Chapter Seventeen:
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back. There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold." – Frodo Baggins, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Chapter Seventeen:
Explosive Reactions
"I hate this!" Annora grumbled darkly as she threaded her way through the darkening streets of Rush Valley. "Every single time I think that something just might go right for a change, it blows up in my face!"
The sixteen-year old heaved an aggravated sigh as she shook her head and ran a hand through her bangs, not really caring about where she was going. Without even noticing, Annora ended up walking down an alleyway, completely wrapped up in her thoughts.
"Well well well… isn't this familiar?" a mocking voice asked from behind the teen. Annora froze in her tracks as she slowly turned around to face the speaker, and frowned when she saw that it was Envy.
"Oh great, you," she said coldly as she stared at the homunculus. "Just what I need. More bullshit to deal with."
"You're being more rude than usual today, brat," Envy remarked as he arched a dark eyebrow, to which Annora just rolled her eyes and turned around, obviously intending on leaving the area.
"Actually, I'm just not in the mood to deal with you. Go away."
Envy stared at the girl's retreating back for several seconds in shock before he scowled and jumped up into the air, landing right in front of Annora.
"Are you ignoring me, wench?" he demanded, lavender eyes narrowed. The sixteen-year old looked at him like he had taken leave of his senses as she frowned, a dangerous glint entering her eyes.
"If you don't want me to kick your ass, get out of my way," she growled, her chocolate eyes flashing murderously. Envy blinked in surprise at the teen's comment before he smirked annoyingly, flashing slightly pointed white teeth as he leaned forward, placing his hands on his hips as he sneered in Annora's face.
"What's wrong, did you and the pipsqueak have a little falling out or-"
WHAM!!
The homunculus saw stars as Annora's clenched fist smashed mercilessly into his face, momentarily stunning him as the blow sent him reeling backwards a bit. The sixteen-year old glared venomously at Envy before she punched him in the face again, this time, even harder than before.
"This is all YOUR fault!!" she shrieked angrily, much to Envy's surprise.
"…what?"
"You… if it hadn't been for you… I would never be in this mess!!" Annora raged, her face twisted into a mask of fury as she lunged forward and prodded the androgynous homunculus hard in the chest. "If you hadn't gone after me on that day, you filthy narcissistic jackass, I would never have met that bastard!!"
Envy stood stock-still as he stared incredulously at the teen, his amethyst eyes wide. It was taking everything that he had not to just gape at the younger girl, who paid absolutely no attention to his incredulous expression as she ranted at him.
"Because of you, I got stuck with a brat with an extreme Napoleon complex, all because you tried to kill me!! If it hadn't been for you, maybe I'd still be at home, living a normal life! If you hadn't shown up, maybe I wouldn't have ended up under the watchful eye of a pyromaniac and one of his toadies!!"
Annora stopped yelling as she took a deep, shaking breath, her eyes narrowed in obvious hatred as she glared at the homunculus in front of her. Envy arched an eyebrow as he looked at the furious teenager in front of him, easily sensing the killing intent that was practically rolling off of her in waves.
"Geez… what's gotten into you?" he asked caustically, crossing his half-gloved hands over his skinny chest. "Did you have a bad day or something?"
"A bad day…?" the sixteen-year old gritted out, her expression murderous as her nails dug painfully into her palms. "You think that I had… a bad day? TRY THAT I'VE HAD THE WORST FUCKING WEEK OF MY LIFE!!"
Envy immediately took a step back as the raging force of nature that was Annora Thomas exploded with a fury that he had never seen before at all in his very long life.
"FIRST OF ALL, I WOKE UP FROM A COMA THAT YOU PUT ME IN, FOUND OUT THAT MY OLDER BROTHER WAS KILLED IN A WAR THAT MY GOVERNMENT STARTED JUST BECAUSE THE SHIT-FOR-BRAINED IDIOT THAT IS OUR PRESIDENT WANTED MORE OIL, AND SOMEONE WHO I THOUGHT WAS A FRIEND THINKS OF ME AS NOTHING MORE THAN A GOD-DAMMED BURDEN THAT HE HAS TO BEAR!! NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT I'M STUCK IN A GOD-FORSAKIEN PALCE THAT SHOULDN'T ACTUALLY EXIST, AND I'LL PROBABLY NEVER BE ABLE TO SEE MY FRIENDS OR FAMILY EVER AGAIN ALL BECAUSE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY FOR ME TO GET HOME!! I FUCKING HATE THIS PLACE!!"
Annora stopped as she took in several deep breaths, and Envy stared at her with a deadpan expression on his face before he reached up and wiggled a finger in his ear to make sure that he hadn't gone deaf.
"Sheesh, you done yet?" he asked finally, his lavender eyes narrowed slightly. "I've never heard a brat like you shout like that. You definitely could've given Wrath a run for his money as far as anger goes."
"Wrath?" the teenager queried as she arched an eyebrow. "You mean that there's more than one of you?"
Envy groaned and slapped his face with his hand before he fixed the girl with an annoyed look. "Stupid girl, are you trying to make me kill you?"
"Oh go get stuffed," Annora snapped as her brow furrowed in concentration, the look in her eyes distant as she slowly ticked off names on her fingers. "Envy, Wrath, Greed… and then those two that showed up in Dublith, Lust and Gluttony… you're all named after the seven deadly sins!"
"Stunning detective work, brat. Now will you please stop ignoring me?!" the homunculus growled, obviously agitated at the fact that he was being treated like the proverbial chopped liver. The sixteen-year old ignored him as she frowned thoughtfully, understanding slowly dawning upon her as several pieces fell into place.
