Hello readers! I'm here to apologize for not updating sooner… I realize that it has been a whole week since the last time I promised to update. I'm so sorry! Well this freaking chapter took forever to write, so I hope you enjoy! Reviews are really appreciated! Every time someone gives me a review, it makes me smile… So keep 'em coming!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, or its settings and characters in any way!
Enjoy!
Chapter 4I was standing in the middle of a street. There were no people or cars around, and I was surrounded by tall buildings that were all the same color; grey. Everything was covered by a dreamy haze, while I just stood there, unmoving. I scanned the area with my dim, hazel eyes, and caught a figure emerging from the mist. It was my uncle Mark.
"Emily." He said eerily. "Uncle…!" I gasped. He seemed to stare past me, "Why won't you come back to me?" He asked. "I-I can't!" I protested, my throat was getting dry. "You can't… or you won't?" He started, "You only cry because you know there is no return for you, right? You said your goodbyes to your family, did you not?" He asked. I cleared my throat and replied, "Yes…I" "You never said goodbye to me." He interrupted me. Why was he talking like this? It was scaring me and making me feel guilty… I closed my eyes and shook my head. "No, I'm coming back, I swear! I-I just have to find a way!" I cried, looking up, but he was gone. "No…!" I whispered. Suddenly, the world started shaking, and I heard voices repeating my name over and over, "Emily… Emily… Emily… Emily!" I held my head in my hands, trying to block out the noise. "Stop it! Shut up! Please?" I cried. It wouldn't stop, no matter how terrified I became… Then I opened my eyes.
Alphonse was hovering over me, trying to wake me up. That explains the shaking and my name being called. "I'm awake…" I stuttered, groggily. Thank goodness, it was just a dream… "Come on, Emily! Brother's going to wake up soon!" He whispered, urgently. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up!" I muttered, getting out of the bed and stretching my arms above my head.
After we got situated, Al told me that I had to be extremely quiet. "I'll let you out when we get on the train." He confirmed. Then I heard someone enter the room. It was dark inside Al's armor, so I closed my eyes.
"Good Morning…" mumbled a voice, that I'm assuming was Ed's. "Good morning, brother!" "Quiet down, Al! Pinako is a light sleeper!" said Winry, who came into the room who knows when. "Where's your friend, Winry?" asked Ed. Wait… Is Ed asking about me? Why? "She's still asleep, Ed. Why?" I heard no reply. Al got up and began to walk, and I heard a door open. A few minutes later, when we all arrived at the train, they all said goodbye.
They must've taken their seats when Al said, "Brother?" It was so creepy inside this armor, especially with Al's disembodied voice floating around. I shivered, then cleared my thoughts so I could hear what Edward and Al were talking about. "Yeah, Al?" asked Edward. "I talked to Emily last night…" "Oh? What did you talk about?" Is that any of your business? I mentally questioned him. "Well at first we talked about you…" The train began to move. "W-Why would you talk about me?" Tch… He sounded surprised. "Well, brother, she told me that she thought you disliked her…" "Why would I dislike her? She didn't do anything." "I don't know, but I did notice that you wouldn't make eye contact with her all day, yesterday… Was there a reason?" "Not really…" "Oh." So he avoided eye contact with me, all freaking day, for no reason? "Also," Al continued, "She… Well… How would you like it if she had come with us, like, somehow gotten on the train with us?" "Uh, I guess I wouldn't care…?" A smile crept onto my face. Ohohoho… He definitely won't see this coming... I thought, evilly. "Well… because…" Instead of explaining, Al must've decided to show Ed what he was talking about, because Al suddenly removed his chest plate. I jumped down and sat in the seat next to Edward. I stretched, lazily, and sighed, "Now that that's over with…" I looked at Edward, and I couldn't tell if he was embarrassed, confused, or shocked. Heck, maybe he was even a mixture of all three! "S-So you heard all of that?" He stuttered. "Yup, don't worry, I don't care!" I said, cheerily. Oh no… cheerily? What the hell is this place turning me into? "Does Winry know about this?" Edward asked his brother. "Honestly, brother, do I look like the type of person who goes around kidnapping people?" Al sighed, "Of course Winry knows." "Well, why didn't you ask me? I mean, I am your older brother…" Ed asked. "You might've said no…" Al responded. Ed looked hurt, and I suddenly felt bad for him. "I hope it's alright… I won't be any trouble… and I'll try not to get in the way!" I promised. I almost never feel guilty about anything! Why now? "Eh… what can you do?" Ed asked, looking at me. "What can I do…?" I repeated a little confused. "I can fight physically… does that count?" I asked. "You'll have to show me…" "Show you how?" What was he talking about? "Fight me." Oh, CRAP. He really must want me to die, huh? I tried to cover the panic that soon covered my face.
