A/N: Wow. This chapter is two days late. I'm posting this late at night, so technically three. I'm sorry for my lateness, but with the holidays coming up along with plans to spend time with friends and family, I couldn't find the time to type this chapter up on schedule. Hopefully I'll make it up with this extra long chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist, nor am I making any profit off of this story. These rights belong to, as usual, Himoru Arakawa. Enjoy~!
Sabrina looked up from her notebook to her friend sitting across from her for the umpteenth time, a sense of unease growing and knawing restlessly inside of her gut. For the whole travel, Jamie hadn't given a single glance to her since he had taken his seat, nor had he even gazed over in her general direction. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed to the train window, his elbow popped up on the ledge as he stared at the passing scenery of endless golden fields under a partly cloudy sky. The landscape was beautiful, Sabrina had to admit, but she knew Jamie had other thoughts crowding his mind. She was sure she knew what.
The restlessness in her stomach grew as Sabrina's thoughts drifted to the night before, specifically Jamie and Gabriel's conversation. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on their private talk, but when she was heading downstairs to apologize to Gabe after her breakdown and accidental nap, she heard the old man mention her a few times as she passed by. Curious, she hid by the doorway to listen, but the rest took her off guard and left her stunned and helpless. She had hurried back upstairs before Gabe finished, but she still wasn't sure if the two had known she was there, hearing every word they uttered.
Even so, Sabrina still couldn't believe what she had heard. For one, there was the fact that Gabe was an Ishvalan. Before, she had very few stray thoughts of the old man being a survivor of the Civil War, but she always considered it impossible. Very little natives had survived during the extermination campaign, or at least that was what she remembered reading from the newspapers back then. However, what she heard Gabe mention about him made sense to her, from how his love for mechanics forced him to run away from his people and family many years before the war started, to how she had heard Jamie gasp during a lapsed pause, and a quick peek around the doorway gave her a flash of blood red eyes. Her heart sank in guilt as she recalled her and Gabe's argument and the last words she had spat out in bitter tears. She couldn't believe she had the audacity to accuse him of living a peaceful life when in reality it was much more worse than she had ever imagined. She had wanted to apologize as soon as she could, but Jamie had woken her before dawn so they could catch their train, and they had left Rush Valley without a word to her former mechanic.
Then there was Jamie. The words he said and the story Gabe repeated, about how he was planning to leave his remaining family behind with no regret, had made her heart drop down to the pit of her gut, and she remembered how she had to grip the wall to keep her legs from collapsing. It was like a dull knife had stabbed her in the chest, the blade dragging through her skin, and it left behind a broken and empty feeling inside her core. She barely remembered dragging herself away from Gabe's finishing words back into her room, where she had curled up in a ball underneath the cover of her blankets and stared blankly at the fabric, a mix of emotions flooding through her but none being able to break through. Her mind was swirling and tumbling around for the whole night, keeping her from falling asleep and leaving her in a suffocating, lonely silence until she felt Jamie's hand shaking her and his voice calling for her to wake up. It had taken a while for her to fully register his words, for they sounded muffled to her ears and his touch was numb against her, as if she was drifting underwater.
For the whole night and the walk to the train station, Sabrina had only felt lost and broken. Her best friend, whom she considered as close to her as a brother, was willing to cast her aside and run off for his own ambitions while she had been stuck in a hospital bed with no legs to run after him. A sense of depression she hadn't felt in years was catching up to her, plaguing her mind with insecurities and uncertainty. She had believed every word her own thoughts threw at her, and while her body had followed her betrayer up to when she took her seat on the designated train, her soul was screaming in agony. Exhaustion from a sleepless night only fueled her self-hatred, and despite the hard and uncomfortable seats and the rocky start of the train taking off, her fatigue became too much for her to handle and she drifted into an uneasy, dreamless sleep up until Jamie was shaking her awake once again as the train had pulled into Central Station.
