Hi readers!
Thanks for all of the reviews last chapter! I'm super happy because I recently have obtained a Beta! YAY! She is the awesome Dani-Chan Replika 2.06 and I am very, VERY grateful towards her...so I don't have to edit these myself anymore.
I would also like to dedicate this chapter for my other friend the very amazing AmarantineOct.3'11. Thanks again for the fanart picture you gave me! ^^
Please enjoy this chapter even though it feels like such a filler to me. (probably because it is...)
"Get some sleep," Hohenheim said. "All of you. We'll be getting ready to leave in a bit so you should lie down while you can."
"What should we do about the Motel room we have booked?" Maes asked. "Should we just check out now?"
"I think it would be best but I'll make sure you get there in a few hours. Right now, just get some sleep."
Ed glared at his father from across the table. How could anyone even begin to think that Ed could sleep at a time like this? Kids who were practically his younger siblings were now trapped in the hands of a maniac. He wanted to scream, to fight his father into letting him go right now while the others could meet him later. But something held his anger inside, slowly bottling up and begging to burst.
"Night dad," Al said as he slowly rose from his seat. "Night Izumi, Sig."
One by one the kids got up and followed Izumi and Sig as they showed them places they could stay for a few hours sleep. But Edward remained to stare at his father, arms crossed across his chest and jaw set.
"Edward. It's the only thing we can do right now," Hohenheim said heavily.
"No it's not," Ed growled. "I could already be at the airport going to leave to go and save them from-."
"And where would you go first Edward? How would you get to your house? How would you get anywhere else when you can't even drive?"
"It's called a cab old man."
"And you'd pay for it with what?" Hohenheim asked staring intently at his oldest son.
"With money. I do have my own money believe it or not," Ed growled, causing Hohenheim to sigh.
"I know that you have money Edward put the point I am trying to get you to see is that sometimes it's best to have some help when you go into battle."
"What if I don't want any?" Ed asked fiercely.
"Well then would be forced to call my own son very foolish indeed."
"So what if you have to call me foolish? Everyone's foolish sometimes if not most of the time!"
"Yes but now is not the time to choose to be so upset that you let your emotions dominate your brain and your actions," Hohenheim said before he got up from his seat at the table. "Now that we are done arguing, I think it would be best to send out that Amber Alert for the children."
Ed would have loved to have shouted more at him about how he was not done at all talking to his father but at the mention of the Amber Alert, Ed's head seemed to clear slightly. He knew deep inside that his father was quite correct but he would defiantly not admit it out loud at the time. Grumbling to himself, Edward pushed himself off of the table and began to stomp off to his given room.
He did not really care when he found out that Al and Roy had to stay with him in his room so as to have a place for everyone in the house; Ed was too deep in though to care about much of anything.
Where could Kimblee be hiding them? Ed thought. He had to have been calling from somewhere within town but…where? There are thousands of places he could be. He could be somewhere completely different now. What does it matter if there's an Amber Alert out; no one's going to be up for at least a few hours…
Ed barley contained his fury now when he realized just how well planned out Kimblee had made this. He had called late enough that hardly anyone was likely to be out which meant that no matter how fast they acted, no one would hear the Alert for several hours. By the time Ed arrived back home, well, Kimblee could be three states away in some hidden bunker.
Ed closed his eyes and, knowing that sleep would never come until all of this was solved, began to count down the hours until he could feel like he was doing something productive.
Ed was awake and dressed by the time Izumi came into the room, telling them that they would be leaving an hour. No one was really talking much as they got dressed and ate very little of the small breakfast Izumi made. Half and hour later, Hohenheim returned from his stint to the Motel room with Maes, Jean, and Roy as they lugged their belongings into the living room for the time being. Ed could not help but notice that the three boys kept shooting worried glances to a few misshapen bags; he could only assume they contained the remaining evidence of their debaucheries' while here in Florida.
"Hey brother," Al said quietly with an involuntary yawn as he sat down next to Ed on one of the living room couches.
"Hey Al," Ed responded quietly.
"You know we'll be moving soon enough."
"Yeah but it's probably already way too late by now. Kimblee's probably already three or four states away in hiding."
