The Gate
Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate your time and suggestions. And thanks to misaki yo for being my beta reader again!
1.02/Follow the Devil to his Nest
"Al!" Footsteps pounded on nothingness as a small nine old child ran amidst the dark. Everything was pitch black—even the floor, if one existed at all. "Al!" Other than his own panting, Edward could not hear a single sound. There was nothing—only a darkness that made Edward feel like he was blind. He kept blinking his eyes as if opening them another time would make the light return to him… "Alphonse!" The panic in his voice was absorbed into the dark emptiness as he ran forwards…
"Where are you!" Edward finally stopped, gasping for breath, sweat mingling with tears that threatened to fall. "I know you're here! Please! Answer me! Alphonse!" Edward cried out desperately into the darkness…
Suddenly, Edward heard a noise behind him. What was that creaking noise? It was growing louder… He turned around, and saw—
Edward's eyes snapped open, and he was still panting as if he had been running a great distance. Always that same damned dream… Edward blinked rapidly, as if his eyes were unfamiliar to the light. He was relieved to be out of that hellish abyss; to see again, to hear sounds other than those things… The eighteen year old waited for himself to regain his breath. For a while he sat, and listened to his heartbeat race against the spatter of raindrops that pounded on the window. The thin curtains allowed a meager square of bluish light to creep into the room; it illuminated the contents of Edward's otherwise pitch-black room. Lightning flashed for a split moment, and the light revealed a few books and notes that were littered over a single wooden table as well as stack of old newspapers strewn over the floor. Layers of dust accumulated over Edward's one and only photograph of his family, which was placed carefully in the corner of his desk. An old suitcase stood in the corner of the room. Other than that, the small room was dreadfully bare… With his untied hair spilling messily over his shoulders Edward slowly sat up in his bed, hugging his knees…
Al… it hurts…
Al…
It was quiet.
The run down, one room apartment that Edward Elric lived in was always quiet. There was no one to talk to, and no one he particularly wanted to talk to, either. He was always in his room, reading, studying the forbidden art of alchemy, and so Edward was always painfully aware of his growing sense of emptiness …
Yet when he sleeps, it was never quiet. He would be haunted by nightmares—or were they memories?
Frightening screams… he would hear them, occasionally to the point that they seemed so real, that he still heard them after he woke…
Sometimes, when his mind allowed him to, Edward would remember how life was, nine years ago, before that night. But as much as he would have liked to forget some other aspects of his life, his conscious never gave him the relief of doing so…
"Al… let's do it.
Let's revive Mother with alchemy…"
Those simple words were said for the innocent desires of seeing his mother smile one last time. And those words led Edward and his younger brother Alphonse to the path of their own destruction. As a result of their failed human transmutation, Edward lost his right arm and left leg. And as for Alphonse, he simply... dissapeared. Ever since thennine years after, Edward had been searching for a way to bring him back...
That night when he transmuted his mother, he saw things. Things that became a blur almost immediately afterwards, like a memory that was forcefully clawed away from his mind; yet it was a memory that still existed, nonetheless. The mere recollection of those dreams made everything else seem so unreal, so… nonexistent. Like a dream.
Am I the only one who feels that everything is more real when I'm asleep?
Edward shifted his position on the bed. When he decided that he was ready to crawl out of bed, Edward uncurled from his fetal position and slowly relaxed. As he did so, something glinted—the metal shone as the faint lit hit it. As a consequence of his failed transmutations, Edward's left leg and right arm were lost and replaced with automail—limbs created from metal that could move and work. Edward winced at the sight of his automail limbs—they were something that he had grown to fear and depend on; every time he saw those limbs, he would remember the mistake he had made that cost him and his brother. But if he had the chance, he would rather have given up his whole body if it would have saved Alphonse from disappearing…
Edward glanced out the window on his right. It's raining again. Edward sighed, trying desperately to grasp any bits and pieces of his the dream was becoming a blur and he could no longer recollect most of what had happened or what he had seen… Yet the fear and panic he felt remained…
With a raised eyebrow, Edward spotted the most recent newspaper, half shoved through his doorway. I've already canceled my newspaper subscription a month, yet they keep coming anyway… Edward noted with annoyance. He'd most likely get a bill for the papers at the end of the month again.
