[ video ]

[pandamaiden]

[ Dark eyes and black braids. The face of a young girl, perhaps familiar to some, perhaps not to the rest, but it isn't whether she is familiar or not that is the question. It is why in those eyes that usually glitter with youth and determination, there is the glaze of daze and confusion, a paleness to her skin that is not usually there. The

Comments

[sonvisage]

[Homunculus. It's what catches her attention, causes her to turn and stare at the Forge, move toward it until she's sure that this was the same girl she'd searched for many months before.

She'd only been looking because of Scar - couldn't have cared less about the girl. Still couldn't, only now that makes her feel uneasy somehow. Disappointed. Why is that?]

They are both sill here. And it's not a dream.

[pandamaiden]

[ Knowing that they are still here helps Mei relax a bit. ]

Thank you.

[video ..derp]

[sonvisage]

You're ...welcome. I'm sure they'll both be pleased to see you. Especially Scar...san. [?]

[video] <3

[pandamaiden]

Are you a friend of Scar-san? [ Because this is very important. ]

[Voice]

[i_love_squats]

[Holy. Shiva.]

[Holy Ice Mama Shiva.]

[The voice hurries, switches to video, and have one shocked, hopeful looking Zack.]

Mei?! Mei! Is that you?!

[ video ]

[pandamaiden]

[ Mei squints at the screen for a moment before there's a light of recognition and a bright smile.

Xiao-Mei looks happy herself. ]

Zack-san! [ One of her favorite people. How could she be worried or scared anymore? ] You are still here?

[ video ]

[i_love_squats]

[And she remembers?! This is--this is the best news in a long time! He nods, a happy, buoyant bobbing of his head as he throws the Forge into the air and catches it with a flourish mastered by thousands of replicas with his sword.]

You bet! How could I leave without seeing one of my favorite girls again, huh?

[ video ]

[pandamaiden]

[ He said favorite! If she were not already going to marry her handsome knight, Zack would definitely be next in line. ]

You did not wait too long?

[voice]

[firebornfidelis]

[A pause, a silence. In the dark it's hard to tell what's real if she can't touch it, but this little voice hasn't been in her dreams. She can hear the tinniness that tells her that the Forge is transmitting these sounds.]

Mei Chan? I'm still here. So is Scar.

[voice]

[pandamaiden]

[ While she missed Scar, wanted to talk to him before anyone else, Riza was someone she needed to talk to. ]

Hello, Riza-san. [ A pause. ] I must talk to you.

[voice]

[firebornfidelis]

... all right. Is anything the matter?

[voice]

[pandamaiden]

I need to ask you about the things that happened after the time I helped you.

I want to see... if it was all a dream.

[video]

[inpiecesofcloud]

[...

... blink. Blink blink.

...]

MEI-MEI!!

[video]

[pandamaiden]

[ She knows that hair anywhere. How could anyone forget it? ]

Yachiru...? Everyone's still here? [ It's not a bad thing, but she's just a little surprised. ]

[video]

[inpiecesofcloud]

[She glances away, a momentary chink in the armor, and her face is thoughtful, maybe sad, too. But it passes like a thought and is gone again from her face almost before it can be seen.]

Well, not everybody. But lots of people!

But hey hey, Mei-Mei! Where did you go while you weren't here?

[video]

[pandamaiden]

[ Don't be sad, Yachiru. Mei likes happy Yachiru. ]

I think I went home.

[ video! ]

[lonestray]

[He's only just starting to get used to looking through the network again, and then he stumbles upon this--

and

everything

stops.

A sharp intake of breath, deep crimson eyes widening (she may notice that they look duller than before). The Forge shakes, taking him out of focus, and is nearly dropped entirely.

The silence stretches for what feels like endless eternities, and he can only stare, voice failing him.

(Anatole is a place where you can never trust merely your eyes, and he's almost afraid of the hope that surges in his chest.)

He thinks of the memorial tree, the leaf in her name, and of those illusions (so very real, about to touch, to hurt, to die) and he wonders if this is another cruel trick.]

...M-Mei?

[His voice is dry and hoarse from the screams and then subsequent disuse, and for the third time in maybe a month, there are tears in his eyes. He never thought he would see her again.]

[ video! ]

[pandamaiden]

[ Mei stares for a long moment. He looks different. Acts a little different, even.

But Mei remembers leaving him behind to go back home, leaving him in Amestris to do what he had to do and she was heartbroken over so many things that she can't remember how many times she tried to hold it in and not cry because she is a big girl and--

She looks away, bows her head and pretend she isn't furiously wiping her eyes. She never thought she'd see him again and she missed him, even before she left for Xing. These details are the ones most vivid in her mind. ]

You're still here... [ She can't help it. She couldn't believe anyone until she heard his voice, saw his face and those crimson eyes. And he looks so sad...

She smiles as big as she can, just for him. ] Yes, Scar-san.

[ video! ]

[lonestray]

[A slight shiver runs down his spine and Scar has to press his eyes shut for a moment, to block out the tears--and that niggling voice at the back of his mind that wants to warn that he should keep his guard up, wait a few days to see if it isn't another trick.

He's afraid. More than anything, Scar wants this to be real, genuine--an influx of arrivals rather than a trick of the mist. And he's not sure if he can take another disappointment like that.

Counts in his head, one, two three--takes a deep breath and opens his eyes again. He'll just have to take this one on faith for now (funny how that is, isn't it? Faith for a man who'd long since forgotten how to believe.)]

...I. I never thought I'd see you again. [Softly, with the weight of all the troubles in the months she's been gone, particularly this last one.]

[ video! ]

[pandamaiden]

[ She lowers her gaze. ]

I don't remember leaving. I don't remember coming back. I thought I had gone home to finish what I started, but I woke up here. [ That is all she knows. Which is the dream and what is the reality? People said she left, but she has no real proof that she went home, either. ]

But I am here now. [ She says this somewhat firmly and keeps smiling, as if confirming for him what he holds inside. ]