We got off the train in East city, but instead of walking toward the actual city, Edward, Al, and I walked toward a forest. "Where are we going?" I thought out loud. "There's a clearing in the forest up ahead. When we get there, you're going to show me what you can do." Explained Edward. "Oh, alright... Sorry if I die on impact, Edward." I mumbled. "You know, Emily, you can call me Ed… and I'm not going to kill you." He laughed. "Hopefully…" I muttered, but he ignored my comment.
After walking for a good ten minutes, we arrived in the clearing that Ed had mentioned. It was spacious, with trees all around. "So pretty…" I breathed. I almost didn't have time to dodge the fist that was sent flying in my direction. "Yo, aren't you going to warn me before you start throwing punches?"I yelled in protest. "Does the enemy ever give you a warning before they attack?" "True." I replied, before throwing a few punches of my own, which I might add, all missed his face. I really hoped my martial arts training back home would help me here. Ed tried to kick me, but I twisted out of the way, by doing a back flip and landing on a rock. It stunned me, because I didn't know I could do that. The gravity in Amestris must be really jacked up, if I could actually do that without hurting myself.
Ed was caught up in his own thoughts, so I took this as an opportunity to get him, and wasted no time in doing so. I sent the heel of my shoe to his cheek, and he stumbled backward, obviously facing the full impact of my kick. Well, maybe it was a little too much, because the corner of his mouth was bleeding. Instead of being nice and apologizing, I only smirked. I just kicked the Fullmetal Alchemist in the face.
"Okay, I guess I won't go easy on you anymore." There was no time for me to react. He clapped his hands together and pushed them to the ground, causing a wall of and mud to shoot up in front of me. Startled, I took a step back, and instead of my foot landing on solid ground, it landed on nothing. I'm guessing Ed got his equivalent exchange from behind me. I began to fall, but someone grabbed my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction of the alchemist-made cliff. They held me safely and wrapped their arms around me. "Gotcha." Ed smirked. Wait…so… technically, Ed is hugging me? Before I gave myself a chance to blush, I pushed away from him and gave him a surprised, angry look.
"No fair," I retorted, "you used alchemy!" He looked at my face and said, "Everyone uses alchemy during fights, stupid." He stated back. I scowled at him, and I got an Idea, "Will you teach me how?" I asked hopefully. His only answer was a blunt "No."
I sighed in defeat and ran a hand through my hair. Maybe Al can teach me… I considered, looking for him in the clearing, but he was gone. I collapsed onto the ground and sighed loudly. "I'll only teach you when I get to know you better, so I can trust that you won't use it against Al and I." I shrugged, "Okay so what do you want to know?" I challenged, watching the sun begin to set behind the trees.
"What's your favorite color?" He stared at me waiting for an answer. "That's a stupid question… its burgundy." I answered and he nodded. "How old are you?" "I'm fourteen, how about you?" I already knew the answer to this; I just wanted to hear it for myself. "Fifteen, what pisses you off the most?" He asked. "When people call me… Nelly." I mumbled. "…Nelly?" He repeated, confused, yet slightly amused. "Yeah, my name is Emily Nelson… and this guy at my school calls me Nelson… well, one day, he messed up and accidently called me Nellyson, so he was like, 'I'm going to call you Nelly now!' Well somehow he got a bunch of my friends to start calling me that. It really ticked me off." I explained. Ed started laughing and said, "Cool story, Nelly, I'd love to hear more!" When I'd realized what he was doing, I screamed, "NO! NOT YOU TOO! MY NAME ISN'T NELLY! DON'T CALL ME NELLY!" I'm guessing he got the reaction he was hoping for, because he soon doubled over with laughter. I sent one of my famous "death glares" his way and he finally calmed down a bit. "So where did you go to school?" "Edison" I immediately said, and then I realized that I had let something slip. There wasn't an Edison High School anywhere in Amestris. If I wasn't careful, he'd figure me out in no time. "Cool." He said. I was relieved that he hadn't noticed my mistake; I'd have to be extremely careful around him. "So, you said you ran away from home, right? I have a few questions on that matter." I nodded and he continued, "Why did you run away? Did you have any siblings? Where are you from, anyway?" he asked, legitimately curious. "I did run away… my father left when I was very young, and my mother abused me out of depression…" I resented every single word of that lie; my father was still at home when I left for Uncle Mark's house, and my mother would never beat me out of depression, but I had to tell Ed something, so that he would stop thinking about it.
"I have one younger brother," I continued, at least this wasn't a lie. "and I'm from Okla- I mean Yous Well." I don't even know where in the hell Yous Well even is. For some reason, I felt as though I was throwing my whole life away…