Chapter 2
Anna blinked when she felt rain on her face, but cringed when she was only able to open one eye. She reached up to rub her left eye out of instinct but stopped immediately when she felt the sunken lid, and what she imagined was crusted blood around it. The memory of what had just happened as well as the thought of losing her eye nearly made her vomit.
She pushed herself to her hands and knees and tried to take a few deep breaths. She had to calm down. Panic would get her nowhere. Despite how ludicrous it seemed, she had to figure out what happened, and why it was raining on her. Had she started a fire in her apartment and started the sprinklers? If so, she was likely to get evicted.
That thought caused a groan as she finally managed to push herself into a kneeling position. What she saw had her one eye widening. She wasn't in her apartment at all. It looked more like a dirty alleyway. How had she gotten into the streets? Where was she?
Her knees were still shaking in time with the pounding in her head, but she somehow managed to push herself to her feet. She had to lean against the wall, but she made her way slowly to the opening of the alley to see if there were any people. What she found made her knees buckle.
Two men were fighting back and forth in the narrow street, but that wasn't what took the last of her strength. No, that was caused by how they were fighting. The one wearing blue kept making things seemingly out of thin air to use as projectiles, but all of them were blown to dust at a single touch by the other.
She had no idea what was going, and even if she had thought to stop them, she didn't see how she could. It was quickly a moot point when the larger of the two managed to grab the man in blue by the face. It was only a matter of seconds later that he seemed to explode from the inside out.
Anna had never seen anything so gruesome. Her scream rang out before she could think of her own safety. Neither man had known she was there, and if she had stayed calm, she could have hidden, but her brain was already too overloaded. Even so, her instincts kicked in, and she tried to stand when the man with prominent scars across his face turned to her when she screamed.
Her legs would not work to hold her, so she immediately started pushing herself back as he strode her direction. His scowl would haunt her nightmares if she had the chance to have them. Her eyes were fixated on his hands as she tried to force her body to obey, to get away.
She flinched when he knelt in front of her, but his next actions made no sense. When he saw her face, his eyes widened before his frown returned, and he spoke. "Who did this to you?"
As soon as Anna realized he hadn't reached out for her, she tried to scoot away again. The man grabbed her arm before he covered her mouth with his other to hold in her next scream. He shook his head. "I will not harm you, but I cannot help you here."
Both their attention was drawn to the sound of sirens and flashing red lights reflecting off the wet walls of the alley. The man tsked before he let her go. "They will help you."
That was the last thing he said before he ran around the corner, and she heard another explosion. Anna felt every muscle in her body go slack as she started crying again. This was too much. She had been raised to handle a lot, but this was way outside of ordinary.
Her head jerked up when several people, also dressed in blue uniforms, came running into the alley, and she couldn't handle it anymore. Darkness rushed up, and that was the last she knew.
Colonel Roy Mustang had still been in his office when they had gotten the call that one of his alchemists was under attack. Despite Lieutenant Hawkeye's protests due to the rain, he gathered his men, and they rushed to the location. He hid his frustration behind a slight frown as he looked down at the barely recognizable remains.
He barked out orders for his team to spread out and see what they could find as he knelt. His hands unerringly found the pocket watch that marked each state alchemist. The only indication of his rage was in his eye when he stood and placed it in his pocket.
He turned when he heard Lt. Hawkeye call out. "Sir, we have another person here."
He was instantly headed to her location. "Another victim or a witness. Or do you think it is the attacker?"
Hawkeye shook her head as she looked up at him with a scowl. "I don't think she is the attacker, but she needs medical attention. She might have been a witness."
Mustang knelt and cringed when he finally caught sight of the bloody mess one side of the girl's face was. He looked her over, and his eyebrow rose when he noted that she was wearing silk pajamas. He was pulled from wondering why she was wearing something so sheer out in the rain when his lieutenant shoved a walkie-talkie in front of his face. "It would be a good idea to call in back-up, sir. We can have her taken to the hospital and tended, so we can question her as soon as she wakes,"
Roy shook his head and chuckled at the glare she was giving him, but stood and took her advice. It wasn't long before they had the scene cleared and the mystery woman on the way to help. Unfortunately, they had seen no trace of the person that had attacked them beyond the hole that was left in the wall.
Anna jerked awake with a scream. She had been having a nightmare about a faceless man with one eye that kept trying to touch her. She knew that if he succeeded that she would be blown to bits, so she had to keep running. It took her several moments to calm her breathing enough to notice she wasn't in her own bed.
She looked around at the white walls, the white sheets, and the metal bed frame and realized she had to be in a hospital. It was then that she remembered the events from the previous night, and she reached up to touch her face. Her fingers were trembling, and she jerked them back as soon as they came into contact with the edge of a gauze bandage.
She swallowed a whimper, but her imminent breakdown was interrupted when the door opened, and a cheery woman walked in with a tray. "Oh good, you're awake! The doctor sent some meds for you, so I hoped you would be."