The train went over a large bump in the tracks and Sabrina was jostled out of her thoughts, blinking a few times as she regained focus to the present. She realized she was staring at Jamie, who hadn't seemed to take notice at all, and she turned back to her notebook, frowning slightly. Despite her earlier depressive musings, the girl now felt anger replacing her unease. No, she reminded herself. It's not my fault for Jamie to turn tail and flee. He's responsible for his own actions. There's nothing I could have done in that situation.
A voice in the back of her mind whispered doubts, but she shoved it away before it could overcome her again. Since she had boarded the train to Meridius, Sabrina had decided that somehow, when they reached Jamie's hometown, she was going to prove to her supposed friend that she wasn't just some worthless toy that could be tossed aside. Until the time came, she pushed herself to look inside her own goals, something she had wanted to catch up on for a long time. Motivated, Sabrina studied over the page she had left off in her notebook.
The Philosopher's Stone. Bolded and underlined twice at the top of the page, those three words were the first things Sabrina's gaze caught onto. Under the name was a rough sketch of a stone she had drawn years ago as a visual representation, and several names and notes were scattered across the page, describing the stone in a basic format.
-Elixer of Life
-Crimson Stone
-Bypass equivalent exchange
-Resurrect the dead
-Fantasy?
-Ingredients unknown
Sabrina frowned at her last note. Ingredients unknown. It left her in a momentary puzzled state. What would you use to make a Stone that could bypass any and all solid laws of alchemy? Surely such things didn't exist. Still, the Stone itself was said to be a fable in almost every alchemy book she had looked through in her entire life. Even so, if there was the slightest chance that it was possible to recreate-
A roar of laughter bellowed around the train car, interrupting Sabrina's own train of thought. Annoyed, the girl glanced up from her notes and searched for the source of the rude disturbance, growling obscenities under her breath. A quick look around led her to a trio of young men dressed in trainee military uniforms seated a few rows away from her, practically shouting humorously at each other. One of the men quickly caught her gaze and stopped, making the others pause and follow his stare. The first guy, presumably the leader, sneered and winked at her, and his two companions followed by taunting and flirting with her across the seats.
Sabrina felt her eye twitch irritably and she quickly looked away, ignoring the boys' obnoxious behavior and glancing around for any response from the other passengers. No one paid any heed to the trio, although she caught a few shifting in their seats and looking away from the scenario. Strangely enough, almost all of the passengers were soldiers, whether they wore standard uniforms with numerous badges pinned onto their chest and shoulders, or more commonly seen new recruits, their eyes shining and hopeful. Because of the large number of military boarding the train, Sabrina hadn't paid attention to any of them.
That is, except for two very strange individuals.
Even from several seats away, Sabrina could spot the tall head of one of them, and she felt herself smirk. She remembered almost laughing at how the passengers stared as the unusual duo first boarded the train and headed towards their seats, passing by her while staring straight ahead. Even when they sat down and the train began to pull out of Central Station, numerous amounts of people had turned in their seats to get a better look at the two, with suspicious stares or wide eyes that were ready to pop out of their sockets.
Sabrina couldn't blame the people for looking. After all, it wasn't every day you saw someone walking around in a full suit of armor.
"Brother, shouldn't you be reading through the file by now?"
"Hm?" Ed yawned and rolled to his side to face Al. The elder brother had been trying to catch a few extra hours of sleep, but a large bump the train went over had jostled him out of his nap. For several moments he remained lying on his side, staring at the bench backboard until he heard Al speak up. Al almost laughed at how disoriented his brother looked.
"I said," Al repeated himself, "Shouldn't you be looking through the case file Colonel Mustang gave you? I mean, he went through the effort of collecting all the information about this town for us."
Ed made a face and shrugged. "So what? All the stuff we need to know he told us before we left," he replied.
Al shifted uncomfortably and Ed paused before sighing. "Look Al, if you wanna look through it, that's fine by me," he compromised. "I'm just gonna catch a few more z's before we pull in, 'kay?"
Without waiting for an answer, Ed rolled onto his back and stretched his legs across the bench, closing his eyes before going still. Al stared at his brother in disbelief before shaking his head. Sometimes I feel like I'm the older one, he thought as he picked up the case file from under Ed's bench, where the blonde had tossed it before taking his first nap.
