After that, everything seemed to pass so quickly. Words flew over his head, and Mustang barely got anything done, even long after the duo of Nations has left the office in order to get Amestris familiarized with the country.
Personified countries. How absurd. But despite that, the proof stared at him right in the face. Mustang would know. After all, he had been the one to go and dig in the archives after about fifteen minutes of not getting anything done, especially with this issue nagging at him at the back of his mind.
Mustang had already poured over half the information in there, specifically the ones regarding British history. If he could just find some proof, anything, even a picture, that would more than likely set his mind at ease.
Needless to say, no matter how composed he had been acting previously, Mustang was not taking this new information well. Especially since one of them looked just like his missing subordinate. It couldn't have just been a coincidence.
But... It was just impossible. Although the chances of him being Fullmetal was extremely high, what were his next moves? And if he really was Fullmetal, then what could Mustang do? This Edward Kirkland clearly didn't know who he was, apart from knowing that he was the Führer which was very obvious, and acted extremely civil towards him, with no hidden hostility beneath his actions.
If Edward Kirkland truly had no memories of them, how would Alphonse take this? Especially if the youngest Elric brother found out that his brother had someone else now, he'd be heartbroken. It was a good thing that Alphonse was traveling in Germany right now...
Mustang trailed off at this thought in shock. Why was he already assuming that Edward Kirkland was Edward Elric? It wasn't good to make assumptions like that. He needed more information before he assumed anything. But as Mustang returned to the books, he already knew the truth subconsciously.
After all, there are no such things as coincidences in this world.
0o0
"Big brother, where are we going now?" Amestris asked his elder brother curiously after they stepped out of Führer Mustang's office.
"We're going to let all that information sink into your Führer's head, so for now we'll be familiarizing yourself with your country. Well start off with Central City, before we head down far South. From there, we'll go upwards." England gave his travel plans to the younger Nation who looked positively excited at the thought of a road trip.
For some unknown reason, Amestris adored going on road trips, much to England's confusion. He had especially enjoyed the last one America had taken him on -without England's consent for obvious reasons- across the said nation's large continent. England would never understand how they eventually ended up in Seychelles's country after a couple of weeks, especially so since they were traveling by jeep.
Exactly how does one cross the ocean in a jeep, without aid of any water related vechicle, in precisely two weeks reach Seychelles? Neither of the road trippers were willing to spill their secret, much to the Brit's irritation. Pity Seychelles didn't know either when he had asked her upon arriving to pick his two younger brothers up.
"Yay! Road trip!" Amestris cheered, bringing England out of his thoughts. "Can Al come along? It'll be so fun! I mean, the last time we went wrestling with an alligator!"
What?
"Oh wait... I don't think I was supposed to tell you that..." Amestris trailed off, adopting a thoughtful look before shrugging dismissively. "Oh well. Too late."
England had yet to process the newly acquired information that his youngest brother had just supplied him with. Maybe it would be for the best not to question the crazy antics he had to deal with almost every week, courtesy of one American and one Amestrian...
Honestly, why had he ever let America babysit Amestris when he was younger? The results were clearly disastrous, since England now had an America number two running around now.
Once he finished with whatever he had to do, England had a certain American to hunt down.
0o0
Alphonse was in Central City's Military Headquarters, with the intent to go and congratulate his brother's former commanding officer, and possibly catch up with him about the current affairs. Jerso and Zanpano were probably pigging out at some restaurant, so it was a perfect time for Alphonse to give his congratulations to Mustang. It had been a few years since Alphonse had been in Amestris, and longer since he had actually spoken to Mustang directly.
Also, Alphonse needed to speak with Mustang about the soul connection he held with his brother, since Alphonse could feel it getting significantly stronger with each step he took. Could it mean that his brother was near...?
