A/N: Hello readers, to the second chapter of A Beautiful Lie. I didn't put any A/Ns in the last chapter, so I'll do this now. The idea for this came to me one night during my previous hiatus. I wanted to write an original story, but it turned into a fanfiction because the writing gods decided it would be better this way. I didn't write anything for about two weeks or so and the second I started the ideas and words didn't stop flowing. I have something of a beta (aka, a best friend that reads it and praises me... I'm trusting her judgment) giving me encouragement, so that's why I've been making sure it's at its best.
Without further explanation, carry on as you wish. Disclaimer: I own the OCs, original ideas, and nothing more. FMA in general belongs to it's respective owners.
"It's time for you to wake up."
The voices started to fade from my mind. There was something deep inside of me that didn't want to know what they meant by 'time to wake up', but on the other hand I was curious to find out where I'd ended up. I was finally starting to regain the use of my senses and I was anxious to finally see where I was.
My eyes opened slightly, but closed from the unfamiliar amount of light.
Damn, I thought as I tested my limbs to make sure I was still intact. Arms? Yeah, they're there. How 'bout hands? They're there too. Good. Legs as well? Feet? Double check.
The sounds of a downtown district filled my ears; footsteps, simple conversations, and cars coming and going along the street. I dared to open my eyes again and now I could see my surroundings. I was in an alleyway, curled up against the wall. From what I could tell I was uninjured, save the still bleeding cut on my arm. The sleeve of my black hoodie had a darker stain on it that made me grimace. I rolled my sleeve up and cursed myself for cutting so deep. Shaking my head, I brought my arm to my mouth and began to suck on the cut. Disgusting? To be honest it was god-awful and tasted worse, but I was doing what I had to. The taste of liquid metal made me gag, but I continued until I couldn't taste it anymore. I examined the remains of cut and let out a pissed off sigh.
I can't believe I made Eric see all that, I thought as I pushed my sleeve back and let my arm fall to the ground. The look in his eyes…
I felt a vibration in my pocket and the rest of my senses became alert. I pushed myself up before cradling my head in my hands. There was a sharp pain in my skull that caused me to regret trying to move. I had no clue what had just happened. One minute there were a bunch of voices talking to me and it was pitch black. Now I was here in a city and it hurt to move.
Where the hell am I anyway? I thought before slowly standing up. It still hurt and I had to lean my hands against the wall to stabilize myself. The vibrations came back and I let one hand down to pull my phone out of my pocket.
-Step closer to the sidewalk- the newest message read. -You should recognize this place.-
My brows furrowed, but I was curious to know what he meant. I took careful steps over to the opening of the alley and my eyes grew wide with what I saw.
It was exactly like my dream. The buildings around me all looked old-fashioned, but in this place they seemed natural. The people were the same way, wearing clothes I'd only ever seen before in old pictures during my American History class.
This place looks both ancient and new at the same time, I thought as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. Where the hell did I end up anyway?
I began to walk down the street of the foreign city while a million questions ran through my mind.
My phone vibrated again and I looked down to see what the person had sent to me this time.
-I would suggest not making a scene while you're in this part of the city. You already look suspicious to these people and if you give them reason to think you're dangerous then bringing you here will have been all for nothing.-
I scoffed at this. Just my luck. I tucked my phone back into my pocket and sighed.
The people around me stared with confused expressions, probably wondering who I was and why I was dressed so differently. A lump formed in my throat as my discomfort towards the situation grew. I swallowed it down and held my head low to let my hair cover my face. I would've put my hood on to hide myself from the stares, but seeing as I'd sewn cat ears on it I decided that I didn't need to draw any more attention to myself then necessary.
This is so weird… It's like they've never seen anyone like me before.
My phone vibrated again. I pulled it out with a huff and brushed my hair behind my ears so I could read the message.