"The only ones missing are Pride and Sloth, but that just means that I haven't met them yet… and things really went insane right after Ed and Al went to go see that old lady… Dante… at her house…"
Envy froze as he spun around to stare at the girl, an indescribable look on his face as Annora continued to speak, her chocolate eyes wide in shock.
"No way… what if… what if it's all connected? She knew alchemy, and was pretty damn good at it if what Mrs. Curtis had to say was any indication… and the fact that four out of the seven homunculi showed up all within the same day," she muttered thoughtfully. "There's just too much going on for it to be a coincidence…"
"I'd shut up if I were you, wench," Envy growled dangerously, his violet eyes narrowed. "You're coming to conclusions that aren't healthy for you."
Annora ignored the thinly veiled threat as she looked over at the homunculus with wide eyes, incredulity apparent on her face.
"Dante's Inferno," she said hoarsely before she burst out laughing. "Oh geez, this is just rich!! I always knew that stupid book would haunt me, but man, I sure didn't see this one coming!!"
Envy promptly face-vaulted at the remark, caught completely off-guard at the younger girl's conclusion.
"Huh?" Envy managed to reply as he arched an eyebrow, not having a clue about what the teen was talking about. At first it had sounded like the girl was close to figuring out who was behind all of the homunculi, and now she was babbling something about a book.
"Are you high on something, or just insane girl?" he finally asked, and Annora rolled her eyes in response.
"No, I'm talking about a book that I read in my English class at school," she retorted. "It's called The Divine Comedy and it's written by a man named Dante. There were three parts to it, one of which being The Inferno, which talks about Hell, as in the fiery pit of doom that bad people are supposed to go to when they die. Anyways, it mentioned physical representations of the seven deadly sins in the book, and I just find it incredibly ironic that there are so many parallels to that stupid story right here. I swear that the fates love screwing with me."
Envy stared at the teen for several seconds before he finally was able to say anything remotely intelligent. "You're definitely high on something. I don't think that I've ever heard such mindless bullshit come out of anyone's mouth like that, and I'm four hundred years old."
"If you don't want to listen to me, then leave!!" Annora snapped as she glared at the artificial human. "It's not like I actually care about what you do, just as long as you leave me the hell alone!"
"Even if it involves your pipsqueak friend?" the homunculus asked meaningfully as he leaned up against the brick wall behind him. Annora gave him a supremely dirty look from over her shoulder as she started off away from the Sin, adjusting one of her backpack straps into a more comfortable position on her shoulder.
"Shut up, I don't want to hear any crap from you," the sixteen-year old growled warningly. "And unless you really want to serve as conveniently available, indestructible punching bag, it would probably be a smart idea to get the hell out of my way."
Envy smirked as he fixed the girl with a chilling look before he straightened up and a wave of blue alchemic sparks washed up his body from his feet, transforming the homunculus into a perfect copy of Edward, right down to the stray strand of golden hair from his bangs that stuck up into the air. The sixteen-year old bit down on her lip as she regarded the creature in front of her apprehensively, not liking at all where this was going. In response, Envy gave her a very un-Edward-like smile.
"Aw man Annora, you're hurting my feelings," the fake alchemist whined as he gave the teen a mocking whipped-puppy look. "I mean, I thought that-"
Before Annora could even blink, Envy vanished from the spot where he had been standing, and suddenly a cold automail blade was pressed up against the sixteen-year old's throat from the person standing behind her.
"-we were friends," the fake 'Ed' said as he gently reached up and stroked his flesh hand along the girl's left cheek, sending chills running down her spine.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Annora muttered sourly as she slowly dug her right hand into the pocket of her jacket, searching for anything that she might possibly be able to use to distract her captor. "Just goes to show how good I am at getting to know people."
"I don't think so," the homunculus scolded suddenly as he noticed what the girl was trying to do and promptly pressed the sharp steel edge of his automail up against Annora's neck, scorn practically dripping from his words and oozing into a puddle onto the ground. "I'm not nearly as stupid as you think I am. Only an amateur wouldn't have noticed that little stunt."
"I hope you rot in hell," she growled under her breath.
"Pull your hand out of your pocket, brat. And do it slowly."
Annora muttered a soft curse, but did as she was told when Envy gently nicked her neck and drew a few drops of blood.
"Get screwed."
Envy arched a golden eyebrow in surprise at the teenager's nonplussed attitude as he leaned his head over Annora's shoulder to get a better look at her face.
"What's this? No crying, no begging for your life, no screeched threats of defiance, and no insistences that the Fullmetal Pipsqueak will come and save you?" he asked curiously in Ed's voice before a frown crossed his face. "Well you're no fun."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but if I'm going to get killed by some nutjob, I'm at least going to go out with some dignity," she retorted sarcastically as she rolled her eyes upwards. "Besides, I'm not one to rely on someone else to save me. I'm no damsel in distress."
"And why's that?"
"Because I prefer to do the saving of my own ass, thank you very much!!" Annora snarled as she hooked her leg around the homunculi's ankle and swiped it out from underneath him before she dug her elbow painfully into the middle of the fake Ed's chest, knocking him away from her as she ducked under the automail blade. Immediately, the sixteen-year old scrambled backwards as she tried to put some distance in between her and the mentally unstable homunculus, only for Envy to bridge the gap between them with one well-executed jump.
"Now that wasn't too bright," he stated mockingly, his currently golden eyes glinting with untold malevolence as he stared down the girl. Annora scowled as she adopted a defensive position, one of the stances Al had taught her when he was teaching her alchemy.
"Bite me," she growled. "Like hell I'm just going to stand around and let you hurt me."
"Well it's hardly like you have a choice in the matter," Envy commented with a smirk. "Now tell me, what's it feel like to be facing off against your little boyfriend and knowing that you're going to die?"
