Chapter Three: Disclaimer
Lor: Yay! Chapter three! This is like my record for enthusiasm! And to those with questions…. +shines flashlight beneath head+ you'll have to keep reading to find out+suspense music+ dun-nun-nun!
Dustin: Well once again, we're back with another chapter. And after a play session of Zelda: OoT we're ready for more! Also, I told you Lor! I told you I would get the disclaimer done!
Lor: yep. Also, I'm feeling lazy. I dunno if Dustin edited it, but we figured out Ganon's name only has one "n". So ignore his name in the first two chapters til' I get the edit done.
Dustin: Oh yea! Ganon, since you're preoccupied with us at the moment, I sent a friend of mine, Jarlaxle to look after your tower. He said something about "mutual benefit" or something like that.
Ganon: MMMPH! HRRMFF!
Dustin: Don't worry, I'm sure he's trust worthy.
Over at Ganon's castle
Jarlaxle:holding a bag of Ganon's valuable possessions Mutual benefit indeed.
Back in disclaimer land
Dustin: Anyway, I 'spose it's about time to continue with the disclaimer.
Blah blah stuff and characters from FMA and Zelda belong to their original creators. Jarlaxle is property of R.A. Salvatore. However, the general idea and premise and all that other fun stuff is owned by Lor and myself. Also, I apologize for the bad joke. If you aren't familiar with Salvatore's work in the Forgotten Realms then it won't make any sense to you. (PS. It was all Lor's idea! I swear! Don't blame me!)
Lor: Of course it was my idea…you weren't thinking of anything…
Dustin: Uhh… Yea… Anyway! On with the fic!
Chapter Three: Interpretation
It was so early, the sun hadn't even risen yet. Roy's company were on the outskirts of Western Amestris. The clouds were beginning to turn a slightly orange hue, and the sounds of hard-working trains sounded in the distance.
They were just past the scene of the train wreck that had sent the Elric brothers missing.
With a soft sigh, Roy sat down slowly on a grassy mound that might be called a hill, if it weren't smaller than other hills in the area. "Men, Princess, let's stop for a few. Once we reach the Western regiment, we can take a proper rest," he instructed, feeling the aching right to his bones. Two and a half days of straight walking, this "protect the princess" mission was a pain in the ass.
But, Zelda had been quiet and compliant. She refused however to divulge any information about Hyrule or who Link was, or even why she needed to leave the country. She sat there quietly, ignoring about everyone that wasn't Roy or Hughes (as they were the highest in rank there). Havoc had given up on the Princess and returned to his journal. Poor emo soldier, the authoress would find him a girl eventually.
Her pale pink dress stood out among the blue issued coats of the soldiers escorting her. Every now and again her ears would twitch as the new recruits spoke to Hughes or Breda, and she continued to stare down at her hands in thought. When Roy deemed that they had rested long enough, she put her hood back over her head and followed the men without question.
Impa was left with specific instructions, she thought, folding her arms after Roy aided her down a ledge. If he has been paying attention, he'll know before he gets through the castle just what he might have to do…
A rooster screeched off from some farm in the distance as the sun began to rise. Walking next to Roy, Zelda glanced at him. "Colonel Mustang, may I ask a question?"
He looked back for a moment, slightly surprised at the formality, then nodded. "Shoot away."
She nodded. "One of your lieutenants mentioned a thing called Alchemy…is that a sort of magic performed in Amestris?"
Roy chuckled, he couldn't help it. "Alchemy is far from magic…it's a science, changing the natural state of something for your own use." He revealed the circle on the glove of his right hand. "Alchemy is complex, but to simplify mine, this circle allows me to change oxygen density around fire when I snap my fingers." With a small motion, a little spark erupted into a flame, and then vanished. "I assumed you were using alchemy before."
Roy might have understood science, but he had no conception of magic.
Zelda shook her head, with a slight smile. "No, no, in Hyrule, everyone of my family has a magical tie. I have nothing spectacular to my own skills, however, I do possess spells of reminiscent of the three goddesses that created the world."
"No, magic doesn't exist," Roy told her firmly. "It must be a form of alchemy."
It was the Princess' turn to chuckle. "Colonel, if given the chance, I will take you to Hyrule myself and prove otherwise."
Roy shook his head. It was a form of alchemy, it had been proven that magic was just a figment of fiction and nothing more than scientific tricks. Although, he hadn't noted any alchemy circles, and she sounded honest enough, and well she only attacked once…
No. It was alchemy. That was that.
"Heeyyy…" Hughes slid up beside Zelda, pulling out his wallet. "Have I shown you my daughter? She's just the cutest little thing!"
A couple groans escaped the other men as Zelda looked over the first photo, of him, his wife, and daughter. "Yes," Zelda agreed after a moment. "She's very cute, looks very much like your wife."
