Hello, everyone! Welcome back! I recently took a walk on a nature trail, so you'll probably see that reflected in this chapter, with all the descriptive details. (Hey, you've been wanting me to do that anyway, right?) Heh, yeah, that was pretty fun.
Also, I just turned on anonymous reviews, because I was curious about how many reviews I was missing by not doing so. Please, please, PLEASE don't abuse the priveledge, or it will go back to the way it was. Constructive criticizm is okay, but no flames, please! You already know that I don't protect Ed (or anyone) in my stories. Please don't flame me for that. If you want fluff, go find another author. I'm not much for writing fluff. Sorry.
Anyway, hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: Hmmm...what would happen if I took out every other word of "I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist"? Let's see...I...own...Alchemist! Perfect! See Ed? I KNEW I owned you! W00t!
The wind whispered through the trees as the three continued to make their way through the woods. It would have been quite a pleasant day were they not being pursued by the military. A bird called in the distance. Al suddenly stopped and asked, "Wait...do any of us know where we're even going?"
Roy shook his head and Ed shrugged. "We were just wandering," said Ed.
Al rubbed his hair and muttered, "I still wish you had your spirit senses, Brother."
"I do too," Ed admitted, "I guess that there were a few good things about being dead. But, putting that aside..." He continued to move on.
Al ran to catch up with him. "Brother, shouldn't we find out where we are, so that we could make a good plan on where to go? We wouldn't exactly want to walk right into a trap, would we?"
"Good point," Ed admitted. He cast a glance around his surroundings. He found nothing that looked even vaguely familiar. "It looks like one of us will have to climb up a tree, and try to see where we are."
"Are you NUTS?" Al shouted.
"Why, yes," said Ed, "A normal person wouldn't have died and come back again, would he have?"
Al scratched the back of his head. He wasn't sure how to respond to that one. Ed turned his head to the side and looked at the trees. "These tree trunks look a little bit too wide around to climb. I guess that I'll have to try to climb up one of these vines." He grabbed the stem of a thick, woody vine and gave it a sharp tug. It didn't give, so he proceeded to climb up the vine.
With a bit of effort, he finally reached the top. He threw his head back, and let the breeze blow his hair out of his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a brief moment, then opened his eyes once again and looked around. He could see the river from up here. He knew the shape of the river from looking at maps of the area. So, they were heading towards that curve in the river. If they kept walking that way, they would be...
He slid back down the vine. "I know where we are now. Come on, Al, Roy, let's go." Al and Roy looked at each other, shrugged, and proceeded to follow Ed. After all this time, they had learned that it was best not to ask questions.
The three headed deeper and deeper into the woods. Roy didn't exactly know where they were going, heck, he wasn't even sure that Ed knew, but he was sure of one thing, that they were getting as far away from Central as they possibly could.
The blades of grass now came up to their shins, and as they walked they would tear it loose, causing the green juice to stain up their clothes. They were going to smell very strongly of grass by the end of the day.
"Brother," Al panted, "I'm tired, can't we stop and rest for a little bit?"
"Can you make it a little further?" asked Ed, "There are some rocks up in the distance. We might be able to find some shelter up there."
"I suppose I could get that far," Al said.
Soon, they came to a very small creek with a log bridge that had toppled down over it. Ed jumped onto it first and tapped his feet on it to test the sturdiness. "It's all right. You guys come across." He ran to the other side, and was soon followed by Roy and Al. Al had nearly lost his footing and fallen into the creek, but Roy had caught him just in time.
"Thanks," Al sighed.
"No problem," said Roy, "We all get tired sometimes, and need a helping hand." Al smiled and carefully stood back up and made his way across the log.
Soon they were at the rock formation, and were looking for a decent place to take shelter, when they noticed a small, worn-out shed nearby. Al was really tired, but he perked up a little bit at the sight. The three agreed to go and check it out.