-You will come off as very strange to these people. On this world girls never wear jeans, much less ones that have been drawn on. People don't own clothes with zippers on them either, so your jacket is attracting attention as well.-
My brows furrowed at the message. I'm on a completely different world? Well I guess that explains things, but how far back in time is it? Zippers were used on clothes back in the 1930s on Earth, so I guess that means this world is even farther back if the timelines are similar. If not then I'm completely lost.
Yet another vibration pulled my attention back. -Correct. This world is approximately 100 years behind yours, meaning you are in the year 1914.-
I reeled back slightly in surprise. How the hell is any of this possible? I came here to find out what happened to me, and now I'm told that I'm on a different world? It was easier to think that I had amnesia!
-You do have amnesia. You've forgotten about everything happened before the day you turned four. I'm trying to help you remember at least some of that past. You want to know, don't you?-
My brain was on overload at this point and I really didn't want to have to try and deal with anything else. I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and ran my hands through my hair. After letting them fall I looked up and froze at what I saw.
The world came to a standstill as I looked with wide eyes at the figure in front of me. It was coming out of a building and my mind was having trouble processing what I was seeing.
"Oh my god…" I said quietly to myself. "How…?"
The figure turned around and I caught a glimpse of gold. The figure with gold hair in a braid and golden eyes that I could recognize from anywhere was standing less than fifty feet in front of me.
How did Eric get here!? He should still be in the garage, right?
I felt a vibration in my pocket, but I ignored it.
"Eric!" I shouted. He seemed to have heard me but didn't pay me any mind as he continued walking down the sidewalk towards me. Frustration was building inside me as I stormed over to him.
"What the hell?" I said, glaring at him. He finally looked up and met my gaze with confusion in his eyes. "Dude, why did you ignore me like that?"
His gold colored eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, I'm sorry?" he said, looking me over. "Who are you?"
My eyes grew wide at this. His words were like a knife in my heart.
"What do you mean?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes once again. "It's me, Reeva. We've been friends for years."
"Sorry, but I've never seen you before," he said. "You must have me confused with someone else."
I stared at him blankly, not convinced. "You've gotta be kidding me. That's impossible. There's no way I'd get you mixed up with anyone else. Blonde hair and eyes the same color? There are two people I know like that, and that's you and your brother." An idea came to mind and I pointed to a spot on my jeans. "Look here. E-E," I said. "You wrote your initials on these pants at the end of freshman year."
He looked down and his eyes grew wide. "… That's my handwriting, but I have no clue who the hell you are."
"Arg!" I groaned as I held my head in my hands. "Come on! You helped me draw the giant circle that brought me here!" Letting my hands down, I pulled my phone out and scrolled up to the picture of the circle. I turned it around and showed it to him. He furrowed his eyebrows at the picture and began to examine it. He didn't say anything as he looked it over.
Another idea came to mind and I tucked it back into my pocket. "Okay, fine. I'll prove that we're friends." The jagged scar on my hand came to mind and I grabbed his left wrist, knowing full well that his hand had a scar just like it. For some reason he was wearing gloves. I furrowed my brows as I tried to pull the glove off. He pulled his hand back when I did so.
"What the hell are you doing!?" he said as he reeled backwards away from me.
"I just told you!" I said as I reached for his hand. He took another step back and I growled at him. He glared at me and I clenched my fists. I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. "Please," I begged, looking at him with desperation. "Just let me see. If there's nothing there, then I'll go away."
His expression softened and I hated how I'd let my guard down, making it easy for him to read my expressions like an open book.
With a defeated sigh, he pulled off his glove and let me take his hand in mine. I held my hand up in comparison, expecting to see a scar across the back of his hand like the one on mine. Instead all I saw was clear skin.
The blood drained from my face, leaving me pale. I staggered backwards as I let his hand go, mine reaching up to cover my mouth in shock.
I let my head fall forwards as a cruel and harsh reality came crashing down on my shoulders. My hair hung in my face as I spoke. "I-I'm so sorry for bothering you," I stammered, my voice weak. I was left bleeding by the knife in my heart. It twisted and pulled out forcefully as he put the glove back on. "I… I'll go now."
