August 9th, 2012

"But if the matrix is still, essentially, a human transmutation matrix, then how do I…?" Ed rubbed his eyes with his flesh hand and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. "All the lines are starting to blur together. I haven't even been staring at them that long." Rubbing his face again, he moved toward the edge of the bed, crawling off and meandering up to the window. He leaned against the glass, soaking up the warmth of the afternoon sun, and he let out a soft sigh.

It's nice out. Golden eyes skimmed the streets, watching as people made their way up and down the sidewalk. Beside the hotel he was in, there was a restaurant with an outdoor seating area, and even though it was a little past lunchtime, there were still a few patrons enjoying a meal. He could see some storefronts, though he couldn't quite make out what was in their display windows, and shiny cars in all kinds of shapes and colors traveled on the thoroughfare. I wish I could go outs—

Ed froze, spotting a man in a white t-shirt grabbing a woman in a yellow dress by the arm. He dragged her into the alleyway right next to them, and Ed frantically scanned the sidewalks for any sign that someone had seen the three second interaction. Oh, no. Turning on his heel, he ran over to the bed and grabbed his phone, flipping it open with the intention of calling the emergency number he had been given, but he stopped. How long will it take them to get here? She might not have that kind of time. He snapped it shut and bolted for the door before stopping once again, his thoughts just as jolting and disjointed as his movements. My arm is going to be memorable. He looked at the floor by the dresser. But my red jacket is noticeable, too. But not as noticeable as my arm. He shook it off. I don't have time for this!

Throwing the door open, Ed ran into the hall and made a beeline for the stairwell, boots thudding against the floral carpeting. I can't get caught. What am I doing? He didn't stop, though, cursing under his breath as he descended four flights of stairs and tore into the hotel lobby.

"Woah!"

Ed ignored the person he had nearly run into and darted out the door, onto the street, across the street—at which point he nearly got hit by a car—and then over to the alley.

"James… s—stop it, James… stop…"

Ed planted his feet on the ground, quickly taking in the sight of a man pressing himself against a woman he had pinned to the wall, her wrists clenched tightly in his hands. "Hey, ugly!"

For a fraction of a second, the man in the white shirt turned away from the woman, looking Ed up and down with a snort. "Get lost, kid."

"Let her go," was Ed's angry response, hands balling into fists. "You hear me? Let her go right now!"

James—or at least, Ed assumed that was his name—turned back to the woman who was struggling but didn't seem capable of screaming or even speaking clearly. He bit down on the flesh where her shoulder met her neck, and that was all Ed needed to see. He broke into a run, pulling his automail arm back and punching the guy in the kidney as hard as he could.

Screaming in pain, James released the girl and grabbed his back, falling to the side. "What the—?"

Ed took another step and pulled back his left leg, letting it fly and kicking James in the jaw hard enough to knock out at least one tooth. "I told you to let her go!" He glanced at the woman, who was sitting on the ground instead of running away, and it didn't seem like she was all there. He couldn't tell her to call 911 in his stead like he had planned, and he almost did it himself, but then James started sitting up.

Swearing, Ed clapped his hands together and pressed them to his shirt, the fabric pulling away from his skin and turning into a long, hopefully durable rope. He ran forward and grabbed the hand James was holding to his bloody mouth, dragging the man closer to a nearby dumpster and dropping to his knees. He wound the rope around the first wrist, wrapped it around the leg of the dumpster a couple times, and then grabbed the other wrist and tied that one as well.

Getting to his feet, Ed gave James another kicked in the head, this time with a leg of flesh and bone, and then he looked at the woman in the yellow dress. He didn't know if she was alright, but she was definitely awake, and he wasn't really given a lot of time to think about his next steps.

"Hey, what's going on over here?"

Ed ran again, bursting from the alley and banking to the right with a, "Call 911!" shouted over his shoulder. He pumped his arms, going as fast as he could, feeling the heat of the sun on his back. He turned as soon as there was an intersection, wanting to get out of the line of sight of the onlookers.

I don't know what to do. He pushed between people he passed, knowing they were going to remember a crazy kid with a metal arm running shirtless through the streets. What if someone finds out about this? He remembered Agent Hotchner guaranteeing that if he was sent to any lab, they would experiment on him. I gotta call Reid.

Wrestling his phone from his pocket, he opened it and pulled up his contacts list, eyes darting between the path in front of him and the screen that was barely visible in the blinding sunlight. He managed to find Reid's name and press the green button, putting the device to his ear as he crossed an intersection diagonally and jumped up and over the hood of a car.

"What's up, Ed?"