"Ed…" Al said, looking at his brother with a saddened look. "You can't say things like that."
"Why not? It true and you know it," Ed mumbled.
"Well then those kids are defiantly screwed because if this is what they've got to rely on we might as well forget about them," Al said bluntly, looking his older brother straight in the eyes.
"What did you say?" Ed challenged, glaring at his brother.
"You heard me. If you've already given up hope on finding them then why should we care? I mean, they're just a bunch of orphans with no one to care about-."
Al would not finish his sentence. Ed had lost control of part of his rising temper and actually punched Al in the jaw. No one had caught it or the previous words spoken between the two brothers so no one stopped them.
"Why the Hell are you suddenly acting like a complete douche-bag?" Ed asked, fist still raised and ready to hit again in a split second.
"Because this is the only way to snap you out of whatever funk is keeping you from being alert and ready to fight," Al answered as he wiped his slightly bloody lip on the back of his hand.
Ed only blinked a few times at Al before he lowered his fist and fell back onto the couch with a sigh. Al went back to his previous seat next to Ed before he was knocked off it moments ago.
"Sorry," Ed said quietly after a pause. "For the punch and for acting so weird. I know I need to keep my focus and keep thinking."
"It's understandable Ed," Al said with a smile.
Ed was saved of having to say anything else with the arrival of his father, fully dressed and looking completely alert.
"It's time to go boys. Let's get into the car and to the airport."
Ed was outside in the humid air and into the car before anyone else. One by one, as his friends trekked out of the house and into their vehicle of choice, Ed could easily tell that few of them got anymore sleep after waking up to his shouting's in the Motel room. Ed, Al, Izumi, and Hohenheim drove in Izumi's car; Sig, Roy, and Jean went in Sigs pick up truck; while Winry, Riza, Sheska, and Maes went in Winry's rust-bucket van. Al had once mentioned how Izumi always drove at the speed limit but apparently she had expectations as she drove well over the given speed limit at times; this Edward was grateful for.
Hohenheim led the way in the airport; it had never occurred to Ed that his father had racked up plenty of frequent flyers miles during his trips around the country from all of his strange trips when he was on governmental business. He also almost had a heart attack when he heard how much all of the tickets were but his father did not even flinch as he handed his credit card over.
Security was enough of a hassle, especially for Ed when he could not get through the metal detectors do to his automail prosthetics. Edward had almost caused a state of panic with security before Winry could delicately explain that they were not to be used in any sort of terrorist plot and that they were simply a new brand of prosthetics. The time wasted at the metal detectors did not help Ed's already foul mood.
"We have to wait here for another seventy minutes?" Ed yelled at his father; furious at any more time wasted. Didn't they realize they were in a hurry?
"I'm sorry but that's how airplanes work; you just have to wait a bit more," Hohenheim said, knowing that it would only fuel Ed's flame. "I did pay for a nonstop flight if that makes the wait any better."
"Huh?"
"Now we won't have to stop again somewhere else."
Edward instantly felt guilty. Even though he had never flown before, or at least he could not remember a time when he flew before, he knew that plane tickets were expensive enough as it was but when you bought nonstop, it only increased; and Hohenheim had bought eleven tickets!
"Thanks…" Ed said awkwardly. "You didn't have to."
"But I'm your father and this is not only extremely important to you but important to the lives of innocent children. Why wouldn't I do this for you Edward?"
Unsure of what to say and feeling extremely awkward, Ed only nodded before he walked of to sit with the rest of his friends.
After waiting, more standing in line to board the plane, and waiting some more, Ed and the rest of the large group finally were able to board the plane. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry got into one row and the three adults sat in front of them. Riza and Sheska slid into a row leaving Roy, Jean, and Maes in their last row; after Maes slid into the window seat, Roy turned to Jean.
"Which seat do you want?" Roy asked Jean.
"I don't ca…" Jean started before his eye trailed to the row across from them until his eyes landed on an attractive young woman with dark hair and dark brown eyes sitting alone in the middle of the next row. Jean then turned to Roy in a rush and declared, "I call the isle seat!"
"Um, okay," Roy said, slightly confused, for he had either not seen or cared about the girl. He then scooted into his seat and sat down.