Alphonse yelpled as a small blur shot past him, brushing against his side as the child shot past him at nearly impossible speeds, only slowing down slightly to yell an apology. The youngest Elric brother jumped, partially from shock, but mainly because his soul connection with Edward suddenly felt... Complete. Like how it had felt when his brother was there. He would know. After years of feeling so empty, he felt full again. However, the feeling was quickly fading away and no matter how hard Alphonse tried to grasp hold of it, it slipped away like smoke between his fingers.
He could only stare wide eyed back at the direction in which the small child had ran.
Now that Alphonse thought about it, didn't the child have blond hair that was exactly the same shade that his brother did?
Blinking, he shook his head, abandoning all prior thoughts. No, it couldn't be. He was probably just imagining things, especially since today was the day his brother gave up everything for him.
As another man ran past him, this one looking at least seven years younger than Alphonse, the youngest Elric brother made his way to Mustang's office, oblivious to the fact that the newly instated Führer was drowning himself in books somewhere in the vast archives.
0o0
Ling was on his way to his meeting with Mustang -Lan Fan was somewhere in the shadows and keeping watch for any threat towards her Emperor- where he would give the customary congratulations to him. Also, he had plenty of trade to discuss, since Ling recalled there being a minor situation over the trading routes, where the **** bandits in the desert seperating their countries kept robbing the traders of their goods.
Don't those barbarians know how much paperwork they were causing him?!
All of a sudden, Ling was yanked out of his thoughts as he sensed Chi that felt as strange as Xing's Chi had. It was powerful, and demanded attention from those who could feel the presence of Chi. However, it had the distinct feel of something almost nostalgic. Who did it remind Ling of...?
Furrowing his brows, he concentrated on the Chi, before his eyes widened enough to be able to see his eyes. Was it... Edward's?
Without even thinking, he started moving in the direction of the Chi as if in a trance. He just had to know.
"My lord," Lan Fan announced her arrival as she nimbly appeared at the Emperor's side.
"Lan Fan, do you sense that?" Ling asked, staring off into the distance in the direction of the Chi. "It feels like Ed's, only stronger..."
"Yes, my lord." Lan Fan replied from behind her mask. No matter how much she tried to mask her emotions as her training taught her, Ling could still sense her urge to start running to see who was giving off the familiar Chi. Lan Fan wouldn't ever admit it, but Edward Elric had sort of become a comrade in arms to her, through the last battle with the Homunculous.
Moving closer to the source of Chi, Ling was still unable to see anything that could belong to the Fullmetal Alchemist. No red coat or anything bright and flashy that Edward liked to don. However, Ling was only looking at the adults, and not the children. If he had, he would have noticed a certain someone earlier.
"My lord." Lan Fan shakily lifted up a hand, pointing at something. Following the imaginary line her hand drew, Ling almost immediately caught sight of a familiar strand of blond hair sticking up.
It belonged to a small boy who was sitting on a park bench, a tiny kitten purring affectionately on his lap as the boy stroked the kitten's fur. Ling drew in a shaky breath. All that Chi seemed to be centered around that boy, and it didn't seem like a coincidence that his likeness was too similar to that of the Emperor's missing friend.
"Kitty~" Ling heard Edward's lookalike giggle. "I wonder if big brother will let me bring you home?"
Just then, the small boy's head snapped up, a beaming smile etched onto his face as he caught sight of an adult that Ling recognized as England, if the large eyebrows Ling remembered seeing on him the last time they had met weren't a dead giveaway.
Why hadn't be sensed England, anyway? Oh right. Xing had once mentioned that nations who could harness supernatural powers had a tendency to mask their presence in order to blend in better.
"Big brother! I found a kitten!" The small boy grinned happily. "Can I keep him? Please?"
England frowned slightly, his gaze switching between the kitten and his little brother's face before he finally cracked, face turning slightly red. "W-well... If you can take care of him... Then by all means, go ahead."
"Yay!" The younger hugged his brother. "I love you big brother!"
Just then, England's eyes flicked upwards, meeting the Emperor of Xing's gaze. His eyes shone with recognition, before he walked over to greet the two Xingese, the little one clutching England's hand.
