try and ease the other's suffering, murmuring soothing words and rubbing his back.
"Shh, it's alright. You're gonna be fine. Shh, it's ok."
Seeing it firsthand, Tyki silently marveled at the Earl's plan. He could practically taste the misfortune and grief swirling through the room.
The coughing subsided and Tyki decided it was time. As a nurse passed by once more he decided to end their endless waiting game.
"You," He said as he caught the fake nurse's arm. The fake human appearance almost rippled beneath the sudden motion to reveal the akuma beneath, but it fixed itself in a flash and a small woman stood before him with a questioning look on her face.
"Yes Lord Noah?" She asked and he just nudged his head in the direction of the waiting room.
"That one. With the floppy ear hat."
Her eyes followed his to the two blond boys before she looked down at the clipboard in her hand, the names of all the patients scrawled on it. She gave the briefest of nods before turning to face the group, all faces turning to her when she cleared her throat.
"Fletcher Tringham. This way please. The Doctor will see you now."
The small brother almost trips himself in his eagerness to rise from his seat. He stops momentarily to smile at the older boy he had previously been clinging to.
"Don't worry Russell. I'll be right back." He promises, the statement earning him a small smile from the older Tringham before Fletcher is at the nurses' side. With that the two disappear down the hall.
Alphonse blocked a well-placed kick, turning at the last second and grabbing Lenalee's ankle before the appendage can retract. With a twirl he throws her like a doll through the air but her Innocence flares to life and she's twisting, landing with graceful balance on her feet on the other side of the room.
She smiles despite the sudden throw. "You're getting better." She praises. "I can barely land a punch on you anymore."
"You're holding back." Al states absently as he lets his gaze wander to her hands. It had taken a long time and a lot of medical attention, but her hands were finally back to normal. She had never blamed him, even after she had explained the situation to practically everybody and their golem.
It's been almost a year now.
"Lenalee, can we see Hevlaska again?" He asks quietly as he pulls himself up and out of his fighting stance. The dark-haired girl's smile saddens as her Innocence putters and disappears.
"Al…we've already gone two times…without permission." She adds as she draws close. Seeing Hevlaska is something that the leaders of the Order decide upon. Hevlaska's time is important and apparently out of their jurisdiction.
Al fidgets as he sits down, no longer feeling up to finishing their sparring session. After he had burned her hands, everyone was convinced he had finally gotten in contact with his Innocence. Komui had run all his tests again while the science department watched him with calculating gazes each time he passed. They had rushed him to Hevlaska, Komui looking hopeful and excited at the same time as the white exorcist descended upon him.
There was no change.
None.
"But how will I know? How will I know when I'm synchronized if she can't tell me?" He asks desperately as he begins to pick at the cobblestone beneath them. "Something's happening. I burned you Lenalee, something happened!"
"I know that, believe me I was there. This might just take more time Al."
Al visibly droops. "This isn't working." He admits. "I'll never get out of here."
"Aw come on Alphonse. The science team hasn't given up yet." Lavi's voice chides before the red head pops his head through the opens door. A thoughtful looks creases his face after the words leave his mouth. "Which is a little surprising if you think about it. It's been quite a while."
"Only a year!" Lenalee snaps back at him. Her hands immediately fly to her hips as she senses the bleak tone beginning to crawl from Al. "For all we know Al's Innocence could be a rare, new breed. Maybe our methods just need…critiquing." She offers at the end with a few vague hand gestures in the air.
Lavi shrugs as he finally enters the room to only lean against the door frame. "It's possible. Innocence is tricky. Even some of our top people have trouble understanding it. New and unexplained pieces crop up all over the place."
As he finishes a sheathed sword suddenly swings and whacks him atop his head, earning a yelp from the older male. Kanda steps in through the doors, his arm already retracting his sword. Holding up his version of his promise, Kanda dropped in whenever he felt the urge to train. Although he never did one-on-one training with the suit of armour, he had on multiple occasions complained about their techniques and offered advice.