"Don't encourage him," Roy whispered from behind his hand as Hughes went back to his happy place, pulling out a three-foot-long row of pictures from his wallet. He practically carried his own album around in that thing.
Zelda ignored Roy, looking over the photographs curiously. They were similar to pictographs taken in Hyrule, however, they were smaller and were of better quality. "How old is she?" Zelda asked him, regarding the blonde three year old with curiousity.
"She turned three a few months ago," the proud father replied, a grin on his face. "She's so adorable!"
Nodding, Zelda glanced toward the horizon. "Yes, most all children are."
"Now, we just need to get Roy married and settled down, that way he can have lots of kids," Hughes confided, glancing at Roy shiftily. "So if you know anyone who's looking, you just tell me and I'll set them up."
Zelda giggled, before Roy looked back. She smiled, before returning into hiding in the cowl of her cloak. He turned around and shook his head, Hughes needed to get over that.
"Train station in the distance, sir!" reported the rookie, saluting stiffly.
"Good, that means the West Regiment is nearby. Keep your eyes peeled men."
However…the faint rays of sunlight couldn't penetrate the thick, dark crowns of the trees in the Lost Woods. If not for Armstrong's alchemy, Riza and Falman would have run out of bullets by now. "Haven't we seen this slough before?" she asked her party, putting her hands on her hips. A few locks of her silky blonde hair had fallen from the clip and rested on her shoulder.
She wasn't going to deny it, they were lost and didn't know which way was which. The compasses she had brought along weren't working. They were bound to run out of the little supplies they had brought along soon, and there were odd entities in this forest.
"It does look pretty familiar," Kain replied to her remark after a moment, pushing up his glasses. "But without any real map of this place, we can't figure out which direction to head in."
"Ah! But you forget!" Their small area was suddenly illuminated as Major Armstrong lost his shirt and began to sparkle. "The instinct of tracking has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations! I will see us out!"
"Then hurry up and do so," returned the slightly sarcastic remark from Riza as she reloaded her gun. "Let's start looking for signs of alchemy. I wouldn't put it past Edward to use it in this forest."
"I once heard a story of a haunted forest," Kain offered in a stammer, looking down at the earth worriedly. "Children who died lived in the forest and killed off travelers, and made it so only heroes could get through it. You don't think this is it?"
"There aren't such things as ghosts, Kain. We're merely lost in a thick, untamed forest." While she had no problem admitting it, the lieutenant looked even more stressed as she spoke. "Warrant Officer!"
"Sir!" The middle aged man saluted.
"Make some sort of marking on something near here. That way if we pass it again, we head in a different direction. You're in charge of doing that every half hour."
"Yes sir!" Stiffly he went to work making a thick mark on a tree with a knife.
Waiting, Riza sat down at the edge of the clear water. Peering deeper, she motioned for the others to come. "Major…is that a tunnel beneath the water?"
"It may be," the man said gruffly, looking in. "But it is of little consequence to us…we cannot breathe under water, and trying to escape through there would be only hazardous."
"I never said I wanted to venture, Major," said Riza, standing up. "Officer Falman, are you done?"
As he saluted, she turned and began to follow a path. "Then we'll continue. Let's go. Major, please cover the back."
"Hey Al," Ed yawned, stretching. "Where'd that stupid salesman go? I had more questions for him."
With a slight, clanging shrug Al turned away from the glare of the afternoon sun. "He left before you woke up, Brother. He said he had somewhere to be."
"Sure he did," Ed spat grumpily. He had never been a morning/afternoon person for more than three minutes a morning. "Well, lets see if there are any cities around, I wanna learn about this Truffle thingy."
"Triforce," Al corrected, following his elder brother. "Where are we going to find a city around here? It's all grassland. I don't see very much."
"There's bound to be some sort of mining city in those mountains," Ed pointed out, shielding his eyes and squinting out into the distance. "There's something wrong with that volcano, the ring of smoke is almost perfect…"
"Brother, doesn't that bird over there look…big?"
"What bird?" Ed turned around several times, looking for what Al had pointed out. It wasn't until the shadow of the bird passed over them did he find it. About two and a half feet across in wing-span, and just less than that lengthwise. It was a black stain in the cobalt blue skies. Without warning it swept down toward them, and knocking Ed off of his feet, flew off.
Rubbing the back of his head, Ed got back up on his feet and looked around for the bird. "What the hell was that?" he asked, his morning/afternoon ruined now. "What kind of vulture randomly attacks people in the morning!"
"Um…Brother…it's mid-afternoon," Al informed him, taking a half step back. Which was approximately two Ed-steps.
Narrowing his eyes, Ed reached into his pocket to check the time. He winced as sunlight reflected off of it. "Eh…It's two in the afternoon!"