Anna eyed the woman for a moment as she set the tray down and flitted to open the curtains. When she came back to the bedside and grinned, Anna finally found her voice. "Meds? For what?"
The nurse patted her hand gently and gave her a sympathetic look. "It's just a little something for the pain, and to keep out infection. Do you feel up to taking it?"
Anna eyed the pill cup warily. Her head was hurting, but she also knew she needed a clear mind. At least long enough to figure some things out. "I don't want to go back to sleep yet."
The nurse sighed and gave her a hard look. She took one of the pills from the cup and laid it back on the tray. "Then at least take this one and promise you'll take the other one soon. You need to rest."
Anna nodded and took the cup and the water. While she was doing that, the nurse turned and hit a button on the wall that was quickly answered by a tinny voice. The nurse in the room barely stopped as she spoke. "Could you please bring a lunch tray for room 43, our guest is awake. Also, call down and let Colonel Mustang know. He asked to be notified as soon as she was lucid."
Anna froze at that name. Her breath picked up, and the nurse turned to her with concern. "Don't worry honey, I know you must still be scared, but you're safe here. I promise. The Colonel only wants to ask you a few questions about last night, but we won't let him stay for long. It'll be fine."
Anna felt her heart racing, and she tried to take deep breaths to calm it. There was no way. Despite what she had seen the night before, the name had to be a coincidence, right?
The nurse finally got her attention and helped her focus so she would quit panicking. Once her breathing was even, the woman took her blood pressure with a frown. She shook her head as she did so. "I can understand why you're scared, but getting worked up will only make it worse. You need to focus on resting for now."
Before Anna could respond, another woman dressed in white brought in a steaming tray with a smile. She set it down with a nod and was out of the room as quickly as she came in. The nurse turned from her to lift the lid and smiled as she pushed the table over. "Here, I'm sure you're hungry. Why don't you eat a little, then you can take your other pill. By that time, the Colonel should be here, and you should be ready to go back to sleep as soon as he's gone."
Anna ignored the little pink capsule next to her tray, but she nodded to the nurse anyway. She needed space to think, and she wasn't going to get it without at least playing along. With another smile, the nurse turned to leave. "I'll be back to check on you later."
Once the woman was gone, Anna looked over the tray. Her stomach revolted at the thought of food, but her gaze snagged on a teacup. It was already filled with lukewarm tea, so she doubted it would be great, but it was better than nothing. Tea always helped to calm the nerves, right?
Even though her hands were trembling, she managed to lift the cup and looked into the contents. Despite not trying to, her gaze still caught on the reflective surface of the liquid in the cup. It wasn't clear enough to show details, but the gauze covering half her face didn't need to be detailed. The reminder of her situation once again had her in a near panicked state, and she didn't feel it as the cup slipped from her nerveless hands.
She was jerked from her panic with the sound of shattering ceramic and the splash of lukewarm liquid all over her front. She looked down and immediately started crying. It wasn't that she was hurt, or even that she had made a mess. She didn't even know how to start handling this. Could it have all really happened? Did she really see the Truth?
With that last thought, Anna shakily started to gather together the pieces of the broken cup. There was one sure way to try and verify her sanity. To see if the random stuff still floating in her head was what she thought it was.
Once she had all the pieces together, she wiped at her good eye to clear her vision. She then shakily put her palms together. As soon as they touched, she felt a jolt pass through her, and her breath caught. Still, that wasn't proof. Her hands were shaking so bad she wasn't sure she could make it connect, so she grabbed her right wrist with her left hand as she touched the pieces of the cup with her forefinger.
She choked on a scream when the jolt she felt rushed out of her and into the pieces. It was less than a second, and the cup stood whole once again. Anna buried her face in her hands at the sight of it while she tried not to let her sobs break her.
She wasn't sure how long it was later, but her crying was interrupted by a cheery male voice. "Hey, now, haven't you heard that pretty girls aren't supposed to cry?"
Anna's head jerked up, and her one good eye popped open in disbelief at the man she saw standing there. She didn't even realize she had moved until his face showed his shock. She had jumped out of bed and was pressed into the corner as she shook her head. "Impossible. This is impossible."
The man slowly came around the side of the bed with his hands up. "Easy now. You don't have to be afraid. I promise we're here to help. I just need to ask you a few questions."
Both of their attention was drawn to the door when a sharp voice called out as two people entered. "Hey! Colonel Bastard! Quit making me chase you around town. You told me to meet you this morning and then you ain't in your office. What the hell!"
"Not now, Edward." The man had spoken over his shoulder through gritted teeth, but his attention was jerked back to the woman when she started to speak. He didn't think she realized she was speaking aloud as she was focused on the two boys.
"Roy Mustang, and the Elric brothers. What the hell. How? Oh god. A little trip? A little trip, my ass. How in the hell did I wind up in Amestris?'