I swallowed before running past him, not looking back for even a second.
How stupid can I be!? Of course Eric wouldn't be here! He's probably back in the garage trying to figure out what the hell happened! God, I'm such an idiot! I thought as I ran down the street, weaving around the people on the sidewalk as I tried to find a hiding spot. I looked up slightly to see who was watching me. When I didn't see anyone, I turned into an alley way and slumped against the wall of the building. It was when I buried my face into my knees that I realized I was crying.
A smile broke free as I wiped the salty water away from my cheeks. How long had it been since I was last like this? I hadn't cried in ages. I never had anything to make me sad. My friends always managed to make me feel better. But now they were gone…
My phone vibrated again and I frowned as I pulled it out of my pocket.
-I feel as if I should've warned you before this happened- it read. -Though you were already told you would see your friend soon. It wasn't your friend exactly, but a double.-
"What the hell is a double?" I grumbled. My answer came with the next message.
-A double is someone that takes on the same physical traits and characteristics as someone on your world. This world and your world are connected through some invisible force, meaning that the people on your world also exist on this world.-
My head cocked to the side in confusion as I sniffed the last of my tears away. "So it's possible for me to run into a double of any of my friends while I'm here?"
-Yes- the next message read. -Though it's unlikely for you to meet them all, you've already seen one and it is possible you'll see more.-
I pushed my hair behind my ears. "How about me? Will I run into my double?"
The response came back several seconds later. -No. That's impossible. You don't have a double and you never will. You are an unknown enemy to the force that connects these two worlds; you are completely original.-
My jaw fell open slightly in disbelief. It was as if I was living in the story prompt that Mr. Herman had given us.
On the bright side, if/when I ever get back home I know what to write about, I thought. But what does he mean by enemy?
Just as I was about to ask another question, I was cut off by someone that was standing at the opening of the alley.
"Hey," Eric's voice said. My chest got tight as I realized it was just the double again.
I put my phone back into my pocket and brushed my hair out of my face. "What do you want?" I asked, voice rough from crying.
"It's Reeva, right?" he asked as he stepped forward. I nodded as I shrank away, not sure if I could trust the double or not. "I was hoping I could ask you some questions."
My brows furrowed at him. "Questions about what?" I questioned him. I probably sounded bitter, but I didn't care anymore. I wanted to get back to talking to whoever was texting me about this whole double business.
He crouched down to my level and met my gaze. His gold eyes made my chest clench, and I buried my face in my knees again to make it stop. Go away. Just leave me alone you creepy clone. You're not him…
"That circle you showed me," he started, not caring that I wasn't looking at him. "I want to know where you got it and what you meant when you said it brought you here."
I moved my face from my knees and stared straight ahead at the opposite wall as I spoke. "Why should I tell you anything? I don't know who you are. All I know is that you look exactly like one of my best friends, and that's the only reason why I said anything about the circle. It was just me and him when it all happened, and unless he told his brother he's the only one that knows."
Something in the back of my mind told me that I was trying his patience. If he and Eric were anything alike then I knew that if a stranger pushed him too far he'd implode as if someone called him short.
I heard a sigh come from the double and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
"Okay, here. My name is Edward Elric," he said. I leaned back against the wall and met his gaze. "My brother's name is Alphonse." He pointed behind him at a person in a tall suit of armor.
"Uh, hi?" Max's voice said from inside the armor. I was slightly taken aback with this. If he was Max's double, then wouldn't they look similar? Last I knew Max only came to my nose. Even though the kid was in the middle of a growth spurt, I doubted that he'd have grown almost two feet in such a short period of time.
"You're really tall for a fourteen year old," I commented, craning my neck to look up at his armor head.
Edward raised an eyebrow at my remark. "How did you know how old he is?"
The world froze with this question. Crap! Am I allowed to tell them about the whole worlds connected thing?
