Texas - There are no strings on me. (strings_on_me) wrote in elsewhere_rpg, @ 2017-10-27 15:12:00 |
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Having woken up from her two and a half day nap, Texas had felt surprisingly well. She’d glared at Harry and punched him in the arm and had used a dozen choice curse words, but ultimately she’d been thankful for it. Her body had some time to heal and she let a tired (but no longer sick) York bandage her up properly before she’d armored up and headed back out into the woods. She hadn’t been out there very long when Delta picked something up on his scanners. A large disturbance. Without question, the Spartan had headed in that direction. --- Very large disturbance was an understatement. A crash that probably sounded a bit like an earthquake in that quiet forest erupted without notice. No warning signs, no nothing except a blaze of orange and metal nearby portal. It was almost large enough to cause strain on it, but the portal expanded to let the monstrosity in and it came raining down from the sky in a wash of rusty red and yellow light. The biplane was on fire as it descended. Several lights in the town had flickered on, the thing was not quiet. The thing was not normal to the time period. A few people stepped outside to watch the light show, while others purposefully remained indoors. Then light went out in the forest. Most townspeople didn’t venture there as it was, rumors of monsters kept them out-rumors that were all too true. The plane seemed to dissolve as it struck the treeline, sending an unconscious Edward Elric down to the grass underneath. A horrible screeching sound came from the depths of the forest not far from the crash site, the disturbance hadn’t gone unnoticed to the monsters within either. Several of them were not too pleased and began their trek toward the light of the flame the plane caused. Ed began to stir as a large creature with no fur or armor stood feet in front of him, sharp fangs poised for attack on the thing that disturbed it’s rest. It had a good ten feet on the kid, but Ed didn’t run. Instead he stood with a groan as his body protested the movement and he pulled off his rusty red trench coat, yanked up his sleeve and pulled his arm straight downward. Yanking on a rope that activated a concentrated explosive, as the creature opened it’s mouth all it got wa a blast of heat that tore it to shreds before anyone could really blink. There was a puddle of monster blood and an angry forest in his wake. “..Where the hell am I?” He scratched his head with his arm and winced as his head hurt. Likely having gained a mild concussion from the crash, he began to walk forward. Hoping not to see anymore creatures. --- Ed wasn’t lucky enough not to see anymore monsters that day.. But the next one would at least look familiar, with that black, matte armor that made her almost invisible, except for those few lights along her thighs, biceps, chest, and helmet. She’d turned them on so he could identify her as more than a shadow. The man who’d been thrown from the plane-- it was most definitely a plane-- was none other than Edward Elric. He looked different.. Delta reported that many of his vitals weren’t normal, but they were at least consistent with the levels Ed might be experiencing within normal deviations. That black-armored behemoth came to a stop in front of the far smaller blonde, Tex tilting her head at him. He was taller. Something was different. Far different. “You’ve worried everyone sick.” She announced flatly, through the speakers of her helmet, making her sound painfully mechanical. --- The shadow out of the corner of his eyes caused him to turn and pull a gun (that he could actually hold due to his hand appearing weirdly fleshy) in the light of the flame. That shape he didn’t recognize in the darkness. Another beast? Shit. And he’d thought people were bad. This was a whole nother level of badness and he couldn’t see a way out. The forest he’d landed in was dense and looked the same all around. There was blood running down the left side of his face from an injury thanks to the plane crash that caused his visibility to be a little difficult, but he wasn’t unrecognizable. His hair was still that same golden shade, only it wasn’t braided. It was pulled back in a straight ponytail, That voice nearly caused him to fire, but for a moment he pulled back just to stare. Dull golden eyes watching the tank of a woman while his gun remained level on her, automail hanging down by his other side. “...Others? What do you?..Texas?” Was it really this place again? --- She wasn’t surprised by the fact he seemed to be confused. He’d grown quite a bit, Tex guessed he’d been gone a few years now, just like she had. “How long has it been?” The mechanical voice questioned as the metal monster came forward, stopping just a few feet in front of Ed and looking him over critically, the young blonde reflected in the orange of her visor. “A few years, I assume.” A hand came out to grasp the metal arm and turn it this way and that-- she wasn’t gentle-- before she released it. “It looks like it came out of the stone age.” Not really, but she’d always been better at insulting than complimenting. “Can you walk?” Just like Tex, she never did ask too many questions. --- Even at first glance it was obvious Ed had grown quite a bit physically, but mentally he wasn’t as prone to rage as he might have been when she first met him. He hadn’t just shot her armor straight away, he waited and watched. His hand was steady on the weapon he held. It wasn’t the first time he’d held a gun either. It’d been level on Tex until he recognized her, only then did it lower as she approached him and he could visibly see her to know it was her. People were deceptive, he still didn’t trust easily but he recognized her as not a threat so that was something. As the Spartan took his arm, Ed finched. “Oi. Quit that, what the hell? Do you realize how much more painful it is?” He gave her a scowl as he jerked his hand back. It was much lighter than the automail he’d had before, much less obvious that it even was automail. Ed smirked. “Still better than the first model.” He responded, not even phased by the fact she wanted to talk about automail. Before he might have tried to hide it. He wore a pair of white gloves to hide the fact that his hands looked different than normal hands, but it didn’t exactly help when he’d had to use it to fire at monsters. It’d melted away a lot of the flesh that covered the arm. “Probably. I don’t know. I sort of lost track. Felt like a couple years, but...time moved weird thereI think.. I’m up now aren’t I?” He responded sarcastically and took a step toward her. That step however caused the automail leg to break at the knee and crumble to pieces underneath him. Several choice words left his lips as once again he found himself lying in the grass face first. --- She smirked behind her visor as he collapsed to the ground, but then that metal monster was bending and she wrapped an arm around his waist and hoisted him up, tossing him over her shoulder as York had, but instead of holding him there in that position, she released him and let him scramble to sit more