5th Transmutation | FIRST INAUGURAL FOURTH WALL

[armoredsoul]

[The flash of light was...weird, to say the least. Alphonse had been warned and he knew this thing was coming, but somehow he expected it to be different. More...impressive? But instead it's as if nothing had happened at all. Well, not quite--he can feel the tingling flow of alchemical energy again, something he hadn't ever been without until he'd crossed through the Gate with Edward.]

[His brother...]

[Al sighed and flopped down on the bed, staring at the floor. Would they be here, somewhere? People supposedly came and went with much greater ease during these events...it couldn't hurt to look. And some fresh air would probably do him some good, anyway.]

[He got up and was about to head out when he paused and looked back at the sheets on the bed. After a moment, he clapped his hands and a crackle of energy went over the fabric--]

[When Al steps out onto the street, it's with a jacket that some might find rather familiar over his shoulders, pulled closed against the chill.]

Comments

HERE I COME TO RUIN YOUR DAY

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath is not looking for alchemists.]

[Wrath is especially not looking for blond alchemists in little red coats.]

[He's looking for his own kind.]

[But well. He can't exactly IGNORE what is obviously EDWARD ELRIC walking down the street, can he?]

[So Wrath stops. And Wrath waits.]

[And when Al passes by the building upon whose roof Wrath is currently sitting? Wrath stamps down hard on the shingles and sends a small avalanche of piled-up snow soaring downwards. HO HO HO, MERRY ICE COLD MISERY!]</sub>

Oops.

OH BOY JUST WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED!

[armoredsoul]

[Wrath, we need to talk about your observational skills. Like, a lot.]

[To say Al isn't expecting this is an understatement; he barely has time to look up before LITERALLY ALL OF THE SNOW is raining down on him and leaves him collapsed in a pile of damp and misery.] AGH!!

[It's an impressive heap of snow, and Al has to struggle to get out of it and peer up at the roof.] Okay, who did that?

[1/2]

[garbagechild]

<sub>[It's pretty much physically impossible for Wrath not to take credit for a take-down that ended as spectacularly as this, so the second Al asks who did that, the Homunculus' shaggy black-haired head pops over the edge of the roof, wearing a sharky grin that's practically too big for the face it rests in.]

[YES I DID IT, IT WAS ME!]</sub>

How's the weather down there, Edw--

[2/2]

[garbagechild]

_{[.... THAT'S NOT EDWARD.]}

--who are YOU?!

[armoredsoul]

Wha--Wrath? Is that--

[Aaaaaand then the lack fo recognition kicks in, and Al goes from incredulous to just...tired. Very, very tired.]

Oh, jeez, you're from back then, aren't you. [It's not a question at all, and he buries his face in his hands. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy.] I did not need this today...

[Al lets out a sigh, then crosses his arms as he looks up at the young homunculus.] If I tell you I don't want to fight you, will you believe me?

[garbagechild]

<sub>[YES AL. He's from back when he was basically one of the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys, except without the cute little embroidered organ-grinder hat. AREN'T YOU LUCKY TODAY.]

[Wrath looks bewildered, and-- true to his name-- angry. >8( THAT'S NOT EDWARD. WHO IS IT!]</sub>

You're wearing his coat!

Why are you wearing his coat?

This is a TRICK, isn't it?

<sub>[He looks around, as though expecting to see the Actual Edward (tm) leap out of the bushes somewhere.]

[In a second or two, he'll realize that Al's voice is plenty familiar... but he can't quite reconcile the sight of the petite fair-haired boy down there in the snow with the image of the GIANT SUIT OF ARMOR that clink-clanked around after Edward all over the place.]</sub>

[armoredsoul]

[JUST SO LUCKY. But seriously, can he get a refund on this weekend? He's pretty sure it's defective.]

[Al just sighs and shakes his head when Wrath starts looking for Edward.] Brother's not here, Wrath. It's just me.

[He's just gonna...not address why he's wearing the coat. Yup.]

[garbagechild]

<sub>[NO REFUNDS. CRY MORE, GOLDEN BOY.]

[Wrath's attention whips back over to Al, and he frowns, scrunching his face up and squinting.]

[Wait a minute...]</sub>

... Al?

Wh... where's your ARMOR?

_{[YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE A BODY THE GATE HAS YOUR BODY]}

[armoredsoul]

It's gone. It disappeared along with the Stone. [He doesn't see any reason to hedge around the truth, not with him.] Everyone here is from different places in time. What's the last thing you remember before showing up here?

[magefire]

[Elda has no idea where she is, and this is a huge problem. She has classes to go to! What if they kicked her out of the university and then she never learned magic properly>? It would be just terrible. She has to find a way back.]

[Even if this world really is awfully interesting, she thinks as she soars over it. But no, she'd better find someone to ask.]