Jean quickly smoothed back his hair slightly and tried his best to look mature. He then leaned over his arm rest to better talk to the girl.
"First time flying?"
The girl turned to look at Jean and smiled.
"Yeah," she said with a nod.
"My name is Jean," he said with a smile.
"I'm Chase," Chase said with a slightly awkward smile.
Unfortunately for Jean, Riza saw this attempt at flirting and felt the need to stop it in its tracks. Now was not the time for trying to get a girls number.
"So are you flying alone or-?"
"Oh Jean," Riza said, popping her head around the seats so that she could see both Jean and the girl before she put on a smile that would look innocent to some but deadly to those who knew her."I forgot to ask, did you remember to pack your ointment? I know your condition has been flaring up lately."
Riza then sent a small smile to the girl before getting back into her seat leaving Jean stuttering. But before he could try and fix the damage Riza had sent his way, Chase was joined by a woman, who Riza had to assume was her mother, who sat in the isle seat, efficiently cutting off Jeans chance of conversing with the girl again.
"Cock-blocked," Roy sniggered before Jean turned in his seat to glare at Riza.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Jean whispered angrily.
"This is no time to bust-a-move Jean Havoc," Riza growled, earning another snicker from Roy and Maes.
A few rows over from this scene, Ed sat tensely in between Winry and Al. Glancing back, Ed could see that Sheska had already passed out from exhaustion. He half-wished he could just fall asleep for the plane ride and wake up feeling like the plane ride had only been minutes long, but he knew that no matter tired he was now it would be impossible for him.
"It'll be okay Ed," Winry whispered, gripping onto Ed's left hand and giving it a squeeze.
Ed nodded, suddenly feeling as if he couldn't talk anymore. As the pilots voice came on the PA system, Ed let his head roll back and closed his eyes, hoping that the almost five hour flight would be over quickly.
The plane ride was not a quick as Edward could have hoped for but he had to constantly remind himself, or be reminded by someone else whenever they say Ed getting annoyed, that this was much faster than driving all the way back home.
A shuttle sat outside the entrance of the airport, waiting for the group. After quickly piling in, Edward's address was given to the shuttle driver and off they went.
Don't worry guys, Ed couldn't help but think as they near the house that Ed had hated for years, I'm back and I'm going to find you.
After Ed found the spare key hidden in the pot of a long-deceased potted plant, Ed opened the door and all but screamed out the kid's names, even though he knew that they were not in the house anymore. Ed ran into their rooms before everyone had even left the shuttle in hopes of finding some bread crumb or clue to Kimblee's hiding place. Lifting up pillows and bedspreads, Ed found nothing but continued on to Kimblee's room. Holding back the desire to spit on the mans bed, Ed searched the room relentlessly too; not caring if he broke anything in the process in the room. When he found nothing, Ed rushed downstairs, hoping someone found something.
"Did you…?" Ed panted after he had run down the stairs and into the kitchen where most of the group had assembled.
"No," Izumi said.
"We'll just have to think of where he might be next," Hohenheim said, obviously trying to keep his sons plummeting spirits up. "Do you know of any places he regularly went to?"
"No," Ed mumbled as he collapsed onto one of the old kitchen chairs, feeling exhausted and defeated. "I don't know anywhere the man went to…"
"Mr. Hohenheim," Izumi said. "Do you remember anything about him that might hint us towards a location?"
While the others talked about, Ed continued to sit, suddenly feeling foolish for thinking that they may have ever had a chance in finding them. Feeling and odd vibration in his pocket, Ed subconsciously reached into his pocket, grabbed his phone and answered it.
"Hello?" Ed asked quietly.
He froze when he heard the family cold, cruel laugh on the other line.
"Kimblee," Ed spat into the phone feeling all of the eyes in the kitchen on him a moment later.
"Home, sweet, home little Eddy?"
Okay, I actually wanted to write more for this chapter but...I had no clue what Kimblee was going to say or make Ed do so... my bad.
I'm gonna update again before school starts up again. *starts to cry* (Sophmore year is gonna suck)
I hope you got some happiness out of this chapter and I do hope that AmarantineOct.3'11 enjoyed her present. :)
Night
-FSK