A/N: Alright people that are still reading this, I'm sooo sorry I was dead for awhile and didn't update for so long. It was just that I was so busy with school and had some family problems, plus some writer's block so that contributed to the lateness. Please forgive me! And while you're thinking about whether or not you'll give me your forgiveness, enjoy reading this (late) installment of RRR!
Russian Rebound Reversal
Chapter 3: Amestris Becomes One With Mother Russia, Da?
(lame chapter title is a fail)
"Hey guys? How long has it been already?" Ling asked to hopefully break the awkward silence of waiting for Ed to return.
"It's been longer than just a few minutes, I know that for sure," Hawkeye answered.
"Then Fullmetal should be back by now," Roy commented, "Unless something went wrong."
"No! Don't say things like that!" May shouted worriedly, "If Ed doesn't come back than that means Al won't either!". The young girl's distraught eyes started spewing tears out of them again.
"Wait everybody! Look! The transmutation circle!" Izumi exclaimed pointing to the glowing circle, still supporting Hohenheim on her shoulders.
Then Ling pointed out the very thought going through everyone's mind, "It has to be Ed!".
Out of the circle emerged, well nobody could tell who it was until the glowing died down. But even before the glow faded, everyone (except for Mustang) could tell right away that whoever this young man was, he definitely wasn't Ed. He was way too tall. Not as tall as the mustachioed Major, but about a good ten centimeters taller than Mustang.
"Who is it?" the Colonel asked as he heard the sizzle of the transmutation fade away, "Is it Fullmetal?".
"No Sir," the Lieutenant replied, "But whoever he is, he appears to be unconscious."
"Then who is this guy?" Ling asked, "We don't know him! So what would he be doing here? What happened to Ed? I-".
"Young Lord, I'm sorry for interrupting, but please calm down," Lan Fan broke in, "I know you're worried about what happened to Ed; we all are. But right now it seems we have to do something about this young man here."
Less than a moment later, Shou May scurried over toward the stranger lying down in the middle of the clearing, landing on top of his chest.
"Shao May! Get back here!" May hollered while persuing the petite panda bear, "What's wrong?". The panda nudged her head beside the stranger.
The girl crouched down beside the silver-haired young man, placing two of her fingers on his wrist. "He doesn't have a pulse! We have to get him to a hospital!"
"But wait!" Ling shouted, "What about Ed and Al? Shouldn't we wait for them?".
"Don't you think I want to wait for them, too?" May scolded, "I miss Al more than anything and I'm deeply worried about him and his brother, but right now someone's life is at stake!"
Then a familiar voice boomed into the clearing, "Men! Clear out now! That's an order!".
"Olivier!" the Major exclaimed, running over to his sister, "What are you doing here? You're still injured!".
"If you haven't noticed, the battle's over now Alex!" she retorted sternly, rejecting her brother's sparkly affection, "My being injured doesn't make me any less of a General to my men." She then turned promptly around towards the Briggs soldiers, "Didn't you hear me! I said move out! That's an order!".
The General noticed two of her men standing near the unconscious young man. "And since you two lazy asses are still standing there, you're responsible for getting that man to the hospital, now!". The soldiers quickly followed their orders without a moment of hesitation.
And in just a matter of minutes the only people remaining in Central Command were the Colonel, Hawkeye, the Xingese bunch, Izumi, Hohenheim, and the chimeras Darius and Zampano, mind a few soldiers standing guard and a cleanup crew.
"Well, now what do we do?" Ling asked, "I mean, what if Ed and Al show up and we miss them because we went to the hos-".
"Fullmetal, can meet us at the hospital when he's done taking his sweet little time negotiating for his brother in the Gate," Mustang interrupted, "We're all injured and common sense should tell him we would seek some medical assistance, so quit worrying your ass off about the kid and get it checked out by a doctor instead!".
"Ugh, alright," Ling sighed wanting to tell the man off that that was no way to speak to the future emperor of Xing, but decided against it, "C'mon then guys, let's just fixed up. But as soon as that's done with I'm coming back here to keep an eye out."
"You all go on ahead without me then," Hohenheim said as the others started walking away, "You too, Mrs. Curtis. I'm fine standing on my own now." Izumi let the man down on his feet.
"Listen, Mrs. Curtis," Hohenheim started before she could join up with the others, "My Philosopher's Stone is running out and my remaining time is limited on this earth. I really want to be around to see my sons get heir bodies back, but right now I have somewhere that I have to be before my life runs out. I'm not going to make it back alive, so when they return from the Gate, could you please just tell my sons that I truly am sorry for leaving and not being there for them when they needed me most?"
