Golden Scales Chapter 26
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
o.O.0.O.o
If Alphonse had lungs, he might've sighed out of impatience right then. Judging by the position of the sun, they'd been standing there for almost three hours. Alphonse specifically remembered Edward telling him he'd be there by noon. Of course, he wouldn't rip his head off for being a bit late, but it still irritated him. And worried him. At this point, the armor had to force his thoughts from wandering towards pessimistic assumptions.
Twice, Winry had traveled back to the house for unmentionable reasons (using the bathroom). This gave Alphonse a rough idea of how much time actually passed since they first came out here. That and the sun. Even so, Alphonse might've actually preferred not knowing. At least then he couldn't count every second of his misery.
Despite himself, Alphonse hoped Edward would return to them in perfect shape. For a moment, the armor allowed himself to daydream. But no amount of daydreaming could change the fact that Edward himself told him he'd look different when he returned. That was another thing that had engraved itself into his brain. Over the course of the last few days, Alphonse fretted over this. What could his brother mean by that? Did he lose something besides another limb? An eye? His hair? Or could he have gained something? Perhaps he was exposed to too much radiation and grew an extra limb?
Either way, Alphonse was prepped and ready to handle anything this new appearance had in store. At least, Alphonse liked to think he was ready. Deep down, he couldn't deny a horrible sense of dread. But he also couldn't deny his undying excitement to see his brother alive and with him again for the first time in weeks. He remembered how much relief that phone call brought to him. And how horrible of a state of mind he'd been in before the call. Anxiety and worry had practically consumed him, before Edward's voice washed it all away.
Yes. Alphonse liked to think he was ready. But come time, he'd realize just how sorely wrong he was in that respect.
o.O.0.O.o
Instead of observing them as I went, I chose to focus on my task first. As soon as my head broke the surface, I clamped my hands onto the grassy shore. Then I proceeded to haul my heavy body up onto the land shelf, and then finally I dragged my whole tail out of the water and panted there for a moment. While I did this, I could hear gasps coming from above me, and the creaking of armor.
When I raised my gaze to meet theirs I noticed they jumped back a few feet out of surprise. Their eyes and posture said it all: completely gob-smacked.
A long pause of awkward silence buzzed in my ears before I gave them a lop-sided smile and said,
"Hey, guys."
At the sound of my voice, Winry gave another sharp gasp, but Alphonse stayed still and silent. My mechanic began shaking terribly. She even dropped her wrench.
"Y-you… but… h-he…. w-w-we t-tho—" Winry stuttered.
Before she could form a proper sentence, her eyes turned a misty hue of gray. Not a second later her knees gave and she fainted into the grass with a soft thump.
A small hiss of pity left my lips before I moved my dripping hair out of my eyes again. I looked up at my brother's armor again and noted that he still had yet to speak, or even move. The glowing red dots in the helmet seemed to scan my very soul when my eyes met them. The uncharacteristic silence and stillness of my brother sent a spire of guilt piercing my stomach.
"Al?" I said cautiously, "Are you alright? What's wrong? It's me, Ed—"
"DON'T YOU DARE!" the armor suddenly shouted, voice cracked with emotion, "STOP THAT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
I blinked and lowered my posture in shame. "S-stop what, Al?"
"STOP USING HIS VOICE! You're not him, so stop acting like it! How DARE you trick me?! You should be ashamed of yourself! Y-You filthy creature! Why don't you just slither back into the hell-hole you crawled out of?! And don't you EVER use Brother's voice again!"
The armor took a few shaky steps back, and despite his lack of a body, I could hear sobbing noises emanating from the helmet. It was then that I felt something break inside of me. The horrible realization hit me like a mountain of bricks: Al refused to believe it was me. Al thought it was all a trick. A twisted lie. I lost all of my composure when I choked down my own sob. My voice wavered unsteadily as I spoke again.
"A-Alphonse, I swear I'm not tricking you. I really am Edward Elric, you just have to believe—"
"Believe?" the armor cut me off, "You expect me to believe that you're really my brother?!"