[The boy in the bright red coat catches her eye! She wheels in the air and comes in for a (relatively) graceful landing. Hello Alphonse, have a bright gold griffin the size of a draft horse.]

Excuse me! I'm lost, have you heard of the University? I really must get back there as soon as I can.

[armoredsoul]

[Al notices her shadow pass over him first, and when he looks up and sees a great big feathery thing coming winging in for his general vicinity, he scrambles back to give her plenty of room to land with a horribly undignified squawk. That's...he doesn't think it's a Poke--]

[--yeah, it's not a Pokemon. He doesn't think any of them can speak human languages. Al swallows his initial panic and shrugs, shaking his head.] I've heard of plenty of universities, but not one just called that. And I'm afraid you probably won't be getting back there for a few days--you've been pulled to another world entirely. I don't know how it works, but I've been told that people are sent back before the weekend is up.

[magefire]

A few days?

[OH NO. The feathered crest on her head rises straight up in alarm.]

But I'll miss my classes! Wermacht wouldn't ever let me hear the end of it and Headmaster Corkoran might decide that I'm unreliable and kick me out of his special class, or even out of school! And all my friends will be so worried that I've just vanished...

[She sits down, twitching her tail nervously and rubbing one eagle front foot against her other leg in the closest thing to hand-wringing she can manage.]

[armoredsoul]

[Al raises his hands and takes a few steps forward, making somewhat nervous soothing motions.] No, no, it's okay! You should go back home at just the take time you were taken, it would be like you never left! At least, that's how it's worked before for a friend of mine, and I've never heard any differently from anyone else.

[magefire]

[Elda is so relieved to hear that, and it's very obvious. Her crest goes back down, and her wings, which had been beginning to flare, fold neatly at her sides again.]

Oh! Really? That's so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for telling me! It's a good thing I stopped to ask you.

I'm Elda, who are you? Are you from this world?

[armoredsoul]

[Al relaxes as she does, and nods with a smile.] Hehe, it's no problem! I didn't mean to scare you like that.

My name's Alphonse. I'm not from here, myself, but I've been around long enough to know a few things.

LITTLE BROTHERS UNITE!

[in_praetego]

[ The random teleporting had been annoying at best. At least it got him places but Yukio still couldn't help but feel the slightest bit irritated. His brother had gone missing though the Gear showed he was still in this world. So he's been walking around with his Noibat by his side, muttering to himself. ]

When I find him, he'll have some serious expla--

[ There's a pause though as he spots Al. Ah, good. Someone he knows, or at least thinks he knows from that jacket. So he'll stop his griping long enough to approach. ]

Ah. Edwa-- [ A beat. Wait a sec. Nope. His bad. ] Alphonse. Sorry. Are... are you alright?

TOGETHER ON THE QUEST TO FIND THEIR DUMB BIG BROTHERS!!

[armoredsoul]

[Al looks over, a little confused before he settles his expression into a faint smile. Been a while since someone mistook him like that, but then what else should he expect?]

Ah, I'm okay. I was just...looking for Brother, actually. He and Winry disappeared earlier in the week, and with all the weirdness today, I hoped they might show up again.

Hope you don't mind!

[in_praetego]

They're gone?

[ He knows this feeling, recalls the initial nervousness when Rin disappeared but for Al's sake, he's going to try and not look worried-and-or-nervous. ]

Have you checked your messages? He might have left you something.

Of course not!

[armoredsoul]

[Al shrugs and manages a small smile.] Well, they sort of did...I found some of their Pokemon in my PC they day they left.

XD; thanks. I went on hiatus suddenly.

[in_praetego]

So did I.

[ There's a pause though as he adjusts his scarf. ]

I was hoping your brother wasn't really gone but... if his pokemon are in other people's PCs... still... guess it wouldn't hurt looking around.

[armoredsoul]

[Al nods, a faint smile playing on his lips.] Yeah. There's always the chance, and I'd feel bad if I didn't at least try to find them again.

[in_praetego]

I understand. I was the same way when Rin disappeared suddenly.

[ He'll just motion with his head a bit. ]

Do you know if there's anywhere he'd go in the city?

[armoredsoul]

[Al frowns for a moment, thinking.] I can't think of any particular place...there was one restaurant we both liked to go to, though. Could be worth it to check there.

[heartofmetal]

[Edward doesn't have a red coat, but he does have a brown one for traveling. He's standing on one of the streets, grinning at Al once he spots his brother.]

Yo. [Then he looks a bit more serious, but still smiling.] Sorry about leaving you behind, suddenly.

[armoredsoul]

[Al blinks for a few moments when he spots Edward before breaking into a huge grin and running over, throwing his arms around Edward. Those aren't tears in his eyes, what are you talking about.] Brother! It's okay, I know you didn't mean to...