"I'll tell you this much right now; you couldn't have picked a better face for me to punch," the sixteen-year old retorted with a glare as she brought up a clenched fist and cracked her knuckles meaningfully. "And Ed's not my boyfriend!! He's just an insensitive bastard whose ass I want to kick!!"
Envy stared at the teenager for several long moments in disbelief, before he shed Edward's shape and resumed his usual androgynous from. He arched a greenish eyebrow questioningly as he leaned up against a brick wall, his right leg propped up against the rough surface as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well this is scary," the homunculus remarked sourly as he fixed Annora with a scrutinizing look. "You're starting to sound like me."
The teenager froze and blinked in surprise before the implications of what the homunculus had said became clear to her.
"Ewwww…" Annora groaned as she pulled a face, a shudder running down her body. "I could have lived a really long time without hearing that particular tidbit of information."
Envy ignored the teenager's obvious disgust as he looked thoughtful, and gave an unholy smirk as he looked Annora right in the eye.
"You mentioned that you had an older brother, didn't you?" he asked slyly, and Annora gave him an odd look as she nodded once in agreement.
"Yeah, I did."
"Oh, this is gonna be good! Tell me how it feels to be killed by someone with the face of one of the ones you love!" the homunculus cackled gleefully as he transformed once again, and Annora found herself looking at an older male version of her. The man had the same honey-brown hair as her, although it didn't extend past the nape of his neck, the same brown eyes, and the same style of bangs hanging in his face. The sixteen-year old sweatdropped as she stared at the taller man, who was wearing the Amestris military uniform, before she let out a groan and slapped her face with her right hand.
"And you call me an idiot," she grumbled, ignoring Envy's shout of protest. "That just looks like a guy version of me, not my brother. I swear, all men are idiots. Besides, my older brother is dead, so there's no feasible way for him to suddenly pop up out of nowhere and try to kill me."
Envy frowned as he crossed his lightly muscled arms over his chest, kicking absentmindedly at the dirt with one of his polished black boots. "You're no fun at all, do you realize that?"
"What did you expect me to do; run towards you with tears in my eyes and leap into your arms crying 'Brother, brother!'?" Annora demanded scathingly as she planted her hands on her hips and scowled. "Please, I'm not that stupid."
"So cynical for one so young."
"So senile for one so old."
Envy scowled at the insult as Annora turned around once again to walk away. The homunculus waited a few moments as the teenager started to walk away from him before he shed the human form he had adopted and called out something that made her freeze in her tracks.
"What if you could bring him back?"
The sixteen-year old stood there motionless for several seconds, her only movement being the violent tremors that shook her entire frame. Slowly she turned around and stared at Envy with wide chocolate eyes, a pained expression on her face as all of the blood drained out, leaving her pale and shaking.
"…What?" she asked incredulously, her words fumbling dumbly in her mouth. "What do… what do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," Envy said nonchalantly as he flashed the girl a reassuring smile, which was completely unlike him. "It's actually not that hard, and all you would need for the transmutation to be a success would be a couple of convicts…"
"You mean… that I'd have to kill people…" Annora stammered, her eyes wide. The homunculus frowned as he shook his head, sending strands of long greenish hair whipping about all over the place.
"Not necessarily. The people used would be taken from Death Row, where they're already gonna die anyway," he explained. "Hell, I'll even show you how to get the process started."
"No… there's a catch… there is always a catch…" she whispered hoarsely as she took a precautionary step backwards in an attempt to distance herself from Envy. "Besides, you've flat out gone out of your way to try and kill me before, so why the sudden change of heart?!"
The homunculus gave a dismissive shrug as he looked at the shaking teenager with cat-like amethyst eyes.
"I guess it's the fact that I feel sorry for you," he remarked nonchalantly. "Losing your only family member must be really hard, especially when it's to war. So, what do you say? This is a one-time offer, so you'd better make up your mind fast."
Annora looked down at the dirt street below her, her long bangs shielding her face from view as her shoulders shook violently, and several droplets of water landed on the toes of her shoes. Envy arched an eyebrow as he scrutinized the girl in front of him, noting that she was crying, and when he heard something whispered underneath her breath that he was unable to discern his eyebrow arched even higher.
"Well, I'm waiting," he commented as he tapped his left wrist meaningfully, pretending that he was wearing a watch. "What's it gonna be, kid?"
"Liar," the sixteen-year old hissed as she whipped her head up to glare at him, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. "You just want me to become another one of your pawns, not help me."
"How do you know-?"
"Because moron, there's no cost-free way to bring someone back from the dead! Not to mention the fact that the dead should stay dead, not be brought back to life every time that someone misses them!!"
"You'll never know until you try."
"Bullshit! How do I know that even if I did manage to bring him back without any consequences that there wouldn't be something wrong, that he would be twisted, warped into something other than the older brother that I cared so much about?" Annora snapped angrily as she glowered at Envy with chocolate eyes that blazed with a mixture of anger, confusion, and pain. "What if he hated me for what I had done to bring him back? No, I won't do it. I'd rather deal with the pain of him being gone than to pervert his memory like that!"
Envy scowled as he viewed the teenager in front of him with obvious distaste, the malevolent look back in his eyes.
"You really are stupid, brat," he hissed angrily, and Annora responded with the universal gesture of utmost content, as well as an obscenity that would have made even a sailor cringe. The homunculus rolled his eyes as he fixed the sixteen-year old with a withering glare, baring his pointed teeth in disgust.
"Swearing at me won't do you a damn bit of good."