comfortably. Or, he could just hang there. It was up to him. “You were up.” She remarked in a bland tone, the smirk audible even through that speaker. As the Spartan began to walk, she was quiet. There wasn't really anything that needed to be said. He was back, it’d make a lot of people happy. Hell, it made Texas happy.. Not that you could tell. Crunching through the forest, no monsters would dare approach the metal woman and her charge. There was nothing bad-ass enough there to want to eat something made out of metal. Not yet, anyway. --- “Bite me. I blame you. You jinxed it.” Ed grumbled as Tex went to grab at him like he was some kind of insignificant speck and he gave her an exasperated face, not that she could really tell with all that black armor and general darkness of the forest. “What about the fire?” It was already dying out on it’s own. The plane seemed to only have caused a small explosion, it wasn’t enough to spark anything major. When he looked up at it, the flames were already dwindling. “...Oh.” They didn’t have enough energy to burn on their own. When Tex released him, Ed squirmed a bit awkwardly to sit up on her again. “I never thought you’d be carrying me like a brat again.” He smirked as he held onto her so she didn’t just drop him on his face again when he couldn’t get up on his own anymore. “...When you said others, you meant Al?...And…” Last he remembered, York had gained some kind of illness and Ed hadn’t seen the outcome. He remembered York. He’d thought about him often actually, all of them. He didn’t belong on the other side of the gate and he knew it the entire time. He never really felt at home there. He felt like he was living in some kind of dream world, or hell maybe. --- “You’re always going to be a brat. I hope you’re not done growing.” She turned her head some to look at him through that visor, the light from the moon glinting just some off of it. “Yeah, I mean Al. They’ve all been going mad looking for you.” She really wasn’t good at giving information. She didn’t spout off how long he’d been gone, or what had happened while he was away, she had only answered his question plainly. Spartans, in general, weren’t that chatty. York was an oddity, even North was more quiet than York. But York -- even Wash -- had always been talkative. Couldn’t be helped. Tex imagined it was the way they dealt with things. It made them seem less broken. People didn’t pay them as much mind. Smart. --- Ed scowled at that comment. “You’re lucky I can’t kick you right now.” Or he would, painful as it may end up for him he’d still do it. His other leg still worked, but he knew flesh to this kind of armor would just end terribly for him, so instead he tapped on the suit with his automail hoping that kind of noise was annoying revenge. “...How long was I gone?” Had it been that long for them? Ed stopped harassing her suit for a moment, feeling a little bad about suddenly vanishing-not as though he could have actually helped it. York had always told him he’d go after him, he wondered what happened with him. How he’d be..if he was still..”York’s alive..right?” He still remembered what the man had said to him all that time ago about Spartan’s dying young, and Ed had hated that he’d been apart so long in a world he didn’t feel like he belonged in. He’d wanted nothing more than to go home to see Winry, Roy, or York- but none of that had happened. No matter what he tried, alchemy didn’t work where he’d been, he hadn’t been able to get back to them on his own. He’d tried so many things that made him seem like a crazy person. He’d never given up in spite of the obvious issues-but nothing worked. He leaned against Tex, feeling a little drowsy thanks to the concussion he’d suffered. “Don’t move so much, I might puke on you.” He felt queasy ontop of it all Awesome. A little disorientation was never complete without his stomach threatening to flip on him. --- Ed was lucky Texas was even tempered enough right now not to tear that leg right off. Instead, she just endured his annoying tapping. “York’s alive. It’s been seven days. His illness passed, he’s doing fine aside from making himself crazy looking for you.” She lifted a hand when he leaned against her, setting it on his thigh and holding him there, so he wouldn’t fall off. “My armor washes off quite nicely.” She remarked in that same bland tone, though her steps remained even as she took them towards the edge of the forest, where they could see the lights of the town. Once they were out of the woods and on the path proper, she stopped and removed her hand from his thigh, instead she offered it down as a step to him. Ride was over, Elric. --- Aw, look at that. Personal growth. Tex didn’t hit him off her like a fly or something equally annoying. She didn’t do anything except seem irritated. Mission complete. “Seven days...a week and I’ve been worrying about him for two years now.” It was almost funny. Ed had never stopped thinking about York. He’d never fallen in love with anyone else either, he lived but he didn’t belong in that world. Love remained for the Spartan and the people around him-but those on the other side of the gate practically felt like place holders at times. Ed felt a little bad about that, but ever since the Gypsy Noah decided to tell him he didn’t have a home, he felt it. He didn’t belong in either place, but o long a he was around the right people maybe he could still be okay. He wondered if Al had his body back. He wasn’t exactly sure what’d happened here last except York’s illness. “You really aren’t good at the whole explaining thing are you?” Ed smirked a bit. Giving her an annoyed look as she suddenly stopped near the path toward town he stared at her “How the hell am I supposed to walk there like this, genius?” He asked dryly, staring down at the ground as though it were made of lava. --- “I’m not your taxi, Alchemist. You’re just going to have to figure out a way. I’m on monster patrol.” But luckily, he wouldn’t have to wonder for long. Alphonse would be seen seconds later, running across the main street-- but he’d pause as he saw those lights, there in the middle of the dirt road, and he’d stare at the sight of Texas and someone perched on her shoulder. A blonde. Those bronze eyes got large and Alphonse broke into a run, heading towards them. “Brother!” It was a shout in the darkness and Tex shrugged her shoulder to urge the Alchemist to hop down, so he could go see his brother, who was racing for them at top speed. It figured. No one was ever that happy to see Tex. --- Ed looked up at her with a bit of an annoyed expression, but it softened moments later. “....I’m...thank you. I’ll figure it out.” He’d been on his own long enough anyway, he could probably do something about this. Besides she’d just called him alchemist. Did that mean alchemy still worked? Ed was anxious to give it a try, but he didn’t think in his arms current condition that he could without wrecking it completely.Without knowing if anyone was actually going to be able to fix it, he couldn’t just burn through it like that. As awkward as it was to move, Ed took that hint and made his way down off her, unfortunately his one leg could only hold him so long-and he ended