"I'm in trouble," the teen panted, looking around again and wishing buildings in cities didn't all look the same. "There was a guy, and he was attacking this girl, and nobody saw it, so I ran outside, and I punched his lights out, and now I'm running, and I don't know where to go, and I don't want anyone to experiment on me, and—"

"Calm down, Ed. Just give me a second to grab someone who can drive, and we'll come get you." Reid spoke rapidly, but he was significantly less frantic than Ed. "Can you tell me where you are? Do you see any street signs? Landmarks or buildings?"

Ed looked around, wondering how far he had gotten from the hotel. "Uh, gimme a second." He was on a side road, away from the larger, more populated one that ran through the heart of the city. It was probably safer for him, but it made it a little more difficult because there weren't as many signs.

In the background, Reid was talking to a member of the team, first about finding Ed and then about making sure someone had called in to report the attack. Ed listened with half of his brain, and with the other half, he started to call out different signs he passed, not really knowing what was going to help them.

"Ed, can—ection and t—the stree—"

Ed frowned. "What? What about streets?"

"—eaking up. C—ear me?"

"No, I can't hear you!" Ed pulled the phone away from his ear, wondering if there would be something on the little screen to tell him what was happening. "Reid?"

It sounded like Reid was still trying to talk, but nothing was even identifiable as parts of speech, so Ed let out a frustrated groan and hung up.

"I gotta find a place where no one will find me." Ed slowed to a stop for the first time since he left the alley, looking around and trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He still couldn't believe there were so many cars on the roads in this world, and they created noise that only added to the clutter in his brain. How do I know if a building is empty or not? Maybe I shouldn't hide in a building. Maybe I should try and leave the city. Maybe—

He heard a car horn, and it didn't really scare him, but he still took off running again, boots pounding against the concrete. He just had to hope he would find something soon.

August 9th, 2012

As a rule, Reid didn't curse, but if there was ever a time when cursing would be appropriate, it was the moment he was in. "I lost him." He locked his phone screen and shoved it into his pocket, looking to Rossi for help.

"Well, we have the street names he gave us before the call dropped." Rossi slipped a hand into his pocket, pressing his lips together. "We'll have to profile him."

Reid frowned slightly. "He wouldn't stay where he was. He's an action taker, and he's scared, so he'll be looking for a place to hide."

"But he's in a world he's not familiar with." Rossi tilted his head to the side, expression thoughtful. "Still, some things are universal. Somewhere isolated, somewhere abandoned, somewhere with dark and small places to squeeze into."

Scratching his temple, Reid looked toward the map on the bulletin board. "This isn't going to tell us what buildings are vacant." He shook his head. "We've got to go out there."

"Hotch will want to be involved," Rossi advised. "JJ already went to see if anyone reported that attack to the police. Go get Hotch, go find Ed, and I'll stay here with the rest of the team to keep working the case."

Reid nodded and hurried out of the room, nearly running into Hotch, who had apparently been coming in to get an update. "Hotch. It's Ed. He called me and said someone was attacking a girl, so he stopped them, and now he's running."

If Hotch was frustrated—and Reid was sure he was—it didn't show. He nodded faintly. "You and I can go and find him. I take it Rossi knows?"

"And JJ," Reid confirmed. "She went to see if someone reported the attack."

Hotch nodded again and immediately started toward the police station exit, Reid trailing behind him. "Prentiss and Morgan are still out interviewing James Boyd's employer, and Garcia is digging for more information to see if he's a viable suspect. We'll leave them out of the loop for now so they can focus on the case."

"Okay."

They stepped through the front doors of the station, making their way toward one of the FBI SUVs, and Hotch pulled a key fob from his pocket. "I need you to tell me everything he told you when he called."

Reid nodded and launched into a recitation of everything Ed had said, followed quickly by him pulling his phone out of his pocket. He started Google Maps and punched in the first street name he had been given, zooming in on the map and trying to find the other street names Ed had mentioned. He and Hotch went back and forth, trying to figure out where Ed would have gone after the call dropped, and as helpful as it would have been to have some local knowledge, they knew they couldn't ask for any outside help.

Come on, Ed. Where are you?

August 9th, 2012

Ed pulled his legs a little tighter against his chest, knowing he couldn't stay where he was but having no idea where to go. He had managed to find an apartment complex, and while there were some signs of life around the building, there were no signs of life inside it. So Ed went in and kicked down the door to the first apartment on the right, going inside and finding his way to a closet.

That was hours ago, and he still had no idea what to do.