Throughout her panicked ranting, Anna had been watching the boys. Particularly Edward and his right arm. Every time her gaze would drop to his arm, her hand unconsciously went up to her eye, and she shook her head. None of this went without notice, at least to one of the others.
Edward grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him back to the door. "Alphonse, let's let the Colonel handle this." He paused and raised his voice. "We'll meet you at your office later."
Roy wasn't sure what made the kid wise up, but he wasn't going to complain. He nodded to him before he focused on the girl again. Her eye was still wide, and she was still shaking, but she was focused on him once more. He tried to give her a smile to ease her nerves. Whatever this was about, he had no doubts that this woman had more to tell him than just what she saw the night before. Recognizing him on sight was one thing, but the Elrics was another thing altogether.
Still, he couldn't get answers if she was too upset. He held out his hand again and kept his voice even. "Let me help you back to the bed. I'm sure that after whatever happened to you that you need to keep calm."
Anna took his hand and let him lead her back to the hospital bed, but her mind was barely hanging on. This was real. He was real. The Elrics were real. That meant that all of it was. This wasn't a nightmare brought on by noxious fumes or anything else she could easily write off. Somehow, she had opened the gate to the Truth, and it took the toll in the form of her left eye. Then, instead of sending her back home, it sent her to Amestris. How in the hell is that having mercy? She couldn't stop her frown at the thought, but she was pulled from her turmoil when Mustang pulled up a chair so he could talk to her.
"Why don't we start by introducing ourselves. You seem to have an idea who I am, so let's start with your name."
Anna nodded slowly and closed her eye. Now was not the time to forget herself. If she was going to survive and find a way home, she needed to make sure not to get on these guys' bad sides. She clenched her jaw as she looked over and wondered if he could handle the truth. She discarded the idea as soon as she thought it. There was no way. At least not yet. With a sigh, she nodded. "My name is Annabell Stephenson. Everyone just calls me Anna."
Roy gave her a charming smile and held out his hand for her to take. She shook it tentatively before he sat back. "Annabell is a lovely name. Well, Ms. Stephenson, you were correct in assuming I am the infamous Colonel Roy Mustang."
Anna almost chuckled at how thick he was laying his charm on. It would be funny as hell if the circumstances were different. She managed to bite the inside of her cheek to keep it to just a smile as he continued. "Do you mind telling me what happened last night? Did you see anything before you passed out?"
What was she going to tell them if she couldn't tell them the truth? It would have to be some version of it, or else she was likely to get herself in more trouble. She looked up and caught his gaze with a frown. At least she was calmer now than she had been when he first walked in.
"First, I need to apologize for that. I am sure you heard me, so you have to understand I am not from around here. Secondly, I didn't see the face of my attacker." She had to stop and swallow down the bile that thought created. She hadn't seen their face because they didn't have one. All except her eye.
She squeezed her remaining eye shut for a few seconds and shook her head before she continued. "All I know was that I was taken from my apartment, and then when I woke up, it was in that alley. I tried to leave but I saw… I saw-"
That time the nausea was too much. She snapped her teeth closed and slammed her hand over her mouth to keep from making a fool of herself. Roy was on his feet and by her side instantly. As terrified as she was, Anna was still grateful that he was patting her shoulder and trying to soothe her. "It'll be alright. Take your time."
Anna shook her head as she tried to swallow back her terror with the rest. She was thankful there was at least a little water left in the cup next to her bed when she grabbed it. Once she washed the bitter taste from her mouth, she leaned back against the headboard and tried to continue without reliving the nightmare.
"Two men were fighting. One was wearing a uniform similar to yours, so I guess he must have been a state alchemist. The other was a tall man in brownish clothes. It was hard to tell with the rain. All I know for sure if that he is the one that killed your coworker, and he… he had crossing scars on his face."
Anna suddenly realized who that must have been, and it made her feel faint. She somehow kept it together as Mustang gave her a searching look. "Did he try to attack you as well?"
She shook her head. "No. I thought he was going to, but he just grabbed me and put his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming again. I heard the sirens almost right after that, and that is when he left. I guess that was your men, but I had already passed out."
Mustang had a slight furrow between his brows, but he got to his feet and managed another charming smile. "Well, thank you for speaking with me. For now, get some rest. I will come back after you've had a chance to feel a little better, but if you can think of anything else, let me know."
She nodded as he walked out before she allowed herself to flop back on the bed. What the hell had she managed to get herself into? If she was in Amestris, and that really was the Elrics, then she needed to figure out a few things and fast. Getting home was important, but it wouldn't mean a damn thing if she was killed before she could. She sighed as the pounding in her head got worse. She couldn't afford to be down now, but she knew she needed to think straight too. She grabbed the pill and hoped that when she woke, she would have a clearer head to figure this out.
A/N: I'm excited. I actually think Roy might be a little more understanding than Anna believes, but I don't blame her :) Anyway, I hope you are enjoying it so far. Thanks for reading!
