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 Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:56 am
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:11 am
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CHAPTER 1
SIBLING RIVALY
"Mikey! I'm hungry!" Lizzie whined.
"Me too Lizzie! You've eaten more than me these last few days," Michael answered. he looked up at the clear, blue, coudless sky. He sighed and ignored the prolonged pains in his stomach.
"I hear your tummy!" Lizzie informed with a childish concern. "You should eat too!" she said resolving the problem. Well, in theory at least.
"If only it was that easy!" Michael answered with a sigh. Just then, he passed the bakery. The strong aroma of fresh baked bread overwhelmed him and his stomach let out a roar. He frantically checked his pockets for any signs of money. Nope. "Lizzie, When we go in the bakery, I want you to run around as fast as you can and keep the people busy! Can you do that for me?" Michael asked.
"Yep! Sure can big brother! Lizzie! At your service!" she agreed, more than happy to help her brother, whatever the task.
Michael laughed. "Good girl! Now come on!" They casually entered the store and in a second, Lizzie was off.
"Yaaaay!!! Funtime!!" she squealed running at full speed between the shelves of the store.
"Hey! Stop that, little girl!" the baker behind the counter shouted. he chased after her, but Lizzie was too small and too fast for him to keep up.
Michael made his way to the counter from his hiding place behind a shelf. he quietly slid open the display case door and grabbed a loaf of bread. Then another for his sister. "Let's go Lizzie!" he called, hopping over the counter, bread in his hands.
"Here I come!" she laughed slipping out of the closing door before she could be caught. She still easily caught up to her brother even him being much taller than her.
"Get back here you dirty thieves!" the baker shouted. he yelled and screamed but nothing was going to stop those two. or so they thought.
"See? Food? I told you it was-waaah!" Lizzie stopped dead in her tracks, seeing an obstacle ahead. "Stop Mikey! Wait!" she warned.
Michael turned to look back at her. "What are you-BAM!" Michael slammed in to someone's shoulder but instead of still going, he was knocked back, the bread being tossed high in the air.
"I got it! I got it!" Lizzie yelled running back and forth until she finally caught the bread safely. But there was still one more loaf to be saved. This was saved by the stranger Michael had bumped into!
"Now where are we off to in such a rush?" asked Edward Elric. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was stolen!" he said with his grin of confidence, knowing he was right.
"Just give it back and we'll leave without any trouble," Michael whispered getting up.
"You can't do that!" opposed a new stranger. This is no stranger to you, dear readers, for it is the young Alphonse Elric! "If you want it, you'll pay for it like everyone else!" he said.
"Don't you think I would've if I could?" Michael replied calmly. Up the street, the baker was standing in the doorway. Michael glanced back at him, then Lizzie.
"Then can you please help us?" Lizzie blurted. She was cling ing to her brother's worn jacket, sort of intimidated by Ed's expression.
Al bent down to her level and smiled warmly. "Of course we will!" was his honest reply. "We all will!" he said loking up at his own brother who didn't seemed thrilled about the idea.
Michael looked at Lizzie, then Al, then Ed. Michael sighed once more and threw his hands up in agreement. "What's the point?" he thought. "Let's just get this over with!" he groaned. They returned to the bakery and the Elrics payed for the bread along with an apology from Michael and Lizzie.
"Yay! Food!" Lizzie cheered taking a big bite. She munched happily as they walked away.
Michael, on the other hands only ate a little, knowing she'd eat all of hers. So he'd share his later with her. Those guys were following them. "Do we gotta problem, kid? Are you following us or something?" he asked Ed. He stopped and took off his jacket, leaning against the wall.
"No. We're just going in the same direction so stay out of our way!" Ed shot back.
"Ok, you little midget, I've had enough you!" Michael snapped putting his bread in his jacket which he had set on the ground.
Ed went on his normal tantrum at the insult of being short. "Short?! Who you callin short?! Get over here and we'll see who's short! Why I oughta...." Ed shouted. We all know how he is.
"Brother! Calm down!" Al grabbed his brother, keeping him from attacking.
As Michael advacnced towards Ed, Lizzie stopped him too. "Stop it, Mikey!" she demanded. She ran out in front of him, little skinny arms outspread. He couldn't resist the child and backed off.
"Who are you two anyway?" he finally questioned.
"I'm Alphonse Elric! And this is my big brother, Edward, the Full Metal Alchemist!" he introduced.