up sinking down to the ground. To be honest though the ground was a welcome change. It wasn’t spinning around him like Tex and her consistent moving had done. It didn’t spin, it was stationary and Ed was able to stop himself from puking just in time to see Al barreling toward them. “....” He had no words, a genuine sort of smile. One that almost seemed out of place considering how little his younger self seemed to do of that movement. He stayed put, letting Al get there. It wasn’t like he could do much in that condition as it were. --- With Ed on the ground, Tex stepped back, then turned and headed back into the woods. Al, though, kept barreling forward. That was, until he got close enough, then he put on the breaks, skidding to a stop in the dirt and kicking up a small cloud of dust. He came to a stop just a few feet from Ed, staring down at him with wide eyes. That man.. He looked like Ed, but.. Panting softly, the younger Alchemist took a few seconds to straighten up and stare down at him. Ed. “Brother.” It was just a whisper, but the younger Elric just remained standing there, staring wide-eyed as the air around him whipped at his hair. This wasn’t the brother who’d vanished a week ago. And this wasn’t his brother. Who was this? --- “...Creepy.” He commented the way Tex just seemed to melt back into the woods. He never realized before just how unnerving that shit was. Tex just seemed to vanish from sight entirely with that black armor of hers. His attention then turned back toward his confused looking little brother. He was a big brother again, properly so but he realized just how different they were now that they didn’t look identical anymore. Ed had grown, his body had changed a bit. He was far less scrawny than he’d been only a week ago. He actually had some muscular definition to him that couldn’t have possibly happened in the span of a week without some weird science experiments like the Spartan’s. “Al?” Alphonse too looked different. “You hair is long again.” He grinned, looking at that ponytail he wore. He liked both looks on him but it was strange seeing him look so young again. Al looked to be around sixteen still. Ed frowned a bit. “It’s me.” Al was looking at him like he was a stranger, and Ed didn’t like it. --- He was some stranger. When Al had seen him first-- at sixteen-- he’d been the exact same age that his brother had been when he’d died. Sure, his logical brain knew that that his brother should have been older, but that didn’t matter. He’d accepted blindly because he wanted to. He needed to. But this? This was far harder to accept. This man didn’t look like any brother he’d ever known, Ed had never made it out of his teens. It left Alphonse standing there, unsure, just watching. That was, until Ed spoke and he he grimaced some and clenched his hands into fists. “What happened to you? Where did you go?” He still made no move to come forward. How could he? He felt a little.. Well.. betrayed, somehow. Like his brother had been stolen from him and the universe had sent yet another in his place. --- Ed frowned a bit at Al’s reaction..He hadn’t imagined how hard it might be on him to see Ed like this after practically getting his brother back. Ed didn’t really want to talk about where he’d been. Not in it’s entirety anyway. “That’s a long story…” His expression softened a bit in concern and a little twinge of sadness as he remembered. To them it’d been days, to him...he’d lost his real brother for two years. “I’ll tell you but..not here. “ He felt like they were being watched, and they were. Spectators had begun to look in on the boys. They’d heard the commotion in the forest, and some had actually left their houses to look on at the pair. Ed still didn’t really trust people that easily, and didn’t feel like being stabbed by angry villagers or something. He tugged at the small pocket watch that still dangled from his belt to his pocket and showed it to Al. “I promise you, it’s me.” --- He didn’t look so interested in trusting.. That was, until the silver pocketwatch was revealed. That made him grit his teeth and clench his fists again. After a second of consideration, he was pushing forward and dropping to his knees to slide his brother’s good arm around his shoulders and help him up to his feet.. Er.. foot, really. The automail one didn’t seem like it was in very good shape. Automail. Alphonse’s heart sank. It wasn't his brother. “Come on.” He’d help Ed away from the edge of the forest, past the people whispering and giving them curious looks. A few people followed, but stopped after a little while. The two were no longer interesting. Al only stopped again once they got to the house Riza had found for them. It was old, parts of it were falling apart, windows were broken, but it was a house. It had four bedrooms and two stories, plenty big enough for the Spartans and the Elrics. Once in the door, Al closed it behind them and helped Ed over to the worn out couch, gently lowering him down onto it.. Then he backed off. “..I’ll get you a drink.” He announced before heading to the kitchen, leaving Ed there alone in the barren, run-down living area. --- Alphonse barely spoke, so Ed didn’t push him. He was in a pretty good amount of pain as it were if he was entirely honest. He didn’t enjoy automail severing. It was a painful process even if it wasn’t literally pulled off by the limb. They were still his arms and legs after all. Still had pain receptors in them and it was searing. If Al didn’t want to talk, Ed would focus on getting back to wherever his brother was taking him in the first place-conscious. The teen was disappointed to see him, it didn’t take a genius to see that. Still, it hurt a little. He knew he’d been gone a long time, but that honestly wasn’t the reception he’d been thinking of when he returned. Instead of hugs, it looked like he’d just kicked Al’s kittens and the younger alchemist wanted nothing to do with him. The town looked the same, but what could he expect, he’d only been gone seven days for them. Now there was a house. Ed just frowned a little as Al deposited him on the couch and he nodded. Half tempted to apologize for it being him again and not the one Al was expecting. “Sorry.” Was all he managed to get out. Normally he’d just get his own drink, but being without a limb or wheelchair prevented that. ---- “Don’t apologize to me.” Alphonse said in a surprisingly firm voice. The young man had all manner of power and fortitude when he required it. Returning from the kitchen, he came over to the older boy-- no, he couldn’t be called a boy anymore. Ed was a man. Al knelt down in front of the man and offered up the drink. It was cold. Hopefully, it would feel good going down. Once he took the glass, the younger Elric was using careful hands to roll up the other’s pant leg so he could get a look at the damaged automail. His face softened when he saw-- not automail at all, but something entirely different. “Who are you?” He asked more quietly, his face shielded by his bangs. He wasn’t being aggressive, but he also wasn’t being warm. He was as cold as Briggs, just like he’d been when he and this Ed had first met and Al had accused him of imitating his dead brother. He didn’t