An hour or so passed for our previous conversation. And I finally found out what happened at the Lab. Their story petrifies me.
Gluttony
Flipping
Ripped
My
Arm
Off!
Holy Crap! Once I see Gluttony again, I'm going to blow him up. I don't think Ed and Al would mind, after all, he is a homunculus. So why not?
But why was he there in the first place?! He was suppose to be in East City, unless this is the Original series… Ugh, maybe I altered something while I was here without knowing it. Or maybe it's just me being here that altered something. I just hope that things go somewhat how they're supposed to.
Ed had gone off to convince the doctors that I was ok to be released, using his rank in the military as an advantage. Al went back to our hotel to grab the rest of our stuff. I'm currently in my room, playing Flappy Turtle and 2048 out of boredom. Just playing games helps me think clearer.
It was pretty comfy laying on the bed wearing hospital clothes. I kinda wanna keep them…
"Bree! You're good to go!" Ed bursts in the room, looking proud. I was so wrapped up in Flappy Turtle; I flip out and fall off the bed. I land on my back, dazed for a second then look at my score. Edward starts laughing like I just snorted water through my nose.
"Damnit Ed!" I yell, looking to see my score was one off. "I almost had it!"
"Had what?"
He laughs as he walks over to me. By now, I've sat up cross legged while looking at my phone in frustration.
"What is that?" He bends down, looking at my hands.
"It's a game. And as you can see, I was so freaking close to beating my high score!" I shove my phone in his face to make sure he can see what he has done.
"So? It's just a game." He looks at me, confused at my reaction. I jump up, faking an enraged glare.
"It's not just a game Edward! It's a rite of passage! A matter of pride! And most of all…" I say dramatically with a dramatic pause.
"You can brag about it to everyone! Proving to them you have no social life!" I wave my arms around. He looks up to me like I'm crazy, lifting up an eyebrow and frowning.
"Maybe you should stay in the hospital…" He deadpans.
"Maybe I should pour milk all over you again!"
"What! Wait, so it was you!" He points an accusing figure at me, getting angry.
"Of course I did, otherwise we would've never caught that train." I put my arms up at my side, my palms facing upwards.
"That should be illegal." He mumbles, standing up.
"Then everyone would be the same size as you." I smirk, sitting on the bed.
"Are you implying something…?" He growls, baring his teeth. I open my mouth with some witty comeback, when the door opens and Al walks through with our luggage.
"Am I interrupting something?" He asks after a moment. Ed and I looking at him with blank faces.
"Oh no, just some petty conversation about Ed's size." I reply with the best straight face and mellow tone I could manage.
There was a moment of silence.
"WHAT!? I'M GOING TO-" Ed lunges for me as I duck and roll off on the other side of the bed. Having expected some kind of retaliation.
"Brother!" Al exclaims, holding him back before he could get close to me. I peek above the bed and start laughing.
"You really are hopeless!" I exclaim while laughing, "Can't even catch a girl, that's sad."
"WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE?!" Ed rages, struggling in Al's arms. I just laugh harder and harder, falling backwards and rolling on the floor as Ed keeps yelling at me. Tears pour down my face like a waterfall and I hold my stomach. Suddenly, Ed stops yelling and I sit back up, wiping tears from my face.
"Major, Hughes, What are you guys doing here?" Al asks as we all look towards the doorway. And sure enough, there was Mustachio Muscleman and cheery Hughes.
"Yo! How are you guys?" Hughes smiles while raising his hand. I could see Armstrong's sparkles again… I stare at them, not really paying attention to the conversation.
"We're ok." Al replies as I try to understand where the sparkles come from. Do they just pop out of his head? Or are they props he buys? Or this could all be in my head…
"Bree? I didn't know you were here too." Hughes says.
"Wha? Oh yeah, I'm here. But I just got released."
I come out from my thoughts. Maybe one day I'll ask Armstrong about his sparkles…
"So you're hurt too?"
"No, I'm fine!" I wave my hands in front of my face.
"Good to hear." He smiles as Armstrong comes over to me.