"No, but it at least makes me feel better," the girl retorted. "My mother didn't raise a fool, unlike yours. I don't make deals with the devil, which was what you were offering me. Ed and Al tried human transmutation before, and that didn't exactly work out, so how could I possibly succeed where they failed?"
Envy opened his mouth to respond, and Annora promptly cut him off. "Sorry, but I've had enough of listening to your idiocy. Now begone, go back to the filth-ridden pit that you escaped from."
Having said her piece, the sixteen-year old yanked on her gloves and clapped her hands together before slamming them down on the ground, resulting in a flurry of electric-blue sparks. Envy started to lunge forward, only to have his legs sink up to his mid-calves in the now softened earth. Just as the homunculus was about to shift into something small to get out of his bonds, metallic looking walls started rising up around him.
"Look familiar?" Annora taunted as she finished the transmutation and stood up, looking at the trashcan that now held a very irate Sin.
"Why you little- get me the hell out of this thing!!" Envy raged as he pounded on the lid violently, only to discover that the teenager had sealed in onto the main part of the trashcan. "I'll kill you for this!!"
"You and what army?"
The homunculus responded with a string of shrieked profanities, most of which were fortunately muffled by the metal walls surrounding him. Annora ignored the series of threats that were directed at her as she clapped her hands together once again and created a large stone hand, which picked up the swearing trashcan and deposited it an a large dumpster. Ironically, this particular dumpster happened to be full of steer manure, further increasing Envy's protests.
"See ya later, loser," Annora remarked flippantly as she sealed the dumpster shut and walked off, leaving behind a furious Sin who continued to shriek threats long after the teenager had left.
Not too long after that, a drunken vagrant strolled down the alley and was confronted with the swearing dumpster. He immediately ran to the closest bar and spilled out his story, only to be laughed at and told that he had too much to drink before he was thrown out. The man solemnly swore that he would never touch another drop of liquor for the rest of his life.
--
Two days later
--
"YAGGHHH!! This is so damn frustrating!!"
Al looked over at Ed accusingly as the alchemist screamed his frustration up into the air, while Fletcher stayed behind the older Elric and Russell rolled his eyes upwards. The Tringham brothers had joined in the search for Annora after Al had pummeled Ed for being an idiot, and then politely asked the two boys to help them look for their missing friend as he slung his unconscious older brother over his shoulder.
"Brother, you're the one who made Annora mad," he scolded sternly. "You shouldn't have said those things to her, and you know it!"
"But-!"
"Your brother's right, Elric. You really were a jerk to her, and I'm actually surprised that she was able to put up with you for this long. It's no wonder that she ran off."
"Shut up, you stupid phony!! What the hell do you know about girls anyway?!"
"That you shouldn't treat them like that," Russell shot back as he gave Ed a dirty look. "It's not my fault you were dropped on your head when you were born."
Ed glared at the taller boy for several seconds as his face progressively turned redder before he exploded into a rage, shrieking at Russell.
"STUFF YOUR CRAZY TALK AND GO BACK TO XENOTIME OR WHEREVER THE HELL YOU CAME FROM!!"
Al stared incredulously at his older brother as he tried to jump up and strangle the older Tringham before he groaned and covered his eyes, desperately wanting to pretend that he wasn't even related to the State Alchemist at the moment.
"Gee, Ed, that's really mature," he muttered as he shook his head before he looked back over his shoulder at Fletcher. "C'mon, let's go look elsewhere while they go at it, otherwise we'll never be able to find Annora."
"But… if we leave them alone…" Fletcher trailed off nervously as he looked over at Russell, who was by now red in the face as he shouted something highly inappropriate back at Edward. "They might wreck the whole town if someone doesn't stop them."
"Good point."
The possessed suit of armor gave an annoyed sigh as he turned back around and started towards his older brother while Fletcher did the same with his. Almost simultaneously, the two younger siblings attempted to calm their older brothers down.
"Brother… don't we have more important things that we need to do right now?"
"Al, get out of the way!"
"Russell… please calm down."
"Fletcher, move. I need to teach this pipsqueak a lesson."
Fletcher took a step back in shock at the sudden venom in his older brother's tone, and Al sighed as he cast a glance in between the two hotheaded boys. This was getting them nowhere, and fast. The younger Elric immediately decided that he needed to end this fight now before it got any worse.
Wordlessly, Al stooped down and scratched a transmutation circle onto the dusty street before he pressed his gauntleted hands down on it, causing Ed to suddenly sink down into the soil up to his neck, and Russell down to just below his shoulders. Both of the alchemists looked over at the usually tactful boy with identical expressions of disbelief, completely shocked speechless.
"Both of you need to stop fighting, now!" Al snapped, his red-rimmed eyes flashing angrily as he glared at Ed. "Ed, you need to find Annora and apologize to her about what you said, not fight with Russell!! She's been gone for almost three days, so who knows what could have happened to her since the last time we saw her!"
Ed opened his mouth to respond, only to have his younger brother give him a death glare.
"Brother, you either agree to stop fighting, or I'm leaving you here. In the ground."
"… Fine," Ed gritted out reluctantly, and Al released his brother from the dirt before he fixed Russell with a stern look.
"And you, stop antagonizing him."
"Fine."
Within seconds Russell was brushing dirt off of his clothes while Fletcher looked up at Al in amazement.
"Wow… that was a really interesting way to get them to calm down," he remarked. Al looked over at him and shrugged, his tone slightly embarrassed.
"I kind of… let my temper get the better of me," he admitted reluctantly as he rubbed the back of his helmet. "It was just so frustrating that they wouldn't listen to either of us, and we have more important things to do than watch them fight."