"An alchemist, huh?" he asked skeptically. "The only thing related to metal I see is his thick skull!" he said to himself. "Well, I'm Michael. This is Lizzie!" he said putting his hand on top of the auburn hair that covered her head.
"Yeah, an alchemist! A state alchemist!" he corrected as if he was proud of it. To prove it, he dug in his pocket and revealed the pocketwatch.
It mesmerized the little girl. Her eyes grew wide and she walked over to see it better. "It's so pretty!" she said grabbing Ed's arm. "Hey! What's wrong with your arm, Ed?" she inquired, neverfeeling an arm that hard in her life. She pulled up his sleeve to see ti was made od metal!
"That's my auto-mail," he explained. He lifted his pants leg to show her his leg as well. That was what fascinated Michael.
"So...what happened to your real limbs?" Michael couldn't help but ask.
"That's a pretty long story!" Al interuptted.
"We gots all the time in thw whole wide world!" Lizzie assured them, sitting on a nearby bench with her bread.
Michael sat down next to her with his and looked at them. "So?"
end of chapter 1
(comment if you want, I'm writing now!)
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 4:07 pm
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CHAPTER 2
TAGGING ALONG
"So now we spend most of our time traveling on jobs for the military!" Al had just finished telling Lizzie and Michael the short verion of he and his brother's lives.
"That sounds about right!" Ed confirmed.
Lizzie sat there for a moment, letting everything sort of soak in. "Wow! You've been to lots of places and met lots of people too!" she finally said. She had taken a liking to the Elrics, especially Al! Lizzie was practically in his lap!
"Calm down Girlie!" Michael said pulling her back by her collar. "So you tried to play God, huh? I may be a thief, but even I don't even think about putting one over on the Man himself!" he commented.
"Right! And this is the price I paid!" Ed agreed. "But even after crossing the Gate to get back, I still look like this!" he thought looking at his arm.
"So Michael," Al asked, "what's your story?"
"Well first, Lizzie isn't my real sister! As far as we know, we were both only children! We're orphans!" he explained vaguely. He hated to explain things that took a while to do so.
"Come on, Mikey! Keep going!" urged Lizzie.
"Alright, alright!" he gave in. "I've been orphaned since I was about Lizzie's age!" he began.
"How old are you guys anyway?" Ed asked. "He couldn't be more than 18 like me!" he thought.
"Me? I'm about 18, and Lizzie here's about 7 or 8, I'm not really sure!" he answered. "The orphanage never really taught us much besides the basics. I taught Lizzie and myself most of what we know!" Michael said getting slightly off track. "Anyway, my parents were good, hard-working people as far as I know! But one day, my father died suddenly on the job. Don't ask me what he did! I can only assume my mother went into depression and they deemed her 'mentally unstable and unfit to care for a child."
"Wow! That's pretty sad!" Al stated. "What about you, Lizzie?" he asked her with a smile.
"Yeah! What about me?" she asked Michael.
"I was about 12 at the time. We were having breakfast at the orphange. Lizzie was one many new arrivals that day. Only three i guess at the time. The caretakers left older kids like me to care for the little ones!" he said looking up at the sky. He looked down at Lizzie and smiled. "What happened next, Lizzie?" he asked, knowing it was her favorite part of this story.
"You called me Girlie!" she shouted. She loved it when Michael called her 'Girlie' for resons unbeknownst to him.
"Right!" he said rubbing her head. "After the orphange named her Elizabeth, I just called her 'Lizzie' or 'Girlie'! Ever since then we've been inseperable!" he finished.
"Heh!" Ed chuckled. "So how long have you been away from the orphange?"
"About three weeks!" Michael answered. They'd run away and walked until they found Central. They had been roaming the streets for days now. "I guess that's about it!" he said.
Al looked at his brother. "If don't hurry, we'll be late!" he warned.
"Yeah, you're right!" Ed realized.
"Well, we have somewhere to be soon but we'll see ya!" Al said standing up.
"No! I don't want you to go!" Lizzie cried latching on to Al.
"Michael pulled her away again. "Now Lizzie, it isn't wise to get in the State Alchemist's way! They have work to do!" Michael said. He was actually a little sad they were leaving himself!
"Oh, this isn't any official business or anything!" Ed explained. "We're off to the train station to pick someone up!" he explained further.
"Not just anyone!" Al corrected. "But Winry! Your fiancee!" he revealed.