In the way Kanda does. By insults, eye rolls, and taking over the situation.
"What the hell?!" Lavi moaned as he rubbed his head and took several steps away from the dark haired teen.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Kanda asked simply, completely disregarding the fact that he had whacked the training bookman not even seconds ago.
Lavi eyes him warily. "I'm getting around to it. I was just stopping by while the Old Panda gathered his supplies and then I was taking off."
"Oh, where are you going Lavi? Australia again?" Lenalee asks curiously while the redhead continues to mumble unsavory things in Kanda's general direction. Lavi only shrugs in response to her question.
"For once I'm in the dark. The Panda strung this mission together, I really don't know much about it yet, he said he would tell me along the way. Where he goes, I go."
"Well you had better be safe." Lenalee warned good naturedly, a notion that makes Lavi rll his eye.
"Yes mother."
Ed stared at the folder held out towards him. He hesitated for only a second longer before he gingerly grabbed it from Mustang.
"Is this…?"
"Your first mission abroad." Roy explained simply, watching as Ed practically tore the folder open, golden eyes scoring through the information before him. "You seem ready. It's been a while since we heard you moaning and groaning over your automail so it seems time to put you in the field."
Ed makes a grunt to show he heard the older male as his eyes shoot through the text. He makes a few noises here or there as he continues to read but when he reaches the end he nods.
"When do I leave?" He asks, but blinks as Roy smirks at him.
"Don't be so hasty, there are conditions."
"Like what?" Ed asks suspiciously as he frowns, watching as Roy leans back casually in his chair.
"You're not going alone. On your first abroad mission? Of course not. You're getting assigned a little…extra muscle." Mustang grins. Ed stares at him, trying to make his mouth work several times before he settles for glaring.
"Extra muscle? I mostly have to talk, I barely have to lift a finger. Why are you sending me help?"
Roy snorts. "Deflate your ego there kid. You're first mission abroad is your first 'real' mission. I don't care if your just talking to locals, hell I don't care if your just sitting in your hotel room for the whole week, backup is going with you. At least until I'm satisfied that you can handle yourself out there in the real world."
Ed is quiet for several moments, although he continues to look thoroughly pissed, before he sighs and turns away.
"Do I at least get to know who it is?"
Roy smiles almost a little too brightly as his hands lace together on top of his desk. "I'll leave that as a surprise but I'm sure you're just going to love him."
"What should we do? He keeps coming back."
Tyki follows the source of the nurses' complaint to see Russell Tringham sitting in the waiting room. Except this time he isn't here with the illusion of seeing the doctor. He isn't trying to read a book or play with the toys like the first time he arrived.
He is fully alert and completely high strung.
He is a complete contrast to all the others in the waiting room, and even the humans can see it. No one is sitting around him and each time a nurse even walks near he is up on his feet.
"We could just kill him, get it over with." One of the nurses' offers with a shrug. There's a collective murmur of agreement.
"We could always show him his brother." Tyki suggests as he watches the boy currently run after one of the other nurses, the questions about Fletcher already spilling from his mouth and audible even at this distance.
"Why go through the trouble?" One of them sighs with an eye roll. "Killing him would be so much easier."
"And this is why you aren't in charge." Tyki replies icily. They go deathly silent. Noah's have been known for their short tempers and akuma's are nothing next to their strength. "Think about how an akuma is made. There needs to be sorrow, there needs to be grief, that teetering moment where all sanity is lost. We need to drive these people to that moment of insanity so then the Earl can help them choose and make akumas. They can't bring anyone back if they're dead. The Earl's army won't get any bigger if you kill every human who annoys you. Now go grab the boy and apologize for the lack of answers. Tell him that his brother is finally able to see visitors and we would be happy to escort him to his room."
Glances are exchanged before one of the nurses scuttles off. It's a few brief moments before she's back, Russell at her heels in his eagerness, though the tension is still pinching his eyes.
Tyki stops them as they enter the hallway, the one that transitions over to where Shou works, where the animals are kept.
"I'll escort him myself."