"I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" He bellows while squishing me to his chest and bawling. I gasp for breath.
"Don't forget about Edward!" I gasp out. It just wasn't fair for only one of us to get our backs broken. Ed tries to run, but Armstrong sweeps him up in his other arm. I smirk at him with half my face squished as Ed glares at me.
"Traitor." He mouths. But my smile only grows bigger.
After convincing Armstrong that he was killing us, he finally lets go. We talk about what happened at the 5th lab, leaving out the important parts about me. All they said about me was that I followed them there and got knocked out by Envy once I got into the room. I added some things during the conversation but mostly remained quite.
Hughes was going to die tonight. If other people were in this situation, they would probably try to save him. But what if what happened to Nina happens to Hughes!? His death could be worse than his originally planned one! I could warn him, tell him to stay at home with his family and forget about the homunculi. But he probably won't listen to me. I know that I can't stop Envy or anything. But maybe warning him is the best way. Or I could stay here at his house and he'll have to stay home. I'm a sort of criminal, right?
But Ed and Al told me I have to come with them to Dublith. I have tried to talk them out of it, but they're both so stubborn it's frustrating.
It seems that warning Hughes is the only way. And I hate myself for it. I want to be here to help him, but I can't tell Ed and Al what's going to happen to him. I can't give out any spoilers; who knows what will happen if they knew this early!?
"Well, the last thing I remember was this guy knocking me out." Ed points to a poorly drawn picture of Envy, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Holy crap Ed, you suck at drawing." I say, sitting next to him on the bed with my legs cross legged.
"Well then why don't you draw?!" He snaps at me and I put my arms up in surrender.
"Maybe later or something." I wave him off, leaning back to lay on the bed. They keep talking and only end up with more questions than they had in the first place.
This was boring; I've seen this conversation a million times. I mouth what they're saying as they say it, closing my eyes and as bored as can be. There was a knock at the door and I sat up just as it clicks open.
"Sorry to interrupt," The Fuhrer says as he walks into the room. Everyone flips and gasp at the sight of him. I almost laugh at their reactions. Hughes and Armstrong both salute as the Elrics still look at him in shock. Since Armstrong was standing in front of me I had to lean over towards Ed so I could see Wrath better.
I kinda glare at him, but not a full on glare because one, he was the freaking ruler of the country! And two, I have to admit, he was my second favorite homunculi. His life was basically written by other people! It's not his fault that he has to do all the stuff he did/going to do!
"Fuhrer Bradley! You Excellently!" Armstrong exclaims, still in salute.
"Calm down Gentleman," Bradley raises his hand, "This is just an informal visit." Armstrong, Hughes, and Al sort of bow to him with Ed standing straight up. I stay seated, the bed too comfortable to bother standing up.
"Sir, may I please ask as to the occasion sir." Hughes says, still bowing.
"This young man. Your injured, I thought this nice melon would cheer you up." He says, handing Ed a basket with a freakishly large melon in it. Ed looks dumbfounded.
"I guess-" He almost mumbles as he looks down on i
"Gah thank you sir!" He flips as he realizes what he said.
"You can share it with this young lady, since it looks like she's injured too."
He looks at me. I flinch, shot up from my seat and bow to him stiffly.
"T-thank you, uh, sir." I stumble, not really use to this kinda thing. It's not like I've met the president or anything!
"I understand that you've been checking up on the Senior Staff, is it true Major Armstrong?" The Fuhrer asks.
"Um, yes, Sir. But how did you know I was-" Armstrong starts.
"You should know that nothing gets pass me Major," Bradley cuts him off, "And now you," He looks at Ed, "FullMetal Alchemist, tell me everything you know about the Philosophers Stone" He almost glares at Ed. Edward starts sweating and everyone is tense. After a long moment of silence, he turns to me.
"And you young lady." Bradley starts and I flinch, "you're the one who blew up a part of Central Headquarters, am I correct?" Oh crap, is he going to do something to me?! I grip the sides of my pants, looking up at him fearfully. What's he gonna do! His stare is creeping me out! If he is trying to intimidate me since he was taller he was doing a good job of it! Suddenly, he starts laughing like it was all just a big joke.
