BTW, for this chapter, and further flashbacks
Flashback/Thought---ITALICS!!
Thoughts in Flashbacks---'Amazing,' he thought.
There, a simple and effective guide to how character formatting fits into my story. --smile--
Chapter 7
(Those First Encounters)
--That Are Unexpected At A First Glance
(Ishbal, 1998)
"What the heck was that?" Leo, shaken, but intrigued by the mysterious occurrence, asked himself out loud.
"Alphonse Elric." A chilling, childish voice diced through the tension immediately, turning it to fear.
Alphonse didn't have the time or the concentration to think his way out of this one, and simply turned up to face where the voice had come from.
Atop the truck stood a boy looking no older then any of them, his facial features hidden by the blinding sun.
"What the--? Who the hell are you!?" Leo yelled at the form, putting a hand up to his forehead to shield the sun.
The figure refused to answer at first and simply remained in his standing position atop the truck. Alphonse noticed, much to his surprise, that the boy was balancing himself on only the rafters that were helping to hold the truck's covering up.
"Alphonse!?" Rick shouted at the figure, and the two Ishbalan brothers turned with wide eyes to the only other person the sun outlined shadow could be talking too.
Alphonse knew his cover was blown, but he didn't try to defend his identity as the figure on the truck crashed an arm through the taut fabric, jumping from the vehicle as he flipped though the air with an almost inhuman flexibility.
Alphonse noticed, horror and familiarity dawning, that the boy had auto-mail replacements for both his right arm and left leg. The exact same limbs Winry had told him Ed was missing.
He had landed with a cloud of dust on the ground between Alphonse and the surprised, and slightly frightened, brothers.
As the dust cleared Alphonse could clearly see the figure's face, and he was shocked by it.
Dark, knotted hair hung past the boy's shoulders, looking as ragged as his expression. Only a gleaming purple eye was visible under the mess, and it remained unreadable as it looked at the ground between the boys.
"You're Alphonse Elric, right?" His voice froze Alphonse where he was, he didn't even think his heart was beating anymore. His voice was stuck in his throat. His horrified expression etched into his face.
"RIGHT?!" The figure's voice shook now. Anger surging through him as his shoulders shook with a rage no one there could comprehend or understand.
Alphonse, noticing all eyes were on him, straightened himself up as he sucked up all the courage he could muster.
"Yes." He didn't have a choice on his answer, this boy knew his name and even had even found him all the way in Ishbal. Alphonse realized, he should be the one with the questions. "What's it to you?"
He had a fierce expression on now, one he knew his brother would uphold in a situation like this.
"You don't remember me?" The boy's wild eyes had fixed themselves upon Alphonse's. The Elric just shook his head in an unsteady fashion.
"Humph." The grunt soon led to a smile from the strange boy, his eyes reflecting a strained emotion.
"Rick, Leo." A friendly, almost joking voice erupted from behind them, and an older boy soon emerged from the truck that was parked parallel to the smaller one. An frightened expression crossed his face as he caught sight of the unsettled, bordering terrorized look on the brothers and Alphonse's faces.
Pulling a gun from a holster hidden under the cloth wrapped around his waste, the older Ishbalan aimed it directly at the unresponsive Wrath.
Before he could even attempt a negotiation, or pull the trigger, Wrath shot his flesh arm out, stretching it to a point that it was beyond unrealistic. Grabbing the gun from the boy, he tossed it carelessly through the air, letting it land seconds later in the sand quite a few meters from where they were stood.
He didn't even give a glance to anyone before propelling himself into the air with the assistance of the endless flexibility of his arm muscles.
Seeming to suck the extra few feet of arm into it's normal size in the air, he landed on top of the truck with exact precision of where the rafters where located.
"It's Wrath. That's my name, in case you forgot."
Sorry if I did…Alphonse thought, almost guiltily.
"I know how to find you're brother." This caught the attention of Alphonse before Wrath had even finished the sentence. His mind already in a state of confusion.
"H--" Alphonse had lost his train thought for a second, but his determination to find his brother overtook his fear and confusion.
"How?! How do you know us? How do you know what happened?" Alphonse felt tears sting his eyes as he thought about it more.
Wrath carried an unreadable expression. He remained with his head bowed to his feet, and the sun shielding his features from anyone below him. He looked up only to meet the eyes of Alphonse Elric.
"I was there."
He had whipped himself off the back of the truck before Alphonse had the chance to pursue the subject further.
He fell silently to his knees in a subconscious attempt to sort through all that had happened today.
(Germany, 1923)
Edward looked up at the door with dismay. He hadn't paid his father a visit in such a long time, he felt almost afraid to knock on the door.
Not just that it had been awhile, he also didn't want his father to start a long, unneeded, grueling talk about how Edward should not be 'so rash as to chase after people you don't have any business with.' Edward could almost mimic his father and his quiet, yet strong voice.
He had come to his father almost in an attempt to confide in him. To talk to him about seeing Winry's alter, and to discuss with him about how ridiculous things worked over here. But, he recognized the conversation would take no more then 10 minutes, and when it was over, he'd return home to a distressed Alfons, whom wasn't in the mood to discuss 'all your problems'.
Actually holding a talk with his father was unheard of, he refused for so long to do it, and he wasn't about to now. Sighing, he thought back about the day and raised a hand to knock on the door, his eyes permanently fixed to the cement porch.
----
"So what was that for?" Alfons asked, as Edward finally reached him, the book clutched tightly in his hand.
"It doesn't matter…" Edward, angered and frustrated with it all, didn't turn to Alfons with the answer, but remained concentrated on the book in his hands.
"Doesn't matter? Then why were you in such a hurry after her?" Alfons had been quiet the entire time, but now he wanted answers. Edward didn't answer as he moved ahead of him.