"Yes Lord Noah." The nurse replies with a quick bow before Tyki finds himself with the high strung blond. In all honesty Tyki doesn't know if the boy's brother is back with Shou. It's been close to a week and Shou only keeps the ones who survive. But if all else fails, the boy's sanity will be tested all the same.
The hallway turns and before he knows it, he's in front of the large double doors that will step him into the more gritty side.
The fun side.
Their sound proof so the moment he swings them open his ears are hit with a barrage of sounds. Birds and monkeys are screeching, dogs are barking, and in the midst of it all, he can hear the distinct sound of a human wailing. Even from their position in the doorway they can see most of the operating room, cages lining the room with various animals of various breeds and sizes. Several operating tables are set about, a few with patients already strapped to them, a few blaringly empty but blood still pooled in one. Charts and alchemic arrays bleed across the walls and the ceiling and it's like stepping into a completely different world.
In the middle of it all Tyki can already see Tucker, the mad alchemist bent over a body with a bloody scalpel glistening in his hands.
A hand fists in his shirt and Tyki pauses for just a moment, the thought of the boy readying to strike him crossing his mind, before he glances back at him.
The boy's face is the picture of terror and he grasped Tyki's sleeve in an attempt to stay upright. His mouth begins to try and move several times but no words hit the air.
Tyki smirks as he continues forward.
"I believe he's this way." He begins before he motions to Tucker, catching the alchemist's attention. "Oi, this one's looking for his brother."
Tucker's face wrinkles but he steps away from his table and peers up at Russell. Tyki can feel the boy beginning to tremble through the grip on his shirt. There's muttered mumbling from Tucker as he approaches before he nods to himself.
"Yes, yes, he looks like one of the others that was in last week. What was his name?"
It several minutes before Russell realizes the question is for him.
"F-Fletcher." He manages, his voice making a noise between a squeak and a gulp, almost garbling the name. Yet somehow Tucker understands him and his eyes seem to flash.
"Oh! He was wonderful! Still quite young and everything was in order. It was a shame that the cough carried over though." He rambled as he began in a flurry of motion, striding towards the cages with purpose. He stopped at a rather large one and started with the lock for a moment before swinging the door open.
"H-Hey…what do you mean? W-what…what are you s-saying?" Russell asked, finally coming out of his shock as Tucker's words seemed to digest. Tucker didn't even spare him a glance as he coaxed the creature inside the cage, out.
It looked like several things at once. It was big and bulky like a bear, but the skin was taut and patchy, the hair matted and the face elongated like a wolf, a fleck of what can only be called freckles, covering its body. As it stepped out of its confinement the head suddenly bucked to the side, the body curling in on itself as it began to shake and a dry rasping noise began to escape it.
Mutilated as it was, the sound of coughing was still recognizable.
"Oh my…" Russell started as his grip finally fell, and he took two stumbling steps back. Huge blue eyes swung up to him and he felt his stomach quiver and roll as he recognized the humanity staring back at him, the intelligence…the pain.
"…bro…ther…?" The creature gurgled hoarsely.
Russell felt the world drop from under him as the horror and dread that he had been suppressing since walking through those doubles doors finally enveloped him, his eyes stinging and watering as his legs gave way and sent him to his knees.
He could only stare at those blue eyes.
"…brother…?" The creature continued. "…Russ…ell…?"
"Hmm, he has trouble with full sentences like my Nina. But it could just be the infection brought over from his cough. If I could just—"
Whatever ideas Tucker may or may not have, Russell didn't hear. Tyki bent down to right the boy but the moment his hand touched his shoulder Russell was off like a missile. He jackknifed to his feet and slammed past Tyki, tears falling from his eyes and the scream tearing from his throat almost inhuman as he bee lined for Tucker. Several of the animals copied his cry and shook their cages as he ran into the older man and they went crashing into the ground, the now chimera Fletcher watching in fear as he scuttled away from the scuffle.
Tyki blinked twice before he rolled his eyes and descended into the fight calmly.