know who this man was, aside from the fact it was clearly some version of Edward Elric. --- Ed frowned, he didn’t know what else to say so he said nothing. Letting Al take in the sight in front of him. He should have known Al would be this way. Now he probably felt like he’d lost two brothers, even though he really was sitting right in front of him. He accepted the water with his right hand, it was fleshy at the fingertips but clearly automail underneath where the radiation from the blast had burnt the thin prosthetic coating. He drank it down like he hadn’t had anything to drink in weeks. In practically one long moment it was gone. “Edward Elric, Fullmetal.” Maybe if he gave his title that would convince him...but probably not. It wouldn’t hold much water with him. Lots of people tried to use his name. “Lets see...But if I was you my rank could just be bullshit.” He scratched at his jawline where a bit of blood had gathered and dripped down his chin. That was annoying. He used a long white sleeve to wipe it away from his face. “Last I remember..we saved space from tribbles and you wanted ten.” He tried. Maybe a memory would help. Something only he would know, or rather Al’s second version of him. --- That had bronze eyes, wide and round, staring up at Ed from the ground. Fullmetal? “What’s a Fullmetal?” The name didn’t ring a bell. Not even slightly. Not with this young man with his long hair and his earnest face. He’d always assumed Ed-- the Ed with Automail-- had the same title as his brother did. He didn’t? But then the tribbles were mentioned and his eyes dropped away, staring down at the leg in front of him. How was he going to fix this? It’d need to be replaced. The arm, too. And Ed was too tall now for Al to offer up one of his own for temporary use. “I only wanted one.” He insisted in a whisper, with eyes that began to tear up, but they didn’t spill over yet, just made his eyes suspiciously wet. “Where did you go, Brother? You left me. I was so worried.” To distract himself, he began carefully picking at the make-shift automail leg, straightening wires and inspecting damage. --- What’s a Fullmetal? Had he really never told Al his second name? ..Huh. Well that’s new. He had also just assumed his Ed had the same name. “...That’s me. Except I’m a Major now.” He’d gained his commission. That was new. He had authority, but he just never used it. He didn’t believe in holding his title over people, unless they were Roy and they needed pissing off. “I know, I’m teasing.” Ed commented with a faint smile as he watched Al tear up like that. Yeah, he could see you there little brother. Al always was the more emotional of the two. “I know...I didn’t mean to.” He lowered his hands to rest on his knees as he watched Al fuss with some of the hanging wires that looked outdated now. Maybe one of the wizards could help out. Or a blacksmith if there was one around, Ed didn’t remember. “There a blacksmith around here somewhere?” Was this that sort of place? “.....It’s complicated.” Ed responded to Al’s questions with a frown. His own eyes casting downward at his fleshy hands. “I went home...I lost my brother, my Al. He’s..” Ed’s heart still ached admitting those words out loud. “I couldn’t let him die. I kind of died instead..” --- Fullmetal. Alphonse could only blink slowly, staring at that leg. Fullmetal. It made his chest tight. Why did it make such a big difference? He didn’t know. It hurt. “I can fix it.” He assured the older young man quietly, just listening to those words. Listening to Ed admit he’d left his little brother behind. Listening to Ed admit that he’d died to save Al. Again. Those tears finally spilled over as he lifted his head, pushing up to his feet. The swing for Ed’s jaw at least wasn’t full force, with Ed sitting and farther away, Al couldn’t get a good angle or proper distance, so it’d hurt, it’d probably bruise, but it wouldn’t do any real damage. “You left him!” Al accused, shouting the words at his surrogate brother. “You left him, damn you! You should have let him die!” The younger Elric threw out a hand to the side. “He can’t go on without you, don’t you know that?!” But he could, Alphonse standing here in front of Ed was proof of it. He could go on without his brother. He was strong enough. “You should never have left him!” A hand swiped out again, snatching back that glass (which, he’d taken note, hadn’t been shattered in that false hand). --- Al was so upset with him Ed didn’t really know what to do except to try to make light of things, but apparently Al wasn’t in the mood for light. Al was in the mood to break his jaw along with his his body instead. That punch left a red mark on his skin as Ed had no choice but to take that hit. He couldn’t really move much, all he could do was let the world spin around him. So much so that finally he did end up throwing up on the floor. Moving was not a good idea, not like he’d really had much choice in the matter there. Using that same bloody sleeve he made a face as he wiped his mouth. All that jerky movement, first from Tex and then that jarring punch had finally done it. Ed felt lousy, both physically and mentally but Al needed him. He didn’t know how to make this better, but he would try. “...He will though. I always imagined him to be something like you if he grew up at all. You’re living proof. Besides all that, he’s not alone.” He wasn’t entirely sure what Al had gone through on his world as he rubbed his jaw where Al had punched him and winced trying to move it for a moment while he tried to refocus his eyes on his brother that kept blurring in the process. “I didn’t want to!” He’d never wanted to leave him. Tears began to build up in his own eyes then. “I tried to get back. I tried everything. I thought I was…” He cut himself off as he let his own blonde bangs cling to his face. “I’ll never let him die. Him or you. Hate me all you want for it...I can’t...” Those words were barely audible, tears fell down his cheeks freely which was probably an odd sight for someone who’d always been so stoic about life, but when it came to Alphonse he was anything but stoic. Al was his heart, his world and he was gone. Ed hoped he’d lived because of his sacrifice but he wasn’t so sure he had. So many confusing emotions bubbling up inside. --- All of that boiling rage inside the younger Elric left in a rush as he watched his brother become physically ill, then wipe it away as if were nothing. As he listened to those words. That he imagined his own brother would be a lot like Al. That he wasn’t alone. “But he is alone.” Those words were far more quiet. “Don’t you get that? He can have everyone in the world, but without you.. He’s alone. You’re all he needs. You’re all he wants.” His voice cracked on that last word, his own tears finally spilling over, but Alphonse didn’t tip his head to hide them in shame, he’d never been ashamed of his emotions, he’d never had issues with crying. He was an emotional boy. “He would rather die. I would rather die.” He shook his head some, tears flying off his cheeks as a bit of that anger bubbled up again. “You mean everything to us! All I’ve ever wanted was my big brother!” And he was so sure it was the same for Al in