Al opened the file and was met with dozens upon dozens of files regarding Meridius. He read through all the different papers, scanning through each sheet with interest. Most of it was government related and he almost felt bad for searching through them when he himself wasn't even a member of the military, but it was the more personal information that he regarded fondly. He learned details about the old owner of the town, General Matthew Meridius, who seemed to have gathered plenty of respect in his time. Alphonse learned about the connection between the Meridius line and the town itself, about how since its founding, the head of the family from each generation of Meridius' would be given the rights and deeds to the town when they came of age.
Al chuckled softly as he read about the different heritage lines, reminded of Armstrong and his own traits passed down from his family for generations. He continued on about General Meridius, reading through documentations and newspaper clippings of his heroic deeds and contributions to society, inside and outside of the battlefield. However, his own town came before his government responsibilities, and he retired to live the rest of his life as the owner of Meridius shortly after getting married and having a son.
As Al turned a page, a photograph slipped out from between the sheets of paper and fluttered onto his loincloth. Curious, the boy set aside the file and gently picked up the photo, looking it over. While the color was fading from age, there was still enough to show three people in the picture with striking details. The scene showed an elegant woman sitting in a regal chair with a toddler in her arms as a man stood tall and proud with a hand on the woman's shoulder. Al could only guess the man to be General Meridius, since his military uniform bore many stars and medals and his appearance matched physical descriptions mentioned in the previous reports.
That must mean the others are his wife and son, Al thought to himself, examining the woman and child tenderly. If he had lips, the armored boy would've smiled at how well the toddler in the picture took after his parents. While the child had locks of dark brown hair that matched his mother's, he took after his father's vibrant blue eyes.
It warmed Al's heart to see a happy family picture. However, his joy plummeted as he resumed where he left off through the files and came to a death report. The suit of armor's gasp went unheard; his body tensing as he frantically scanned through the details of General Meridius and his wife's deaths.
"No…" Alphonse whispered.
Ed peeked open an eye at hearing his brother, but he immediately tensed and sat up as he noticed the suit of armor shaking. "What's up Al?" he asked.
With a heavy heart and a solemn voice, Al recalled the reports he read to his older brother as best as he could, with Ed listening intently. As the armored boy covered the tragic details of the deaths, the blonde grimaced and crossed his arms.
"How terrible," he muttered.
Al nodded. "But Brother," he suddenly realized, "There wasn't anything describing what happened to the little boy."
Ed stiffened and Al felt his shoulders sag, already expecting what his older brother was going to say. "I dunno, Al. There's not a very big change that he could've survived, especially if his whereabouts are currently unknown," Ed said.
Al gazed back to the family picture, staring sorrowfully at the little boy's image. "I guess so, Brother," he mumbled. "I just find it sad that such a happy looking family is gone. I doubt they deserved what befell them."
Ed remained silent, turning to look outside at the passing scenery. Dark clouds were beginning to gather over the speeding train, matching the brothers' glum moods as they sat across from each other. The hushed moment lasted until Ed spoke up.
"If that kid is alive, I hope he's okay. Wherever he is-"
"What part of no don't you idiots understand?!"
Ed and Al perked up at the sound of a sudden, shrill voice, with Al turning around in his seat to investigate and Ed peering over his brother's shoulder. A trio of cadets was upright and gathered around a pair of teenagers sitting several seats away from the brothers. The young military men appeared to be sneering at a girl with bright red hair and a very annoyed expression. Another person sat across from her, but Al could only spot the back of their short, dark brown hair.
"Aw, c'mon sweetheart," one of the cadets sneered. "We just want to know the name that goes with your pretty face."
The girl's scowl deepened. "My name is none of your business," she stated, her voice cold and bitter. "Just leave us alone already."
"How rude. We just want to chat," another trainee snickered.
Al took a quick glance around at the other passengers, who were watching the situation as well or didn't seem to be paying any attention. He felt himself stifle in frustration. Why wasn't anyone helping the girl or stepping in to stop the men altogether?
"Brother, shouldn't we do something?" the armored boy asked.
