Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade or Fullmetal Alchemist. It's pretty obvious, especially since they're created by two different people, of which I am neither. If you honestly think that I am either of them, I suggest that you take up my offer of therapy.
Chapter Three
"But, Brother… what does that mean? They're supposed to be dead?" Al asked. "How could that happen?"
Ed wasn't sure how to answer; he wasn't really to tell his brother about the Gate. He knew that Al didn't remember it from their human transmutation, and he believed that, for now, that was for the best. "I-I don't know, Al," Ed told him. The lie hadn't come easily, but Ed tried to swat away his guilty feelings.
Rosette sighed. "Well great, now how the hell are we gonna get home?"
Shrugging helplessly, Ed responded, "I'm not really sure. Maybe if you could summon that Gate again you could go through again: maybe it would take you back to your home."
Smiling brightly at him, Rosette put her hand on the short boy's back. "Well, then, I guess we'll just have to go with you, then!"
"What!" Ed cried.
"Why?" Al asked curiously.
"Well, since Chrono and I have absolutely no clue where we are, our best chance of getting home would be to go with you two! That way, we'll have a place to stay while we try and figure something out," said Rosette. Chrono nodded in agreement.
"I'm not really sure that's a good idea," Al said. "Right now, we probably have the military looking for us."
Both Chrono and Rosette were confused. "Why would the military be looking for you two?" Chrono asked.
"Because I'm a State Alchemist- part of the military. The military will most likely want to question me about what happened in Lior," Ed replied.
"Okay!" Pause. "What's an alchemist? And where's Lior?"
Ed groaned. "You don't know anything, do you?" He sighed. "Okay, an alchemist is someone who practices and understands alchemy: it's the science of breaking down something and then turning it into something with similar materials. For example: you could turn a glass into a small glass figure, but not into a metal figure. The guiding rule of alchemy is equivalent exchange: to gain something, something of equal value must be lost."
"Okay," said Rosette. "And a State Alchemist?"
"Just an alchemist who is good enough to join the military with his or her skills; I myself joined the military at twelve- the youngest ever. I've been a State Alchemist for about three years, now," Ed informed her.
"Really! But that would make you fifteen! I thought you were thirteen, or something…" said Rosette in amazement.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MIDGET THAT NEVER GREW UP BECAUSE HE DIDN'T DRINK HIS MILK!"
"I didn't say that, Ed."
Holding his brother back from killing Rosette, told her, "Lior is a desert town in the East where the people worship the sun god Leto."
Ed, who had calmed down, said sadly, "Or at least it was…"
Rosette was about to ask Ed what he meant when she felt a hand on her upper arm. She turned to see Chrono there. The little demon shook his head. "Now's not the time." Rosette nodded, and Chrono took his hand away. Rosette couldn't help but feel slightly sad at the loss of contact.
For a moment the four were silent, before Rosette asked, "Where are we going?"
………………
"I know you said that Risembool is a small down, but I'm pretty sure there are still roads that lead to it!" Rosette yelled angrily at Ed.
The trail they were walking on was nothing much but a patch of rocks near a river, which was surrounded by a large forest on each side. From what Rosette could tell, they were now going down hill, which mean that either Risembool was in a ditch, or they were climbing a mountain.
Rounding on Rosette, Ed growled, "You know when we told you the military would most likely be looking for us? Well, we don't want them to find us!"
What would have most likely become a shouting contest was interrupted when they heard voices from not too far away. "Get down!" Ed told Al as he transmuted some dirt and roots into a blanket to cover his brother.
Rosette probably would have taken time to interrogate Ed about the transmutation, but didn't have to chance to as Chrono pulled her into a nearby bush. Just as Ed was about to follow, he had a gun pointed at him.
Turning around, Ed instantly recognized Havoc, and Fury was standing not to far away. "Come with us without a fight, Ed, please. We don't want to hurt you," said Havoc.
Mover quicker than Havoc could keep up with, Ed brought his right arm up to capture the gun's end in his hand. Just as it seemed Havoc would pull the trigger, Ed told him, "If you shoot, who do you think will get hurt?"
Just as it seemed Havoc would stand down, Al jumped up from under the cover Ed transmuted for him. "Bother!" he called worriedly.
Havoc, shocked by Al's sudden appearance, accidentally triggered the gun. The bullet, ricocheting off of Ed's automail hand and destroying his glove in the process, shot back to hit Havoc in the hand, and then graze Fury enough to shatter his glasses, cutting up the skin around his right eye badly.
Surveying the scene with a slightly sense of guilt, Ed said plainly, "I told you not to shoot." Turning around, Ed walked past his younger brother, who then ran up to him and asked, "Shouldn't we help them?"
Ed shook his head. "The rest of Mustang's crew should be here as well. It won't take long for them to come after hearing gunfire. We should go. I'm not really sure why they're so desperate to take us with them, but I don't plan on getting caught." Ed put his hand on Al in a comforting gesture, and was about to say something else as they both suddenly had a vision of a huge, black gate, towering before them.