"I'm only kidding!" Bradley exclaims, putting a hand on Ed's shoulder.
"There's no reason for you to be so uptight."
"Huh?" Ed drawls out.
"I know you're good kids, and I can't believe this young lady blew up Headquarters on purpose." He looks to me.
"Ah…" I look up to him, confused. He was there, I'm sure he saw me or something! I kinda zone out Bradley to think of why he would let me go. I know he lets the other guys off the hook, but why me!?
"…Bree Hunter," I look up at him at the sound of my name, coming out of my thoughts. "You have all proven worthy of men and woman of a trust worthy character. From this point forward, I give you the direct order to forget about this matter and all that it concerns. And this time, suspicion is our strongest line of offense and our only form of defense is discretion. Do not trust anyone. Keep this to yourselves at all cost. However, when I deem the time is right to confront the enemy I trust you will be at my side."
"Sir!" Hughes and Armstrong salute together. I'm still tense about this whole situation. In the hallway, we can hear a voice calling for the Fuhrer in a frantic tone.
"Gotta go!" The Fuhrer says as he walks towards the window muttering something. Everybody turns to see what he's doing, but I didn't move an inch.
"You see I've snuck away to get a few moments of privacy. Well farewell for now!" I hear a soft thud as he jumps out the window. Everyone rushes to the window as I fall to my knees.
Holy crap that must've been the scariest thing I've been through so far. But why! Why did he just let me off the hook like that! It doesn't make any sense! I'm still shaking and sweating from it… There was a click from the door and I flinch.
"Hey Ed! What the…" Winry says as she sees the current states we are in, "What's going on? Did I miss something?"
"Not really, just a tornado passing by." Ed replies, still weirded out. Normally, I would've laughed my head off. But I was still confused and scared about the whole thing.
"Are you ok Bree?" Winry asks, sounding worried.
"Just peachy…" I mumble, then think back on my previous thoughts about Hughes. Tell him or not…Tell him or not…
"Ok…I got the train tickets you wanted Ed." She says, walking over to the group of guys. I sit there for a sec, finding the will to get up. Finally I stand up and walk over to Hughes, my legs shaking slightly. There's no going back now! As Ed, Winry, and Armstrong talk, I tap him on the shoulder shyly.
"Hm?" He hums, look down to me.
"Can I talk to you privately, please?" I whisper as he gives me a questioning look. He nods, though.
"We'll be right back." Hughes says to the others as we walk out of the room. Heading for the roof, my hands start to sweat as I grip the sides of my hospital pants. Oh great, I'm really going to do this! I could mess up the whole story! But…it feels like he has the right to know what's going to happen. It just doesn't seem fair otherwise. We reach the roof and he looks down at me expectantly.
"Well, what is it you want to talk about?" He asks.
"Um…Well…" I stammer, great how should I start?! I look down to the ground.
"Do you trust me?" I blurt out.
Most
Cliché
Question
EVER!
"To be honest, no." He says,
"You blew up Central Headquarters, so you could be a terrorist from another country. The only reason I was nice to you was because you don't seem like a girl who would do that." I smile and let out a breath in a sort of relief. He doesn't fully distrust me, even if its still there.
"Well, I'm actually glad to hear that. But what you're about to hear is going to sound impossible. So can you please hear me out?" I look up pleadingly to his eyes. He's taken back, but smiles and nods. So, I tell him everything.
"So you're basically saying is that you're from a different world that has a story about us, there's weird shard things in your arms that can heal you and blow things up and you know about everything that's going to happen." He sums it up, trying to understand.
We both lean on the railing at the edge, looking down. If people were to look up, it would look like two people having a normal conversation. Talking with Hughes, it did seem almost normal with the tone he uses. It somehow calms me down about the whole dilemma.
"That's correct. But what I really want to know is that if you want me to tell you what's going to happen to you tonight."
He looks at me, thinking about it.
"I just…I feel like it's wrong not to warn you about it and I really want to help you. It's not fair for me to know and not you." I keep looking down, not wanting to meet his gaze.