Before Ed could reply, a harsh laugh came from the third cadet. "Besides, it's not very easy to ignore someone like you on a train," he sniggered. "I mean, look at your obnoxious hair! What, are you wearing some kind of wig?"
The cadet reached out to tug at the girl's hair, but a gloved hand slapped him away and in an instant, the dark haired teenager was leaning forward in his seat and blocking the girl from Al's sight. The armored boy stiffened as the cadets gave out startled yells. "Hey! What's your problem, punk?" one of the young men snapped.
"Brother," Al shortly said.
"Right." Ed left no room for argument. If the situation continued any further, violence could break out, and in the midst of a crowded train, innocent bystanders would have a greater chance of getting injured. Without further delay, the brothers leaped from their seats and hurried down the train car.
"Excuse me," Al politely spoke up as they approached the tense group.
The girl's eyes flickered to the brothers at the sound of Al's voice, but her partner and the cadets ignored them, glaring at each other in hostility. Up close, Al noticed that the other hassled teen was a boy, appearing to be in his late teens, with dark brown bangs falling short over steel blue eyes. He was midway from his seat, leaning towards the girl and facing so the cadets' attention was focused on him, while the girl matched his posture as she glanced away from the brothers with her scowl deepening.
"You really shouldn't have done that, kid," one of the cadets growled. "Who do you think you're dealing with anyway-?"
"Hey! We're talking to you, pal!" Ed snapped, visibly annoyed at being ignored.
The boys finally turned to the brothers, irritation in their features, albeit more-so in the cadets.
"The hell do you want, brat?" a cadet demanded. "We're kinda busy here with some serious business."
"Looks more like harassment to me," Ed replied. "Why don't you guys just head back to your seats and leave these people alone?"
"Oooooh, looks like the kid's trying to be brave," another cadet sneered. "Listen squirt, why don't you take your walking garbage can back to your mommy and let the grownups handle this situation?"
"Garbage can…" Al softly repeated, affronted.
A vein popped in Ed's forehead and the blonde snapped. "Don't talk to me like I'm some child, dammit!" he shouted. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, for God's sake!"
The military men blinked down at Ed as he fumed before bursting out into fits of laughter. "As if! Like a little runt like you is a member of the State," the supposed leader bellowed.
Al could see the bomb go off inside his brother's head, and he managed to hold Ed back just as he attempted to murderously lunge at the trainees. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE COULD FIT INSIDE OF AN ATOM?!" he roared. "I'LL KICK YOUR KNEECAPS IN AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHO THE SHORT ONE IS!"
"Brother, please, we shouldn't be violent on a train!" Al exclaimed, exasperated at his brother's behavior.
Ed ceased cussing out the men, but he shoved his hand into his pants pocket and dug around, his teeth grinding tightly and his face cherry red with rage. The blonde whipped out a silver pocket watch with the Amestrian symbol engraved onto it and threw it in the cadets' faces.
"THERE! SEE? PROOF!" he snarled.
The young men leaned forward to look, snickering under their breaths, before jumping back with stupefied faces.
"No way! That little runt is a State Alchemist?!" one of the cadets gasped.
"He must really be the Fullmetal Alchemist!" another exclaimed in shock. "Y'know, the youngest kid in the military!"
Ed, while ready to blow up at the offhand comment towards his height, slowly simmered down as his pride and ego inflated, yet he remained fierce and undaunting. "That's right," he replied. "If you bozos need any more proof, I don't have a problem showing you some."
Much to Ed's satisfaction and Al's relief, the cadets backed away nervously with their hands raised up in surrender. "We're fine, Mr. Alchemist," the leader said. "We'll just head back to our seats, alright?"
With that, the men turned and headed back to their benches a few rows away, with Ed's glare and several of the passenger's curious and anxious stares following them. "Good riddance," the alchemist muttered, shoving his watch back into his pocket.
Meanwhile, Al's attention was focused on the two teens, who visibly relaxed once the military men had left. "Are you two okay?" he asked, concerned.