Ed’s world. The anger dissolved in a breath, staring wide-eyed at Ed there on the couch, immobile and prone. Crying. His heart sank. “I’m so sorry.” He managed to choke the words out, only a whisper. --- Ed had never taken proper time to mourn Al. He’d always clung to the hope that Al was alive, all the time he lived on the other side of the Gate. It never even really hit him that he’d actually died either because it was all so real. It still felt like living, though he also remembered feeling trapped. Lost between worlds with no home a Noah called it. It’d been literal hell for him. A place without his little brother, a place without alchemy. He recognized faces, like Hughes and King Bradley but they weren’t his faces. Not his people. They were ghosts of people he’d loved, dreams of a world in between. Had he done wrong again? Al was his world, and all he wanted for him was to live. He could only restore one of them though and he’d chosen his brother with barely a second thought. Only thinking that maybe he’d be able to get back to him one day.Both his hands went to his face as he tried to hide the ridiculous tears that fell. Ed was never the emotional of the two. “I…” He couldn’t talk, his voice wasn’t there anymore after that single syllable. He felt physically and mentally drained to the point of only wanting to curl up in be somewhere and not move anymore. His entire body was starting to feel pain thanks to lack of automail connection, but maybe that was what he deserved. He hadn’t meant to make Al suffer. He was thinking of him having a chance at a real life. He shook his head to the apology, Al didn’t need to, but Ed couldn’t speak anymore. --- It broke his heart to see his brother this way-- even if it wasn’t quite his brother. Well, it was, but-- No. Al wouldn’t think about it that way, not now. He just came forward, avoiding the mess on the floor (he’d get to it later) and setting that water glass aside. Then he climbed onto the couch without a second thought, paying very little mind to the way it looked when he straddled his brother’s hips and wrapped his arms around him, pulling Ed in close against his chest. It would put the eldest Elric at just the right height to press his face to Al’s shoulder. He could hide his tears there. “I would rather die with you than live without you.” His words were firm and sure, despite his own tears. Only Alphonse could be so resolute and so emotional at the same time. That was where all of his strength came from: emotions. He was driven by them. He was driven by his love for his brother and friends, his family. All of the rest of the feelings that came along with it were collateral, but the love was what was strongest. “Please, Brother, I can’t lose you again.” Don’t ever do that to him, Ed-- don’t you ever save his life by sacrificing your own. His own brother had done it. Ed had done it to his Al. And now here they were. Ed couldn’t do it again. He couldn’t. --- The blonde didn’t care about how anything looked, he was a wreck as it was. Physically too. He didn’t have anymore words on the subject of his brother’s death only tears shed and strained breaths. He leaned into that touch, which before might have been a thing he wouldn’t allow himself to do, but he was too miserable just then to care. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but when his brother was concerned he already felt like a failure as it were. He should have been able to protect them both but he’d let them down. He’d let the damn homunculus win and Al had suffered for it. He’d tried to save them both, he really had but nothing worked. They were just too strong. Love was messy, and leaving him like that had literally broken his heart at the time. There were days when Ed hadn’t wanted to get out of bed unless Alfons couldn’t even coax him out of bed with promises rockets and science that usually excited him when that sort of depression settled in. It was a heavy thing to lose the brother he had. All he could do was nod, suddenly feeling heavy again. Just wanting to disappear but physically unable. He was starting to feel sick again. His eyes threatening to close as some of the tears finally seemed to subside. “...No plans to.” He wasn’t sure how many times he could die and come back considering how bad he felt. --- Alphonse tightened his arms slightly around the older boy-- no. A man-- and bent his head to set his cheek there on Ed’s crown, just holding. “Good.” He said after a long few seconds. Only once he was sure that his brother’s tears had stopped entirely would he pull away to look down at him, his cheeks still wet, but having stopped crying as well. “Now you stay here. I’ll get you another glass of water and we’ll get you fixed up.” Al was sure he could get his brother’s arm and leg back into decently working order.. From there, he’d have to figure something out. He’d never made automail from scratch before, he only knew maintenance and repair.. But maybe he could help someone with it. He had two legs they could look at to figure it out, after all. Until then, these limbs would have to do. Slowly, Alphonse disengaged from Ed and pushed a hand back through his bangs, sniffing once before he turned away to head to the kitchen and refill that glass of water. He came back with the water and a towel to clean up the mess. With the water passed over, he’d set to cleaning up, ignoring any protests from Ed about it. Of the two of them, he was the only one with four working limbs. He could handle it. Ed would just have to deal. --- His arm seemed to be holding up decently, but his leg would need repair sooner than later or he’d be more prone to catching any sort of illnesses. “Gonna need some metal…” He spoke only after Al let him go and he could trust his voice a little more. “Won’t be perfect, but I think I can transmute something into working for automail. “ Maybe even if they could find the parts back in the forest he could use those. His arm was stiffer than it was the first time he tried to use that explosive function, but he could still use it as a regular arm at least until some automail was properly made. Ed leaned against the arm of the worn down couch, his body aching from the movement. “..Are there any pain killers around?” Anything at all would do. His head was still hurting. The blood at least had stopped flowing, he looked a little less pathetic at least. Taking that glass of water with a shaky hand he watched his brother clean and winced. “Tex said alchemy still works. It does...right? I mean technically she called me an alchemist..but..” --- “My Alchemy works.” He said at length, looking back up at his brother once he’d finished cleaning up the floor. Pushing to his feet, he gave Ed a small, sad little smile. “Welcome back.” And with that, he was taking the towel and the mess away, back to the kitchen where he could just toss the entire towel into the trash can. He’d remove the whole thing once he’d taken care of that leg, so Ed could at least stand up on his own. It took a few moments for him to gather some things up-- he took all the hardware off of the kitchen cabinets, and even removed a few door handles from the doors to get enough metal for what he’d need, then