Feb 01, 2006 16:10
I opened my
eyes and smiled at the shapeless white clouds drifting overhead. I was laying on my back in the soft green
grass, listening to the gurgle of the little stream as it wound its way past my
resting place. I came to this spot every
time Ed went to work, trying to coax myself into remembering the years I had
missed out on.
Life was
very confusing for me at that point in time.
I remembered going to sleep after we tried to transmute Mother, tired
and upset. When I woke up, I was laying
in an unfamiliar bed in a strange room.
The bleak white walls, glaring lights, and starchy sheets made me think
of a hospital room, and as my eyes focused on the doctor and nurses standing
around me, I knew that’s where I had to be.
“Where am
I?” I asked, sitting up. My body felt
stiff and numb, almost to the point of being unresponsive. “Where’s Edward?”
The man I
had correctly labeled as the doctor came around to the side of the bed, a
clipboard in one hand. “You’re in the
military hospital in Central,” the doctor explained. “I’m Doctor Greyson. How are you feeling?”
I looked at
my hand, the smooth, creamy skin marred by the IV protruding from it. “I feel weak.
It’s like I have to concentrate really hard to move and talk.” My words sounded slurred and unfamiliar, and
the doctor scribbled something onto the clipboard. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
I felt very
helpless as I looked at all the hospital personnel and military people standing
around the foot of my bed. There was an
identical expression of awe on every face.
I wanted to shrink into those stiff white sheets and disappear. “Where’s Edward?” I repeated.
Doctor
Greyson didn’t look up from his notes.
“He’s sleeping. He’s in the next
room over with Mustang. Don’t worry,
Hawkeye’s making sure they don’t kill each other.”
Mustang? Hawkeye?
The names were unfamiliar. “Who
are they?” I asked.
The doctor
looked at me over the rims of his glasses.
“Hm, I thought this might happen.
Alphonse, do you know who that man is?” He pointed to a large, muscular
man standing by the door. He was bald
save for a lock of blonde hair.
I looked
the man over. “No. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
“It’s me,
Major Armstrong. You don’t remember me,
Al?” The man looked hurt.
The doctor
raised a hand to silence him. “Don’t get
too upset, Major. I think there might be
an explanation.” He looked me right in
the face and spoke slowly, as if he was trying to get me to understand a
foreign language. “Alphonse, do you know
who the Fullmetal Alchemist is?”
Everyone
looked at me expectantly. The
expressions on their faces made me want to say yes, but I couldn’t. “No, I… I don’t. Should I?”
There was a light murmur as the people in the room whispered to each
other. I looked at the doctor, worried.
“Alphonse,
what’s the last thing you remember before being here?”
That was an
odd question. I closed my eyes. “Edward and I were tired after trying to
transmute something, so we went straight to bed when we got home. I barely even remember crawling into bed, I
was so tired.” I paused, my head
starting to ache. “Why am I here? I’ve never even been to Central before.”
The doctor
scratched his balding head. “It seems
that you’re suffering from amnesia, Alphonse.
Either you’ve suffered head trauma that has caused your brain to lose
those memories, or your mind couldn’t handle the memories and locked them away
to protect itself. Edward says he
doesn’t think you hit your head, so it’s probably the second scenario. In either case, your memory should eventually
return.” The other people in the room
looked concerned. I was just confused,
and kind if annoyed at the way the doctor kept saying my name as if he wanted
to make sure I knew he was talking to me.
I ran the
IV-free hand through my short, dark blonde hair. “So, how much have I
forgotten? I don’t remember coming to
Central at all, and I don’t remember getting injured. What happened to me?”
“Alphonse,”
-there, he did it again-“nothing is wrong with you. You’re perfectly healthy. It’s just that a
big change can upset the way your mind functions. You’ve been through a lot, and-”
I cut his
words short. “I’ve been through a
lot? A big change? How much time are we talking about?”
He sighed,
acting very reluctant to tell me. “From
what you’ve said, Alphonse, you can’t remember anything that has happened in
the last four years.”
I stared at
him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Surely
he must be joking. “But, I remember that
night Edward and I tried the transmutation!
That just happened!” I was
growing more upset by the second, and the slight ache in my temple had turned
into more of a throb.
“Listen,
Alphonse, that happened four years ago.”
I tried to protest, but he kept speaking. “I’m going to ask you a few things just to
make sure I’m right, okay? How old are
you?”
“Ten,” I
answered without hesitating.
He wrote
something on the clipboard. “How old is
your brother?”
“His
birthday’s coming up, so he’s almost twelve,” I replied.
More
writing. “What happened the night you
tried to transmute your mother?” Doctor
Greyson asked, his voice firm.