A loud growl interrupted the two younger siblings' conversation, and they turned around to see Ed standing there with a slightly embarrassed look on his face as he held one hand to his stomach before he glared at Al in response to the accusing look that he was given.
"What?" he demanded indignantly. "I can't help the fact that I'm hungry!"
"No, you're just a bottomless pit," Russell remarked snarkily before he gave Ed a knowing smirk. "Not that it helped you grow at all anyways. You probably haven't grown at all since you were twelve Ed."
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULD BE IN A SIDESHOW AT A CARNIVAL?!"
Al and Fletcher both simultaneously groaned as they watched the two older boys go at it once again. The younger Elric frowned internally and would have gritted his teeth if he had been able to.
"Fletcher, are you hungry?" he asked evenly, trying not to show his irritation at his brother's immaturity. The younger boy looked up at him with wide blue eyes before he nodded, and Al looked over his shoulder at a line of business behind him. One of which happened to be a tavern, and according to Ed was a good source of local information.
"How about we go there?" he suggested, and Fletcher gave him a curious look. "Brother always says that if you want to find something out about a town, look in places like that, because there's just everyday people in there. That… and the food's cheaper in there."
"Sure," the younger Tringham agreed before he looked over at Russell and pointed over at the tavern. "Brother, we're getting lunch in there!! If you want any, that's where I'll be!"
The fifteen-year old didn't acknowledge Fletcher's comment as he and Ed continued to shout insults at each other, thus attracting a large amount of stares from passers-by. Al groaned as he covered his face with his hand once again, and Fletcher softly muttered something under his breath about being embarrassed to be seen with Russell in public. Wordlessly, the two boys turned around and entered the establishment, sitting down at an empty booth close to the front door.
A few minutes later, a girl came up to their table holding two rather battered-looking menus and a small white notepad in her hands, a smile on her face. The moment she caught sight of Al however, she let out a sharp gasp and dropped the objects, all of them landing at her feet with a loud 'thud', and one of the battered menus gave up its fight for survival as it split right down the middle.
"Crap," the girl muttered as she dropped into a crouch and gathered up the items hurriedly, several strands of her long brownish hair falling into her face. Al frowned as he looked down curiously at the girl, who was probably a little older than him. He recognized her voice, but when she straightened up he couldn't believe who he was looking at.
"Annora?" the fifteen-year old asked incredulously, and Annora frowned slightly as she put the two menus on the table in front of him and Fletcher.
"Yeah?" she commented as she arched an eyebrow, and then scowled when Al pointed a shaking gloved finger at her clothing, which happened to be a knee-length pleated navy skirt and a white, long-sleeved button-up blouse. "Not one word, Al."
"But… you're wearing a skirt."
"Yes, I know. No, hell hasn't frozen over," the sixteen-year old remarked dryly as she rolled her eyes upwards. "I just have to wear this kind of stuff for this job."
"Wait… you're working here?"
"No, I'm just running around dressed like this and handing out menus to random people for the hell of it."
The alchemist fell silent as he stared wordlessly at Annora who gave a frustrated sigh and automatically reached up to run a hand through her bangs, only to find that they were still held back by her dark blue headband.
"Look Al, I kind of had to get a job, because A) Money doesn't grow on trees, and B) I needed to have some method of supporting myself," she explained. "There was no way in hell that I was going to go back to you guys just because I had no way to survive. No offense or anything, it's just that I wouldn't have been able to deal with Edward taunting me about it until the day I died."
"I didn't even know that you owned a skirt."
"I don't. The owner's daughter is getting married and was moving out the day I got hired, so she gave me some of her old clothes because they didn't fit her anymore."
Fletcher, who had been quiet throughout this whole exchange, looked over at Alphonse curiously, his blue eyes wide.
"Is this the friend that you guys were looking for?" he asked quietly, and Annora arched an eyebrow as she finally noticed him while Al nodded in agreement.
"Oh, hey there," she said with a smile. "Sorry about that, my manners are horrible. I'm Annora Thomas."
"Fletcher Tringham. It's really nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Al chuckled as he gently took the damaged menu from Annora's hands and drew a transmutation circle on the battered surface before he returned it to a newer, and undamaged state.
"Your manners are better than Brother's are," he remarked calmly, and the sixteen-year old girl gave a loud groan as she rolled her eyes upwards in exasperation.
"Oh God, what has he done now?" she asked as she handed the other menu to Fletcher. "Flipped off a little old lady, or pick yet another fight with someone bigger than him?"
"He picked a fight with Russell, the boy that you met that he called-"
"A phony, an obvious fake? Yeah, I remember him. It's kind of hard to forget someone who's blatantly flirting with you while claiming to be someone that you happen to know personally," Annora muttered dryly, not noticing Fletcher's sudden strangled squeak at hearing that particular piece of information. "Good grief, Edward has to be the only person on this entire planet who can have a conversation with someone consisting almost entirely of the phrases 'you bastard' and 'stupid phony'."
"That definitely sounds like Brother," Al remarked, and Annora pulled a face at this.
"Not to mention that he's tactless, insensitive, and rude," she stated as she counted off Ed's major character flaws on her fingers. "At least that other guy, Russell, had some manners."
Fletcher appeared somewhat nervous as he ran a hand through his short blond hair, and the sixteen-year old looked down at him.
"Hey, kiddo, are you okay?" she asked, and the younger boy nodded as he cast a glance back over towards the tavern door, his blue eyes worried.
"Yeah, I'm just wondering if my brother will be all right. He's the one that Ed's getting into a fight with right now."
Annora blinked in surprise while she made a small 'oh' sound as she glanced over at the door and frowned thoughtfully before she looked back over at Al.