he brought it back to the livingroom and laid the pieces out over the wooden floor. He’d get back to work poking around, but remained mostly quiet. He didn’t know what to say. What to ask. What not to ask. So he kept his eyes on the task at hand and just let Ed sit quietly and recover. Once he was relatively sure of everything he’d need for the patch job, he wasted no time transmutating the bits and pieces into screws, cogs, strips of wire and shims. That done, he sat back on his rear-end and drew one leg up-- now, if Ed was watching, he’d quickly learn how resourceful his little brother had become. Foot flat on the floor, he rolled his pant leg up to above the knee and looked like perhaps he planned to use parts of his own leg to fix Ed’s. He wouldn’t, though. Instead, he was smoothing a finger along a crack, following it up where he pressed at the corner, and a panel clicked and slid open, revealing that the leg, in fact, was hollow on the inside. Deft fingers reached inside and pulled out what was some sort of.. Wrapped up cloth, which fit inside his leg tightly, wedged so it didn’t move, and he laid it on the ground and closed up the panel, then rolled his pant leg back down. With the cloth unwrapped, it was easy to see it was a case for carrying tools.. And sure enough, there were all of the tools he needed for the maintenance of his automail, along with a little bulb of oil. Always prepared, this one. “Are you ready?” Prompted to Ed. He didn’t imagine a lot of this would feel great. --- Ed just nodded slightly to that welcome, not really sure what to say either but he had a feeling tonight he’d be sleeping alone again in spite of being reunited with him, and surprisingly the idea of it hurt. He’d wanted for the last two years nothing more than to see him and now he got this feeling Al still resented him for what he’d done, Ed still didn’t know how to feel about it all. Beyond the Gate he hadn’t let himself grieve, if he did those days in bed would have turned into weeks and Ed probably would have just given up entirely. He knew he couldn’t do that. He didn’t let himself think his brother might be dead, or alive without him and miserable like this Alphonse clearly was with him. He didn’t want his brother to suffer like that. That wasn’t his goal. And yet..he wanted him to have a chance at a real life with a flesh body. He was torn. Rubbing a flesh hand over his wet eyes to try to hide the tears that only moments ago stopped, Ed sucked in a breath as he tried to calm himself down while Al quickly gathered up materials and things from all over that house (which he didn’t recognize and would ask about later) but for now he had more pressing things on his mind. He really didn’t want to get sick with his leg exposed like that. That would probably just end up killing him in this state. He didn’t want to see what happened when a person died twice through the gate. “It’s hollow?” Ed had actually never known what it was like to feel the weight of a regular person his age. Even his ancient automail was still pretty heavy. The blonde nodded. “As I can be.” Reattaching wasn’t going to be easy, it hurt every time. There was no getting used to that sort of pain. --- “They both are.” Al admitted with a slight smile. “Roy had them made custom for me.” Of course he had. “He didn’t want me to be without tools and spare parts if I needed them.” Because he carried spare parts in the other leg. Roy had really taken care of your little brother in your absence, Ed. He’d really stepped up. Funny, really, to think about it. Mustang had turned out to be a very good surrogate father. “We’ll get you something better soon, but for now, I’ll just fix it as best I can.” With that said, he’d set about working on it, stripping out parts, replacing them, tweaking wires, twisting things that didn’t quite sit right. He really was pretty good with it-- he was no Winry, but he’d taken care of his own automail for the most part and it’d become sort of a hobby with him. A little over an hour was all Alphonse needed, before he was urging his brother to relax, those wires all prepped and ready to be reattached. Bronze eyes came up to set onto gold. “I’m sorry.” He apologized before dropping his eyes to the task at hand. He knew it was going to hurt. It always did. At least the reattachment would only be about five minutes-- but it would feel like a lifetime for Edward, as each and every nerve would feel like it was being set on fire. --- Roy...It was strange of all the people he’d met on the other side of the gate, there was no Roy doppleganger. He wondered why but was also kind of glad. He could only handle that man in so many places. The after life was not one of those he wanted to do so in. Ed watched his brother work. Things were a little awkward between them, but he’d imagined it’d be the same if Al left and came back older than him. Ed would have a hard time swallowing that so he didn’t talk much. He just let him do what he set out to do. Ed knew he needed his leg, he couldn’t go without. It wasn’t an option even if he could have handled the pain, in an unknown place catching some illness could be fatal and then they’d be having this kind of night all over again. “It’s fine.” He didn’t need Al to apologize, he was helping. It was better than the alternative by far. He reached over to pick up the jacket he’d abandoned beside him-it was leather and put it between his teeth to bite down on when the connection part began. He used to be able to handle it without worrying about screaming, but at those points he’d also not been previously dead. His body was a bit more sensitive to things, it was not going to be a fun time. His head fell back against the couch and his hand gripped at that couch as he felt those nerves accept the makeshift leg. It was a good sign though, they were reacting. They weren’t rejecting it. Ed could feel his body accepting the limb, and a few beads of sweat spilled down his neck. He felt ready to pass out when the final nerve connected. --- When the final nerve connected, Al slipped from the ground onto the couch beside Ed and would encourage him to lean in against him, hoping that he’d fall asleep there. He didn’t have anything for the pain, the best thing would be for Ed to simply pass out to avoid the aftermath of the debilitating pain. As Ed finally slipped under, Al let out a soft breath of relief and just closed his eyes, an arm wrapped around him, and settled there on the couch. He knew he couldn’t carry his brother to the rickety bed in the next room over, so he didn’t even try. He felt so useless. Though, when the eldest Elric woke, it wouldn’t be there on the couch, it’d be lying on a bed that had seen better days, in a room with a broken window, peeling wallpaper and a cracked ceiling (that had a leak, though it wasn’t presently leaking, since it wasn’t raining). He was covered in a blanket and any bumps, scrapes or bruises had been tended to. Water sat on the small wooden table beside the bed. And the door to the bedroom was cracked open a few inches, leaving Ed with a vague view of his little brother standing in the livingroom, talking to someone. “He’s still asleep.” The young man sounded worried. A