I have no money. I don't know where to go for help. They told me I couldn't be seen around the city. I have my alchemy, but that's only going to make things worse. Ed felt his metal knee digging into his chin, golden hues staring endlessly into the dark. His phone was in his hand, but there really wasn't any point. It had rung a few times, but when Ed had answered, there were only more indecipherable noises on the other end. Ed had tried to make a few calls himself, but the phone would ring a couple times and then just go quiet. I could try to get out of the city, but the others are going to be looking for me close to where they last knew I was, meaning inside the city. So, I have to stay close, but I somehow can't be seen by all of the people who are in this area. He rapped his knuckles against his skull, groaning under his breath. What do I do, Al?

He had always been so good at thinking on his feet. Who would sit in a pool of their own blood, one leg missing, and think to bond their brother's soul to a suit of armor? Who would be in the mouth of a giant homunculus and come up with the idea to travel through the real Gate of Truth to get out of a fake one? Ed would. But now, sitting in the dark in a completely foreign world, holding a device he didn't even fully understand, Ed really had no ideas.

Maybe if I get farther away from where I am, the phone will work again. Then I'll be able to tell them exactly where I am instead of hoping they find me near—what was that?

Ed stiffened up, certain he could hear voices, and he tried to shift as quietly as possible. He got his feet beneath him, pressing his back against the side of the closet and waiting to hear it again. He pushed the phone into his front pocket and held his hands a couple of inches away from each other, ready to clap, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

That sounds like…

"I'm just looking for someone."

Ed threw the door open, and even though it was almost pitch black, his eyes had adjusted a long time ago, and he had memorized the layout of the apartment. "Reid?" He rushed into the hall and looked toward the living room, immediately spotting the outline of a person. "Reid!"

"Ed?" Reid turned toward him.

Ed ran up to him, skidding to a stop just short of giving him a hug. "How did you find me?"

"By systematically searching every empty building in the vicinity of where you were when our call dropped." Reid barely took a breath. "Hotch, I found him!"

Tensing, Ed tried to decide whether Hotchner's presence was a good thing, and he took a half step back. Crap. Maybe I should—

"Edward." Hotchner stepped into the doorway, and it wasn't clear from the look on his face what he was thinking. "I'm glad we found you."

Ed tensed up. "Yeah, me too."

"I specifically told you before we came that you needed to be on your best behavior," was Hotchner's follow up statement.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ed tried to make out the agent's features in the dark. "I didn't do anything wrong. Someone needed my help, and I knew if I called someone, it would take them too long to get there."

Hotchner sighed softly and must have tried to grab Ed's arm—though Ed didn't know why—because he asked, "What happened to your shirt?"

"I transmuted it to make something I could tie the attacker's hand with."

"You transmuted in front of people?"

Ed smacked the agent's hand away. "Well, what was I supposed to do?" he shouted, spreading his arms. "Was I supposed to just let some girl get attacked to keep myself safe?"

"You could have stopped him and chased him off without using alchemy. You didn't—"

"I don't need you to tell me what to do!" Ed reached out and grabbed Hotchner's suit jacket. "I can take care of myself!"

Ed saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately let go and tried to jump back, remembering what had happened to him the last time he grabbed a superior officer by the shirt. Hotchner caught him by the wrist, and Ed lifted his flesh arm to shield himself, still able to feel Mustang's fist impacting with the side of his face.

"I want you to calm down. If you're really capable of taking care of yourself and making adult decisions, then you should be capable of talking through things without shouting." Hotchner sighed softly. "Let's get out of here and into the light so we can actually see each other."

Reid hummed. "We're gonna need a plan," he started, and it looked like the outline of his body was moving toward the apartment door. "We can't take Ed back to the hotel. We would run the risk of law enforcement seeing him, and if any of the witnesses remember his automail, they're going to identify him right away."

"Agreed." Hotchner let go of Ed's arm and followed his subordinate out of the room.

Cautious, Ed pulled his arm closer to himself, hesitating for a few seconds before following behind them. They made their way out of the building, and even though the sun was on its way down—Ed honestly had no idea how long it had been since the incident—it was much brighter in the open, without closed doors and boarded windows and curtains to keep everything black.

"Let's think about this," Hotchner said as he came to a stop. "We don't all have to be there to close the case. You could take Edward to the airport awhile and just wait for us there."

Reid rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but he's shirtless, not to mention his automail."

"So, someone needs to get clothing from the hotel to a place that's far enough away from the crime scene where you can hide."

Ed put his hands on his hips, glancing around at the mention of hiding and wondering if anyone in the surrounding buildings had taken note of him, either when he was running into the building or now that he was coming out of it. "Wait." He squinted, looking at Hotchner. "Why would you be closing the case?"