I decided to leave that out of the conversation and continued on. "I, uh… You look just like my friend and his little brother is fourteen, so I just assumed that your brother was fourteen as well."
He nodded slowly, as if he didn't believe this answer but was going with it anyway. "Yeah, sure."
A nervous lump formed in my throat that was quickly pushed down as an idea came to mind. "Well this little meet-and-greet is over with. How about this? If you help me figure some stuff out, then when I'm done I'll show you the circle again. Deal?"
The two seemed to think this over. After a few seconds Edward turned back towards me and nodded. He held a hand out to me. "Deal," he said. I reached up and we shook on it.
I frowned as I squeezed his hand. It was too hard and felt cold through his glove and the amount of pressure I was putting into the shake didn't seem to faze him at all. A shimmer showed from under his black sleeve and my brows furrowed. I brought my other hand up to his sleeve and forced it upward. My eyes grew wide at what I saw. Edward snatched his arm away and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"W-w-what is that!?" I exclaimed as I backed away from him a few feet, more than shocked by what I was seeing. "Y-y-your arm! W-w-why is it metal!?"
"It's automail," he said as he fixed his sleeve, his angry expression gradually shifting into surprise towards my obviously unexpected reaction.
"Auto what!?" My breathing was heavy from the sudden adrenaline rush telling me to get the hell out of there and soon I started rambling. "I-I-I don't understand. Your arm is made of metal. That's not possible. That can't be possible. How is your arm metal?"
I held my head in my hands and shook it. "What kinda messed up world have I been thrown into?"
"Calm down," Edward said carefully in a gentle tone. "Have you never seen automail before?"
I shook my head again and I backed away slightly again, terrified of him. "What? No, I've never even heard of it before." I paused to take a breath and try to calm down. "What the hell is that?" I questioned once I had regained some of my composure.
"It's just a prosthetic limb," he explained to me as he flexed his arm and moved the fingers. "I was in a childhood accident and I lost my right arm and left leg, so now I have automail to replace them."
I blinked at him as my brain worked to process this. I reached out and took his arm, less afraid of the foreign object. Allowing me to do so, I carefully rolled his sleeve back again and looked over it. It was fascinating now that I wasn't as scared of it. It was so unfamiliar and the thought of having a metal hand was something I was unable to comprehend.
A hundred years in the future and we still don't have technology like this.
A smiled crept up on my face as I let his arm go. "We sure are slacking off," I mumbled.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Meeting his yet again confused expression, I sighed. "We don't have anything like that where I'm from."
His brows furrowed at this. "Where are you from?"
Automatically rejecting his question, I shook my head. "I'm not answering that. You'd think I'm beyond crazy, so can we move on?"
The forceful glare he gave me was a familiar one, and it sent chills down my spine. I refused to give in to these gold eyes.
"Please just come off it dude," I pleaded as I rested my forehead on my knees. "Seriously. Just help me out and I'll give you the goddamned circle."
I heard him sigh and looked up again. "Fine. I'll leave it alone for now, but I will want answers eventually."
Nodding, I smiled slightly, relieved I wouldn't have to go into too much detail just yet. A vibration in my pocket caused the smile to fade away.
What now!? I thought angrily as I fished it out.
-It's lucky that you're growing to trust these boys- it read. -They're able to access material that is restricted to average citizens.-
I raised an eyebrow at this as I pushed myself up. What are you talking about?
-The boy that looks like your friend is a State Alchemist; a high standing member of this country's military.-
"What the hell?" I muttered to myself.
"What's wrong?" Edward asked as he looked back at me.
I glanced up at him before pushing my hair behind my ears and continued to look down at the screen. What's a State Alchemist? Last I knew alchemy died out during the dark ages. Why would the military need something like that? I thought, knowing an answer would come soon from the other end of the line I was on.