"So that means that Ed will probably be coming in sometime soon then, huh?" she asked, a faint note of bitterness in her voice. Al cringed inwardly at the older girl's tone as he nodded, and the teenager gave a frustrated sigh as she absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair.
"Great, I'll have to deal with the bonehead then. Al, don't you dare tell him that I'm working here, otherwise I swear I'll throw you in a river or something."
"Annora, there aren't any rivers near Rush Valley."
"Crap. Look… just don't tell Ed that I'm here, okay? If he's going to apologize to me, I want him to do it by himself," the sixteen-year old pointed out sternly. "Anyways, I'll be back later for your order, and with some drinks. What do you want… Fletcher, was it?"
"Umm… water please, and maybe a glass of milk?" the younger boy suggested as he cast a sideways glance over at Al, who nodded encouragingly. Annora smiled as she jolted down the order and turned around before she headed off to the kitchen area, presumably to get the mentioned drinks.
The two boys exchanged bewildered looks as they just sat and stared at each other, with Fletcher trying to wrap his mind around the concept of the older girl going almost seamlessly from being irritated to nice and polite.
"Is… she always like that?" the blond asked as he hesitantly indicated in the direction that Annora had gone off in. Al was silent for a few moments before he responded, and when he did his tone was thoughtful.
"Sometimes," the possessed suit of armor finally admitted with a shrug. "She's just… been having a really hard time with some things lately. Her older brother got killed last week, and her parents aren't in the country right now, so she's all alone. Brother saying that she's nothing more than a burden that Colonel Mustang shoved off on him was probably her breaking point, especially since she thought he was her friend."
Fletcher winced as he looked over in the direction that Annora had gone, his blue eyes wide. "What was her brother's name?"
"Ethan, I think."
The younger Tringham turned around to look at Al before he made a small noise in the back of his throat. "That's weird."
"Why is that weird?"
"Well… your older brother's name begins with an 'E', and so does hers… and both of you are the youngest and your names both begin 'A'. Don't tell me that you don't think that isn't a little weird."
Al stared at Fletcher with wide red eyes for several seconds before he gave a slight chuckle and shook his head.
"You're right; that is weird," he admitted. "I never realized that before."
The younger boy opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by to door to the tavern being thrown open by a highly irritated Fullmetal Alchemist, who was followed inside by a very smug Russell. The older teen scowled darkly as he stalked over to where Al and Fletcher were sitting, his gloved right hand clenching and unclenching methodically as he ground his teeth together audibly.
"Don't even ask, Al," he grumbled, while Russell snickered under his breath. The already annoyed alchemist spun around with a low growl, more than ready to punch the taller boy's lights out, only for Russell to easily reach out and shove him back away from him.
It was at that very moment that the irony gods struck with incredible accuracy.
Ed careened backwards right into Annora, who was approaching the table holding a tray with a large plastic pitcher full of ice water and a small mug of milk in her hands. The teenage alchemist collided painfully with the taller girl and knocked her over, sending the pitcher of water flying up into the air in a high arc. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a few brief moments as the pitcher's contents flew out and spilled out onto Annora and the State Alchemist lying halfway in her lap, drenching them both.
Annora sputtered wordlessly as she stared down at Ed, several strands of dripping-wet brown hair hanging in her face as she glared daggers at the smaller boy.
"You… you," she stammered as her face went red with anger, brown eyes narrowed dangerously as murderous intent practically rolled off of her in waves. Ed promptly scrambled away from the stunned and incensed teenager, sensing the immediate danger to his person.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about-" the teenage alchemist froze as he realized who he was talking to, and his golden eyes widened even further. "Annora?"
"No shit Sherlock!!" the sixteen-year old growled as she sat up and glared at him. "Why don't you actually watch what you're doing for once, instead of flailing about like a bull in a china shop!!"
Ed opened his mouth to say something nasty, only to stop as his eyes unwillingly traveled downward and a furious blush blossomed across his face. Annora looked down to see what he was staring at, and promptly swore like a drill sergeant as she attempted to cover up her chest, where her sports bra was now clearly showing through her wet shirt. Russell was also gawking at the sight that he had just been treated to, although this went unnoticed by the majority of the group except for Fletcher.
"What the hell is going on here?!" a male voice boomed out ominously, and Ed looked up to see a dark-haired male server stride over to where the four teens were before he took in the situation immediately.
"Crap," the man, who looked like he was in his early twenties, muttered as he promptly yanked off his apron and threw it over the sopping-wet Annora. "Here, put this on and go back into the kitchens. I'll go and have Emma get you a dry shirt in a few minutes, after I've dealt with this."
"Thanks Matt," Annora said quietly as she wrapped the dark fabric around herself and retreated back into the kitchens while Matt turned around and glared daggers at Ed and Russell.
"So, you two thought it'd be funny to spill a little water on a girl so you could see a little bit of action, huh?" he growled dangerously, his green eyes flashing ominously beneath his brown bangs. "Well I've got news for you; that kind of crap does not fly with me!"
"Whoa there pops, we didn't do that on purpose!!" Ed shot back as he stood up, and unfortunately for him the older man got a very good look at his silver pocket watch chain.
"So you're a State Alchemist, huh?" Matt stated coolly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ed scowled as he looked defiantly up at the taller man, his golden eyes narrowed angrily.
"Yeah, I am!!"
Two seconds later, both Ed and Russell were sent flying unceremoniously out the front door and into the dirt street.
"Get out of here! We don't have food to spare on dogs of the military!" Matt shouted at the two boys before he looked accusingly over his shoulder at Alphonse and Fletcher. "Are you two with them?!"
"No sir."
"Good."