"Hello, Emperor Yao, Lan Fan." The Brit greeted politely, receiving a smile from the former and a silent nod of acknowledgement from the latter. "I didn't expect to see you in Amestris. What brings you here?"
"Meeting the new Führer." Ling answered. "How about you, Arthur? Taking a break?" He added a bit of a teasing tone at the back of sentence. Since England had literally worked himself to the ground the last time they met, it had become a bit of a joke.
"Not exactly," England shifted his gaze to his little brother. "I'm showing him the country. He hasn't stepped out of my country for a while, so I thought, why not? I had other businesses here to tend to as well."
"Who's your brother? Is he, well, like you?" Ling was obviously referring to the nation status.
"Indeed. This is Amestris. Amestris, say hello." Amestris looked up at Ling, his golden eyes so hauntingly familiar as the nation smiled brightly at him.
"Hello, Mister Emperor!" He grinned, his voice sounding almost exactly as the Fullmetal Alchemist's had, only much higher pitched. "It's nice to meet you! Say, have I met you before when I was younger? Cause' you look really familiar!"
Ling froze as he heard that, barely hearing England lightly lecture the younger nation on proper English. He had never met Amestris before, and even thought him to be missing, like Xing had. So why did Amestris say he was familiar? Was he really Edward? He needed to be sure.
"Hey, Arthur," Ling began, sensing that Lan Fan was as eager to find out as he was. "How did you meet Amestris?"
"Hmm?" England looked as if he was deep in thought. "Well, I met him in one of the forests bordering Amestris -the country, not the personification- sixteen years ago, a few weeks after that civil war. Why?"
"Oh, nothing much." Ling said dismissively. "I was curious."
"I see." England looked at his watch. "Ah, I'm afraid we're pressed for time. I'll take my leave now. Have a good day, Emperor Yao."
"Bye bye!" Amestris waved goodbye to the two Xingese as the siblings disappeared into the crowd.
Ling and Lan Fan stood in silence for several moments, before Lan Fan finally spoke up. "My lord, that boy, Amestris, I believe that he is Edward Elric."
"I think so too, Lan Fan, even if his mannerisms are completely different from Ed's." Ling agreed. "He has to be..."
0o0
"So! How long is this train ride, anyway? I mean, the hero is too excited to see Ed's country! Iggy never let me visit Ed's place, since he's scared I'm going to mess something up! The hero never messes up!"
"A- actually Al, you usually do, eh?"
"Wha? You say something, Mattie?"
"Nevermind..."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Canada... The person who feeds you Kumakichi."
"Ohonhonhon~ I can't wait to see mon lapin Améstre! Angleterre won't let me near him, how mean!"
"T- that's because England doesn't like you that much papa..."
"Mon dieu! Mathieu, how can anyone hate this gorgeousness?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Dude, you're weird! And where'd that rose come from?"
"I carry one everywhere, Ameriqué~"
"Yeah, yeah! Anyway! How long more before we get there?"
"A- about twenty hours more, Al..."
"Say what?"
"Maple..."
[A/N GUESS WHO'S BACK?! Gwntan12 reporting! And guess who's appearing in the future chapters! It's pretty obvious. I mean, who else calls himself a hero and England 'Iggy'? And who says 'eh' and 'maple'? And who talks in an obnoxious French accent? No offense, but France's accent really sounds exaggerated in the dub for Hetalia. And for some reason, it's possible for me to act like America, Canada and North Italy at the exact same time, as my good friend told me in school! Ok, that's off topic.
Anyway, sorry if some characters are slightly OOC, but hey, it's been like sixteen years for the cast of FMA so I highly doubt they'd act exactly the same. For example, Ling. Ling is at least thirty by now. He wouldn't be acting too much like the prince we all know and love since he's the Emperor now, and has been for over fifteen years. He's also an adult, to boot.
Alright, anyway tell me what you guys think and also point out any errors I missed out while checking this thing since my lovely friend/proofreader is currently indisposed.
Bye!
~ Gwntan12]