I gaped at
him. “How do you-”
“We know
all about it, Alphonse. It’s okay, you
aren’t in any trouble. Please just tell
me what happened.”
I sank back
into the lumpy white pillow. “We drew
the circle and put all the right ingredients in it, even our own blood. Niisan’s plans were perfect. When we started the transmutation, everything
seemed to be going just fine. Then there
was a weird purple light that filled the room and faded away. We were too exhausted to try again, so we
went to bed.”
The doctor
laced his fingers together. “Are you
sure you remember going to sleep, or are you just assuming that’s what you
did?”
“What are
you getting at?” I asked, the ache in my
temple growing stronger. Could I
remember going to bed? Of course I
could.
“Alphonse,
the memory of going to bed that night after an uneventful transmutation is one
that your mind has substituted for a more traumatic memory. I don’t want to be the one that tells you
what really happened, we’ll leave that to your brother when he wakes up. For now, I’m just going to give you a little
something to help you rest.”
I felt the
needle prick my arm, but I was too tired to care. Besides, a nap sounded very nice…
“…he doesn’t remember a thing…”
“…don’t show him the arm right
away…”
“…can’t mention the armor…”
“…remember on his own…”
“Look, he’s
waking up.” The annoying voice of the doctor penetrated my sleep. I blinked a couple of times, trying to
remember where I was and why the doctor was here. I looked around. My room was empty of people now, except for
the doctor and…
“Edward!” I
cried upon seeing him sitting next to my bed.
There were tears in his eyes.
“Are you okay, Niisan?” I asked.
Edward
swiped at his eyes. “I’m just happy to
see you, that’s all. Awake, I mean. How are you feeling?”
The
conversation from earlier slowly came back to me. “The doctor said I lost my memory. Is that true?” But I knew the answer. Edward’s hair was longer than I remembered. His face had lost most of its childlike
roundness, replaced instead with the more defined features of a teenager. Even his voice was deeper. The long-sleeved hospital gown did little to hide
the muscles of his arms and torso. “You
look so different.”
Edward
nodded. “It’s been four years, Al. I’m… I’m almost glad you don’t
remember.” He reached out and touched my
face with his left hand.
The doctor
put a hand on Edward’s shoulder. “Your
brother is going to tell you what really happened on the night you attempted
human transmutation. This is going to be
a little shocking, Alphonse, but it might be what you need to start regaining
your memories.” He gave a nod to Edward,
who sighed heavily.
“Al, this is
not going to be easy for you to understand.
I’m going to try my best to explain everything simply, okay?” He took a deep breath and continued. “The day we tried to bring mom back, things
went horribly wrong. We didn’t pay a
high enough price, and the transmutation took my arm and leg.” He lifted his right hand and I was shocked to
see the cold, metallic surface of an automail hand.
“Why am I
okay then? Why didn’t it take anything
from me?” I cried, the guilt forming
over me like a storm cloud.
He patted
my shoulder. “It’s okay, Al. We went on a journey to get my limbs
back. When I was twelve, I became a
Nationally Certified Alchemist. We went
through a lot of pain and lost many friends, but we finally found the
philosopher’s stone. I was killed during
a battle, and you used the stone to save me.
You were knocked unconscious, and I carried you to find help. I passed out shortly after we were brought to
Central two days ago.” He looked at me,
searching my expression for some spark of recognition or a response to his
story.
“Four
years… That’s a lot of time to forget.”
I looked at the cold metal that had replaced my brother’s right
arm. “There are so many things I have to
learn, and people I have to meet.” I
fiddled with the edge of my blanket.
“Can we go home soon?”
Ed stood
up, nodding. “We’re getting released
this afternoon. Winry has the spare room
waiting for us.”
“Spare
room? Why can’t we go to our own
house?” I was really looking forward to
my soft sheets after the starchy feel of the hospital bed.
“Um… We
burned our house down on the day we left.
We’ll be living with Winry and Pinako until we can afford a place of our
own.”
I was
speechless. The house I grew up in, that
it felt like I had just been to yesterday, was gone. I looked down at my small hand, reaching it
out to press against Edward’s. Ed’s was
larger and rougher, scars dotting the skin.
The sibling that was supposed to be barely a year older than me was now
four years older. I stood up, careful
not to jerk the IV out of my hand. Ed
was several inches taller than me now. I
reached out to feel his muscular chest.
I frowned as solid muscle gave way to harsh steel.
Without
warning, Edward threw his arms around me and started sobbing. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Alphonse! I don’t know what I would do without you.”
I pressed
my face into Edward’s neck. “It’s okay,
Niisan. Everything will be fine once we
get home.”
Ta da!! Let me know what you think, and feel free to inform me of any errors. Love ya!
~Kero
fanfiction,
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fullmetal alchemist