Author's note: *screaming*
"What's a 'bus'?"
"You don't have buses where you're from?" Moody asked, still ascending the steps.
"Is that a kind of insect? Or cat?" Al speculated, excited at the thought of playing with it.
Moody just chuckled again. Al vowed to not make him do something that disturbing from this point forward. "You'll see soon enough." He pulled out his wand and waved it when they reached the top of the stairs, revealing the exit. The lighting was dim, the sky a faded blue. "Stay here," Moody ordered, before stepping out onto the curb and sticking his wand out.
A loud honking blasted throughout the street, even reverberating into the darkness below Al. A large blue vehicle the height of a small building sped around the corner, coming to an abrupt stop right in front of Moody. With the Knight Bus now directly in front of the hideout, Moody waved Al to come up. The armored alchemist complied, and the brick wall sealed itself behind him.
A man, dressed almost like a train conductor, stood at the small entrance to the bus. He retrieved a piece of paper and read it aloud, monotone. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this evening."
"Do you have to blabber that every time you stop?" Moody growled, getting on the bus.
"Nice to see you again, Mad-Eye," Stan greeted, now with more color in his voice. "What's an Auror like yourself taking the bus?"
"It's not for me. It's for the kid," Moody answered, and went to stand at one end of the bus.
"The kid?" Stan tried to peer behind Al, looking for a small child hiding out of shyness.
"I think he's talking about me," Al said, raising his hand as a greeting.
"Huh." Stan gave him a twice over. "Well, come on, then, we don't got all day."
"Right, sorry," Al apologized, and stepped up onto the bus It tilted slightly, groaning under the weight of the suit of armor. "Sorry," he whispered again, before squeezing himself into the bus. It obviously was not built to accommodate someone of his size, forcing Al to hunch over and slide sideways, scraping the frame of the door.
The bus had no seats, but instead was furnished with beds perpendicular to the layout of the bus itself, with a massive chandelier hanging in the middle, visible from all three levels. Al could not help but marvel at the grandiose design of this world's automobiles. He sat tentatively on a bed, testing its weight. When it stayed firm, despite loud creaks from the springs and wood supporting it, Al rested his full weight on the bed.
"So, where to?" Stan asked, moving closer to the front of the bus.
"Hogwarts," Moody replied.
"Righto! Take 'er away, Ernie!" Stan yelled, knocking on the glass.
The old man behind the wheel jolted awake, pulled some levers and floored it. Al screamed as the Knight Bus rocketed off at breakneck speeds, rolling the beds to the back of the bus. Stan and Moody just stood there, unaffected.
"Ministry business at Hogwarts, eh, Mad-Eye?" Stan asked.
"No, you buffoon. I already said it's for the kid."
"Him?" Stan pointed at the hulking suit of armor, looking around in panic as the bus swerved recklessly left and right. "He's a little big to be a student, ain't he, Ernie?" The old man kept quiet, focusing his goggled eyes on driving.
"Why don't you keep your thoughts to yourself," Moody grumbled, walking over to Al.
"Righto!" Stan said, pulling out a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Wouldn't want to get on the ol' Mad-Eye's bad side, would we, Erine?"
On reaching the rolling beds, Moody tapped the one Al was sitting on with his staff, and it halted its movements, as if fused to the bus. "Stop that, boy. You're making a fool of yourself."
Al was still subjected to the bus's movements, and held on the the bed as an anchor. "It's just... do all your vehicles move like this?"
"No," was all Moody offered. "Did Nymphadora tell you about the situation at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, she did." Wow, he really doesn't beat around the bush... "Something about the Ministry having someone there?"
"Correct, but there's more to it than that. Cornelius thinks that Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts," Moody added for Al's sake, "is trying to go after his job. So he sent his lackey to keep an eye on Dumbledore, along with making sure that the students aren't being trained to become an army."
"Are they, though?"
"Of course not!" Moody reprimanded without hesitation. "Fudge is just being paranoid. But you know what this means, don't you?"
"Mmhmm," Al nodded. "It means that the Ministry person at Hogwarts might be on the lookout for me."
"That's right. So you know how risky this operation is," Moody said, with Al indicating his understanding. "Good. Fortunately for you, there are a few factors that work in your favor."
"Really? What are they?" Al asked, perking up. Any good news at this point was a welcome change over all the bad that has been building up.
"Firstly, the Ministry thinks you're a Death Eater; a wizard who works for a very evil dark wizard."
"That doesn't sound like good news."
"No, it's not. But this means that they won't expect you to be at Hogwarts, which gives you an element of surprise. Next, they don't have a clear picture of what you look like. All they know is that you're just a suit of armor, but the details are sketchy. That makes disguising your true identity easier."
"Disguising me? How? I'm pretty hard to hide, if you haven't noticed," Al told him.
"You are not going to be hiding. You're going to pretend you're just an enchanted suit of armor. Shouldn't be too hard, given your circumstance," Moody briefed.
"So I have to pretend like I'm not me?" Al questioned, getting angry.
"Only when unfavorable eyes can see you. Now control your temper, boy," he hissed.
Al leaned back slightly, trying to think of happier thoughts. Moody was right. Even though Al did not like it, the plan made sense. "Does my brother know?"