"You stopped a man named James Boyd, who was our most recent suspect. While Reid and I were looking for you, the local police and rest of the team determined he's the man we've been looking for." Hotchner slipped one hand into his pocket, looking around them as if he thought any one of the many people living in the area might see them and become a threat. "His would-be victim had been drugged, so it took a while for the drugs to wear off enough that we could get some answers out of her. But even before she was coherent, we were able to get some information from Boyd, and Garcia cleaned out his computers and found more than enough evidence."

Ed, more than a bit petulantly, crossed his arms over his chest and just barely resisted the urge to tell Hotchner that not only had Ed saved the woman's life, but he had also helped them catch a serial killer.

"Garcia will need to gather evidence so the local police can close the case, so she can't help." Reid twisted his lips around, thoughtful. "JJ will be helping the police with some kind of announcement or press conference to inform the public the killer has been caught."

Ed felt a twinge in his leg, but he rubbed it away without really thinking about it.

"I'll call Morgan." Hotchner pulled his phone from his pocket. "He was at the crime scene last time I spoke to him, so he's most likely still at or around the hotel."

Reid nodded, smiling faintly as Hotchner stepped away and put the phone to his ear, and then he was looking at Ed. He started to reach out with his arms but then stopped himself short. "I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you okay?"

Ed was surprised for a moment, but then he forced a laugh and waved it off. "I'm fine. I just found a place and waited for you. It was easy."

"You know, it's okay to be scared, Ed." Reid slipped his hands into his pants pockets, a faint smile pulling on the corner of his mouth. "I know you don't want people to see you as a little kid, but adults get scared, too. You don't always have to put on a brave face."

Ed opened his mouth slightly, lips moving without words for a few seconds.

"I was worried about you." Reid let out a nervous chuckle that said he understood the awkwardness Ed was feeling. "I know… it's not always easy to be honest about… you know, how our brains work."

Averting his gaze, Ed tried to simultaneously take Reid's advice and keep his walls up. "Yeah. I, uh… I'm glad you found me."

Reid smiled, and they slipped into an easy silence that lasted until Hotchner returned.

"I'm going to drive the two of you to a small plaza near the hotel and drop you off, and then you're going to stay out of sight until Morgan gets there with a shirt. He'll take you to the airport, and then I want the three of you to stay there and stay hidden." Hotchner barely took a breath, looking at Ed. "Is everything in your room easy to identify as yours?"

Ed cocked his head to the side. "Uh—"

"I mean, will it be easy for us to figure out what belongs to you and what belongs to the hotel? We can't afford to have you coming back and packing your own bags."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Ed shrugged his shoulders, feeling a painful tug on the right side. "I just have some clothes and all those books. Um, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush… I have my phone with me." It still felt weird to refer to the things they had bought him as his own.

Hotchner nodded with a pleased expression on his face. "Excellent. Let's get this taken care of." He took a few steps in the direction of the black SUV parked on the other side of the street, and then he stopped to look at Ed again. "And Edward?"

Ed glared, expecting to have to defend himself again.

"Good work today. You saved that woman's life." Hotchner didn't smile when he said it, but it was obvious he was being genuine, and then he was striding across the road.

Reid nudged Ed on the arm and gave him a smile as if to say, 'See? Everything's fine. Even Hotch knows you did the right thing."

Ed flashed a weak smile, exhausted from the day and what it had put him through, and as he reached out to grab the door handle, he felt another jolt of pain in his stump.

What is going on?

August 10th, 2023

JJ glanced to her left when she heard another quiet groan, and she couldn't stop the helpless frustration from coursing through her as she set her book in her lap and leaned over. "Ed? Do you need the trash can again?"

Ed, who was laying on his left side to avoid putting pressure on his automail arm but subsequently laying in such a way that made it hard to grab the trash can from the floor beside the bench, shook his head. "M'fine…"

"Okay." JJ leaned back into her own space and lifted her book again, wondering if the close proximity of the plane made Ed less likely to admit that he needed help. He probably didn't want an audience of any kind, and it was hard to not have an audience when everyone on the team was just a handful of feet away. "Hotch said you told him this kind of pain isn't normal. Do you think it's something we should be concerned about?"

Jerking his head, Ed took a deep breath and tried to talk. "I don't… think so."

"Hotch said he wants to take you to the hospital." JJ slowly lowered her book. "I know going to the doctor is never really fun, but they might be able to—"

"I don't want anyone to find out about me." Ed moved his leg—under the blanket, JJ couldn't tell which one, but she assumed it was the flesh one—and sniffed quietly. "I don't even know why Hotchner wants to take me to the hospital when he was the one who said I need to stay hidden."