hand came to clasp his shoulder. “He’ll be alright, Al, he just needs to rest. You’ll see.” The voice, though Ed hadn’t heard it in years, had to ring some sort of bells. York. --- Without any painkillers, Ed couldn’t fight passing out even if he tried. Winry had used an IV drip to numb the pain, but hell at this point he’d have even taken basic pills. Anything. Unfortunately there was nothing like that. Ed had succumbed to unconsciousness from all the pain his crash landing in the forest provided to the reconnection of limbs, his body physically couldn’t handle it and he had been lost to the world into the late night hours. He didn’t stir once, in fact if they hadn’t checked they might have thought he was dead again. Ed hadn’t slept well on the other side of the gate without the people he was used to sleeping with. He found it nearly impossible, but pain was a good motivator. Slowly the world came into view again as Ed shifted from his heavy sleep state, his arm moved to rest on his forehead as he tried to stretch his body a little bit. Everything ached, including his leg-but at least he could feel it. That was a good sign probably, even if he wanted to die a little from the current burning sensation he felt biting at his nerves from even the slightest unknown movement. He was in some pretty sorry shape, he wondered if he’d even be able to get up if he tried to. His eyes shifted toward that crack in the door where he heard voices and gave a faint smile. York and Al. He would recognize their voices no matter how long he was away. Ed began to move a bit in attempt to force himself to stand, feet hanging over the edge of the bed for a moment as he tried to psych himself into movement. His mouth tasted disgusting, he wanted to brush his teeth or eat something-anything really. Ed pushed himself up and immediately regretted it, he fell along with the wooden table he’d reached out to grab at to try to hold his balance up. A few choice swears fell from his lips that sounded German in nature. --- The heavy thud from the bedroom along with the swear words drew the attention of the pair of blondes in the living room, both of whem moved quickly to the source of the noise, York pushing open the door, then pausing. A slow smile came to his face as he saw Ed there on the ground with the table. His hands fell to his hips as Alphonse came around his bulkier form to drop down beside the elder young man to check him over for any injury he might have sustained in his short fall. “Graceful.” York proclaimed from his spot in the doorway, smiling down at the two Alchemists. “How are you feeling?” York had, of course, already seen Ed. He’d carried him to the bed. He’d patched up his scrapes and cuts. And he’d waited there a few hours for him to wake while Al had slept beside him in the bed. But when morning had come, York insisted they both go into the living room and have some breakfast. What a time for Ed to wake up. --- “Shut up, you try walking with your body on fire.” Ed said automatically to the voice that mocked his less than olympian grace. He didn’t seem to gain any new injuries except the purplish bruise on his jawline where Al had punched him the day before. That had formed up pretty nice. “Like I’ve been run over by a truck.” He admitted with a painful groan as he tried to sit up. His new leg was hard for him to move, it still hurt. It didn’t hurt anything like it’s initial connection, but hurt nonetheless. Still, he wouldn’t die from some ridiculou disease now at least. There was something there to cover the fact that had no limb. There was something to protect his body from contracting illness. That was the important part. Ed was angry, but he wasn’t nearly as angry as the first time York had met him in medical all those years ago. His golden colored eyes seemed to have dulled some in heat, they were steady as they stared up at the two of them and he tried to push himself up again to at least sit on the bed instead of walking. “My mouth tastes awful.” He made a face and laid eyes on the spartan for the first time in years. York hadn’t changed. It caused a small smile to touch his lips in spite of his discomfort. --- Al was there to help Ed up and get him sitting on the edge of the bed, a little frown creeping onto his lips. That expression didn’t belong on his face. “I’ll bring you some juice for now and when you’re ready, I’ve got some things for you in the restroom.” Toothbrush, toothpaste, fresh clothes, anything he could get his hands on that he thought Ed might need. York had brought home some money and that had been really helpful. With the youngest Elric on his feet and heading out the door, it left York a moment to come closer and reach out to gently tug on that loose ponytail Ed had. It matched Al’s. “You gave us quite a scare there, Ed.” His hand dropped away from that blonde hair and instead gripped the back of the Alchemist’s neck, so he could pull him forward just a little. Then the Spartan was bending at the waist and leaning so he could press their foreheads together. “We missed you.” Understatement of the year. His hand tightened just a little on the back of Ed’s neck, not tight enough to hurt, but just reassure the other he didn’t want him going anywhere. Not yet. --- Ed had a little money on him, but he wasn’t so sure how German Marks would do. They were probably a little useless now, but maybe he could get some use out of them. Ed frowned in turn as he saw that expression on Al’s face. He didn’t like that he was upset, and tried to reach out for him-but Al had already gotten out of his reach and York was moving in instead. Ed could sit a little easier than stand, weight off his leg helped keep the queasyness at bay that threatened him again. Weirdly golden eyes landed on York’s when their foreheads touched, and then closed gently. Not even caring about his hair much, though it definitely needed some maintenance after all the blood that’d stuck to his bangs near the injury he’d sustained on arrival. “I thought I’d never see you again,” as he leaned into that touch but decided not to explain why. Talking about Alphonse still hurt, talking about his own death wasn’t exactly something he was ready to do for second day. He reached to touch York’s face with his right hand, it felt like flesh against flesh but it was slightly different. It wasn’t warm like a normal hand, but Ed could actually feel York with it now. “Warm.” It had temperature sensors in it ontop of pain receptors. Though it was in rough shape along with his leg, he’d been waiting to show him that hand. Roughness be damned. --- The golden soldier let his own eyes close as that false hand came to rest on his cheek. He could tell it wasn’t real-- it was too solid beneath the oddly rubbery feeling skin, and it wasn’t warm. But, apparently, it could feel and that had York’s free hand coming up to rest over top of it and hold it against his slightly scruffy cheek. He hadn’t shaved in about a week, thanks to he and North both being pretty under the weather. But now, thanks to some rest and a bit of help from Georgia, they were doing a lot better. “I looked for you.” Those words were softer. Sure, he’d only started looking two days ago, but he’d