Array 026 [Voice/Video] [Unfiltered]
[The feed clicks up, and Alphonse’s large, almost frightened and desperate eyes appear on the screen. He’s across the room from the PCD, sitting on the floor, hugging his legs and staring at it. There is a heavy static in the room, coming from Al’s own PCD as well as the speakers of the radio/CD-player, mostly white noise. It sounds like a patched connection, like something is trying to come through but failing. Music scratches to life, an old-fashioned dance number that plays ten seconds, then skips back like an old record player. Gradually it begins to play more of the song and a woman’s sweet voice comes through, singing along. The undertones of her voice sound vaguely similar to Al’s. Unlike Al, she never sings off-key.]
[Al puts his hands to the floor and moves closer, eyes wide, entranced by the woman’s voice, torn between horrified and longing. He mouths a single word.]
Mother…
[The feed snaps and crackles, and then the static clears enough to hear Edward’s voice, much younger than he is now, choked with emotion.]
We’re going to bring her back.
[Static and skipping. The music gets louder, playing in the background of two children’s voices reciting in unison;]
Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Saltpeter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5 grams. Iron, 5 grams. Silicon, 3 grams, and trace amounts of fifteen other elements…
[The sound skips around, before the static becomes deafening, and Al covers his ears, clenching his eyes shut, shuddering. All of a sudden, it stops - then there is a burst of screaming, and it’s Al’s voice, high and young, shrieking and sobbing in wild panic. The background noise of what’s unmistakably a transmutation drowns out the words, but he screams for his brother over and over. Edward’s voice is mixed in with his, a child just as terrified, yelling for Al to reach him, to hold on. Alphonse’s voice strains and snaps like a thread, but Edward’s goes on until it degenerates into unintelligible, hysterical screaming.]
[The voices snap off, and Al stares at the PCD, all the blood drained from his face, unable to react. His hands are trembling. It gives him barely a second before a husky woman’s voice, gentle but with a military edge of harshness crackles through.]
Al, listen. Just listen. The military tried to silence us.
[A click, and the same voice comes back, the woman’s voice tight with apprehension, desperate, deeply shaken.]
That man! The Fuhrer… he’s a homunculus!
[Footsteps, the unsheathing of a sword. Alphonse gasps, and there’s the sound of the sword ripping through flesh, the spash dully echoing splatter of blood on metal, and the woman chokes, gasping wetly before the sounds stop.]
[On the video feed, Al is stark white, tears in his eyes, both hands clapped over his mouth. The feed from the PCD and the radio relapses to white noise, the sound of dials being changed, swinging through the stations, catching scratches and hints and scraps of conversations, voices, laughter, screams, gunshots.]
-omise, leave my brother alo-
-gratulations congratulations congratula-
-is what happens when the dead come back to li-
-ullmetal alche-
-ou boys are always worrying us. Be careful, will y-
-nna do somethin‘ slightly illegal now, so look awa-
-ot water, baby’s coming NOW-
-mmited the worst possible sin! Human transmutation is-
-oing to have to try harder to hurt me, Broth-
-couldn’t choose a face I wann’ed to hit MORE-
-e’s still warm-
-HAHAHAHAHHHAAAAHAHAHHAAHAHAaaaahhahaha-
-look so pretty in red, poppet~ Ever try wearing Summer? Maybe a few pastels to compliment those eyes of yours-
[The voices become unintelligible, each flicking back too fast to be heard, sometimes different ones talking on top of the other, melding together and all the time the static gets louder, deafening, until the cacophany is unbearable, and in the background Al is screaming, forearms over his ears, eyes wide and panicked. His mouth is moving like he’s yelling but anything he’s saying his completely drowned out by the wailing from the speakers until-]
[It cuts off.]
[Alphonse keeps his arms over his ears, breaking hard, staring at the floor, and after several minutes of silence he dares to look up at the PCD.]
[As loud as before, but crystal clear, a small girl’s happy, excited, cheerful voice bursts through.]
Let’s play!
Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s playletsplayletsplayletsplaylet’splayplayplayplayplayplayplaplay-
[Al presses his forearms harder over his ears, and tears begin to trickle down from his wide eyes. He gives a dry sob, and the feed times out.]