Phew! I had to type this up so quickly, hehe. I'm glad it's not as long as a lot of the chapters I've been writing lately, or my hands would have been killing me by now, hehe. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: Darn, I had a good disclaimer I wanted to use, but now that I'm here at the computer, I don't remember it. Well, until I find my lost disclaimer, just remember who and what I don't own.
"That Edward!" exclaimed Sylvia to herself as she formed a fist with her right hand and punched the air for emphasis. "Why didn't he TELL me that he was Edward Elric, the famous Fullmetal Alchemist? How was I supposed to know that shrimp like that could be so powerful?" She grunted as the wooziness from before started creeping back into her stomach, and she wrapped her arms around her abdomen. "Now we're both in trouble."
The girl finally arrived back at the inn, having forgotten all about the produce she had planned on buying earlier that day. There were more important things to worry about right then, and Edward about going to get the brunt of one of her lectures just as soon as she caught up with him.
Reaching his room, she pulled out her key and let herself in without even bothering to knock first. For all she knew, he might use the chain lock to keep her out if he had any idea how upset she was. She stepped into the room and let the door slam behind her. "Edward?" she called, "Edward! Where are you?" Seeing no sign of the boy in the main room, she turned and went over to the bathroom, as she figured that he might have been hiding in there. No such luck. "Edward!" she shouted to no one in particular, "You promised to stay put, now quit clowning around and come out!"
At this point, she heard a moan come from the other side of the room. When she turned to face the source of the noise, she was shocked to find someone else sleeping in the other bed. A hand went over her mouth. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry; I didn't know you were in here. I'm sorry that I was so inconsiderate."
"It's…okay…" said the other sleepily as though trying to figure out what she had just said. Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open and stared at Sylvia as though something had just occurred to him. "Wait, this isn't YOUR room, is it? I don't mind sharing a room with someone, but you're a girl and…"
Sylvia smiled and couldn't help but laugh a bit at the boy's obvious naïve cuteness. While it was somewhat tempting to be sadistic and tease him, which she would have done with Edward, she decided in favor of just being nice to the poor boy, especially with that confused look that was still plastered on his face. "No,' Sylvia shook her head, "This is my friend's room. He just gave me an extra key is all."
The boy breathed an audible sigh of relief. Sylvia placed her hands behind her back and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She really wasn't sure what to say to this new boy, even though he looked innocent enough. He dad had taught her not to put her trust in anyone too quickly, so she was busying her mind trying to decide how much explaining this boy needed about her being in his room and whatnot.
As it turned out, Fate had decided to make the decision for her because the boy suddenly uttered a yelp of pain and reached up behind his ears. Sylvia's eyes widened at the sight of where he was reaching. Oh gosh, no, it couldn't be! Without so much as a word of warning, she marched right over to where the boy was, intent on having a look underneath his hair.
The boy noticed her approaching and tried in vain to convince her that he was fine. Sylvia didn't listen to a word he said, particularly since his grimacing meant that he was lying, and she grabbed a chunk of his hair. He briefly panicked and tried to wriggle out of her grip, but he was no match for Sylvia. She could handle Edward, so this kid was a piece of cake.
The boy whimpered a bit as Sylvia continued holding onto his hair. That meant that either he was a total wimp or he seriously had something that he didn't want her to see. There was only one way of finding out which one it was. So, with a quick breath, she lifted up the shock of hair she held in her hand and stopped dead when she saw what lay behind the boy's ears.
"You're another one of them, aren't you?" Sylvia said, "Another merman, right?" There was no response, except for the fact that the boy was visibly shivering. The poor thing must have been terrified to have had his secret discovered. Sylvia's heart suddenly went out to the boy, and she offered a light smile. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Come into the bathroom. Your gills are bleeding and they need cleaning."
The boy looked up into her face timidly, and Sylvia smile and took a few steps toward the bathroom. Turning around, she gestured for him to follow as if he were a cat. "Come on." The boy hesitated a moment longer, but finally stood up and slowly approached her. Sylvia smiled and gently took his hand, leading him into the bathroom.
After a few minutes, Sylvia had managed to clean off this new boy's gills and was now applying rubbing alcohol to them to help them to heal, since it was obvious that they had been cut open rather than opening on their own, like Edward's had. Cleaning this boy's gills had to have hurt a lot worse than Ed's did, but this boy had pitched a lot less fuss. Seriously, she thought Edward could be stronger about thing than he made himself out to be, but it probably had to be his idea, not hers.
"So," said Sylvia, trying to break the awkward silence they were sharing right then, "Would you mind telling me your name?" Seeing the hesitant look on the boy's face, she quickly added, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you, but it would help if I knew what to call you."
The boy was silent for a moment longer, and Sylvia almost wondered if he was even going to answer her, when he finally said, "…William…Anderson…I think, yeah."
Sylvia smile at the boy's obvious naïveté. At least he didn't just trust anyone, that was a good sign, but he needed to work on his lying skills. "That's not your real name though, is it?" The boy's eyes shot up to meet hers, causing Sylvia to let out a slight chuckle. It was a good thing that she'd found this kid before the military did. He didn't seem very good at hiding the truth.
