Disclaimer: L.Q does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Alphonse was torn from his thoughts and looked up in alarm as a knock suddenly sounded at the door. He scrambled to his feet with the grace of clanking metal and looked around frantically, searching for a place to hide. He wasn't supposed to be in the house, and if he was caught, he would be in a lot of trouble! The doorknob rattled and he heard the front door creak open.
"I'm home!"
Alphonse froze in shock. He was trespassing in somebody else's home? The pitter-patter of tiny feet could be heard now, running through the house. Al went into a full blown panic; he had to get out of the house now, before he was discovered! He dashed over towards the nearest window, but it was too small for his huge bulk to fit through.
"Mommy, is that you?"
Waah, it was the voice of a little girl! What would she say when she discovered that a metal giant had invaded her home?
Alphonse gave up on the window and tried to edge into one of the rooms lining the hallway, but a small figure suddenly turned the corner, caught sight of him, and froze in her tracks. She stared up at Al with wide green eyes full of fear.
"Uh, please don't be afraid!" Alphonse held up his hands and crouched down to the floor, hoping to pacify the girl before she could become distressed. "My name is Alphonse, what's yours?"
The little girl stood there expressionless for a moment, then turned around and ran back the way she came, her red hair whipping around the corner in a flash.
Alphonse sighed and stood up. The girl was obviously afraid of him, and that was no surprise. He knew that he could look pretty intimidating in his armour. The best thing he could do right now was to leave the house and inform Mr. Hughes of what he had learned. He walked slowly down the hall and descended the stairs. On his way to the front door, the little girl peeked out from behind a counter in the kitchen.
"Why are you in my house?"
Alphonse stopped and bowed politely. "I'm sorry for trespassing in your house. I was just . . . looking for someone."
The little girl came out from behind the counter. "Who were you looking for? My mother?"
Alphonse straightened up and thought hard on how to answer this. The mother of this girl could very well be the woman he was looking for, but he doubted anything good would happen if he were to confront the woman directly. He didn't want to end up engaging the woman in combat in front of her daughter.
But then again, an opportunity like this might never come again, and he was willing to take risks if it meant getting his brother well again. Al made his decision.
"Yes, I was looking for your mother. Do you think I might be able to talk to her?"
The girl seemed to think hard for a second. "Yes," she finally said. "You can talk to her when she comes home."
Alphonse bowed again. "Thank-you very much."
The girl seemed to get over her fear and walked right up to him. "You're welcome," she said. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Anna, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you."
Anna's eyes shone with curiosity and Al prepared himself for the question he knew was going to come.
"Why do you wear that armour?"
Edward was warm and very comfortable. The soft, steady beating in his ear threatened to pull him back into the depths of sleep, but he resisted the temptation. He opened his eyes slowly and lifted his head up.
Light from the evening sun filtered through the windows, and Ed considered putting his head back down and going back to sleep until morning.
He reconsidered the thought once he realized where he was.
The colonel was spread out along the length of the couch, and Ed was lying on top of him. He was pressed into Mustang's chest and held in place by his arms.
With a horrified gasp, Ed rolled sideways off the couch and out of the colonel's arms. The man awoke with a start, sitting up and blinking rapidly to get the sleep out of his eyes. Ed stood up from his crouch on the floor with a scowl on his face.
Mustang yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "Do you feel any better?" he asked. "You had a good cry, and by the looks of your hair, you had a pretty good nap too."
Edward took a step back in confusion. "What are you talking about? I didn't cry! I just fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up you had your arms around me! What are you, a pedophile or something?!"
Mustang leapt up from the couch in indignation. "I'm not a pedophile!" He then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you . . . really not remember?"
"Remember what? That I cried? I don't cry, Mustang!"
Alphonse couldn't cry, so Ed didn't cry either. He didn't deserve to cry, not only because he had to be strong for Al, but because it just wouldn't be fair. How many times had Al tired to cry? The most his little brother could do was imitate the sounds, but his cries of despair only rang hollow and fake inside his armour. There was no way Ed would shed tears for anything less than a death when his brother couldn't even mourn the loss of his own body.
Mustang stared at him intently, and Ed matched the stare with his own fiery glare. How dare Colonel Bastard accuse him of crying!
"Edward, you may not remember – because you hit your head and are suffering from the effects – but I swear to you, you did cry. You completely broke down!"
"Prove it." Edward crossed his arms in defiance. "Can you tell me why I supposedly cried?"
A range of emotions flitted across Mustang's face. It was like the man didn't know what to think. "How am I supposed to know why you cried?" he finally said. "You wouldn't tell me anything!"
Mustang was so obviously lying. The obvious lack of an explanation brought a sense of relief upon Edward. But something felt a bit . . . off.
