After the Light: Chapter Two: Dreams

By Tsukiko

I promised this chapter wouldn't be as depressing, but I didn't live up to it. Whoops. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist (sighhh) or "Taking Over Me" by Evanscence, but I do own Ms. Haruko. She's my whore. And yes, I changed the geography…a lot.

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You don't remember me but I remember you

I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you

But who can decide what they dream?

And dream I do…

Images flashed through my clouded mind, blurring the boundary between fantasy and real life: The owner of the orphanage, who treated me like a pile of mud- Ms. Haruko- yelling at me for sneaking out again. A young Riza, with tears running down her face, clutching a skinned knee. The clearing in the forest where we used to play soldier or princess, depending on our mood. My only book- a collection of Charles Dickens' stories- being set on fire by Ms. Haruko's cigarette. My puppy being smashed against a wall by another child, abandoned by his parents like all the other orphans. Riza holding my puppy's mangled, limp body in her arms, gently rocking and sobbing. My puppy, dug from the ground, being stir-fried for dinner, which Ms. Haruko then forced me to eat. Then even older images- ones I didn't remember but somehow recognized- swept through my tortured subconscious: The room I slept in as a baby- it was blue and had bunny wallpaper running around the top of the walls. The dress my mother wore one Easter as she planted flowers in our garden. My brother's sleeping face…

The images scared me, brought back from being hidden for so long by pain and confusion. Each one brought another wave of unwanted memories, taking me closer and closer to some unknown darkness. Then another, more recent, image seemed to banish this pain, the shadows, from my mind, brushing them aside like a stray hair. It was Daniel's deep, intense, eyes. His sympathetic, inquisitive…beautiful eyes. They hid a secret meaning, something I couldn't quite grasp…they sent a thrill and a warmth through me, sending shivers down my spine as they warmed my cheeks. Something I hadn't felt since…

I believe in you

I'd give up anything just to find you

I have to be with you- to live, to breathe

You're taking over me…

I gasped and opened my eyes. Blinding light from a nearby open window caused spots to color my vision. I looked down at myself. Someone- I was hoping a girl- had given me new clothes and tightly wrapped a bandage around my torso. That's right- a mule kicked me during my hasty leave of Xenotime, and probably broke a rib, maybe more. I then looked around me- I was in a light yellow room with dark wood furniture and a simple picture of hydrangeas hanging beside the door. White lace curtains swayed in the cold wind coming through a crack in the window. Despite this, I felt like I was melting inside. I had a strange feeling of de ja vu as well; something was very familiar about this room. I shook this feeling aside and turned my head on the pillow, trying to find a cooler place to rest. As I looked to the side, I saw a glass of water above the poof of the pillow. Upon further inspection, I also saw two pills and a note on the nightstand that the items were placed on. I sat up to read the note, head spinning, and leaned against the nightstand for support. It read:

Tsukiko-

We're going to find a doctor for you. Take these pills, and if you're strong enough to walk and eat, get some bread from the kitchen down the hallway.

-Edward

Grunting, I gulped down the pills with the water, which burned down my throat. Well, crap. I thought. That's not supposed to happen. My head began to spin again, so I flopped down onto the soft pillow. I didn't have enough strength to walk, but my stomach felt like it was eating itself. Daniel was right in his assumption- I hadn't had time to steal any food or water from Ms. Haruko along with the knife before I ran away, so I had gone without since then. How long had that been? I counted in my head…Was it a week? I guess that depended on how long I had been asleep. I laughed dryly. It would've shown Ms. Haruko, that old witch, and all the other jerks at the orphanage had I milked them for all they had.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up quickly, hoping that would dull the spinning. Wrong. My head, and the room, spun out of control and I fell hard onto the hardwood floor with a thump. This place seems pretty high-scale… couldn't they have bought some rugs?!? I moaned. As I stood up, I could almost hear my broken bones creaking. Why hadn't I noticed that they were broken before? Damn donkey. I suppose I was too blinded by sadness, along with the emotional rush I felt while I was fleeing the city, leaving it behind forever, going beyond the city limits for the first time in my life. I had gone into the woods and to the creek before on my excursions with Riza, of course, but never had I left Xenotime, for fear of Ms. Haruko's wrath. I limped stiffly to the door and down the hallway (which seemed all the longer thanks to my broken ribs), all the while looking around me. The paint scheme, the artwork, the molding, it all seemed so familiar. After several long minutes of painful walking, I reached the kitchen, plopping onto the first stool I saw. I grabbed the loaf of bread on the island, tearing off a piece and wolfing it down hungrily, washing it down with another glass of water. I had sat on the stool for a few minutes, dreading having to get up and go to the bedroom again, when my stomach began to turn. I had a sense of foreboding, and quickly stood up and grabbed the edge of the sink. I wretched the contents of my stomach, then fell limply to the floor.

