A/N 10/31/06: Happy Halloween! And my gift for you, TA DA Chapter 5!! I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that this is the longest chapter yet! (yeah, just checked, over 2000 words) Yay!! I had it all written 2 days ago, but I just wasn't happy with the end of it so I completely rewrote it until I was satisfied(at least somewhat). Anyway, let me know how it is, I was kinda unsure about this one so feedback would be great. Again, I just wanted to thank all the amazing people who've been reading and reviewing, I love hearing your comments!! Enjoy the chapter, and please review!
A/N 11/2/06: Just fixed some spelling errors and decided to repost in hope of getting some more reviews.
Chapter 5
"But…how?...what…" Al trailed off in disbelief.
Ed was equally in shock but was still able to sputter "Wh-what the hell happened here?"
The brothers had come to a complete stop and as they slowly entered the city, they were at a loss for words. In the past, only a year ago, Central had been a huge city, full of gleaming buildings and busy with people. The streets were always full of life, echoing with the din of barter, laughter, and random gossip.
The now solemn and destroyed city was as silent as a tomb. The tangible quiet hung unnatural and thick in the air. Words were meaningless while the dilapidated buildings loomed majestically over the burg.
A certain great and terrible beauty was evident in these structures; although they were falling apart there was a certain sense of grace and pride with which they disintegrated.
As the shock wore off slightly and logic took hold once again, the Elric brothers regained their abilities to speak.
"All this wasn't from their attack, was it brother?" Al questioned, gesturing in awe at the destroyed city.
"No, Al." Ed shook his head, "Something else happened here, something big. Something powerful enough to turn the military's stronghold into a ghost town."
He shook his head slightly at these words, protecting himself from the sight with the tawny bangs that fell into his face, obstructing his vision. The words seemed impossible and ridiculous to his brain, but his heart told him they were true.
"Let's ask someone." Al stated matter-of-factly as he began to move farther down the street.
"Ask wh-" Ed stopped himself short with realization.
He hadn't noticed them upon entering, but the city apparently wasn't as deserted as they originally thought it was. Blending into the dusty ruins were people, several scattered along the lengthy street, huddled hopelessly in doorways, camouflaged into the decomposing buildings.
Although he had seen homeless people desolately littering the avenues of other cities quite commonly, it was a strange and rare sight in central for him. Ed quickened his pace to catch up with his brother.
There was a flutter of movement up ahead as a cloaked person turned the corner ahead of them, faced the brothers head on and balked momentarily at the sight of the strangers boldly walking down the center of the deserted road.
The figure quickly turned around and with surprising agility disappeared back from where it had come.
"Hey…wait!" Ed called, but the person was gone.
He started to run after them around the corner, ignoring Al's objections. With a sigh, Al followed- it was best not to leave Ed alone, he was known for causing trouble when unsupervised.
The Elrics eventually closed the gap between them and the mysterious character after minutes of sprinting through a cramped and narrow maze of streets and passageways.
They slowed then stopped altogether when they turned into an alley with a dead end on the far side. They had the person trapped and the only escape route was behind them.
"Hey," Ed held his palms up in a non-threatening manner, still panting from the exertion, "We're not trying to hurt you, we just have some questions."
The figure muffled a sob of fear. Ed realized that it was a young girl as she said, "Please, leave me alone. I don't have any money." The terror was evident in her shaking voice.
Al stepped forward, attempting to calm the frightened girl. She shrunk back against the wall, her long loose-fitting tan robes blending in with the sand colored walls of the alley.
Although she was hooded, her face obstructed by shadow, her eyes could be seen cutting through the darkness, green pupils darting frantically, searching for an exit.
As gently as possible Al calmly said, "Hey, take it easy, we're only trying to find out what happened here."
"Then why'd you chase me?" She coldly demanded, the fear in her voice replaced with mistrust and suspicion.
"Because you ran!" Ed yelled, with barely suppressed anger.
"Brother." Al warned, giving Ed a dirty look before turning back towards the girl.
"Can you please tell us what happened to this city?"
"You don't know?" She asked in disbelief, slowly unfurling from her shell of apprehension. "Have you been living under a rock for the past year?"
Ed and Alphonse exchanged glances before Al replied quietly, "We've been away for some time now."
The girl sighed, admitting defeat. "Alright, but we can't talk here, it's not safe."
"Not safe…?"
She waved away Ed's question with an impatient flick of her wrist.
"I'll explain later, but now you have to be quiet and follow me."
They shadowed her with difficulty, the easy and fluid way with which she flew rapidly through the streets, staying in the shadows, made it hard for the boys to mimic as they were clumsy compared to her grace and the territory was unfamiliar.
Finally, after several moments of twisting through the winding identical lanes they came to an abrupt halt outside a run-down faceless building.
The girl glanced quickly to either side and when she was sure that the area was deserted, she creaked open a heavy wooden door and slipped past it into the building.
With a slight hesitation, the boys followed her into the gloomy dwelling. As the door was shut behind them, the darkness gave way to a dim light as their eyes gradually adjusted.
Ed realized that they were in what appeared to be a dingy tavern. The city was definitely not as vacant as it had seemed at first glance.
They had entered into a medium sized room containing a bar and a few round wooden tables scattered throughout. There were a few people clustered around the tables and a shady looking figure obscured by a black cloak seated at the bar.
The room was in a dismal state; the walls were cracking and the few pieces of furniture were in horrible condition, it was a miracle they were still standing.