Edward climbed out of bed, his heavy metal limbs scraping across the floor, and pulled the paper out from beneath the doorway. He skimmed quickly over the newspaper, his eyes catching hold of several headlines for a brief moment—"CITIZEN CAUGHT AND TRIED FOR ILLEGALLY USING ALCHEMY—LOST CHILD: SIX YEARS OLD, GREEN EYES, BROWN HAIR—EXPLOSION AT DAYLIGHTS HOTEL"— before tossing the paper carelessly behind him. It landed silently into an accumulating pile of trash in the middle of the floor. Edward scoffed, disappointed by the paper as usual. Edward had arrived in Central three months ago in response to a letter, and that short period time was enough for Edward to realize that Central City's newspapers contained close to no new information. As if no one else in Central didn't feel that explosion last night…
The headline topics were so dull and repetitive—almost every other day there was always a topic about another missing person—and there was always, Edward noted, a small section listing a few names of those executed by the government, many of those being alchemy users. Alchemy, a forbidden art by the government, was a big no-no that usually resulted in a trial and execution. The only ones who could use Alchemy legally were the National State Alchemists, who were the human weapons and dogs of the military.
An old and simple clock hung on Edward's wall. It ticked silently—11:00PM—signaling the near end of another meaningless day gone by. A knock sounded outside Edward's apartment door, startling him. Eyes widening in surprise, Edward stood up hastily—time to hide all evidence of anything alchemy related. Fumbling a bit, he grabbed the few books and notes from the tabletop and, using his alchemy, concealed them within the walls of his apartment room. If he was caught hoarding fifty books on the illegal subject of alchemy, he'd be looking forward to a painful death. Edward then made sure nothing else suspicious remained—this was an easy job, as his room was, other than his previously occupied table and the pile of newspapers lying on the floor, already bare. His suitcase, the only thing Edward was able to salvage from his escape nine years ago, remained silently in a corner of the room. Looking at it brought Edward memories of how back in Rizenbool nine years ago, his house was burned to ashes to dispose of evidence that alchemy had been attempted in the basement. The suitcase was the only thing Edward was able to salvage and so it came to carry all the few belongings that Edward had collected throughout his journey of nine years, from his escape to Dublith and the first scraps of his artificial limbs… That journey had brought him to Central.
Edward grabbed a red coat that draped carelessly over his suitcase and pulled it over his black tank top. He reached for the door and noticed the metallic glint of his right hand as he reached for the doorknob; he sighed, and reached inside his coat pocket to retrieve a pair of plain white gloves, to make sure that his automail was concealed.
Satisfied that his room was clear of any suspicious evidence at last, Edward finally opened the door, hoping that whoever had been on the other side would not be overly irritated with waiting. Upon opening it, Edward was surprised to find no one there; had they been so impatient that they left? Looking down, Edward noticed a small rectangular package laying on the doormat.
Strange… Edward picked up the object—it was somewhat heavy—and looked outside his door warily. The door closed with a click. Leaning against the locked door, Edward opened the package.
A small mechanical device dropped into Edward's gloved hands. A look of utter disbelief and amazement crossed the teenager's face, who was for the first time in a long while, bewildered by something he had never seen or read about. Eyes sparkling with amazement and wary suspicion, Edward studied the device carefully. What is this thing? I've never seen anything like this…
The "thing" was small; it fit into Edward's hand perfectly. It was metallic black in color and had a rectangular shape. Edward had never known that any similar technology existed. The closest thing that Edward could relate the object to was automail—he glanced at his automail arm, concealed underneath his cloak. Like Alchemy, automail was forbidden to the public. The society called for a perfect master race, in which all disabled people were labeled as a glitch that should be erased… That means the military would be giving me two executions…Edward smiled grimly. It took his mentor quite a while to find someone who was willing to risk their lives to create automail limbs for Edward. Although his current automail limbs was slowly becoming too small for him and was poorly made—he could barely move his fingers and any sort of movement was stiff and slow— he could not complain. He remembered hobbling around on crutches and being confined to one area for months at a time without limbs—an experience he would rather not think about. Edward's attention returned to the device.