The shed turned out to be a tiny abandoned house that stood about six feet tall, from floor to ceiling. It also had a slight tilt to it, but not enough to make it unsafe. Ed whistled. "Wow, this would be a great place to stay. It could keep us out of the wind and the rain. This was a good find, Al."
"I never would have found it if you hadn't have continued to push me on," Al replied. Ed smiled, and said nothing.
In no time, Al had collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion. Ed and Roy just looked at each other, shrugged, and then went outside to find some twigs to build a fire.
"So, Fullm...uh, Ed," Roy coughed, "You're really...alive...now?"
Ed laughed. "I thought that you already had caught on that I was."
Roy replied nervously. "Well, I'm trying to accept it, but it's just so hard to get a grasp on the idea of you being alive. I mean, coming back from the dead and all..."
"I understand," said Ed, "It's hard enough for me to understand as well. I can't help but wonder if there's a catch to it though."
"If it's related to alchemy, then there probably would be," said Roy, "Equivalent Exchange, after all."
"Yeah, you're right," said Ed, "But I'm not sure whether this stone is related to alchemy or not." He lifted the stone from his chest and examined it. "I don't even know what it is, and here I'm supposed to be an alchemist and know every substance in the world." Ed smacked his head. "I even know the substance of the Philosopher's Stone, for crying out loud!"
"Yet this one eludes your knowledge," Roy commented. Ed nodded. Roy sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out sooner or later, won't we?" Ed chuckled and started to gather some sticks.
Soon both Ed and Roy had an armload of sticks each, and were heading back to camp, when they suddenly heard a shout come from behind them. They both turned around and were shocked to find a bunch of military personnel pointing guns at them and commanding them to put their hands over their heads.
They were both frozen in shock for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then, Ed threw down the sticks in his hands, clapped his hands together, and slapped them to the ground. A wall rose up between him and Roy, and the group of military personnel. Ed performed another transmutation, and this time formed a hole in the ground.
"I've formed a tunnel for you, Roy, now duck down there and get out of here! Don't let them catch you, no matter what."
"But what about YOU?" asked Roy.
"Don't worry about me," said Ed, "Just go!"
"I still outrank you, you know, i Fullmetal /i ," he said with a slightly derogatory tone in his voice.
Ed sneered. "I'm still on the death record, aren't I? That means that rank doesn't apply. Now just go!"
Roy realized that he had lost that argument, so while shrugging, he hopped into the tunnel. Ed sealed it back up, and then stood up, waiting for whatever was about to come his way.
The military personnel made short work of the quickly erected wall, and soon were upon Ed, trying to force him to surrender, which of course, he was not about to do. Having no other alternative, they unloaded their guns upon him, and Ed keeled over, dead.
The men lowered their guns and waited, not knowing what to expect. They had heard rumors of this kid coming back from the dead, and they weren't sure if any of them were true. They weren't about to let down their guard for this kid.
After a few minutes, Ed's eyes flew open once again, and he gasped for breath. The men jumped back in fear. Ed sat back up and examined his wounds, which to his surprise, weren't there. He looked up into the shocked faces of the men nearby.
It must be the stone, he thought, it won't let me remove it, nor will it let me die. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?
He decided that he could make use of this, regardless of what the case was, so he stood up, dusted his pants off, and turned to look at the men standing around him.
"You obviously all know what I'm capable of," he began, "And it's apparent that you are powerless against me. So unless you want me to unleash my wrath upon you, I'd recommend that you guys hightail it out of here." He sent them one of his death glares combined with one of those evil, mischievous grins he gives when he's really up to something. It sent shivers down the spines of all the men in the area. They didn't wait any longer. They turned and ran for cover.
Ed chuckled and then turned to head back for the camp. He couldn't die. This was just wrong somehow. What was going on, anyway? What was this stone? He couldn't find any logical answers to these questions, so he just shrugged them off for the time being. He was needed now by Al and Roy. He would live for them now.
Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Leave me a review, and tell me what you think. Just be nice, okay? It's okay to leave constructive criticism, I can handle that, just no flames, please! Hope to see you all around again soon! Take care!