Damnit, I thought as my vision began to cloud, my head thumping hard against the ground. My vision darkened once more and I fainted.

A face with golden hair and eyes greeted me as my vision swiveled into focus, long bands obscuring the face. "Oh…an angel…end my misery, please. Take me away…" I whispered, dazed.

"Don't talk like that. You're not dead yet." There was a sad, hard edge to Edward's voice, as if he was speaking past a lump in his throat, trying not to cry.

"Darn." I sighed, nonchalant. "What happened?"

"You fell on the floor, adding a nice bump to your head." Edward answered, all traces of sadness gone, poking my forehead harshly.

"Ow. I can feel that. I mean: how'd I get here, why are you helping me and where is here, anyway? Stuff like that. The basic I-just-regained-consciousness questions." I said between clenched teeth, trying to keep my headache at bay. It wasn't working.

Alphonse answered me bluntly, and in annoyance, "In order: we carried you; we couldn't just leave you in the forest, unconscious; and we're at a…friends house"

"Well, thanks." The image of Daniel's inky eyes once again flashed in my mind. I looked away, embarrassed by my thoughts. "Where is…Daniel?" I asked quietly.

"He's still looking for a doctor. There are a surprisingly low number of them in East City-what?"

I started upright, realizing where I had seen this room before. "Crap! you brought me into East City?!? Why do you think I was sleeping in a graveyard outside the city limits?! I have to get out of here!" I stuggled to get up, twisting and turning to get out of Alphonse and Edward's sudden grip on my wrists and ankles.

Edward finally won over, my strength failing, and yelled "And just where do you think you're going? You're in no condition to travel, let alone to go running around the city like a chicken with it's head cut off! What's wrong, anyway?"

I glared at him until he released his grip on me, panting from the effort it had taken me to struggle. "Does your 'friend' know that I'm here?"

"No…she's out of town. We kind of picked the lock…we couldn't bring you into the military lodgings in the state that your in; they'd ask all sorts of questions. And the fact that we only know your first name, it was the middle of the night, and that you were unconscious didn't help."

I breathed. "Good, but I better be out of here before she comes…" I gasped and closed my eyes, a ominous feeling washing over me.

"Tsukiko? Tsukiko!" Edward yelled. "Not again! Al, help me! Hold her down!"

I was thrashing, racked with pain. Tremors starting from the base of my spine and my shoulder blades went up and down my legs and arms. Sweat broke out all over my skin, running down my neck, wetting my hair. I screamed as another rack of shocks went down my body, feeling like I was being set fire and that my limbs were being ripped out of their sockets at the same time. The world around me fuzzed again, twisting everything out of proportion and sending me into a wicked dream world. Before I was sent back into my marred consciousness, I heard running steps and Daniel's voice yelling my name. The last thing I saw was his eyes, their beauty transformed by pain, his pain….but what was he pained by? I managed to choke out "What's happening to me?" before I was sent into the abyss of my mind once more.

I look in the mirror and see your face

If I look deep enough

So many things inside that are just like you

You're taking over…

End of Chapter Two

I hope you enjoyed it, as dreadfully happy as it was. Didn't that just make you shiver with joy? I'll add more Fullmetal-ly details later on in the series.

-tsukikomoonbaby