"I wonder how this thing works." Edward flipped the metal object over. "What's this blank screen here? It looks as if this thing here is capable of displaying something—"Edward's thoughts were interrupted when the small screen on the device flashed. The small beep that followed almost felt like an explosion compared to the silence that hung in the air for the whole day. Edward jumped before regaining his composure. Something flickered on the small black screen. Looking closely, Edward discovered that there were words forming…
/Wake up, Fullmetal./
Edward stared. "Fullmetal" was his codename, the one he used when dealing with those who illegally paid him to use alchemy.
/Or should I say—Edward Elric?/
He was dumbfounded. Who knew both his codename and his real name? Edward furrowed his brow in contemplation.
Who?
Edward didn't even get to finish thinking when the machine beeped again.
/Who we are is not important at this moment./
But why—?
/Do you want to know what's beyond the Gate?/
Edward stared. The Gate…This could be it—the thing he'd been searching for all this time—
/Do you ever get the feeling that your dreams feel more real than when you are not asleep?/
Edward's hands shook and his eyes widened with surprise. Segments of his dreams flashed before his unseeing eyes—he stared downwards, oblivious to his whitening knuckles as his grip on the device tightened…
This person… he feels the same as me… Does that mean that I'm not alone…?
/I bet you're really confused right now, aren't you?/
Another beep interrupted Edward from his thoughts.
/In that case, you're not alone. And by the way…/
/Knock knock, Ed…/
Edward jumped as someone knocked on his door.
/And if you really want to know what's going on, follow the devil to his nest/
The screen turned blank.
"What the…" Was this thing just playing with his mind? Edward stared at the miniature phone once again before the knock at his door sounded again, this time with more urgency. Hastily Edward shoved the phone into the pocket of his red coat and rushed to the door. Suddenly nervous, Edward was relieved to find actual people at his door rather than another package laying on his doorstep.
"Yeah?" Edward asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.
Three people stood in front of his door. The first man was large; almost resembling an ox, and his small narrow eyes gave Edward the impression that he was always squinting at something. There was a short haired woman standing behind him, who was casually observing Edward's room. Lounging in the hallway was a third man with dark greenish spiky hair, who looked like he was too preoccupied with something in his hands to bother looking at Edward. The three wore black leather, sunglasses, and other shiny and potentially dangerous accessories. The squinty-eyed man spoke up. "I need you to fix it again."
Edward recognized these people as those who occasionally paid him to use alchemy. He was barely making a living out of selling his skills, but it was enough for him to have a place to sleep in.
Edward nodded. "Alright… you got the money?"
"Yeah." The burly man handed over several bills, which Edward took and inspected for a few moments. "That'll do," he muttered as he pocketed the money. "Broke your precious sledgehammer again, did you?"
"I've been with it for a long time." The man replied simply. He unhooked the weapon from a strap of leather hanging across his back and handed it over to Edward. "It's… irreplaceable."
Edward examined it carefully, running his fingers over the intricate designs carved onto its side. His sharp eyes located the crack that splintered the steel, branching off into smaller lines like ripples disturbing the surface of a still pond.
"Be right back," Edward muttered, eyes never wandering off from the blade. He strolled over to the middle of his room—kicking aside the pile of newspapers along the way— and set the sledgehammer on the table. Edward closed his eyes in concentration, and clapped his hands together—human flesh and metal—and brought them downwards simultaneously.
A pillar of blue light immediately engulfed the sledgehammer, and it illuminated the dull brown walls of the room. For a moment, it seemed that everything the light touched glowed. When the brief moment disappeared, everything seemed so dull, so lifeless…
"There, done." Satisfied, Edward handed the ax back to its owner, who immediately proceeded to study it, making sure it was perfectly fine…
"Roa! Are you done staring at your toy yet? The party's started twenty minutes ago…" The short haired girl pushed forwards and stepped cautiously into Edward's small room. She looked Edward up and down and a crooked smile formed on her lips as she muttered to herself. "Hmmm… A bit too short for my taste, but…" Edward visibly twitched.