"No."
"What? How could you not tell him?" Al exclaimed, shocked.
"The less people know about you, the better. Lesser chances for the Ministry to find out your whereabouts and your connection to your brother," Moody reasoned.
"But-" Al wanted to argue.
"Can you say for certain that your brother won't make a big fuss out of it? That he would stay there until you went to him?"
Al stayed silent. The brother he knew would have torn down half the city looking for him, and then he would pick a fight with every single wizard, whether they knew about Al or not.
"There's your answer."
Despite his outburst, Al calmed down rather quickly after understanding Moody's logic. Lesser people equals lesser potential threats. Al had a revelation. Speaking of threats... "Mister Moody, do you know anything about wizards dressed in black wearing scary white masks?"
"Those sound like Death Eaters. Why?"
"Those men were in my world as well, and I think they were the ones who got my brother sent here."
"What?!" Moody barked. "If Death Eaters are in your world... that means Voldemort's plan is bigger than we expected..."
"Voldemort?" Al asked.
Moody stared at Al, his brows furrowed. Finally, he said, "If your world's being threatened, you should have the right to know. Fine. We have to start at the beginning..."
The Knight Bus finally came to a stop, outside a massive castle hidden in the very outskirts of the country, illuminated only by the large moon hovering in the sky. Al stumbled out, uneasy from the extremely bumpy ride.
"Thank you for riding the Knight Bus, please come again soon," Stan mumbled, reading from a card.
"Thanks, Mister Moody!" Al waved.
"Don't mention it, boy. Seriously, don't. And be careful," Moody grunted. With that, the Knight Bus sped off at high speeds, fading into the distance, leaving Al on the steps of what was supposed to be Hogwarts School of something relating to magic.
"Whoa..." Al turned to look at the full glory of the castle towering over him. Suddenly, he felt jealously towards his brother. Was he really here all this while?
"Ahem," a voice came from the top of the steps. An elderly woman dressed in green robes stood there, waiting. She seemed minuscule compared to the rest of the massive castle. "You must be Alphonse Elric, correct?"
"Ah, yes!" Al replied, unconsciously standing at attention. The way this woman carried herself reminded him of Lieutenant Hawkeye, and Al's instinct kicked in. "That's me."
"Please come with me." She seemed slightly irritated as she turned and walked away.
"Right!" Al called, and hurriedly chased after her, causing a large racket in the process.
McGonagall's eyes twitched. "Could you possibly make any more noise?"
"Sorry!" Al whispered, and tried to minimize the clanking of metal he usually made. They continued to walk in silence for a while longer, before he couldn't take it anymore. "Excuse me, but what's your name?"
"McGonagall."
"Miss McGonagall, did I do something wrong?"
The woman sighed. "No, you didn't. Alastor could have given us more than a few minutes of notice. And your arrival in the middle of the night doesn't help."
"Right... Sorry for the inconvenience..."
McGonagall's expression softened. "No, it seems like I am the one who must apologize for taking out my temper on you. The situation here at Hogwarts has been less than ideal lately, what with the Ministry appointing Umbridge here, and I just assumed that you and your brother were similar. I was wrong."
"My brother?" Al asked, though he felt like he already knew the answer.
"Rebellious, hot-headed, loud-mouthed. You, however, are cut from a different cloth."
"Thanks..." Al wanted to blush. "Did Mister Moody tell you anything about me?"
"Only that you are Edward's brother, and that you made quite a mess at the Ministry when you arrived. Why, is there anything else I should know?" McGonagall glanced at him suspiciously through the corner of her eye.
"No, no! Nothing else!" Al vigorously denied, waving his hands. "But aren't you angry with what I did? To the Ministry?"
"Hardly. Most of us here, though we respect it, are not very supportive of the Ministry, especially with what they are doing here." A small hint of a smile appeared on her face.
"Why? What are they doing?"
"Perhaps your brother could tell you more about it," she offered, and came to a stop, knocking on a set of double doors. "I'll leave you two to it, then."
Edward spent most of his nights working on a way to get home. Tonight was no different. He noted that, though the overall structure was the same, the students' transmutation circles had subtle differences compared to the ones he'd seen at home, for the most part. Small changes in the way they looked at energy and manipulated them.
It was during one of these analyses that he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Ed glanced at the clock, and noted that it was slightly past midnight. "God, who the hell is it at this time?" he yelled, not getting up from his chair. The door swung open.
No way. No fucking way. A familiar blue suit of armor stood in the doorway. One with glowing red eye sockets. It stood there, motionless, staring at him, while he returned the sentiment, incapable of forming words. Ed blinked repeatedly, convinced that this was a trick of his tired eyes.
"B-Brother...?" an oh-so-familiar timid voice came, sounding eerily metallic, speaking a language that Ed had almost forgotten. The suit of armor took one step forward.
No fucking way. Ed raised a shaky hand, reaching out for the figure standing before him. He managed to find his voice, though it was trembling hard, saying, "Al...?"
"Brother?" the voice came again, this time trembling as well.
"Alphonse...!" Ed said, trying to convince his brain of what he was seeing.