The huddled patrons gave off an aura of depression and solitude. Several men that had been murmuring quietly at their table immediately stopped talking and glared menacingly at the boys as they walked past, staying close to the mysterious girl.
Al looked frightened under their harsh stare, but Ed gazed back at them defiantly. The girl nodded and smiled at several of the men in passing, a polite form of recognition. She led Ed and Al to an empty table on the far side of the room.
After the three had sat down, Ed impatiently burst out, "What the hell is this place?"
"One of the only places left where people can speak freely." she responded simply.
Ed opened his mouth once again to ask another question but was cut off.
"Perhaps introductions should be made before we begin." She suggested coolly.
Ed was struck with the realization that he didn't even know this girl's name. She lowered her hood revealing shiny brown locks cascading gently down her back. Her dark hair and brilliant green eyes contrasted alarmingly with her white-as-snow complexion, creating a strange aura of allurement around her.
"My name is Christine."
Al eagerly replied, "I'm Alphonse, but please call me Al."
Christine gave him a warm smile and turned to Ed.
"And you?" She looked at him questioningly.
"Edward."
She raised an eyebrow at his brief surly statement but shrugged and commenced.
"Well as you can tell Central's not quite what it used to be. After the Rebellion occurred, the city has been almost empty of people. Not because the military forced them all out, but no one wants to live under the oppression here or suffer from the violence any longer. They've captured many of the revolutionary groups and jail anyone that speaks out against the government."
Noticing the brothers' twin expressions of confusion and shock she asked, "What, don't tell me you didn't know about the rebellion? It's been a country-wide concern! Even if you were out of town you would've heard about it."
Ed was too stunned to answer so Al, still dazed by the news said, "We've been a little farther than out of town…more like out of the country."
"Ok, maybe I should start from the beginning." Christine furrowed her brows in concentration.
"Well everything started around a year ago when Central was attacked by those strange soldiers and flying ships. Surely you at least heard about that?"
Ed opened his mouth to speak but Al clamped a firm hand over it and nodded in response to her question, anxious to learn more.
She continued, "Well when they attacked, it threw the city into chaos, buildings were destroyed and people were killed." Christine paused.
"My sister was killed, no-murdered in the invasion." She bowed her head as her eyes welled up with tears but she proceeded anyway.
"Afterwards, they disappeared without a trace. Everyone was afraid; no one knew who the attackers were or the reasons for their assault. The military wouldn't give out any details. Well, anyone who had seen those weird ships could tell that they were using alchemy to destroy. It didn't take much to figure out that it was the state alchemists that attacked the city. So we got them back. Made them pay for the suffering they caused."
She let the malice and hatred she had been holding back creep into her shaking voice. Al stared in open-mouthed surprise at the combination of her questionable revelation and the bitter animosity coming from the seemingly amiable girl.
"Damn it, it wasn't the military's fault!"
Ed slammed his fist angrily on the table as he rose hastily from his chair, knocking it over in the process. The pub went silent as conversations were interrupted by the violent outburst. All eyes were on the teens in the back of the room.
"I'm not blind Edward, I know what I saw. I was there that day, I witnessed the attacks!"
Christine's voice rose shrilly, her hair falling in her face giving her a somewhat maniacal appearance.
"I know that the military didn't cause those attacks!" Ed was shouting now, caving in to the infuriation that was welling up inside him.
"How can you know that? What proof do you have??"
"I'm a state alchemist, god damn it, I was there too! I saw the military protecting the people! They got rid of the attackers, you stupid, delusional girl."
As he said these words the atmosphere in the room shifted. No longer were the seated men huddled together talking, they had stood up and were staring angrily in his direction.
Christine gasped, "You-you're a state alchemist?" Her expression hardened to one of rage.
She stepped back as the men approached. One of the men leered at him and said, "Well what do you know, a dog of the military right here in our gathering hall. Here to arrest us, alchemist bastard? Destroy this place and make it look like an accident? That's what all your little friends are doing. Well we're not going anywhere without a fight."
Al was standing next to his brother now, preparing to fight if necessary.
"Hey, listen, I don't know what you're talking about, but you've got the wrong idea, we're not trying to-" Ed was cut off as the large man's fist was slammed into his face.
The next thing he realized, he was on the ground, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth.
"Brother!" Al shouted.
As he attempted to stand up he was forcefully kicked back down.
The man prepared for another hard kick and Ed braced himself for the impact, but the kick never came.
Looking up, Ed saw the cloaked man from the bar standing in front of him, shielding him from the attack with a gun pointed towards the men. All Ed could see from behind the gun-wielding character was a strangely familiar mop of blonde hair.
The group of men gasped as he threw off his disguise, revealing the blue military uniform underneath. He looked back at Ed and Al, throwing them a lopsided lazy grin, the usual cigarette dangling between his teeth.
"Hey Elrics, long time no see."
A/N: Yay! Chapter 5 is done. How was it? Did the situation seem too strange? I tried to make it work but reading it over now I'm not sure how it went. I'm not a big fan of making up characters and putting them in FMA fics but for my idea to work it seemed kind of necessary. Anyway, I know the whole "rebellion" thing may be kind of confusing right now, but next chapter it will all be explained! And Winry enters in 2 chapters(I think)! Or maybe the next chapter, idk yet, it depends how things go! Anyway, please let me know! R & R!!