"Hey… want to come with us? …It's okay if he comes with us tonight, right? Dolchet?" Martel bent downwards to study Edward's face; tired, sleepless eyes stared back at her, surrounded by pale skin and a frown that seemed almost permanent—"He looks like he needs to get out more." The girl turned around and nudged Dolchet with her elbow to gain his attention. "Oi, you listening?" The man stared at Edward for a moment before shrugging, "Whatever. You always decide everything anyway, Martel."
As Edward opened his mouth to refuse the offer, his attention was suddenly caught by a sudden movement. Dolchet retrieved a cigarette box from his front pocket and extracted a cigarette. His sharp eyes caught the words on the side of the box and his eyes widened.
The Devil's Nest…?
"Oh yeah, that's where we're going. It's a bar, not too far from here," Martel smiled fondly. Edward didn't realize he spoken out loud, but that didn't matter though… the message that he received ran through his head: follow the devil to his nest…
Edward cracked a smile to hide his bewilderment. "I'll go."
Always the antisocial one, Edward wasn't exactly comfortable surrounded by a mass of people he didn't know and didn't want to know either. Secluding himself for the past nine years to research a way to bring back Alphonse took a toll on his social skills. Edward had become a hermit. One without a beard, but a hermit nonetheless.
"I came here following that damned message… if whoever that was is just making a joke out of me…" Edward cracked his metal knuckles just thinking about what he'd do. That was, if he ever found out who it was. He sighed and slumped over, just barely managing to escape being stepped on by another mob of people…"If Al was here… I wouldn't have had to do all this researching about Human Transmutation… I wouldn't be stuck here in this annoying, smelly, and deafening crowd, and my eyes would be saved from being blinded by flashing lights… What did I come here for anyway?" The area stank of beer and strange odors that Edward did not want to know about, and he was feeling very tempted to leave…
Just as he was about ready to throw up on the nearest unfortunate person, a quick tap on his shoulder caused Edward to turn around. His weariness and unease suddenly felt lifted as he faced a blond woman dressed in black.
"Good evening, Fullmetal." Her voice was quiet, but it demanded attention and seemed to flow over the booming music…
Edward would have been shocked at the event of someone random knowing his code name, but after that incident with the strange device, he wouldn't have been surprised if he discovered that the bar was actually a zoo and that the people in it were the animals on display… "Er… and you are…?"
"It's 'Trinity'," the woman said with such simplicity, that it was as if her name mattered nothing.
Edward's eyes widened. "Ah. Right. The Trinity? The one that hacked the military documents three months ago?" he asked incredulously.
The woman's face held a glimpse of a smile when she replied, "That was some time ago… but yes, that was me."
Edward paused to think. Sure, this "Trinity" here was someone that he had heard of… She was the savior of those unrightfully censored by the government, and was rumored to have successfully found her way into the military's most secretive documents numerous times…
"Is there anything wrong?" Trinity asked, raising an eyebrow but otherwise maintaining a stoic expression.
"Well, no. It's just that I thought you'd be, well, a guy… You know, how lots of hackers use code names of the opposite gender... that kind of thing."
Trinity said nothing, her expression serious. Edward flinched as a new song started up even louder than the one before. The overcrowded room forced Edward and Trinity to become a bit too close for comfort.
"So... that was you. You sent me that… that thing, and all those messages, right? How did you do tha—"
"It's called a cell phone, but that's not important. I brought you here because it's safer..."
"Here?" Edward couldn't relate this place to being anywhere near safe or comfortable, even…And what was there to be safe from? Edward resisted snapping at an overly drunk man who came very close to disabling Edward's right foot.
"Please, just listen. Right now, all I can tell you is that you are in trouble. They're watching you, Fullmetal."
An awkward silence hung in the air, overcoming even the loud blasting of the music…
"I know why you are here, Fullmetal. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, and why day after day and night after night you study alchemy. You're looking for it. The Truth. I know, because once, I was looking for the same thing. I was looking for an answer. It is the answer that drives us, Fullmetal… It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did…"
Edward barely found his voice. "What is the Truth…?"
Trinity's expression didn't let out anything. Once again, her voice came out softly, but Edward could still hear her as clear as day… "The answer is out there, Edward. It's looking for you… and if you want it to, it will find you…"
To be continued…
/At the party/
Martel: …He ditched us…
No, Hawkeye is not paired up with Ed. D:'