"Brother!"
It finally clicked. "ALPHONSE!" Ed vaulted over his desk, sprinting towards the armored soul, the mass of papers sent flying already forgotten.
"BROTHER!" Al cried out, and rushed forward as well.
The two Elrics crashed in the middle of the room, and Al lifted Ed in a massive hug. Ed relished in the feeling of the familiar cool metal as Al nuzzled him. This is really happening...
"Brother!" Al whimpered. "I was so worried for you! I thought something terrible had happened when you didn't come back!"
"Al..." Ed croaked weakly, his emotions hitting him like a truck.
"Everyone spent all their time looking for you! Even Colonel Mustang didn't sleep," Al continued, still rubbing his helmet against Edward's face.
"Al..." the older Elric repeated, trying to get his attention.
"Winry almost wanted to come down and look for you herself when she heard the news!"
"Al...!"
"What is it, brother?" Al looked at Ed, his red eyes glowing with excitement.
"Air... Can't... breathe... " Ed wheezed.
"Oh!" Al exclaimed, letting go of Ed.
He gasped for air, hands on his knees, while Al fussed over potentially injuring him. When Ed felt like he had recovered enough, he gave Al an embrace of his own. "Damn it, Al. I've missed you..."
The younger Elric returned the gesture, much more gently this time, and patted Ed on the back. "Me too, brother."
They stayed like that for a short while, until Ed tapped Al on the body lightly, and they ended their long awaited hug together. "When? How? Where?" Ed asked.
"Two days after you were gone. I went looking for you, and found the base of the people who took you. Then I accidentally activated something and ended up in this world."
"Wait, so you've been here for over a month?" Ed asked, incredulous.
"What? No!" Al insisted. "I only got here like, less than a week ago."
"Al, I've been here for about a month." The two stood in silence at the information. Then Ed shook his head, and the biggest smile came back on his face. "We'll deal with that later. What happened next?"
"Then I ended up in the Ministry of Magic, apparently, and I had to fight my way out," Al recalled.
"Hope you kicked some ass before getting out of there," Ed grinned.
"Then a nice woman helped me out and hid me somewhere the Ministry wouldn't find me. She was so nice..." Al sighed dreamily.
"Sounds like someone has a crush," Ed said as his eyes narrowed, smile turning mischievous.
"Stop it, brother," Al told him, and Ed grinned even more. He missed moments like these. "Then I waited for a few days, and this man with a crazy eye came, picked me up, and here I am!"
"Moody? He wouldn't happened to have done that thing with his eye, right?"
"Yeah, he did," Al confirmed, and a shudder went through his body.
"Did the same thing with my automail. Wait," Ed said, realizing something. "How did you learn English?"
"I didn't. It was given to me through the Gate," Al answered.
"Wow. You got lucky, Al. I didn't know any when I first arrived."
"Yeah, I know, Mister Moody told me. Now it's your turn, brother! Tell me your story!" Al asked, sitting down on the floor with a loud clank.
Ed chuckled. "Alright," he said, sitting down too. "The circle didn't send me into the Ministry, but into this house where some wizards were staying. I didn't know who they were, and I didn't speak any English, so I almost took of this guy's arm.
"But this girl convinced me that they were not threats, and I found out that English and Amestrian are written exactly the same, so she offered to teach me how to speak their language."
"Was she pretty?" Al asked, a smile in his voice.
"I guess she's alright," Ed replied, looking away and rubbing under his nose. "Shut up, Al. Then this old man and woman came to me, saying that they knew about our world, because Flamel came from our world as well. They had some of his notes, so as Equivalent Exchange, I agreed to teach alchemy here." Al burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Ed demanded.
"You, teaching?" Al said between laughs. "Have you killed anyone yet?" he asked, before continuing his laughter.
"Hey, I'm the best teacher here, okay?" Ed embellished. Al laughed even more. "Just... shut it, Al," Ed growled. He stood up, and headed towards the door. "Come on, Al."
Al had a few more bouts of laughter before he calmed down enough to ask, "Where are we going?"
"Don't you want to see the rest of this place?" Ed invited, holding the doors open.
"But it's so late!" Al protested, thinking of his brother before his own interest. "You need to sleep, brother."
"Pffft. I just got my brother back, sleep's the last thing I need now."
"No," Al stood his ground. "I'm not going, so you might as well sleep."
Ed took one long glare at Al, trying to make him change his mind with sheer willpower. When that didn't work, he sighed, shoulders drooping. "Fine. Tomorrow then."
Al nodded, happy. Ed shuffled into his bedroom, ignoring the paper mess he'd made, and Al followed suit. "Is that...?" Al asked, pointing to the shelf of leather bound books.
"Yup," Ed acknowledged as he stripped down to his undershirt and boxers. "Flamel's notes. Go ahead," he said, jumping onto his bed.
Al flipped through one book as Ed laid his head on the pillow. "This is encoded... with Amestrian terms!" Al noted, thrilled.
"Mmhmm. Knock yourself out." Ed stared at the ceiling, drifting within his own thoughts. "I still can't believe you're here," he murmured.
"Neither can I."
"Night, Al."
"Good night, brother."
