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[ Rushing headfirst into a conflict with only a minimal plan and hoping it works is truly the Elric way.
That is to say, following Wrath down to the ruins of the underground city was enough of a gamble. Wrath may have spent the past three years living in the woods outside of Risembool like an angry feral kitten, but he was still, you know, one of the homunculi. Though, Rose had told Alphonse that he had given them some vital help against Envy and Dante, so what little remains of Al's kiddish gullibility these days extended to thinking okay, I'll give him a chance, what do I have to lose at this point?
Uh. A lot, apparently. He was not expecting to have to deal with the 100 foot tall abomination that used to be Gluttony trying to eat them both, nor was he expecting Wrath to just...lay down and die. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to get your brother back, right? I'm not going to let that happen again."
(Look. Look. It's not his fault that he and Ed have the kind of relationship where they'd jump in front of a train for each other, it's the sheer amount of bullshit they've been through. Which, a few years ago, included having to dig up their mom's grave and use one of her bones to kill the homunculus wearing her face, who they made, by the way, that was nice to find out. Not that Al remembers that at the moment, but he will momentarily. Truly, nothing nice ever happens in the 03 universe!!)
When Alphonse puts his hands down, he's not sure how this is going to work, or what's going to pop out of the other side--well, he's hoping to suddenly have Ed tumbling out, of course, but things never happen the easy way. For all he knows, it'll be Ed but catatonic, or it'll take half of the environment around him, or the worst of all--nothing. To have gotten this far and sacrificed this much and just have no result...it might break him a little.
Still, he's holding out hope. He may have become an unhinged little gremlin in the 3 years since Ed vanished, but he's still Al, which means he's still got his ever-present optimism! It's just...you know, less blind optimism, now.
Anyway. There are lots of hands. There's always so many weird, grabby little hands when the Gate is involved, and it skeeves him out, because he can remember the hands grabbing him that night when they were kids, pulling him away from the basement and out of Ed's grasp, past a doorway that no one was ever meant to cross more than once.
And yet.
And yet.
Here he is crossing it a third time.
The circle flashes again, and he's being subtly tugged past the threshold. His feet skid into the blackness beyond the doors, and he almost screams, but--he finds a hand inside that's solid, one that's attached to a real arm and not a spindly tendril. Putting all of his weight into tugging on the arm, he throws himself backward, back through the doorway, and lands on the concrete courtyard hard enough to knock the wind out of him.
He doesn't register the fact that he's still gripping Ed's arm with more force than is probably necessary, but uh, give him a minute. Three years worth of stuck-in-a-suit-of-armor memories just zoomed back into his noggin and he needs a moment--several moments, maybe a few months worth of moments for the entire thing with Sloth--to process it.
So, um. Welcome to the empty underground city ruins that Definitely Isn't Xerxes, Ed?? It was already in pretty bad shape, but Gluttony and Wrath wrecked the surrounding area even more, and there's a waterway nearby filled with red stones. Al is laying on his back kind of staring at the sky with a raptured look on his face, but he's breathing, at least. ]
That is to say, following Wrath down to the ruins of the underground city was enough of a gamble. Wrath may have spent the past three years living in the woods outside of Risembool like an angry feral kitten, but he was still, you know, one of the homunculi. Though, Rose had told Alphonse that he had given them some vital help against Envy and Dante, so what little remains of Al's kiddish gullibility these days extended to thinking okay, I'll give him a chance, what do I have to lose at this point?
Uh. A lot, apparently. He was not expecting to have to deal with the 100 foot tall abomination that used to be Gluttony trying to eat them both, nor was he expecting Wrath to just...lay down and die. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to get your brother back, right? I'm not going to let that happen again."
(Look. Look. It's not his fault that he and Ed have the kind of relationship where they'd jump in front of a train for each other, it's the sheer amount of bullshit they've been through. Which, a few years ago, included having to dig up their mom's grave and use one of her bones to kill the homunculus wearing her face, who they made, by the way, that was nice to find out. Not that Al remembers that at the moment, but he will momentarily. Truly, nothing nice ever happens in the 03 universe!!)
