Chapter 2
Al opened his eyes and found himself laying in the middle of a green field. But this place was familiar. And he soon learned why. It was his urban town. He got to his feet and looked down upon his home town that stood the test of time longer than he could remember.
Rizenbul Village had Automail, but that's all it had. But he liked it. Every time he came back here he enjoyed the peace and quiet he got compared to the hustle and bustle of urban cities. There was just something about Rizenbul Village that thoroughly bought him peace.
And it was a peaceful day. The sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky and the temperature was balmy. Three kids played chase at the bottom of the hill he stood atop of and he recognized them immediately. He was there, his brother and Winry, but they were children. And from the looks of things this appeared to be the day before Ed and he tried Human transmutation to bring their mother back.
Why would his journey to save his brother bring him back here this far back in Ed's past?
He started to venture down the hill hoping he would find an answer to his question, but suddenly he felt a hand push him and he tumbled the rest of the way down. When he reached the bottom he felt his head and then looked back up and noticed a lone stranger and he looked awfully like Ed. But he was different somehow, and he sensed an emptiness about him. He didn't know if this was his brother or not!
"Brother, I've come to help you…"
But Ed didn't answer him.
A few moments passed and Al didn't do anything, but the moment he tried to stand, Ed clapped his hands together and touched the ground and created a massive earthquake which cracked the earth and created a massive jagged crevice. As the ground rumbled from the aftershocks Al fell over the side and into the crevice, but at the last moment he managed to grab the edge and hang on. He looked down into the bottomless pit that was the crevice and then reached over and grabbed the edge with both hands.
He then climbed out, breathing heavy.
He looked at his brother at the top of the hill and watched him walk away.
"Brother, wait!" he said. He got to his feet and ran up the hill, but when he reached the top Ed was no where to be seen. He had vanished. "Brother, why would you try to kill me? I'm only trying to help you."
"That's not your brother," a familiar voice said to him, and Al turned around and saw Maes Hughes casually lean against a tree. He was wearing a white suit. He was dead of course. Al knew he was dead. Maes Hughes was killed by the Homunculus known as Lust who was in disguise as the Fuher's assistant. "Your brother is too weak to reach you."
"Then who was that? Wrath or Envy? They can change shape."
"Neither, that is your brother but at the same time it's not."
"I don't understand. How can something be two things at once?"
"Your brother needs your help and he's calling out to you the only way he knows how."
"Through the waking hallucinations? But that makes no sense. He thinks I killed, well, me. He doesn't recognize me. Ed thinks my soul is bonded to that suit of armor. He doesn't remember that he restored me back to my human body."
"Then you must remind him," Maes said.
"Is this Ed's mind?"
"Yes, do you remember this place?"
Al looked around and took in the scenery. He nodded. "This was the day before we attempted the Human Transmutation to bring back our mother. Those kids down there running, laughing, are us; me, Ed and Winry."
"You seem to be enjoying yourself, why did you attempt the Human Transmutation then?"
"We didn't know what would happen. We thought we'd bring back mom and everything would be as it was before she got sick. If we knew then what we know now, we'd never would've attempted it. But after all the people we've helped with Alchemy by doing what we did, maybe it was a blessing in disguise."
"Then why do you doubt your accomplishments?"
Al looked at Maes and was confused. "I don't," he said. "But after all we did, did we actually accomplish anything? Did we really make a difference?"
"Those are questions you must ask yourself," Maes said.
Al knew he and his brother had done good. "So, if that wasn't Ed, who was he?" he said, getting back to the subject. "Whoever it was I must find him. He could have a clue to what's happening to my brother. I can't start second guessing myself. I'm here to save my brother from his waking hallucinations. I want to know what's happening to him."
"You might not like what you find, Alphonse."
"He's my brother, there's nothing in here that's disturbing."
The moment after he said that the sky darkened and beautiful landscape around him turned into a barren desert. The ground was so brittle that one step cracked the dry dirt beneath his feet. What just happened? Al thought to himself. Maes was gone and Al was all alone. In the distance the same stranger that looked like Ed stood looking at him, a bright light behind him casting his silhouette on the ground almost reaching him. But that was not his brother.
"What have you done with my brother," he demanded of the stranger.
"He doesn't want to see you," the stranger said. "He wants you to leave now!"
Al was awestruck. "No, he doesn't mean that," he said.
"He does, and he hates you. And if he were here he'd like to kill you."
"No, you don't speak for my brother. I want to see him right now. And who are you?"
"I'm your brother's protector, and he's told me he wants you to leave his mind."
"I'm here to help him, and I think you're the one who's the threat here."
Al clapped his hands together and touched the ground and did the exact same thing to him the stranger did to Al. The ground cracked open and a crevice opened up swallowing the stranger.. Al straightened up and dusted off his hands and honestly thought he had defeated him. But a moment later the stranger leapt out of the crevice and to safety. He stood facing Al and smiled amused. "You really didn't think that would get rid of me so easily, did you? Your brother has a deep respect for you, but c'mon! You can do better than that."
"Just watch me," Al said, and clapped his hands together, touched the ground and erected a stone circular encasement around the stranger. But the prison was short lived as the stranger blew it to pieces with his own alchemy. Al covered his face from flying debris, then looked back at him.
The stranger was standing in the middle of the encasement with his hands on his hips. "You honestly don't understand, do you? Ed is mine, and I control the world in his mind now. You brother will be my prisoner forever and there's nothing you can do to stop me. With every spell you cast, I can counteract it. What your brother knows, I know. And he knows a lot more than you."
"I'll never give up," Al said. "I'm here to save my brother from whatever is inflicting his mind, and it looks like you are it. Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"
"I haven't done anything to your brother, this is his doing. Ask him yourself, if you can find him." The stranger laughed and then jumped in the air and vanished.
Al looked around for the stranger, but he was gone.
"Al," a weakened disembodied voice called out to him. "Help me."
"I'm coming for you brother. Where are you?" But Ed didn't answer. "Don't worry, brother. I'll find you, no matter where you are."
But he feared inside Ed's mind, it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
To be continued...