The boy nodded before turning away and looking out the window as if nothing occurred. The girl threw her companion an exasperated glance before turning to look to the armored boy and flashing him a grateful smile. "I think we'll be alright now. Thanks for your help," she answered.
"You're welcome," Al responded cheerfully.
The girl held onto her smile, her olive eyes bright as she turned to look at the other brother. "So you're really a State Alchemist?" she asked in awe.
Ed turned, realizing that the girl was acknowledging him, and gave her a boastful grin. "Yep! Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, in the flesh," he introduced.
"Nice to meet you," the girl replied, holding out a hand. "Name's Sabrina Arora. We really appreciate the help you guys gave us."
"I'm just glad those creeps are out of your hair." Ed met Sabrina's right hand and the two shook before he nodded to the girl's partner. "Care to introduce him?"
The boy's eyes remained at the passing landscape, but he mumbled something incoherently, making Ed leaned towards him in confusion.
"Come again?" the blonde asked.
The strange boy made no move to repeat himself, however Sabrina quickly leaned forward in her seat, switching Ed's attention onto her. "Oh! He's just my bro- …Erm…"
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing. "He's my comrade."
Ed raised an eyebrow at the girl's pause, but before he could press forward, Sabrina shifted her attention towards Al. "What about you?" she asked.
"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself earlier," Al apologized, giving her a small bow. "I'm Alphonse, Ed's younger brother."
Sabrina's eyes widened in wonder. "You're kidding me. Younger brother?" she repeated incredulously. "You're like a giant!"
Al chuckled as he felt his brother twitch beside him. "Yeah, I get that a bit," he said, glancing down towards the elder brother. "I think it's because I managed to drink all of my milk as a kid."
"What was that?!" Ed demanded, making Al laugh.
"Huh…" Sabrina paused, momentarily confused by the brothers' inside joke before she broke out into a wide grin, lightly punching the side of Al's arm. "Even if you're the younger one, that's still a cool suit of armor you're wearing!"
Al laughed again, albeit more awkwardly and nervously than before, and unconsciously rubbed the back of his helmet. He certainly wasn't expecting a comment like that. "Er… Thank you-"
A high whistle broke Al's words and he noticed the train was slowing down as it pulled into a station. They had arrived in Meridius.
Without warning, the dark haired boy sprang out of his seat and grabbed a luggage bag underneath, pushing past the brothers and dashing down the car before the train had even come to a complete stop.
"Hey Jamie! Wait up!" Sabrina called out in surprise. No reply came and the red head sighed before grabbing a rucksack from under her bench, leaping to her feet and following after her companion.
"Thanks again! See you later!" she called over her shoulder.
Al watched as the young girl slipped off the train before noticing the passengers around them getting up and grabbing their own bags, and he looked down at his brother. "We should head back to our seats, Brother," he said. "We're starting to get in the way."
Ed made no move to head back and he lowered his head, his eyes narrowed in distraught. "Brother? What is it?" Al asked, off guard at his brother's unexpected change in behavior.
Ed frowned, resting a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "That girl. D'you think she…" He trailed off before shaking his head. "Never mind. Let's grab our bags," he finished, turning away.
Al heisitated as his brother walked back to their original seats before following after him. To the armored boy, the redhead was nothing more than a cheerful girl, although her partner seemed to be the more suspicious one. However, something about Sabrina had ticked his brother off, and he wasn't sure what.
Whatever it was, Alphonse doubted it was anything good.
A/N: And another chapter come and gone! Our heroes meet the Elrics under sudden circumstances before heading down their own roads once again. Will their paths merge once more? Probably. Will hi-jinks, drama, and hilarity ensue? Definitely!
But really, this chapter was so much fun to write. I love seeing things through Ed and Al's perspective, but I hope I got their personalities right. And like I said earlier, this chapter was late due to holidays popping up (Happy Holidays by the way!) but I'm for sure going to post the next chapter on time. Which will be, as usual, in the next two weeks, right around the time my winter break ends. Wooo.
As always, thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! And please continue to read and review so I know what I'm doing right and what I need to work on to make this story better for you guys.
Until next time though, sharia013 signing off~