And with that parting statement, Matt promptly slammed the door shut in Ed and Russell's face. The younger teen looked over at Ed and gave him a supremely dirty look, his blue eyes narrowed accusingly as he attempted to squirm out from underneath the State Alchemist.
"Way to go, Elric."
"Shut it Russell."
--
Ethan stared ahead at the black-haired man in front of him, completely spaced out as the older man shoved an endless amount of photos into his face, all the while gushing about how cute his daughter was.
"-she's so smart!! Already Elysia knows how to tie her shoes, and can even go potty on the big toilet by herself without any help from Mommy!!"
'Please God, just kill me now. What in the hell did I ever possibly do to deserve this kind of torture?'
"And I'm not just proud of my daughter!! I'm proud of my wife too!! She's like an angel that descended down from heaven and graced me with her presence!"
'I think I must have killed a saint in a past life.'
"Hey, Eric, you're looking a bit green there!! How about I show you a special edition photo to help freshen you up! Lookie here; it's the wonderful swimsuit edition of Elysia last summer with Mommy's hat on!!"
'Scratch that; I killed the Pope.'
On the other side of the office, Mustang was watching the entire scene through his open door and trying not to snicker. The new recruit looked like he was seriously contemplating suicide, and it was all the older man could do not to laugh. Hughes was in one of his moods where only an act of God could possibly stop him, and it was best to just stay quiet and not do anything to attract attention to yourself if you didn't want to die by overexposure to Elysia and her 'cuteness'.
Mustang smirked as he reached over to pull a sheet of paper off of the top of his large pile of paperwork and do something useful with it – aka burn it – when in happened. His metal pen clattered to the floor with a sound that echoed ominously in the silent room.
Almost immediately Hughes abandoned torturing Ethan, allowing the Private to heave a sigh of relief, and descended upon Mustang in a whirlwind of photographs. For all of ten seconds the Colonel endured the countless snapshots of the four-year old girl, as well as Hughes's non-stop babbling, before he snapped.
"Hughes, if you stuff that picture in my face one more time, you will not be getting it back in one piece," the black-haired man growled, his dark eyes narrowed ominously. Hughes blinked before he frowned at the younger man, the look on his face indicating that he thought his friend had just uttered the worst of blasphemies.
"You wouldn't do that Roy. Besides, Elysia is just too cute for someone to burn her picture!" the Lt. Col. insisted in an affronted tone as he hugged one of the multiple photographs to his chest. Mustang merely arched a dark eyebrow challengingly, completely unaware of the fact that Ethan, Havoc, and everyone else out in the main office was watching the proceedings intently.
"Don't bet on it Maes."
"Well then, I guess the copy machine in the staff room will be getting a lot of use from now on!" Hughes said cheerfully, one of his usual smiles stuck firmly in place. The response was almost immediate.
"…" Mustang's jaw dropped as he stared incredulously at the older man, his dark eyes wide in horror at the very thought of Hughes being able to produce more pictures than usual.
"Hmm… maybe I should send memos out to people…" the Investigations officer mused thoughtfully as he brought his hand up to his chin. Mustang let out a loud groan and immediately started banging his head on his desk, silently cursing his lot in life. Ethan and everyone else out in the main portion of the office started sniggering at the Colonel's predicament, glad that their superior was also sharing the torture that they were forced to endure.
"Hughes, just go."
"Not yet, Roy! I still haven't shown you this adorable little picture of Elysia with a kitten that she found!!"
--
Omake - What really happened in the alleyway:
"What if you could bring him back?"
Annora stood there motionless for several seconds, her only movement being the violent tremors that shook her entire frame. Slowly she turned around and stared at Envy with wide chocolate eyes, a pained expression on her face as all of the blood drained out, leaving her pale and shaking.
"…What?" she asked incredulously, her words fumbling dumbly in her mouth. "What do… what do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," Envy said nonchalantly as he flashed the girl a reassuring smile, which was completely unlike him. "It's actually not that hard, and all you would need for the transmutation to be a success would be a couple of convicts…"
"You mean… that I'd have to kill people…" Annora stammered, her eyes wide. The homunculus frowned as he shook his head, sending strands of long greenish hair whipping about all over the place.
"Not necessarily. The people used would be taken from Death Row, where they're already gonna die anyway," he explained. "Hell, I'll even show you how to get the process started."
"No… there's a catch… there is always a catch…" she whispered hoarsely as she took a precautionary step backwards in an attempt to distance herself from Envy. "Besides, you've flat out gone out of your way to try and kill me before, so why the sudden change of heart?!"
The homunculus gave a dismissive shrug as he looked at the shaking teenager with cat-like amethyst eyes.
"I guess it might be because I love you," Envy stated smoothly as he stalked up to the stunned teenager. Wordlessly, the homunculus reached down and tilted Annora's tear-streaked face up towards his before he gently placed his lips onto hers. The sixteen-year old stiffened up for a moment in shock before she relaxed and responded, deepening the kiss…
"Okay, that's good. Wrap it up!" a voice rang out, and then added as an afterthought, "Geez, I think I'm gonna hurl."
Immediately, both Annora and Envy sprang away from each other like they had been scalded, the two of them retching and gagging.
"Gah, poison! My mouth is ruined!!" Annora moaned as she retched, wiping her mouth furiously on her jacket sleeve in an attempt to remove all traces of Envy. "I'm going to be sick now. Please make room."
"I'm not much better off," the homunculus remarked sourly as he cast a glance over at Wandering Hitokiri, who was directing the cleanup of the set. "Oi, woman, are you sure that this will work? I want those idiots to stop pairing me with this idiotic human, now!"
"Hopefully," the young woman commented offhandedly. "Patience is a virtue, you know."
