Chapter Four "No-Ticket-Trip"
Ed gave Wrath a look as if he was offering to allow him to come along with him but Wrath was completely unresponsive to him. After all that went on before, Ed didn't feel strongly either way so he just continued.
Wrath stayed there in silence, letting his hair cover his face like he had done so many years ago, back when he didn't know what he was. "He won't become human, not when he's in denial about being a monster like I am."
Ed was still carrying the weight of what happened on his shoulders, as if he didn't already have enough. He was driven though, the thought of bringing Al back gave him hope but the other part of him was far too based in fact. He was a scientist after all, the way of believing in fairytales like the philosopher's stone should have been unlike him, but desperate recklessness was also both a bad and great character trait of his.
"Well people around here sure are chipper today," Ed was enjoying himself, keeping his mind preoccupied while he watched the people in the little town move about their lives.
The more he walked, the more uncomfortable he began feeling. This was peculiar; it was like all their eyes were still on him as he debated his next course of action.
"I guess I'm getting as much attention as the Ishvalans these days," Ed scoffed, amused.
The bright touch of the sun made his nose twitch a little and the wind was blowing his unbraided hair in his face. He was content though, this was not the first time people took notice of him after all with the walking suit of armor by his side and what Ed would call his: "Incoming-growth-spurt"
"Hey, who left the tiny kid unattended?" Some random bystander accidentally said Ed's taboo insult in the rather untimely faction.
Ed's hair-antenna stuck up from the back of his head and pointed as Ed barred his teeth in protest. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE NEEDS PHONEBOOKS TO SEE ACROSS A COFFEE TABLE?"
With that, the old man walked off and the ones staring started to pretend to be busy. Ed found some self satisfaction when he saw he had set things right. "I sure told him off, didn't I Al?"
Without realizing it, Ed had looked upwards and attempted to pound on the thick shell of his younger brother… he'd forgotten almost instantly that Al was not there anymore. Needless to say it was really a bring-down to understate things.
"Yeah, that's right. You went ahead and left me behind didn't you Al? And after all that lecturing from you to think ahead, I guess I wasn't the best influence on you was I?" Ed said this with a smile on his face, almost like he was somehow talking to Al, he could hear the sadness of the irony in his voice.
The loud sound of a train whistle blew out through the air, grabbing Ed's attention. "I wonder where it's headed."
Ed smirked, knowing exactly where those tracks would lead from first glance. This was at least a start for him, something to go on. Without any hesitation he ran towards the train.
The town was awfully close to it, things were working out better than Ed expected they would. There even seemed to be an empty railway car towards the back to sneak on.
"Too bad I lost the watch in this deal; I'm certainly not getting first class." Ed laughed, waiting till the train officer turned his head.
Five, four, three, two, one! The eager Alchemist rushed in to the train, landing squarely in a haystack in the open car. Lucky for him, the train officer had already checked for stowaways before.
Ed hid under the hay until the train started, his little antenna sticking out from the top of the stack. When it started moving, he debated throwing up from the intense rocking. He stopped when he saw the hillside he remembered miles and miles in the distance.
"I guess the next stop's Resembool. I don't really know what'll happen there though." Ed felt a sweat drop run down his face as he forced a worried smile. "Winry's going to kill me; I went and lost her Automail."
Images of a blond daemon with a wrench as big as his head started to flash into his mind, or what other hundred ways she was going to find how to creatively knock his brains out.
More seriously though, he was worried about what she was going to think about him. Thinking of that made him start to brush the hay out of his blond hair. He was a sight, both with the splatters of Gluttony's blood on his clothes that were rather breezy around the chest anyway, and with his eyes. Looking into his reflection on an old tin can he really took notice of how different his eyes were, like they had lost their pigment in some way.
"Winry…" He felt choked up inside thinking of her reacting the way that Rose had.
He bit off more then he could chew really, he knew what Envy was capable of. He let the impression of his brotherly bond with Al and the conflictions of discovering another blood-attachment make him hesitate. Envy had acted no different from what he should have expected. Ed was not looking back anymore though, all his life had been about pushing forward and if it meant all the pain in the world he would endure it to see Al's face again.
He looked at his arm, the one he had wanted so badly but it didn't even seem real anymore. "I hope Winry will accept the fact that… I've changed like this..."
End chapter
