Hello there readers! I have returned! I'm not dead! But I'm a little sad because I've had my first flame.
I refuse to let it get me down because I have you guys! :D :D :D :D :D :D
And now I'd like to address my awesome reviewers:
DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympian s: I didn't know they had Night Terrors on Doctor Who; I'm still on the 9th Doctor. I sorry! There's a special note to you later in the story!
TaIoFoReVeR523: The characters will be either a boys or girls, depending on the winning OCs. The winner gets to make their own character and the villain will come up again soon! I promise!
2featherbraids: One of EJ's girlier moments I'll admit *gets whacked by EJ* Ow!
Takara Rose- Is very Awwww!
Synk-Thank you so much!
Chapter 24
If I thought it was gonna be awkward hanging around Ed after that, I was wrong. He went on his merry way as if nothing had happened. I had to admit that I'd put it out of my mind to a point where I remembered it but it didn't affect how I acted around him; I was still as sarcastic as ever.
The three of us (Edward, Alphonse and I) were walking around the main square on a festival day. Ed and I munched on some of Cassy's caramel and white chocolate apples and he was already halfway through his.
"You know I'm waiting to tell you off later when you get sick, right?" I said around a mouthful of apple.
"Yeah right Samuels." Ed smirked, taking another bite of his apple with a satisfying crunching sound. I'll admit I felt a little guilty about eating this in front of Al, and I guess it showed. He saw my face drop and reassured me that he was fine.
"I made sure to add it to the list of the things I'm gonna eat once I can again." I raised an eyebrow at his statement.
"You keep a list?" Al nodded.
"It was actually Brother's idea; it something to help keep my spirits up you know." He explained, just as Ed came back from tossing his apple core. For a second he looked like he'd been shot, but he relaxed visibly and flopped down next to me on the grass. The three of us chatted for a few minutes and just people watched.
"EJ!" someone called and I twisted to see my school friends coming up behind us. I stood up to greet them.
"Hey guys; how's tricks?" I asked. I was glad the rest of my friends were as comfortable around the Elrics as I was; it would've made things kind of awkward.
"Psst." Whispered a voice and I retreated into a grove of trees towards it, finding my dark skinned friend.
"What's up?" I wondered. He stared at me for a millisecond, and then regained his usual insouciance.
"So he's still here is he?" DJ inquired. I put my hands on hips and let out a huff.
"He has a name; it's Edward."
"Getting a little defensive now aren't we?" He gave me a patronizing smirk.
"I am not!" I objected, getting into my indignant stance.
"And before, the two of you couldn't have a polite conversation without trying to rip each other's throats out. . . You haven't fallen for him have you?" He ignored me and then raised an eyebrow.
My face burned, giving me away like I'd set off an alarm.
"Why do you care?" I crossed my arms and turned away; I refused to look him in the eye, covered or otherwise.
"Because, like I said before, I don't trust him; he's up to something that could send Amadeus into mass panic." He gripped my shoulders; he'd never gotten this close to me before.
"Are you just saying this because you're jealous?" He looked at me in surprise, and then an unfamiliar sound escaped his mouth: laughter.
To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
~~Third Person~~
Ed wasn't entirely sure what it was that EJ was talking about with DJ, but obviously he'd embarrassed her pretty badly by the shade she turned; it always amused Ed when she turned any other color besides her own skin tone.
He wasn't really listening whenever somebody asked him something, but at least Al was having a good time. He found himself thinking that he was gonna miss EJ, just a little. What really got him was the way she looked at people when she wanted something, and how infectious her laugh was.
Focus Ed; you've got a job to do. Fullmetal's got a job; Edward can worry about stuff like that later.
"We wanna thank you boys again for everything." General Mahan said, giving Ed a firm handshake. "You'll come by and see us again right?"
"We'll try our best sir." Alphonse assured. The Samuels and Mahan families had already gone back to the house, so it was just the General and EJ as they waited with the Elrics at the train station.
Sure enough, the train from Central had shown up that morning, meaning that Ed and Al had to head back. Ed could only imagine the sarcastic comments that Mustang was gonna make about him being away so long; none of them were good.
"-kids a second to say goodbye. I'll see you later sweetheart." Mahan gave his granddaughter a hug and headed back up the hill.
EJ stood with her hands in her pockets and occasionally swept her hair behind her ears. It must've been a nervous habit, because she did it a lot.
"So I guess I'll be seeing you two around huh?" Her voice was tight.
"Yeah. But before I leave, there's something that's been bothering me." Ed knew that if he didn't say it now, he'd lose both his nerve and his opportunity. She gave him a look that said "Go on."
"What exactly did you see that night?" Ed blurted. EJ looked stunned; Al groaned inwardly.
At first it seemed like she wouldn't answer, but she took a deep breath and let it out.
(Okay, this next scene is dedicated to DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympian s for the upcoming dialogue. I wasn't sure how I was gonna word this next scene. DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!)
"Well, I saw what Mr. Tucker did to Nina, how she died after it happened. That's one part of my nightmare I didn't tell you. Ed," she bit her lip. "You almost killed Tucker, and I think you would've if Nina hadn't stopped you. It was . . . scary; you were scary." She rubbed her arms, shivering. Ed fought past his shock and pushed on.
"But how did you see it?"
"There are times when my night terrors show me things: things that have already happened. Sometimes I see stuff that will happen, but it doesn't happen very often." She replied; she looked about ready to cry or scream or both, but Ed wouldn't be able to get rid of that nagging feeling in his chest.
"Are they good things?" He pressed.
"Brother. . ." Alphonse warned. EJ shook her head.
"No; they're always terrifying, always horrible. And I wish I could wake up, but whatever controls my dreams doesn't want me to. I wanna wake up, but I just can't. I can't wake up." She whispered this last part and Ed was stunned to see her shoulders quaking, and a few seconds later, three little wet spots appeared on the pavement in front of her.
EJ Samuels, the toughest girl Ed had come to know, was crying. She looked about ready to hit something.
Ed saw his opportunity, stepped forward, and wrapped EJ in a fierce hug. Her face went right into his shoulder, which was what he wanted.
On her next big inhale, she froze, backed up to look Ed in the eye, and then she passed out.
~~Elrics~~
"Brother! What happened?" Alphonse gasped as Ed struggled to support a now limp EJ.
"She's fine; she's just unconscious." He explained, opening his jacket to reveal the small bundle of red herbal sleep aids.
"Open up, little brother." Al did so, and the two of them managed to get EJ inside of Al's armor safely and securely.
This had been the plan all along: somehow drug EJ, put her in Al's chest plate so the border patrol wouldn't know the Elrics had left with extra cargo, and head back to Central.
Al had just snapped his armor closed when the whistle blew for the train to start pulling out.
"Let's do this, Al!" Ed leaped on with Al right behind him, the latter having placed a letter in the knot hole of a tree with his apology for what he was doing.
Now you may be thinking a variety of things: "WHY THE CLIFFIE?!" or "FINALLY!" but whatever you're thinking, Ed and Al are finally heading back to Central with EJ. It took me forever to get to the point, but now we can swerve back onto the freeway that is the Brotherhood series.
Random insight of the day: You remember how the Homunculi are all like siblings right? Well, as I was watching episode 56 of Brotherhood today, I realized that Wrath and Greed make the meaning of "Come at me, Bro" literal.
And with that lovely tidbit,
~~Sady Mordan and Mr. Review Button