When Alphonse puts his hands down, he's not sure how this is going to work, or what's going to pop out of the other side--well, he's hoping to suddenly have Ed tumbling out, of course, but things never happen the easy way. For all he knows, it'll be Ed but catatonic, or it'll take half of the environment around him, or the worst of all--nothing. To have gotten this far and sacrificed this much and just have no result...it might break him a little.
Still, he's holding out hope. He may have become an unhinged little gremlin in the 3 years since Ed vanished, but he's still Al, which means he's still got his ever-present optimism! It's just...you know, less blind optimism, now.
Anyway. There are lots of hands. There's always so many weird, grabby little hands when the Gate is involved, and it skeeves him out, because he can remember the hands grabbing him that night when they were kids, pulling him away from the basement and out of Ed's grasp, past a doorway that no one was ever meant to cross more than once.
And yet.
And yet.
Here he is crossing it a third time.
The circle flashes again, and he's being subtly tugged past the threshold. His feet skid into the blackness beyond the doors, and he almost screams, but--he finds a hand inside that's solid, one that's attached to a real arm and not a spindly tendril. Putting all of his weight into tugging on the arm, he throws himself backward, back through the doorway, and lands on the concrete courtyard hard enough to knock the wind out of him.
He doesn't register the fact that he's still gripping Ed's arm with more force than is probably necessary, but uh, give him a minute. Three years worth of stuck-in-a-suit-of-armor memories just zoomed back into his noggin and he needs a moment--several moments, maybe a few months worth of moments for the entire thing with Sloth--to process it.
So, um. Welcome to the empty underground city ruins that Definitely Isn't Xerxes, Ed?? It was already in pretty bad shape, but Gluttony and Wrath wrecked the surrounding area even more, and there's a waterway nearby filled with red stones. Al is laying on his back kind of staring at the sky with a raptured look on his face, but he's breathing, at least. ]
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[ It hurt his animal-lover heart, okay!! It wasn't fun!!
And a nod. Now he's curious. Just who gave Izumi the bright idea to drop them off on a deserted island for a month........who was insane enough to do that to Izumi herself.....this is one of those mysteries that's gonna keep Al awake at night, now.
It's not like he can just ask Izumi about it, anymore. ]
She said that she and Dante had some sort of falling out a while ago. There was something important that they couldn't agree on, and she left.
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[Ed doesn't want to consider what the implications might be for Izumi's kid. Still, the important thing is that he is slowly, gradually piecing things together with this particular version of Amestris. He figures while he is here he should probably learn as much as he can about the differences between here and back home.]
I guess, if I have questions we can always call or stop in at Teacher's.
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[ Didn't find out about them until way later, Izumi definitely didn't know, is what he plans on saying.
Al goes completely silent for a moment, noticeably not looking at Ed when he does. ]
We can't. [ His voice is raw. He'd put all of his energy into chasing Ed that he barely allowed himself enough time to mourn her. It's fine, though, it was better that way. She wouldn't want them to be so torn up about her, he reasoned.
So what is he to do now that he's hit a brick wall, and Izumi is still dead? ]
She--I'm sorry, Brother, but she's gone.
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[Sure. Izumi had been sick ever since Ed knew her but. He still didn't expect that to get that bad, what the Gate had taken from her and done to her as her toll. Her price. Back home, Hohenheim meets her and fixes things as best he can with her insides. At least, for Ed. Obviously that had not happened for this Al.
It's just. Hard. To accept that. That loss. Izumi wasn't even that old. Not really.]
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[ It was sudden, but not surprising, really. It was a miracle she'd held on as long as she did, Al thinks, with how often she doubled over coughing up blood. He just wishes he'd known about this alkahestry stuff earlier. If it's healing alchemy, maybe that would have helped. Having their dad come around and stick his hand in her gut and suddenly she's better sounds like a fairy tale, if a very silly one. ]
I didn't even know it happened until I got back from Aerugo. The postal system was so backed up that Mr. Sig's letter was stuck at the border the whole time. But, she sent me away beforehand, anyway. I think she didn't want me to see her go downhill.
[ He kicks away a piece of rubble, sending it flying down the stairs behind him in frustration. He wants to say something comforting to Ed, especially since this seems to be out of left field news (was Izumi doing better, in his world?). But he just feels bitter about it, angry that it had to happen before his Ed could get back, could even say goodbye to her.