"Please, Al, Just hear me out—"
"NO! No, I won't hear you out! My brother isn't a half-fish freak! He's a human being, just like me! And nothing's ever going to change that!"
I winced at the word "freak." Still, I shoved down the pain and continued.
"Look, Al. I am your brother. And I can prove it if you'll just—"
"SHUT UP!" Alphonse shouted angrily, "I won't listen to another second of this!"
I watched in shock as the armor paced towards Winry, lifted her limp form, and began heading towards the house. Instead of falling into a pit of despair like a normal person would have, my fists clenched. My blood began to boil beneath my scales. My sharpened shark-like teeth gnashed together. My entire body shook in rage. Finally, I opened my mouth and screamed:
"DAMMIT, AL! GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! BEFORE I RIP OFF YOUR LEGS AND STICK EM' ON YOUR HEAD!"
As soon as I finished my yell, the armor abruptly halted. Three seconds ticked by before Alphonse twisted around to look back at me, Winry still fast asleep in his arms.
"W-what did you just s-say?" Alphonse asked in a shaky near-whispering voice.
"You heard what I said." I replied, rage still evident in my doubled tone.
After a long pause, the armor took a few wavering steps to turn himself around. Then he continued to walk slowly towards the river again. Once he reached five feet away from me, he gently set Winry's sleeping form in the grass, but remained standing.
I drew a breath, but it didn't calm me in the least bit.
"Are you sure Edward was human, Al?" I continued, "Are you sure you were human? Can you really stand there and tell me with confidence that there was absolutely nothing strange about either of you?"
The armor remained silent for a while, as if pondering that question deeply. After a good ten seconds, he answered, "No…"
I nodded and went on. "Do you remember when I— er, I mean Edward dug up that conch shell in the backyard? Do you remember how he showed it to Mom and all of you, even Mom, could hear seagulls?"
A light gasp sounded behind the armor's helmet, and Al slowly lowered himself into a sitting position. "… Yes."
"Do you remember, just a little while ago, when the ridges along Edward's neck opened? And how his limbs began regenerating?"
Inside the helmet, I could hear his "breath" waver and shift with emotion.
I sighed. "I lost my memory after I went missing. And I've had time to make peace with… all of this… But you? You didn't have any time at all. And I'm sorry about that, Al. But… this is the truth."
This time, the pause lasted a lot longer. Centuries seemed to pass by as Alphonse seemingly submerged himself in thought. My scales were officially dry when my brother's helmet rose to meet my gaze again.
"…E-Ed…?"
My ear-fins perked up a bit. I expected my brother to ask me if it was really me, or some emotional statement of the sort. But the last thing I ever expected to hear right then rang through the helmet and past its metal crevices.
"You're short."
Before I even had time to process what my brother had said, pure, untamed rage flooded my mind and shoved everything else aside.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD LIVE ON A FLOATING DUST PARTICLE?!"
Not a moment too soon after I finished my short rant, Alphonse's armored shoulders lost every bit of tension they previously held. And if I had known what my brother would do next, I might've tried to squirm back into the river before the damage could be done.
The armor abruptly stood up, closed the distance between us, and then proceeded to lift me into the air. I pinched out a few choking breaths as the armor squeezed me and twirled around.
"BROTHER! It really is you!" he giggled as he did this.
"Alpho— Al, I can't… can't breathe!"
The armor stopped twirling and loosened his grip. "O-Oh! Sorry, Brother! I'm just so happy to see you!"
I glanced down at the ground and noticed just how far away I was from it. And how loosely my brother held me now.
"Y-yeah," I stuttered, tightening my own grip on the armor, "I'm happy to see you, too. Now… let's not drop me, okay?"
A delighted laugh slipped through Alphonse's helmet. "Sure thing, Brother."
Then the armor proceeded to lift a still-unconscious Winry across his other shoulder, and with both loved ones in hand he headed for the Rockbell house.