JJ smiled, lowering her voice. "Well, that's because he's secretly a big softie." She chuckled, turning to her left and leaning her arm against the back of the bench. "He's a team leader. He's a federal agent. He's a dad. He wants to take care of people. We all do." She wet her lips, trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. "We won't let them hurt you, Ed."

"Tch. What are you gonna do?" Ed stared straight ahead, eyes vacant and tired. "Seven people against a whole government organization?"

Smirking, JJ reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "There might not be a lot of us, but I think we're pretty smart. We can hide you, and—"

Ed shook his head. "I don't wanna risk it."

"Ed, we can—"

"Look, I know you all think I'm a kid, but I know what I'm doing. I've been making decisions for myself since I was a kid—a real kid—and I don't need you telling me what to do!" He had pushed himself up while shouting, but by the time the last word wrenched its way out of his lungs, he had collapsed back onto the cushions.

JJ reached out to push his bangs away from his face but stopped short. "I'm sorry, Ed. We're not trying to tell you what to do. We just want to make sure you're taken care of."

"I am not going to the hospital. It's just some pain. I'm fine." Ed glared at her for a moment, and then he seemed to lose the ability to maintain consciousness. His eyes fluttered and then closed, and his body went lax on the bench.

JJ wet her lips. "Let me talk to Hotch, okay?"

Ed uttered a noise that fell somewhere between a grunt and a hum.

JJ stood up and set her book on the couch-like fixture, walking the length of the jet to Hotch, who was thankfully all the way on the other end. "Hey," she whispered, waiting until Hotch finished the sentence he was writing to continue. "Ed really doesn't want to go to the hospital."

"I think I got that." Hotch tapped his pen against the case file. "He's having consistent, severe pain that he's already admitted to us is not normal."

JJ interlaced her fingers, struggling to argue Ed's side when, really, she wanted him to go to the hospital, too. "He might be in pain, but nothing is swollen or red, and we do know this pain happens to him, even if it's not normally this frequent." She paused, almost wincing. "Hotch, I really don't think it's a good idea to put him through more trauma. He's afraid he's going to be experimented on, and there's going to be all kinds of medical equipment that's completely foreign to him and drives home the fact that he's in another universe. Even if he could handle something like that normally, how is he going to handle it when he's in severe pain and ran for his life less than twenty-four hours ago?"

Hotch pressed his lips in a thin line, considering the situation for a moment. "His pain is severe. It could be a sign of something much bigger going on, and if it is something serious, the sooner we catch it, the better."

"You know—"

JJ let out a startled shout, and Hotch nearly jumped out of his skin.

"—it's possible his body is reacting to the strain coming to our universe put it under." Reid tapped his index fingers on the back of the chair, kneeling backwards on his seat and continuing as if he had no idea how he had just scared them. "Especially with his explanation of transmutation being construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. If his body was taken apart atom by atom and then put back together when he went from his world to ours, it actually makes sense that it—especially the parts of it that are sensitive to trauma to begin with—would give him pain."

For several seconds, there was silence, Reid watching Hotch while JJ looked between the two of them and waited for a definitive answer. She turned her head and peered down the length of the plane, and even though she couldn't really see Ed due to one of the seats, she was confident he was still lying down. Looking back at Hotch, she chewed on her lip and waited some more.

"We don't have to take him to the hospital, but I want him—or someone—to keep a journal. I want to know when he gets this pain, how it starts, what the severity is, if anything helps decrease or eliminate it…" Hotch rolled his hand to indicate the list went on. "You can tell him we won't be taking him to the hospital when we land, but we are going to keep a very close eye on it."

JJ nodded. "Got it." She walked the short distance to the bench and sat down carefully, not wanting to jostle the painful limbs. "Hey, Ed."

"Mmm?" Ed couldn't get his eyes open, but he turned his head toward her.

"We're going to hold off on a hospital visit for now." She considered telling him about the journal, but she figured that could wait until he wasn't in agony. "You don't have to go, so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Just try and get some rest, okay?"

Ed jerked his head in a nod.

JJ watched him for another moment, and then she opened her book, looking at the pages but not really seeing them. Him having a journal makes me feel a little better, at least. It might help us get on top of this. She exhaled. If we can't get him home right away, he could be dealing with this pain long term. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on her book and put her worries aside. Worrying wouldn't help her, and it definitely wouldn't help Ed. We need to pick a time to go to Rossi's and have a team meeting. If we really workshop this, we might be able to at least figure out what steps we need to be taking to get us closer to a solution.

So, she put her book on her lap and pulled out her phone, opening a group text.