only been able to drag his sorry ass out of bed two days ago (they were honestly lucky they hadn’t been entirely overwhelmed by the virus, their immune system was not ready for that), and he’d been through every inch of the town. His next plan was the portals, but thankfully he hadn’t gone through any before Ed showed back up again. He’d have to send Tex a fruit basket. Hah. “I’m glad you’re back.” He wanted to ask how long Ed had been gone, wanted to apologize that he hadn’t come for him, but instead he just held on. --- Ed wasn’t ready for questions anyway, he still felt awful all around. Being able to feel York though for the first time was improving things. He could control his touch too, there was no worry about breaking York’s face under his palm. He could touch him gently now. WIth his heavy automail he’d been afraid to touch anyone, he always hated when York tried to touch it-but now as the hand came to rest on his Ed could only smile a little more. There was no fear there now. “I believe you. It’s okay.” Ed wouldn’t have been found even if they’d managed to go to his world to do it. He didn’t want to tell York much about where he’d been yet, he just wanted to soak in his presence. He finally felt like he was at home. He didn’t want to lose that feeling again. His hand was a bit bigger as it brushed against York’s scruffy cheek. “...Me too.” It brought a sense of calm over him as hand slid away to his lap. “I’ll always come back to you if I’m able.” --- Ed had grown up while he was gone. It was almost tangible. A part of York was sad to see that young bit seemed to be missing, but another part was glad to know the boy had grown up into a man. He gave that hand a small squeeze before releasing it and allowing it to drop to Ed’s lap, and York was finally pulling back and straightening up. “I know you will. I trust you.” York would always come for Ed if he could, and Ed would always come back to York if he could. One day, they wouldn’t be able to anymore.. But until then, they’d somehow manage. The door opened again just a moment later and the Spartan moved out of the way to let Alphonse through, who came bearing a glass of juice as promised, passing it off to his brother and taking up a seat on the bed beside him. The height difference was visible then, with Ed sitting a few inches taller than his little brother now. Al didn’t seem to care one bit, though. He’d never been hung up on height. “Drink that.” He encouraged quietly. --- Ed didn’t want to think about a day where he couldn’t find York again, he’d nearly had to though. He wasn’t sure he was going to get out from beyond the gate this time. It’d been hard, he missed them all. Even Roy sometimes, though he’d never admit it. Ed had no choice but to grow up, he didn’t live in Neverland. He couldn’t just stay a child forever, and he was kind of glad he couldn’t. Being young for him had been exhausting. He was so unstable back then it was a fight just to keep up with normal people going about their daily lives. Now he understood them a bit more, he’d even become close with one in spite of feeling at one point he might never love anyone but York. He’d managed, and it hadn’t taken away from any of the love he still felt for the man now that they were reunited. He regretfully let York stand aside, eyes falling back on Al and that juice that he took gratefully. The taste of blood and bile washing away temporarily until he could get to a toothbrush in the other room, but as he held onto that glass he felt himself getting dizzy again. A wave of exhaustion threatening to take him as he sat up, he nearly dropped that glass under the strain of exhaustion he felt. --- His brother reached out to press a hand to his shoulder and help him sit up, blinking in a worried manner. Similarly, York had stepped back in and reached out to set his larger hand to the lower portion of Ed’s back and urge him forward, keeping him upright. “Hey, you alright?” York asked in a slightly worried tone, but his smile was easy to see. He was just glad to have the young man around again. It had felt so empty without him around. “If you need to lay back down, just say so, we’ll figure out a straw or something to get that juice into you.” His thumb rubbed along Ed’s spine briefly, while Al’s hand slowly slipped away from his shoulder and fell back into his own lap. “Are you dizzy?” Alphonse knew what it was like to have limbs reattached, he knew the pain and the aftermath associated with it. He just wanted to help. --- For the first time in forever he felt safe enough to close his eyes around others. He hadn’t in that other world. Even when resting with Alfons he never really let himself sleep unless he was alone. He didn’t belong there and he knew it. They all took care of him and tried to treat him like he had, but Edward knew he was out of place. Sometimes Alfons would even call him on it if he spaced out during rocket testing, that could just be bad for everyone. He really couldn’t afford to do that unless he wanted to kill them all, but Ed had never really fit in there and even Alfons knew it. “I feel bad.” He responded to the question, having to clumsily put the glass of juice down. Dizzy wasn’t the only thing, he felt sick. Like his entire body was protesting the attachment of the new limb. “ Dizzy-yeah.” He pointed at Al as if to say it was accurate. “Tired” He was having trouble with words again and wanted little more than to sleep it off. Eyes still threatening to close in spite of York’s constant touch. --- “Alright, well let’s get you lying down again.” York would urge him to do so, keeping that hand on his back to assist in reclining him, while the other hand set to his shoulder to gently push him back. And once Ed was lying again, the golden soldier pulled the blanket up over him. Al got up from his spot on the bed and stood to the side to watch. Once York had Ed tucked in just the way he wanted, he glanced back at Al and gave a nod. That was when the blonde boy came forward and would crawl onto the bed and settle next to his brother, tucking up close and pressing his face near. He’d missed his brother. “You two get some rest. I’ll just be outside.” In the living room. “I’ll hear you if you call.” Ed would get a smile and a wink. “Welcome home.” York was glad he was back. --- The blonde was practically asleep as York laid him back down, so the assistance was probably a good thing or he might have just collapsed and injured himself again. He’d done enough falling. All he wanted to do was stay in one spot and barely exist. He was exhausted both physically and mentally after losing Al. He hadn’t even begun to think about the fact that he’d actually died too. When Al crawled in next to him, he was surprised. He wasn’t sure Al would want to do that anymore-but he was glad. It made it feel even more like home to him and he left an arm open for his brother to have the room he needed to curl up properly with him, his body heavy with sleep. He didn’t really have the energy to fight but he wanted York to stay too, unfortunately for him he fell asleep before he got a chance to say so. He was drained, but a thin smile touched the corners of his lips nonetheless as he drifted off. |