"Oh, alright. Sure, I'll tell them," said Izumi, "But where is this place that is so important that you can't even see your own sons one last time before you're dead?" she asked harshly.
"Back to Resembool," the golden-eyed man replied, "I have to make a special visit to a certain someone I made a promise to. And besides, Ed doesn't take much of a liking to me anyway so it wouldn't matter much to him."
"Oh," Izumi sighed, "Well I guess it was nice knowing you then, Van. And I hope you'll be able to keep your promise," she said with a slight smile on her face as she walked away to join the others.
While the rest of the citizens of Central were listening to the radio broadcast of the events that occurred during the Promised Day, Hohenheim remained in the Central Command Center keeping to himself and pondering through his thoughts.
"You are the one who gave me blood, right? Don't you even want freedom, Hohenheim?".
"Okay then, what is it that makes you happy?".
"Well, I'd hate to be guilty of asking too much, but I think I'd be happy if I could just leave this flask."
"You were born of my blood, dwarf in the flask. Homunculus," Hohenheim thought aloud, "In the end you and I were still as one." Then he could only stammer, "And I'm-".
"Mr. Hohenheim," a voice interrupted.
The man turned around to see Major Armstrong walking up to him.
"Listen, Mr. Hohenheim," the Major started, "I'm sorry that your sons weren't able to make it from the Gate. But mark my words I will be the first person to see to it that they will be given the utmost care and assistance once they return, so you have nothing to worry about."
"Why, thank you. I'm pretty sure I won't be around to greet them when they return, so I am grateful to know they'll at least be well taken care of."
"Nonsense. I am the one who is truly grateful," Hohenheim opened his eyes surprised by the Major's words, "We are all in debt to the efforts of Edward and Alphonse. Without those boys' relentless courage, this nation would be no more. Helping your sons out when they return will be the very least I can do for them," He bowed his head in gratitude to Hohenheim, "Thank you very much."
Van's body started to tremble from the impact of the thanks he was given and all he could say was "Thank you." At that, Hohenheim went straight towards the exit of the Command Center, tears streaming down his face as he walked away.
FMAxAPH 4EVA!
"Alright, so there you have it," Ed sighed while leaning back in Arthur's living room sofa after telling him his entire life story. Then he attempted eating one of Arthur's scones placed on the coffee table, which he instantly spat out and tried washing down its awful taste with some tea.
Blech! Those scones are nasty! Hope I don't have to live with this guy's cooking for long. This tea's not half bad, though.
Honestly, Ed preferred coffee and would have asked his host for that instead of tea, but he didn't dare mention it after he had to endure hearing Arthur rant as he prepared the tea earlier about this huge debate he had with this guy named Alfred over which of the two beverages was better.
And how could Ed forget? The man was talking for what seemed like an eternity about the damn drink:
"Oh, there really is no beverage quite as superior in taste as British tea. But this stupid friend of mine, well I suppose I shouldn't even call him a friend, but this American I know named Alfred, begs to differ. He's always saying how this drink called coffee is just so much better. A lot of people I know, especially this French frog named Francis, keep saying the damn blighter got his sense of taste from me. But I don't have the slightest clue of where they got that idea. I mean seriously? He prefers that bitter coffee over my delicious tea! I swear, he absolutely loves to just push my buttons and looks for any opportunity to do so. I mean there was this one time the ungrateful git gathered up barrels of tea that I personally sent him and dumped them into a harbor! All that perfectly good tea gone to waste!".
So Ed thought it would be in his best interest to keep his mouth shut on the subject for now.
"Wow," Arthur breathed, "You went through all that and now you're separated from your brother and your world by that Gate? You sure had a tough life, my friend."
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Ed shrugged, "So, will you help me figure out a way to get back to my world?".
"Why sure," Arthur answered, "Of course I will."
"Oh, thanks Arthur. That really means a lot," Ed replied after sipping some more of his tea. Hey, the tea was better than nothing. At least it wasn't milk. Oh, don't even get Ed started on how much he despised the vile white liquid.
"Don't mention it," Arthur said, "I am part of the reason why you're here in the first place after all, so it's the least a gentleman like me can do."
"Yea," Ed muttered, "But anyway, what's the plan gonna be? I'm pretty sure I'm unable to use my alchemy in this world."