"My name is Envy, woman. Why the hell would I have any virtues?" the Sin growled darkly, while Annora just rolled her eyes and headed off towards her set locker.
"Good point," Hitokiri admitted before she let out a jaw-cracking yawn. "Damn I'm tired. These nighttime scenes are killing me."
"Not if I get to you first."
Hitokiri just rolled her eyes upwards as she looked speculatively at the homunculus and arched an eyebrow. "You know, I can always bring out that cardboard box with your human remains in it and toss you into a horde of your screaming fangirls."
"… you wouldn't."
"Try me. You know damn good and well that I will, and not lose a single night's sleep over the matter either."
"I hate you."
"Join the club. Ed's been in it since the beginning of the story."
"What about the Pyro Colonel?" Annora piped up curiously as she swung her backpack over her shoulder, ready for Ethan to join up with her so they could go home. Hitokiri smirked as she gave a nonchalant shrug and stuck her hands into her pockets.
"He became the vice-president the day I wrote the scene where you prank him. I just need to make sure that I keep a fire hose ready in my room, and I'm good."
"Oooh, chills and thrills," the teen commented sarcastically. "Yet another instance of where Mustang is as useless as his Ford namesake."
"I HEARD THAT!!" Mustang shrieked from somewhere outside of the set.
--
Hey there everyone!! This was a very interesting chapter to write, seeing as there's so much that's been going on in it lately. Ethan has to adjust to life in Central, Annora seems to be coping just fine without Ed, and Ed acts like an idiot yet again after he experiences the much-feared female ability to hold a grudge.
Out of all of the different scenes in this particular chapter, I really liked the ones where Envy tried to talk Annora into doing human transmutation and Hughes almost killed Ethan with his unending slideshow of Elysia pictures the best. I would be immensely pleased if someone could possibly send me some drawings of these two scenes… hint hint. You can reach me at: theshinsengumisshadow (at) yahoo (dot) com if you possibly want to e-mail me any artwork.
Ed: You are unbelievable.
Wandering Hitokiri: I'll take that one as a compliment. Besides, dude, you are in some serious hot water with several of your fans right now, so I'd be nice. Your lovely treatment of Annora in the last chapter has a lot of people offering to come here and punch your lights out, among other things. I even had one reviewer threaten to sic her dog on you if you didn't get your act together.
Ed: WHAT?! But… but I-
Wandering Hitokiri: You what, acted like a complete and total asshole to someone who thought that you were her friend? Yeah, you did do that. Congratulations, you really know how to make an ass out of yourself.
Ed: But you're the one writing this stupid story!!
Wandering Hitokiri: (Tries to look innocent) Maybe… then again, I could just be a figment of your imagination.
Ed: …
Reviews:
agent000: As you probably noticed, I changed some of the stuff that you suggested, and as a whole I'm more satisfied with my work. Thank you so very much for the advice. And don't worry at all about the constructive criticism… it makes my day to have someone actually give me something to work with so I can improve my story. As for becoming a published author, that's my dream someday!!
MyDarkSideHasAWayOfHerOwn: Oh, Ethan will soon turn out to be the bane of Envy's very existence, and he will definitely get into some verbal sparring matches with Mustang. Jeff Dunham is freaking hysterical. No, you are not getting your hands on explosives of any kind, especially IED's. Yes, Ed is an idiot, but somehow I don't see him taking the therapy idea all too well.
Ed: You try and send me to one of those therapy groups, and you will die.
Wandering Hitokiri: Sorry, but only my brothers and parents have the legal right to kill me. You'll have to talk to them first.
Red Tatsu: To each their own. A green octopus… I've never heard that one before.
Envy: I'm glad that I have a fan… but I still don't like the crack about my hair!
Lost and Never Found: You what?
sunshineemomix: Wow, thanks for all the feedback. And as for what Annora told Mustang in the second chapter, she told him very loudly to go screw himself in the middle of a crowded street. Wouldn't that make you want to gag someone? As for the jerky reviewer, it was taken care of a long time ago.
richard9311: Thank you, I'm glad that you liked it. Thanks for staying with me for this long.
tiggeranddash: Ethan will definitely give Mustang and the others some form of retribution for their little paperwork stunt sometime in the future, but he also learns to get along with all of the men in Mustang's group. Let's just say that Havoc might finally get some help in finding and keeping a girlfriend!
Zilo Sugarpill: Annora won't find out about Ethan being alive for a while, but she will notice the new soldier who looks eerily like him. You have to remember that Annora's still getting used to the animated style of the FMA world and so is Ethan, so neither of them will be putting the dots together for a while.
anime.storm: Wow… I'm gonna guess that you're more than a little upset at Ed's behavior. If you want to sic your dog on him, I'm not gonna stop you.
Ed: WHO'RE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT MIDGET BEANSPROUT WHO COULDN'T GROW UP EVEN IF HE TRIED?! You… you'd better keep that dog away from me, and I'M NOT A DWARF!! (Gets attacked by anime.storm's dog) Get this stupid thing off of me!!
Call-me-Lie-chan: The thing is Annora doesn't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds her.
Phantom SunsSong: No, Mustang's too dense for that. As for what's going on, you'll just have to wait. Ethan definitely has a place in the storyline, but it won't become clear for a while. Yes, those were all Indiana Jones references, as well as some hints to some of my own stories.
Lulu4ever: Yep, I'm definitely near the end of the story now. Probably somewhere within the ten-chapter ballpark or so. Things are all starting to fall together for our characters now, like some huge and perverse jigsaw puzzle.
Mei Fire: Thank you. Epic is good.
The-Living Shadow: Just a little bit. He's a sixteen-year old boy; what do you expect?