The bird circled around them as Ed snapped the watch shut and made sure the chain was still in tact. Before he realized it the vulture-like creature had come down again and snatched the shiny watch right off of his belt. Amazed, his amber eyes stared after the clever monster before something possessed him. Furiously Ed clapped his hands to the ground, and from it he formed a crossbow.
"GIVE THAT BACK YOU PATHETIC FLYING CREEP!" Four arrows later Ed hadn't hit it. A slight alchemic adjustment and it was an automatic crossbow. If he couldn't hit it with aim, he'd kill it with sheer numbers! By the time Ed had run out of arrows, the now pincushion of a giant bird was still flying strong, circling and mocking the brothers from afar. Ed ran after it, cursing out things that couldn't even be put in Japanese, before chucking the weapon at the bird. He missed sorely.
"Alright Al," he huffed, using his alchemy to extend the blade of his automail. "You're gonna throw me at that flying piece of crap, and I'm gonna cut it to pieces."
"Um, Brother, are you sure…"
"Just do it, Al!"
"Okay! Okay!" As Ed balanced himself on the back of his brother's arm, Al took a running start before launching Ed forward.
His aim wasn't nearly as bad as Ed's.
No, in fact, it was much, much worse.
Ed hit the hard ground forehead first, then the rest of him hit with a thud. His limbs were all spread out, and he didn't move until the distinct twang of a longbow was heard. Next to him, the now dead corpse of the bird had fallen. With a cracking sound coming from his spine, Ed sat up slowly and gave the look of death to the bird. Not that it could be proven effective, the single arrow through it's dark black head had done that job.
Prying open it's beak while ignoring the pain screaming in his head, Fullmetal took his shiny pocket watch back and fixed the link
"You okay?" asked a deeper, male voice as Al clanked up to them.
"Heh, I'm the great Edward Elric! Of course I'm okay!" Ed snapped back as he turned around.
Standing in front of him was a young man with blonde hair and green clothes, with a fairy around him. There was something familiar, but Ed had a bad short-term memory. He'd think about it later.
"I see." He gave a slight smile. Only slight, he didn't seem like the grinning type. Which was okay, considering the long-sword and shield on his back. "My name is Link. You're not –"
"Link, Link!" the fairy cried, zipping around in circles around Ed. "Look at how small he is! He's the same size as an adult deku scrub!"
"What did you say!" Ed failed to catch the fairy as Link's smile grew a little. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"B-brother, calm down!" Al picked him up and held him back as he began to kick and scream. Well he wasn't that hurt then, was he? "I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my brother, Edward. Nice to meet you."
When Ed finally began to stop flailing he was set down again. "Stupid fairies," he muttered. "At least the ones in the forest were quiet."
"Forest?" Link's expression became a notch more serious. "You were in the Kokiri forest?"
"Yep, we landed in the big talking tree after the train blew up."
"You landed in the Great Deku Tree!" the fairy shrieked. "You better not have damaged it!" She threw herself at Ed's head several times before Link made a motion to swat her away from him.
"Navi, settle down, it was an accident." Link had no idea what a train was, but he knew explosions and knew they could be dangerous. "So you didn't need the Lost Woods to get home?"
"The wha?" Ed looked up in thought, maybe he should have paid attention to the Kokiri kids. "Nope, the tree just said look for a place with a map." He scrutinized Link further. Al watched him, until the realization hit. Ed's golden eyes widened slightly, as if he'd just made a new base for his plans with the truffle. Er, Triforce. Before Ed could burst out his amazing find, Alphonse stepped up with his hands raised.
"We're lost, and we don't know which direction Amestris is in," he told Link sincerely. "Do you think you could help us find out what direction we should be heading in? Unless it's too much trouble.."
Shaking his head, Link turned to adjust Epona's reins. "No, Hyrule Kingdom is nearby. I was on my way there."
"That would uh…happen to be the city with the big gate in the front would it…?" Ed smartened up. "Because we kind of…aren't allowed in…"
"Are you thieves?" Link asked, turning back for a moment.
"No, of course not!"
"Assassins?"
"No! They're just crazy!"
Link pulled himself back on the horse. "Alright. I'll help you to sneak into the city, since I need to speak to someone in the castle. However, I won't intervene if you cause anymore trouble there. Once we're done in the kingdom, I'll take you through the Lost Woods to your country." He looked at the brothers, waiting for an answer.
When Ed said nothing, Al stepped into the conversation again and agreed. He wasn't too sure how he was going to remain inconspicuous…or how he would keep his brother from doing anything rash…but that could be worried about then.
Link gave them a fleeting grin. "Keep up! Hyah!"
END/CHAPTER
Lor: slightly shorter chapter than the last one…
Ed: yeah, he used his horse to outrun us
Lor: ED! 3 3 3 +the glomp of doom+
Ed: noooo TT fangirl…
Enaru: shout outs coming next chapter. Yay. /sarcasm.