"But if I know, would that alter the timeline or something?" He asks, slightly confused.
"Yes, it could."
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, I could see his eyes widen slightly.
"But you're an awesome guy Hughes, and I like you like a dad. Actually, you seem like a dad to a lot of people who know the story and they love you and want to meet you for it. I just want to help you because I feel like I'm giving something back to you for being yourself."
"It's weird hearing you say that."
I almost fall over from his statement.
"We just met, but it seems like you know me already."
"Well…" I smirk nervously as I recover. There was a minute of silence. I didn't have a follow up on that, so I wait for Hughes to say something.
"Bree,"
I finally look straight up to his green eyes,
"I know you mean well and I'm grateful for what you're trying to do." He puts him hand on my shoulder and smiles. Even his eyes seem to smile warmly at me and for a minute I think he's going to let me help him.
"But don't tell me what's going to happen tonight."
I stare at him in shock and in agony. No, I have to tell him! It's not fair! What about his family? If I tell him, then he can live on for Gracia and Elicia! They wouldn't be heartbroken and the funeral would never happen. Nobody would cry and Elicia won't scream for her father.
Hughes waits for an answer, looking in my eyes to see what I'll do. Suddenly tears start to well up and I'm choking back sobs.
"But, you don't realize what going to happen! Hughes, you're gonna-!" I somehow get out while hyperventilating. He presses a finger to my lips, effectively quieting me.
"Whatever happens is going to happen eventually. It could very well be a bad thing if you change history. As long as its all well in the end, it'll be all right." He smiles warmly at me as I cry.
"But it won't be alright!" I exclaim as tears run down my face.
"We might be risking people's lives if you tell me my future. I would rather take whatever is comes then try to save myself. I'll be alright." He says as I bury my face in his shoulder. He pulls me into a hug, smoothing down my hair.
"You're a good girl with an amazing heart, Bree. Now I know that you didn't mean to blow up HQ and you just want to help people. I know that you'll try to help the Elrics as much as you can." He says soothingly. I start to hiccup, thinking of a way to prepare him without telling him about Lust and Envy.
"Can you at least promise me something?" I ask as I sniff. He pulls me away to look at me.
"Of course," He smiles warmly. I decided that I'm going to miss that smile very much.
"Promise me that you won't give up, that you'll fight no matter what?"
He might already have suspicions of what might happen and when it does happen, I don't want him to say this is my fate and give up. I still want him to fight no matter what. He's taken back by the question, but quickly recovers into that smile.
"I promise." He says and I smile, wiping away some tears.
He pulls me back into the hug and I hug back this time still having tears roll down my face. I didn't want to let him go. I want to persuade him to go to a different country or just stay home tonight or something. But the way he looked at me said he had made up his mind… No matter what I say, its not going to change his resolve. At least he agreed to my promise. And this is what he wants, so I have no right to force him to listen. I bury my face into his chest, crying lightly.
I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would think he was my dad. The way he acts, felt, and talks like a father. I know he has a daughter, but he acts likes like he would to Elicia to me. I like this Hughes way better than the one in the original series.
"Can I ask you one more question?" I ask, pulling away and again wiping away the tears. He gives me a questioning look.
"Can I take a picture with you?" He laughs; leading me back into the hospital like a father would to his daughter.
"Anything you want sweetie." He replies and closes the door behind us.
A/N: I'M SO SORRY I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON EVER! D'X I haven't updated in FOREVER! I had so much school work to do and Marching Band is very time consuming. I haven't gotten much writing in too and the chapters are starting to catch up. If it wasn't for my Creative Writing Class I probably wouldn't be writing anymore. Also, our Homecoming is coming up and I'm getting ready for that since I got asked x3 And one more thing, I had my birthday last week so I was also busy with that...
So yeah, I've been really busy lately and I'm really sorry. I hope you guys like this chappy! I tried to get Hughes right, did I do it? And how did you guys like this chappy? Good, bad, horrible? Please review in the magical box below, it would totally make my day! ;D
Thank you amazing people!