Well...looks like I decided to add yet another chapter to this, heh. Wonder how many I'll end up with eventually? Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist.
Al opened his eyes and proceeded to sit up and stretched while he let out a yawn. What an odd night's sleep he'd had…but then, almost all of his nights were odd. He barely knew how to sleep, and he couldn't figure out why that was, and when he did sleep, he would have odd dreams and experiences.
Sighing, he reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his journal, which he used to keep a record of the strange experiences he'd been having as of late. He flipped the book open to the last page he had written in, and picked up his pencil to start writing.
"February 15, 1916," he wrote, "Last night I had another one of those strange dreams about Brother. This time, we actually managed to talk to each other, and he told me that he was still alive. Somehow, that dream felt too real, and I'm starting to wonder if it was really a dream or not. If it wasn't a dream though, what was it?"
Al paused to contemplate the words he had just written and let the eraser of his pencil unconsciously rub against his chin. He licked his lips as a sort of distraction, and then set the pencil to the paper once again to write.
"I'm going to see if I can deliberately cause one of those dream things to happen tonight. I've noticed that my soul tends to be easily detachable from my body, and I'm starting to wonder if this has anything to do with it."
He paused again. He knew he should probably write a good close for the entry in his journal, but he couldn't think of anything relevant to write at present, not that journal entries needed relevant things to be written in them. In all honesty, his mind was just too full to write, and he needed to sort it out first. Heaving a sigh, Al slammed the book shut and set it on the nightstand, and then quickly got dressed to go outside for a walk. He'd see what happened that evening.
Later on, when it was finally time for him to go to sleep, he repeated his mantra from earlier that day, in that he was going to intentionally cause one of those dream things-he still didn't know what to call these experiences-to happen. Closing his eyes, he visualized himself standing next to his brother as intensely as he possibly could, even reaching out and touching him. That felt good to him; even though he knew that he wasn't really touching his brother. It was just nice to think about doing so, since he couldn't remember the last time the two of them had had any sort of physical contact.
Al couldn't resist himself, and soon the corners of his mouth were curved into a smile as the visual panorama played out in his mind. His breathing slowed down to that of a sleeping person, though he still felt wide awake, and his entire being began shaking just slightly. That was really odd. He had never felt that before, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing to feel…but then, this was an experiment on his part, so he was going to see it through.
It wasn't long after that that his consciousness faded out as he fell into sleep, hoping for the dream to hit him soon. The next thing he knew, he had opened his eyes, thinking that he'd failed in his attempt, only to realize that the ceiling was much closer to him than it was supposed to be. His body felt different to him as well. It felt really good…but…odd. Curiosity got the better of him, and he turned himself around, and was surprised to find what appeared to be another Al still lying soundly asleep in his bed, while he himself was floating above in the air. How could that be possible? Was he dead? No, the other Al was still breathing, so he wasn't dead. Perhaps this was one of those dream things he had wanted, but it was acting differently this time.
Al perked up at that thought. If this was one of those dream experiences, then he hadn't failed, and he might indeed be able to see his brother once again. He reached his hand up to touch the ceiling. Yes, that felt quite real…but if this was indeed a dream… He placed the tiniest bit more pressure on his hand and his mouth dropped open as his hand penetrated the ceiling. He had to have been dreaming!
"This is…awesome!" Al said to himself, not sure what was going on, but enjoying the experience, nonetheless. "I wonder if I can go see Brother this way." No sooner had he articulated his wish than he suddenly found himself in a strange house…the same one that he had been in the previous night, for that matter. Perhaps his brother was here again?
Al began to casually explore the place, completely intrigued by how real everything felt. This was certainly no ordinary dream, and he wanted to enjoy every moment of it. A cough behind him snapped him out of his thoughts, and he spun around, and once again, his jaw dropped. He knew that he had to be dreaming for sure once he saw that face. That boy looked exactly like him! Well…almost. He was a few years older by appearance, and his hair and eye color were slightly off. The boy also had a bad case of coughing, and Al couldn't help but feel sorry for him, even if this boy was eerily like himself.
Just then, Ed walked into the room, saying, "Alfons, I-" and then suddenly cut himself off. He was staring in wonder in Al's direction, looking like he had a combination of hope, perplexity, and fear written across his face all at once.
"What's the matter, Edward?" asked the boy that looked too similar to Al.
"Oh," said Ed, startled back to reality, "Um, nothing…nothing." He turned and walked out of the room without asking what he had come in to ask, chancing just one more glance in the direction that he had looked when he came into the room.
Al noticed the intention and a weak smile crossed his lips. "I understand, Brother…but you're not crazy. I really am here…I think…" With that last thought, Al closed his eyes and found himself back in his own body, quite tired from his little trip, but feeling extremely exhilarated. Had that been a dream, or was it something more? He was going to have to find out. He may have been physically separated from his brother, but at least he could make contact with him in his dreams.
Come, spring over the sun with me.
Come, my brother, and run with me.
I just want to see your face.
Together we will leave this place.
Trapped in the land where dreams do roam.
So close and yet, so far from home.
We live in the land where dreams take flight.
I live for when I bed down for the night.
So let me take you and teach you to soar.
Stay by my side for just a bit more.
This is all that I know how to give.
This is all I can do while I live.
So come, my brother, come fly with me.
I'll show you things you would never see.
A world where all is pure and bright.
A world where dark gives place to light.
A world in which our dreams are real.
A world in which our pain will heal.
It's not much to give, this astral place,
But it's the only way I can see your face.
So come with me, spring over the sun.
Come join me when your day is done.
Shed all your pains, your worries, and fears,
Purge yourself with an offering of tears.
As I have said, there's not much I can do,
But this is the gift I can offer to you.
If you wish our minds to meet as one,
Then come and join me beyond the sun.
Hope you enjoyed that. And yes, I wrote that poem, heh. I knew you'd probably ask, so I answered for you. I just got inspired one day when I was looking at the iMovie icon, and somehow, this whole poem came from that. How one can get inspired for a poem like this from an icon like that, I have no idea, but it happened, hehe. Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think, and thanks for reading. Take care, and have a nice day.