"Edward-" Alfons, wrapping an arm around the two bags, reached his right one out to him.
Edward elbowed Alfons's arm away abruptly, surprising him.
"Since when did you start caring?" Edward asked bitterly, turning into the flower shop, which they had found themselves outside of.
He skimmed past Alfons, not bothering to wave at Gracia, as he slammed the door with in a childish attempt to anger Alfons further, as he headed upstairs.
"What happened?" Gracia's surprise become worry as she rushed over to Alfons, placing the watering can down as she grabbed a bag of groceries from his arms.
"Nothing unusual." Alfons sighed as he adjusted the bags in his arms. "We dropped a bag is all. Luckily it wasn't yours." He smiled, placing the groceries on her desk as he sorted through the bags to find hers.
"Here. Sorry we're a bit late."
"Not at all." She held a neutral expression as she took her bag and placed it on the desk as Alfons gathered his and Edward's.
"What really happened? Edward's not the one to pout over spilt milk." She was regarding his cover-up of the 'we dropped a bag' excuse.
"He's had a lot on his mind lately." Alfons softly confided, suddenly sympathetic with Edward.
"Anything I can help with? Family issues?" Alfons cringed slightly.
'What family?'
The question stuck in Alfon's mind as he pondered it. If Edward's alter-universe story was true, then that meant he had no one but Hohenhiem that he could consider 'family' in this world. Even his father, he wasn't very close to. He was basically alone.
But, Alfons recalled how Edward had been such a smart ass to him about everything, from moving in to the incident today. Being in emotional pain from anything didn't justify directing his misplaced anger at Alfons.
"Alfons?" Gracia broke his concentration with a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you sure everything's alright? For both of you?"
Alfons smiled at her. He was sure this was just a temporary disagreement that was bound to blow over soon. Even if their personalities clashed a bit, Alfons knew that if he could break past Edward's hardened, self-absorbed shell, he could become a good, actual friend.
"Well, I better make sure he hasn't broken anything yet." Alfons made lighter of the heavy subject, and even got Gracia to smile a bit, as she waved and headed back to her watering can.
He opened the door to the upstairs apartment, slightly dreading the confrontation with Edward as he reached the top step to the door.
Readjusting the groceries a bit, put a foot on the first step. The door upstairs opened, and he didn't need to look up to see who it was.
He turned his head defiantly toward the right wall, thinking it was just as childish an action as Edward would have done.
He heard footsteps and felt Edward slip by him, his heavy jacket still on, a signal that he was going out. Keeping his posture straight, even though the weight of the bags was great, he was surprised when he didn't hear the door directly behind him close.
Instead he felt one of the bags taken right out of the cradle of his left arm, and he was greatly relived for a second, considering how heavy it had become.
He didn't say anything as he saw Edward proceed to carry the bag without a word up the stairs. With still a bit of steam left over from their little bicker, he decided to spit Edward's words back at him.
"When did you start caring?" Alfons held a firm face, even though he knew Edward couldn't see it with his head turned away.
Pausing for a second near the top step, Edward stood still for a few seconds before finishing the last step and turning into the apartment.
Alfons waited for a while before he was going to head up, knowing Edward would come down not less then a second later, which he did.
Edward passed him on the landing, which was wide enough to fit them both, as he stood without any visible emotions facing the door.
"I'm going to my father's." Edward announced.
Alfons thought he was kidding. Edward had never willingly paid a visit to his father. Whatever was bugging him must've hit him pretty hard.
He knew better then to expect an apology from Edward, but he somewhat hoped he would get one.
He didn't though, and as he reached the top step, he turned, but Edward was already gone.
----
Edward rested his head against the closed door as he relayed the day to himself. He wanted to bang it against the wood numerous times, but thought better of it.
He was about to lift his head off the door, before it suddenly opened and he almost toppled in, but caught himself in time.
Startled, he shot himself upright to greet the friendly face of his father.
"Taking a rest?" Hohenhiem almost laughed as he watched his son flush visibly and hang his head in embarrassment.
"You could call it that…" Without wanting to say more, he rushed past his father and into the house, which smelled faintly of cinnamon.
"Burning candles now, old man?" He took a look around the house, but his eyes caught on the back of someone's head, who's obvious direction of focus was on something outside of a large window.
His father didn't answer, and his voice sparked an interest in the figure, who turned around to face him slowly, and he realized it was a girl, looking around his age. She stood and Hohenhiem closed the door.
He got a good look at her and noticed her darker skin and eyes, which was less then uncommon in a town like this. Her dark locks were a stunning difference as well.
"I need a favor, son." Hohenhiem's smooth tone was dangerously serious. Edward turned to face his father.
"A favor?" Edward asked, giving his father a curious glance.
"Edward." His tone had grown slightly more jubilant, to Edward's surprise. "I'd like you to meet your new roommate"
Uh-oh….--gasp-- A new roommate? Alfons isn't going to comply well…
Hm, I love this chapter. Yes, It didn't take me as long as you might think, I kind of pulled half of it from my ass.
Reviews!
Shadray: Thanks bunches! I hope it looks good, I worked hard on it And I agree, a lot of stories on here are like…script and empty plotting,….--DoMo-KuN--
Kimiko Sakato: Thanks a lot, yeah, cliffhangers are fun to make! Thanks for the review! They make Angel very happy and willing to write more!
They do! When I see positive feedback, I'm all "Oh, YAY! INSPIRATION FOR CHAPTER 8! PEOPLE WANT MORE!!" So, I'd hope you'd all review, please do…
Well, hopefully Chapter 8 will be up….someday…--whistles innocently-- (Because I am so guilty of procrastination) so keep a watch out for it!
With love,
--An Angel's Wings