Suddenly, they were both shoved away from each other. Lifting himself off of the ground, Al said to his brother, "What was that, brother? Suddenly, I remember seeing it before." He paused for a moment before asking, "Was that the Gate that Chrono and Rosette were talking about?"
Ed stood up and brushed off the dirt from his clothes, taking his time before answering. "Yes," he said before turning and walking away.
Al ran up to his brother and asked, "If we've seen it before, why didn't you tell them earlier?"
"Because, Al, I don't know anything about it. I just don't want to tell them anything until I really know how to help them," he answered. Truthfully, that was only part of the reason; before he just hadn't wanted to tell Al about the Gate, and explain why and how he had seen it.
A memory from the night of their failed transmutation flashed in his mind. He could still see so clearly what they had gotten in exchange for everything they had lost: a mass of almost human parts, with a horrific face that haunted him 'til this day. But still, he would rather be faced with that then the monster that was Sloth…
He shook his head to clear it. Ed knew that thinking of the past wouldn't help him.
"Hey, wait up!" a familiar voice called. For a moment Ed couldn't place it, until he remembered that he and Al had left Rosette and Chrono behind. "Oops…" he muttered.
"Did you forget about us!" Rosette asked angrily as she caught up to the two Elrics. Ed nodded. Growling, Rosette fisted her hand together, and landed it directly in Ed's face.
Landing painfully on the ground a foot away, Ed brought up one hand to his now swollen cheek. "Hey, what did you do that for!"
Smirking, Rosette responded, "That was for leaving us behind."
Groaning, Ed was about to make some comment about the crazy blond women in his life when another voice called out, "Wow, Fullmetal, I thought we might have to use some force to bring you in, but someone else already beat you down for us."
Ed growled. "Colonel Bastard, how nice it is to see you!"
Out of the forest stepped several figures in military uniforms, and there were several men sitting on the side of a large rock, taking shelter in a place that would be safe from enemy fire. Ed instantly recognized Mustang, Hawkeye, and Armstrong. With them were two others in civilian clothes. "Winry? Schieszka?"
"Run, Ed!" Winry called.
But Ed didn't have time to run as Armstrong picked up one of the larger rocks, and hit it hard at Ed, transmuting it into a large, flying stalagmite. Mustang then brought up his ignition glove, and snapped. The rock Armstrong had hit at Ed now burst into a thousand smaller projectiles. Ed barely had time to transmute a wall to protect himself and his companions.
The wall, although it protected them well enough, shattered after being hit by the barrage of missile-like rocks, leaving Chrono, Rosette, Ed and Al unprotected.
Mustang took a step forward, a satisfied smirk on his face. "It's a great technique, isn't it? First, Armstrong shoots a hollow rock missile at you, and then I blow it up from the inside, creating a large number of deadly projectiles."
Ed glared at Mustang fiercely, but kept silent.
"You know," Mustang said, "I don't really care that the Fuhrer ordered us to catch us. No, I'm here because I'm pissed off!"
Ed was shocked at how emotional Mustang was. It seemed like he was actually worried about them! "Now, I just want to know… why the hell did you to leave without asking for my help first?"
………………
"So they still haven't been found?" a young girl asked.
"No, I'm sorry. Our only lead turned out to be nothing," said Sister Kate.
Sighing, Azmaria nodded sadly. "Alright," she said, "but you'll tell me if you have another lead, right?"
Sister Kate nodded. "Yes, you'll be the first to know."
"Thank you," Azmaria said, and then left the room.
Outside, Sister Claire was waiting for her. "Anything?" she asked. Azmaria shook her head. "Oh. I guess that I'll tell the others…" she said sadly.
"I'm sure we'll find her soon," said Azmaria comfortingly.
Sister Claire nodded, before heading off down the hallway.
For a moment, Azmaria stood there. Despite her words to Claire, she was losing the hope that she would ever see Rosette or Chrono again.
………………
A/N: It seems like my chapters are just getting shorter and shorter. Not by a significant amount, but still. This one is the shortest yet (about 1750 words). I have to say this story is a challenge for me: I don't often write full length stories, and the only one I posted I purposely ended badly because I hated what I was writing about. Although I know that that won't happened to this fic (I love CxR way too much to ever abandon it), it's still pretty hard for me to update too often. So far, almost all of my fics are one-shots, so please be patient with me. I'm trying really hard! Next time I'll try and make it a little longer, though.
Okay, so far it seems that almost everyone wants this to be an EdxWinry, and although I'm not a fan of it, I shall do what the people want. I'll give you until I post chapter four to make it official. Oh yeah, one more thing: the suggestions I made were random; you can vote to put Ed with anyone in the show, not just the three I listed! As long as the character you list isn't dead already, I'll count it.
Please read and review!