Shadows in the Dawn
Author's note: Don't own FMA, etc, stole alter!Al's name from the movie but not his personality, details in the author's note of the last chapter, blah blah blah. Enjoy.
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Chapter 2 - Introductions
"…I'll give you ten marks for it."
"Twenty five."
"Fifteen."
"Twenty, and that's my final offer."
"…fine."
A hand reached out to snatch the loaf of bread that had been lying on the counter. He replaced it with his payment before quickly making his way out of the shop. "Inflation…fuckin' ridiculous," he muttered before taking a bite.
Edward Elric had been stuck in Germany for a total of six months so far, and things were not looking up in the slightest bit. Six months since he had been dumped into this strange place with no idea on how to get home. Five months of working odd jobs here and there in order to scrape up enough money to pay rent for a shabby one room apartment. Two months of learning the odd, harsh language enough so that he was able to communicate for the most part. And the entire time, researching on a way to get back.
Much to his dismay, it seemed as if he could not use alchemy in this world. Even if he drew a circle, nothing would happen, no matter how hard he tried…all of his attempts were utterly futile. And yet, regardless of this major setback, giving up never once crossed his mind. There had to be another way, he kept telling himself. His world had alchemy…and while this world did not, it had something else. Science.
Chemistry, physics…these things were different, yet at the same time extremely similar to alchemy. The heart of the matter was the same. And it was because of this that Edward found himself delving into any scientific book or research paper he could get his hands on. The language barrier was difficult to overcome, but he had managed to read through at least some of the material. Fascinating as it was, however, it did not yet hold any of the clues he was looking for. He wasn't about to give up hope, though.
There was one bit of luck in his studies so far, however; or at least, something that would help further them. And along with it, a rather shocking observation.
---
Edward strolled into the pub, hands in his pockets. He had been coming there pretty much every other night since about a week into his sentence here…normally, he was never one for alcohol, but it seemed now like it was the only comfort he was going to find in this world.
He sat down at the counter and ordered his usual, knowing full well that even though he looked too young (and he was), they didn't bother checking any form of identification here. Which was good, because he currently lacked that, anyway.
The glass mug was slid across the counter to him, and he picked it up with his left hand, taking no time in gulping a good amount of it down. The more he was drinking lately, the more it was taking to get him to a state where he didn't have to think…and he was impatient to reach that point. 'Oh, how the mighty have fallen…'
He had been on his third drink when he noticed someone sitting on the stool next to him. Usually, the pub was rather empty, and people had a tendency to sit far away from each other. He blinked a few times before turning to see who had decided that they wanted to sit with beside him.
"Oh, ah, hey. Sorry if I'm disturbing you, but…you looked pretty lonely, all hunched up here like that," the man said, rubbing the back of his head. No…you really couldn't call him a man, he looked not much older than Edward to begin with.
Ed blinked blearily at him for several moments, looking at his appearance. Something about this man was strangely familiar…the light blue eyes were different, but the facial structure…Somehow, he had a feeling he should know this man in some way, and it was gnawing at him.
"Uh…it's alright. I'm fine over here…no different from all the other miserable people drinking here, really," Ed said, shrugging. "Thanks for the concern, though…"
The other man nodded with a small smile. "Sometimes in a tough city like this, it's nice to feel like someone cares about you once in a while. I figured I might as well spread a little kindness…heh. Some call me hopelessly optimistic, but what can you do? Ah…I'm rambling here, forgive me. What's your name, if you don't mind giving it?"
"…Edward Elric."
"Hello, then, Edward! My name is Alfons Heidrich."
…Alfons.
…Alphonse?
Golden eyes widened as Ed realized just /where/ he had seen that face before. It was as if…as if this man was an older version of his little brother. Now that he could make this connection, he studied him further, amazed at the likeness.
"…Edward?"
Except for the eyes…and the hair was lighter, but…
"…Helloooo, Ed?"
"Oh…sorry about that," Ed muttered, smiling sheepishly. "You just really remind me of someone I used to know, that's all."
Alfons' smiled widened. "Well, it's good to see a semi-familiar face then, isn't it?"
Edward couldn't help but smile a little back. Alfons' cheerfulness was…infectious, to put it in a word. It was something that he hadn't been around in a long time, and at this point in time, was extremely welcome. "I guess you're right."
"So what brings you here to Germany? I can tell from how you speak the language that it isn't your first…" Alfons asked, taking a moment to order a drink of his own.
"Ah…that's…" Ed was slightly taken aback. What was he supposed to say? 'I got dumped here from the Gate when I brought my little brother back to life after he sacrificed himself to revive my own dead corpse?' It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that wasn't going to go over well. "…Studying, really." Hey, it wasn't a complete lie.
"Studying what?" Alfons asked, eyes curious. His drink had arrived, so he took a moment to take a sip of it before his gaze returned to Edward.
"Well…science in general. Chemistry, physics…I haven't really gotten a chance to look into these subjects before, and they interested me a lot, so I figured I might as well read up on them and learn as much as I can. Where I came from, there wasn't much about those particular branches of science," he answered truthfully. "Here, they might have more…"
"Where are you from, then?" Alfons questioned.
"…Eh. A good distance from here, let's just say," Ed muttered, not wanting to go into the 'I'm from another world' business.
Alfons nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, I'll respect your privacy. Anyway, you said you came here to study science, right?"
"That's right."