"Are you sure you can't use it here? Obviously my magic works here. Why don't you give it a go and see if it does?"
Well, it can't hurt to try it out to make sure. Oh God I hope this works.
"Alright then. Here goes nothing," Ed said as he clapped his hands together and planted them on the floor.
Nothing.
"So, I'm guessing something was supposed to happen?" Arthur asked.
"No, I just felt like getting my hands comfy on your carpet!" Ed yelled sarcastically while getting himself out of his crouching position, "Of course something was supposed to happen you dolt!"
"Oy, ya don't have to get in such a cocky attitude with me then!" Arthur shouted back. Then he recollected himself and started speaking again, "Alright, how about we just calm down and think this over like gentlemen. There has to be a logical explanation for this."
"Said the guy who believes in magic," Ed snorted, "Let me give you a logical explanation. I ended up here on the other side of the Gate that divides from where it's possible to use alchemy from where you can't. And right now, I'm on the can't side. So now, we have to find some other method to open up the Gate and get me back to the other side."
"Hmph, seems simple enough," said Arthur, "I think my magic will do us just the trick."
"Ya really think it's that simple? That you can just wave a magic wand and poof me back to my world? It just doesn't work that way! We have to do proper research on this! Put some damn effort into it!".
"Shut your mouth for a second, will you!" Arthur yelled, "Listen. I've got a whole library of magic spell books at my disposal, and we can do some research here to find a proper method of getting you back where you belong."
"Okay then," Edward said with a slight feeling of relief, "At least we can start off somewhere. Since alchemy is impossible here I guess magic is the next best thing."
"Now that's the spirit," Arthur answered, "Now we can start hitting the books. But it's getting a little late and I have a meeting to attend tomorrow so I'd say we could do some research for about an hour before getting some shuteye. Is that alright with you?".
"Pshh, only an hour? You're the one going to the meeting, not me; I'll be perfectly fine pulling off an all nighter."
"Well, I wouldn't mind you gandering through my books as long as you want to," Arthur said as he placed a finger on his chin, "But in my opinion you've had an exhausting day and could use some decent rest as all. I mean you're all beat up with bloody scratches on your face and half of your shirt is practically ripped off. Your eyes look a bit dreary as well. It looks like you should call it a day."
"Ugh, I guess you're right," Ed said while craning his neck a bit to get a look at himself in a mirror hanging on the wall, "And I do feel a bit tired. You mind if I clean myself up in your bathroom?".
"Not at all," Arthur replied, "Do you need any help bandaging yourself?"
"Uhm, yeah," Ed answered, a bit embarrassed, "Now that you mention it my wounds are starting to sting a bit."
"I would assume. I mean, you literally have a literally bloody hole that passes through your arm, and your face is a mess. You're a tough kid if all that isn't hurting you. Anyway, luckily for you I'm somewhat experienced in dealing with battle wounds, so I should be able to decently fix you up."
"Ah, thanks, but before you do that, I have to do some, y'know, business in there first for a moment. Which room's the bathroom?"
"It's the second door to the right of the hall. Take your time."
"Alright, thanks," Ed said as he started trudging to the bathroom, thinking to himself for a moment.
Something just feels off about that Arthur guy. He seems to be very hospitable but a bit irritable too. And that time earlier, when he almost referred to himself as his own country. That was probably a just a slip of the tongue or something. But I feel that he's hiding something from me. The way he answered that question about his positoin in his country's government, too. He stammered as if he was coming up with it on the spot. Maybe he was just nervous? Nah. There has to be something he's leaving out, but what? What could this guy have to hide?
A/N: And yet again, I keep ending these chapters with a last thought from a character. I need to think of better writing tactics! Any ideas? Maybe I should request a beta or something. I'm still kind of new at this, so how exactly do I do that, and what exactly does a beta do, besides fix grammatical errors? Please, I need to know so I can improve my story.
And before I forget, I would like to give special thanks to Rashelle, Addicted to Yogert, XxAxelRoxasXionxX, and coolj0401! Honestly, thanks for reviewing on my previous chapter, guys! You're all awesomer then Prussia for it!
Disclaimer: No ownage whatsoever!
And lookie! I have Russia here!
Russia: *waves while holding a pipe behind his back*
I don't want to be responsible for any accidents involving sweet little *glances upwards* I mean big and intimidating Ivan here, a non-reviewer's ceiling, and a bloody pipe, now do I?
So, review everybody! Anons and lazy log-in people are welcome too, y'know! See ya next time! ^-^