The response came quickly. -Alchemy has taken a different route on this world, in a way you might not understand. For you I'll describe it as magic with scientific rules behind it. Funny. Isn't that what you wanted?-
This caught me off guard. An ancient form of chemistry being magic!? Nothing on this world is making sense!
-You may not realize it, but you preformed alchemy back with your friend. The circle was an array, the beginning structure needed to preform it. Your blood activated the array and you were sent here.-
"What is that thing anyway?" I heard Edward ask me. I snapped back into reality the moment I heard him. I looked down at my phone and my face paled again.
God only knows what the hell I'm doing to corrupt this world's future.
"You wouldn't understand," I said. "It has to do with where I'm from, and I'm not going to get into that yet."
He narrowed his eyes at me before shaking his head. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was going to snap sooner rather than later if I pushed it.
"So… could you tell me about alchemy?" I said in an attempt to change the topic. He raised an eyebrow as I went on. "I've been told it's like magic."
"You don't know what alchemy is?" he asked, the confused look back on his face.
Of course I do, but here it's different, I thought as my eyes narrowed slightly. "Not exactly. I know that it has something to do with chemistry, but I'm not sure how it works in this place." I paused. "Also, do you know where we are right now? Like, what country are we in?"
Edward stared blankly at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. "You've gotta be kidding me," he said. "You're this far in and you don't know that you're in Amestris."
"Amestris," I said, amused at how the foreign word felt on my tongue. The corners of my mouth twitched upwards. "That's weird."
"What's weirder is that you're speaking the language perfectly for someone that supposedly has never been here before," he said, folding his arms across his chest.
My eyebrow rose. A different language? It sounds like English to me.
My phone vibrated again and I looked down at it again. -Amestrian and your country's English are almost exactly alike. That's because this part of the world is similar to Europe on your planet.-
I shook my head at this. This day keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Finally putting the phone back in my pocket, I looked at the two and said, "So what did you mean by 'this far in'? What part of the country are we in?"
"We're in Central City right now," Edward answered. "Meaning you're in the center of the country."
My eyes grew wide in surprise at this. "Whoa." Unless I tell them about the whole me crossing worlds thing, we're not going to get very far in terms of explanations.
I felt a vibration and huffed as I pulled it out once again. -You can tell them if you wish. It will be easier for them to trust you if they hear the truth, and these two are good to have as allies.-
Arg! It's like pulling flower petals! I'll tell them, I won't tell them, I'll tell them, I won't tell them… I huffed as I put it back, swearing silently to myself to leave it in my pocket for longer than a minute this time.
My thumb pressed the off key on my phone until I was certain that it was off. I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed the back of my neck, relaxing slightly as the cool skin of my palm met with my warm skin.
"Fine. I'm going to have to explain everything to you guys," I started, as I let my hand fall. "But not here. We may be out of sight, but not out of mind. People are probably suspicious of a group of kids standing around in an alley."
Edward nodded and the metal helmet that Alphonse was wearing creaked against the neck of the suit as he did the same.
"We can go back to our hotel room," he offered. "We can explain some things there as well."
I raised an eyebrow at this suggestion as I backed away slightly. "That sounds a bit iffy to me," I said, my tone almost nervous.
He rolled his eyes at me. "Don't worry, we won't try anything," he assured me.
I sighed as I followed them out to the sidewalk. I really hope I can trust these two.
A/N: Hey ho readers! I'm in the process of writing more chapters for this, so chapter 3 will be up as soon my Blonde looks at it.
So to my readers, I would appreciate it if you guys could leave me reviews. Criticize this if you wish because I'm always open to ways that my writing can be improved. It's been over a year since I started writing on here and I know from experience that things always start off worse than they end. It works with writing too! So with that said feel free to criticize, praise, or type something random that's on your mind. I'll occasionally respond to reviews, so if you want to chat I'm always around. Just know that if you review with something completely unrelated and/or inappropriate, I will report you.
So please review, and I'll see you guys next time around. Hopeless out ^_^