"This is a funny coincidence…I guess there was a reason for us meeting. You see, I'm majoring in physics at the university I go to…" Alfons said. "And I have tons of books on the subjects, so I can share some knowledge with you, if you want."
Ed's eyes widened slightly. This was…something was actually going right? For the first time in six months, things were beginning to look up. He felt a rush of happiness over him…maybe now that he wasn't alone…this Alfons wanted to help him…
Alfons waved his hand in front of Edward's face, trying to grab his attention again. "Earth to Edward! You alive there? You keep spacing out…"
"A-ah, sorry again," Ed chuckled. "It's just that…well, things have been pretty rough for me, so I'm amazed that something's looking up, you know?"
"I see…so you'll take my offer, then? I'm always looking for a new friend and people to help out…"
Ed nodded. "Yes, it sounds wonderful…I…thank you so much."
"Here…" Alfons muttered as he dug through his jacket pockets. A few moments later, he produced a piece of paper (which Ed noticed was a receipt from a bookstore). He pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket, and placing the paper against the counter, wrote down his name, address, and phone number. "My contact information. When you're ready to come by and such, feel free to. I go to school on weekdays, and my classes usually last until five or six in the afternoon, but after that I'm free. Weekends are good, too."
Ed reached out and took the paper, examining it. The address wasn't too far from where he himself was staying, probably just a twenty or thirty minute walk. "Alright, thanks. I still need some time to get my financial affairs in order…having a bit of a trouble with the job market, you know, and I still have to pay rent, so that's first and foremost at the time."
"I understand. You haven't been here long, have you?" Al asked curiously.
"No," Ed answered, shaking his head. "I've been here for about six months, and it's been…hard to adjust. Between learning the language and well, everything else that comes with living here…"
Alfons chuckled. "You seem like you just dove headfirst into this country without knowing anything about it, if you don't mind my saying."
"You could…say it was something like that," Ed said, scratching the back of his head. "Let's just say it's very complicated."
"That's alright, I won't pry. Everyone has their reasons for things." Al nodded before looking up at the clock on the nearby wall. "Oh…it's getting late. I ought to head home, my cats need feeding." He ended the statement with a chuckle.
"…Cats?" Ed asked, almost incredulous. The coincidences were starting to get stranger than they already had been.
Al blinked at him. "Yes…is there something wrong? I've always been a cat person…well, I guess it is kind of strange, a guy my age taking care of a bunch of cats like some old lady…"
"No, no, that's not it," Ed laughed, making a dismissive gesture with his hands. "It's just…the person from back home that you remind me of really liked cats too."
"Ah…"
"Well, I guess I'll see you around, then. Thanks so much, Alfons…it was great to meet you" Ed said, holding out his hand.
Alfons grasped it firmly, shaking it. "I'm sure this is the beginning of a great friendship."
---
He had met Alfons Heidrich a week ago, and now seemed as good a time as ever to visit him. Besides, Edward had just gotten fired from his latest job at a mechanical shop (oh, if only Winry could see him now), and job hunting wasn't looking very appealing to him at the moment.
Ed pulled the wrinkled slip of paper where Alfons had written his address and phone number out of his coat pocket. He glanced at the hastily scribbled numbers and letters before moving his gaze to the nearest street sign. 'Good, at least I'm going the right way,' he thought as he resumed his walking.
It was early morning, and the streets of the town were beginning to bustle with activity. Newspaper boys were making their rounds, and the working class was trudging to their jobs. Shops on either side of the street were opening their shutter gates and flipping over the sign in the front window from 'Closed' to 'Open.'
Despite the amount of people surrounding him, he felt…alone. Lost, mostly. He just hoped now that things were actually taking a turn for the better. He sped up his pace… Right now, he just wanted someone to talk to who wasn't yelling at him because of his utter incompetence (though, he kept thinking to himself, it wasn't really his fault…after all, he was never used to having a job, so there was still a learning curve, right?).
He smiled when he noticed he was just a few blocks from his destination. He would see this Alfons again, and hopefully with his help, discover some clues on how he could get back home. Though, he had already realized, he had to do it in a way that the other man would not know exactly why he needed to know these things…he didn't want to freak Al out with talk about another world, and besides, Al probably wouldn't believe him anyway. It was best just to stick with his cover story.
Maybe it would pay to be optimistic again, even if just for a little while.
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Dear Journal,
It's been six months since I've been stuck in this hellhole. But I think things are finally looking up.
I met a guy named Alfons Heidrich today. Coincidental name, huh? But it doesn't stop there. He even looks like an older Al, in a way. And he acts like him. And he likes kittens. Maybe I'm just being too excited over this new development, and all of this is just some strange ass coincidence, but…it's pretty interesting.
I guess you could say that seeing him helped and hurt. It was nice to see a face that was at least somewhat familiar…and of all the faces I want to see, Al's ranks number one. But at the same time, it's painful, because I realize again that my little brother is so far away from me, back home.
I've never been homesick in my life up until now. Gods, what I'd give to just go back to Resembool, to Winry and Auntie's house, and relax for a good, long time. I miss them. I miss everyone, really. I even miss arguing with that bastard Colonel.
Huh, I wonder whatever happened to him. Eh, he's too much of an ass to die that easily. I'm sure I'll see him too when I get back.
Well, enough of that. I have to get up early for work again tomorrow. I think I prefer being a dog of the military over this crap.
-Edward