They've lost so many goddamned people they care about at this point, it's almost not worth crying about, anymore. But this one hurt bad. ]
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[He isn't sure if he should be worried now. Sure, she had health issues with her insides having been taken, rearranged as the price of attempting to bring back her baby. He isn't sure how much to say on things back home. It sounds like Al has had a rough time of it, here, without Ed unintentionally rubbing it in talking about how things were different, worked out better, back home.
But even so. This does hurt. It might not be his Izumi he knew but even so. He is aware of how close they were back home so he imagines it had been a similar situation and bond here between her and the brothers. That she all but adopted them while training, was always willing to help them out, if mad about them hiding things from her.
Ed shifts, in stepping forwards and raising a hand to Al's shoulder. They had both lost so many. He isn't sure if he wants to ask who else. About Nina, Hughes....]
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If this is news to you, it just means the version of her from your world is doing a lot better, right? The next time you see her, give her a hug from me.
[ He'd asked Wrath why he was doing this, why he would voluntarily let himself be transmuted to open the Gate. It's only been about an hour, but Al doesn't think he's ever going to forget that answer: I just want to see Mommy again.
He can empathize. That's what got him and Ed into this mess in the first place. Izumi was someone else's mom first, for only a few hours, but she filled that role for them when Trisha could no longer do so. It's funny to think about, because they couldn't be more different as people, but they fit into the same niche in their lives regardless. ]
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[But. Yeah. Something like that. Ed's still trying to process all this. Unsure what might be important or not for him to know while here and figuring this all out. He gives a nod though, in agreeing to give her a hug when he gets back home and next sees her. Assuming she is still fine when he makes it back. He sighs, pursing his lips for a moment as he considers.]
I'm not sure what else to ask about. Who else. What else I might need to know while I'm here. Some things seem to be similar, the same, and others you are mentioning....it's quite different...
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[ Al feels a little bad for being such a downer, since Ed clearly doesn't know what to say, but he also doesn't want to lie about how grim things have gotten. If he asked about Izumi in front of the others, it might be awkward.
They're nearing the ceiling of the cavern by now, stairs disappearing into the stone above them. Something familiar catches Al's eye when he turns, and he stops at the landing, again, pointing over Ed's shoulder.
And now I have to use headcanon to fill in the gaps that 03 didn't expand on. I NEED ANSWERS ABOUT THIS CITY, 03!!From this height, it's easier to tell that the city is lopsided, tilted and falling into a massive sinkhole even farther into the earth. Ed might have to squint a bit given how completely destroyed the architecture is, but there's a very familiar alchemical array carved into the bedrock of the city, cutting through buildings and leading into the black pit below them. ]
I am wondering. The country in the desert that disappeared overnight...did it have a transmutation circle around it, too?
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[Ed just figures the other can't help if this isn't exactly the most reassuring reunion given all the news he has to part to Ed after all this. Ed's still figuring it all out. Where to start exactly. What to ask about. Who to ask about. It's difficult to say on what might be the same or not. He glances when Al points, when Al stops, shifting and following where the other points to, noting the circle. Taking a moment to try and place it.]
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[ Or been deliberately fed one, Al thinks.
It's the same one, let's say. In this cursed-ass universe there has to be at least two different mass-circles, because it's not like Dante and Hohenheim were using Ishvalan pseudo-alchemy 400 years ago. ]
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[Ed follows after Al, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light as they exit the dark stairway. Letting his eyes adjust as he glances around at their surroundings. Some church, it looks like. Al had mentioned? He thinks? It's been a lot, already. He takes it in, glancing to the windows as if that could give him a clue as to just where in Central they were. Where everyone else was.]
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As for where, it looks like it's on the far outskirts of the city, in an abandoned neighborhood. No cars, no pedestrians, just a long block of empty buildings. Al jets over to one of the broken windows, himself, peering out at the sky. ]
...the earthquakes stopped.