"I don't believe you. I didn't cry," he said forcefully. Ed turned on his heel and strode towards the kitchen. But before leaving the living room, he stopped in the entrance way and spun around to point a finger at Mustang. "Roy, if I ever find you touching me again, I promise I won't hesitate to send you flying to the moon!"
Shooting one last glare over his shoulder, he went off to raid the fridge.
Roy stared at Edward's back as the boy walked away. Did he seriously not remember, or was he just pretending? Was this the effect of the drug? Edward was falling over paralyzed, had memory loss, and was definitely struggling with something. But Roy couldn't help him if Edward didn't tell him what was wrong!
Roy didn't know much about what was going on, but he did know that he was going to need some help.
"Anna, I'm home!"
Anna put down her stuffed rabbit and ran to the door as Al watched on in mild apprehension. He hoped that he would be able to get some information without things getting violent.
Alphonse waited on the living room couch and listened to the muffled voices of Anna and her mother in the hallway. Soon, a middle-aged woman entered the living room, with Anna tugging her along by the hand.
"This is Mr. Alphonse!" the little girl said, gesturing towards Al as if he was some sort of exhibit. "He was looking for you earlier, and I invited him to wait with me until you came home!"
"That was very nice of you Anna." The woman's hair was a shade darker than her daughter's fiery red, and her green eyes looked bright and kind. She spoke to her daughter with a gentle voice, and the thought that this woman was a great mother struck Al's mind.
"Anna, why don't you go play upstairs with Mr. Rabbit for a little while? I'll have a short chat with Mr. Alphonse and then I'll call you down for dinner."
"Okay Mommy!" Anna grabbed her pink rabbit off the floor and scurried up the stairs and out of sight. Al heard the soft click of a door closing and turned his attention back to the woman.
She didn't say anything right away, but walked over to an armchair and sat down, adjusting her skirt over her legs. She smoothed the fabric down and clasped her hands together. "How can I help you, dear Alphonse?"
For a second Al didn't know what to say. Was this even the woman he was looking for? He pushed away all doubts and decided to start from the beginning.
"A few days ago my brother, Edward Elric the Fullmetal Alchemist, was kidnapped. He was rescued from this house and was found to have foreign drug inside of him. This house was thought to be deserted, but apparently you live here. I was wondering if you knew anything about the whole situation, and if you could answer a few questions to help with the investigation."
"Hmm, I know everything about the situation, but I'm afraid I can't answer any questions."
Alphonse shot up from his seat and backed a good distance away. This woman was the kidnapper! "What did you do to my brother?" he demanded.
The woman rose from her seat as well, albeit much slower and held up her hands in a calming gesture. "There's no need to fear, I have no intention of hurting your brother, nor you."
"Please just answer the question!"
"Trust me, what I'm doing is all for his own good," she said. "As a mother, I can't bear to see him go on like this, so I simply gave your brother . . . a break."
"He's been having bouts of paralysis! Please stop this and give me an antidote for him!"
The woman regarded him with sympathy in her eyes. "Don't worry, Alphonse. Your brother will be just fine."
That was it! Alphonse knew that violence was never the answer, but this was his brother they were talking about! He charged towards the woman and pinned her against the wall. "You will give me the counter to the drug you injected into my brother now," he said menacingly.
Sadness seemed to fill the woman's eyes as she gazed up at him. "I'm sorry," she said softly, before kicking her leg straight up and knocking off Al's helmet.
"Ah!" Alphonse let go immediately and struggled to catch his airborne head. The helmet fell to the ground with a clank and he hurriedly picked it back up.
He looked up to see the woman staring at him with something akin to sympathy and sadness on her face. "You're empty inside . . . you poor child."
Alphonse jammed his helmet back on and straightened up. He didn't know what to do; the woman knew his secret! And she was . . . not freaking out about it?
Most people ran away from him in horror or covered their mouths in shock. This woman was different though. She approached Alphonse slowly with her arms outstretched. Al seemed incapable of moving as the woman drew nearer. She opened her arms and embraced Al in a hug.
"Alphonse, let's talk."
L.Q: I'm so sorry this is late guys, but I'm sure in the back of your minds you all knew this was coming. After all, all good things must come to an end, and that includes my update schedule.
Lest: BOO!
L.Q: Hey! Think about it people, an update every other day was pretty good, but twice a week is reasonable too, I think. If I have longer than 2 days to write each chapter, I can check it for mistakes and think about where I want to take this story even more. You don't know how much trouble I had trying to decide how Ed should act after he woke up!
Lest: It's okay, I'm sure people will understand. And I'm sure they'll continue to leave those lovely reviews you love so much, no matter how fast you update.
L.Q: I hope so . . .