"Anyway," said Sylvia after the moment of amusement passed, "My name's Sylvia. It's nice to meet you…William?"
The boy didn't even respond to her inquiry, but rather let his eyes go blank. Edward had a habit of doing that same trancing-out habit at times. It was kind of cute in a way. She waved her hand in front of the boy's face, and he suddenly snapped back into the present.
"Is…is um," the boy began to say, but lost his train of thought mid-sentence. He took to twirling his hair around his finger to help jog his memory. "Um…is your dad a…a fisherman, by any chance?"
A light went off inside Sylvia's head. Could this boy have just run into her dad? Actually, with him being a merman, that was quite possible, knowing her dad. 'Y-Yeah," she began, not completely composed in her speech, "He's a fisherman, hunter, you name it, he does it. I haven't seen him for years. Why, have you seen my dad?"
The boy slowly nodded, and Sylvia noticed that a light was started to enter his eyes as well, as though he was starting to feel more comfortable around her. "I…think so…he said to tell you that he loves you and that he'd return home as soon as me and my brother were safe." At this, Sylvia grew a wide smile on her face and threw her arms around the boy, thanking him profusely for delivering the message. It had really been a long time since she'd heard from him.
"I guess we just need to get you and your brother to safety then," said Sylvia, still in complete ecstasy, "So where is he, anyway?"
At this, the boy shrugged, but without waiting for a response from her, reached under his shirt where the necklace was still hanging. He held it up in his hand where Sylvia was able to see it, and her jaw dropped. She recognized that necklace as the one which her dad had been so proud of. Why would he have given it up? The boy didn't pay any attention to her reaction and just started humming into the shell, causing it to vibrate.
After a few short seconds, the boy put the necklace back underneath his shirt and turned to the shocked girl. "Brother's somewhere very close…too close to get a good reading on him. I think he might be in this building somewhere."
"Well, then let's go look for him, why don't we?"
The two people stood up and Sylvia helped him to get presentable so as not to attract attention, especially with his having gills, so she made sure his hair covered them.
Soon they set out of his room, but they had decided to stop at her room first to pick up a few things. Since that incident in the market square earlier that day, she figured that it'd be smart to actually be prepared this time. When they reached her door, she stopped and stared, rather than just entering her room. Upon inquiry as to what was the matter, she answered, "My door's been carded open…You know, like if you don't have a key, so you just slip a card in to unlock the door?"
The boy nodded his understanding of that. "So, who do you think carded your door?"
"My friend…your roommate, who else? I have a key to his room, but he doesn't have a key to mine. As to WHY he'd want to come into my room though, I don't know." Without further explanation or concern, she turned the door knob and entered the room, prepared to give that lecture of hers as soon as she ran into the object of her frustration.
What she saw, however, changed her mind. Edward was sitting on the bed, hair messier than normal, and shivering from fright. "S-Sylvia…I'm sorry for breaking in but…" His voice trailed off, so Sylvia picked up for him.
"But someone's in your room?" Edward nodded in acknowledgement of her perception of the situation. That explained why he was acting so out of character. Big, strong Edward apparently had a fearful side too, though it didn't appear that he often let that side show.
"It's okay, Edward," Sylvia said as she reached out and touched the side of his face. He didn't pull away from her, "I actually talked to the boy in your room. He's really nice…and…this is kind of unbelievable, but…he's one too."
Edward gave her the honor of at least a what-the-heck look, which caused Sylvia to smile and turn around. She motioned with her free hand, and the other boy stepped into the room…and stopped. His and Ed's eyes met in dead, shocked silence for a matter of moments…no one knew how long it was, since time itself had appeared to stop right then.
Finally, the other boy broke the silence and said, "Brother?"
"Al!" Ed finally gasped out, and then was instantly overcome by what looked at first to be a seizure, though Sylvia knew better. She sprung to Ed and grabbed him before he could hit the floor, and then held him as still as she possibly could for those few moments. The boy, now identified as Al, just stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the scene, completely unsure of what to do.
Finally, Ed tilted his head back and gritted his teeth to keep from screaming. Sylvia held him tighter and waited. She was right; he could be tough when he wanted to be. At last, the inevitable sound of fabric ripping reached her ears. It was a pity that her dad's good clothes had to be ruined, but it couldn't be helped.
When the commotion died down, Al plucked up his courage and said, 'What's happening? What's the matter with Brother?" Sylvia turned to face him and regarded him with a serious look and then turned back to face Ed. Ed nodded, so she slowly stood up and backed away, leaving Al to stare at the sight be fore him.
What met his eyes made him shiver. The pants that his brother had been wearing were all torn to shreds, and where his legs should have been, there was only a mass of grayish-green scales.
Hope you enjoyed that. Please leave me some reviews, and perhaps some suggestions and questions. The action should start really picking up in the next chapter if we're lucky. I could definitely use some of your thoughts on which way to go from there. Thanks, and hope to hear from you soon!