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[Resembool? Ed isn't sure how everyone here might take his presence. That Ed is here but not....their Edward? How Granny might take that, or Winry for that matter. He's not sure what the story is there, exactly. It makes him suddenly more anxious, more nervous, as they leave the stairs, that underground city below Central. He glances around, taking it in. Trying to figure the time, where they are roughly. At the least, it doesn't look immediately busy outside where he will get such sudden attention. People recognizing him.]
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I'm not sure. There were terrible earthquakes in Central city, so there's probably still evacuation procedures happening if you want to slip past it.
[ Hawkeye would IMMEDIATELY know something's up. They couldn't bluff themselves out of an explanation with her. ]
I guess it leaves anyone we could trust with this sort of thing. We could go back to Resembool, maybe...?
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I would say that sounds like a plan. I'm just figuring if we're in Central though. We'd probably end up running into the Colonel and his guys. I mean, I'm not sure what they might say or do, seeing me, but. If we can avoid it. That might be easier, yeah.
[Because, yeah. With Hawkeye or Izumi? No way either of the boys wouldn't cave under their stare or questioning.]
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[ He loves and respects Riza but that all comes with a hefty dose of finding her extremely terrifying. So, basically the same as Izumi, yeah. ]
The Colonel isn't around, actually. He took some kind of leave of absence.
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[She was likely perceptive enough to easily pick up that Ed was different. That he wasn't the same Edward she would have known. She would probably be able to tell, maybe even just by looking at him, his appearance, that he isn't the same. So Ed can't deny that he also doesn't think he would last long if they encountered her, without her finding out.]
Let's at least get out of here.
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He nods.
And hops out of the window, actually, the front door is kind of a hazard at this point. It's a ground floor church, luckily. ]
If we go down this street, it'll take us back to one of the alleys on Third Street, and...
[ He lays out some directions, streets and shops he remembers. It's a solid route to the station. ]
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[Ed listens as the other gives directions. He's certain eventually he will pick up on where they were amid Central. Assuming of course that the city layout was generally the same as back home that he is familiar with. He lets Al head out the window, following easily enough through it. Not like he isn't used to sneaking around and going through entrances or exits besides the door. He just doesn't want to make this such a habit the way Ling does. He will follow along with Al, glancing around once outside and trying to ensure there weren't any military about that they might accidentally bump into Hawkeye.]
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Al chats lightly while he navigates, mostly inconsequential things that he's wanted to share, but in his solo travels didn't have another pair of ears to share them with. He wouldn't say he made a list of things he wanted to tell Ed about when he surely definitely undoubtedly found him again, but he does go through a rehearsed-sounding roll of news. So-and-so from Resembool got married. Elicia started first grade and Gracia wrote to him about it. They finally fixed up that old barn out by so-and-so street.
Oh, and he tried some new foods. That one he seems happiest to share.
Whether or not Ed remembers any of the things Al chatters about (your choice, it's just background fluff lol), he's noticeably less gloomy than he was underground. Part of it was the atmosphere, but it's also just...kind of a return to normalcy, honestly? Which is saying something when their 'normal' was living out of a single suitcase, squatting in abandoned buildings, and going on a wild goose chase for a miracle stone they weren't completely sure actually existed.
The closer they get to Central City, the more they run into the visible aftermath of those earthquakes. The ground is torn to shit, and some buildings have even collapsed. Yikes. ]
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Ed notes as they continue how there's more definite ruins and damage from the earthquakes that Al had mentioned.]
I wonder if we could help. Wait, what time is it? And what time's the next train back to Resembool?
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[ Al pulls up his sleeve and takes a look at his wristwatch. ]
It's about 3:00 in the afternoon. I don't know the trains offhand, so I was hoping we could catch one at the station.
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[Ed isn't sure. On how much he should really interact with things when this isn't his home. As much as his instinct is to help, but he is also mindful of their goal to get back to Resembool to figure what to do from here and hopefully avoid the military for the time being before they find out Ed is here. Before they start asking questions and he doesn't want to get Al in trouble.]
We don't want to get back too late, to Resembool though.
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Dusting this off eons laterHe considers it for a moment. ]
That's up to you. You were listed as missing in action, so they'll probably want some answers if someone recognizes you. But, they're likely pretty busy with the evacuation, so it could go either way. It depends on if you want to risk it.
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