Yes! Edward did indeed propose to Winry only a few months ago! The wedding was only a week away and was to be held in their humble hometown of Resembool.
"You can tag along if you want!" Al offered.
"Sure! I'd love to meet her!" he agreed. "How 'bout it kid?" Michael asked Lizzie.
"Yeah! Let's go!" she said leaping on her brother's back. She wiggled around to get a good grip and said, "Giddyup, Mikey!"
Michael followed the lttle girl's orders and took off after the Elrics who'd gotten a head start. He remembered the train station and ra alongside the two boys. The train had just arrived when they did.
"Ya see her, Al?" Ed asked looking attentively back and forth.
"No! Not yet!" Al responded doing the same.
Michael just stood there, Lizzie still on his back. She began to squirm rhythmically. "I don't see her either!" she reported!
"You don't even know what the girl looks like! How the heck are you gonna find her?!" he asked.
Lizzie laughed as if there was something Michael knew but forgot about her. "Girlie's intuition!" she replied.
Ed and Al laughed at her response. "You teach her to do that?" Ed teased.
"Maybe it's that girl looking around like we are!" Lizzie suggested.
"Who? Her?" Ed asked seeing the girl she was talkig about. He was too far away to tell. "Why don't you two go check?" he asked the two orphans.
"Sure, why not?" Michael agreed. "What's her name again?" he asked.
"Winry Rockbell!" said the groom-to-be.
"Winry Rockbell! Right!" he repeated.
"Go! Mikey, go!" Lizzie yelled. Lizzie adjusted herself as Michael walked over to the girl in question.
"Excuse me," Michael said, "You wouldn't happen to be Winry Rockbell, would you?" he asked politely.
It was in fact, Winry, making Lizzie's 'Girlie Intuition' right! Creepy. But Winry was waiting on someone she knew to come and get her. "Uh, yes I am! May I help you?" she asked witha warm smile.
Michael had lost the ability of speech for a moment. She was beautiful! What he wouldn't give to have a girl like her around! "Ed and Al are over there!" Lizzie pointed.
Winry smilled again and said, "Why thank you!" Michael walked back over to Ed and Al with a playful glare.
"Edward Elric! You did not do Ms. Rockbell justice!" he said. "She's much more beautiful than you let on!"
"Hey guys!" she greeted. She put her things down which were picked back up by Al. She hugged them both and kissed Ed. "And who are these two?" she wondered.
"Lizzie and Michael at your service!" Lizzie introduced.
end of ch. 2
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:29 am
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:18 am
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CHAPTER 3
THE BASE
On their way to the military base, Michael, Lizzie, and Winry where getting to know each other better and traded stories as well.
“That’s messed up!” Michael whispered after Winry told them about her parents being doctors in the war and were killed for being indiscriminant on who they helped.
“So Michael, how did you become orphans?” Winry asked, for his explanation was simple and no detailed as always.
“My father died on the job, like your parents, and because of that, my mother went into depression and was too unstable to care for me.”
“Where is she now?” Al asked. That was one thing they hadn’t asked before because they were short on time. Hopefully he knew.
“Last I heard, still in the mental institution they put her in!” was the answer. “I got to see her three times a year: My birthday, her birthday, and Christmas. That was being extremely generous!”
They had stopped at an intersection and waited to cross. Lizzie let her legs dangle, and dropped down off Michael’s back. She ran over to Winry and grabbed her hand. It surprised Winry at first, but she just smiled and looked at Michael.
“Wow! That means she trusts you! Her ‘Girlie intuition’ must be really good around you! She rarely meets young women as nice as you!” Michael said in all seriousness.
“Well that’s good!” Ed sighed. Partly to Lizzie and Winry’s new friendship, and because the base was only a block away! “When was the last time you saw her?” Ed suddenly asked.
“Oh, last Christmas!” responded Michael. Lizzie was able to go along too. “Remember, Girlie?”
“Uuumm,” she thought about it. After a pause to recollect, she hopped. “Yes! I do remember! She was really nice! But she didn’t call you Michael though! She called you another name!” she said.
“She called me Melvin! That was my dad! She thought I was him and she was stuck into thinking it was before he had died. Lizzie just seemed to be some girl that lived next door to us!” he explained.
“Oh,” was all Winry or anyone could manage.
“But enough of my sob stories!” Michael said in attempts to liven the moment.
Lizzie’s spirits were raised. If they’d even dropped in the first place! She climbed aboard her brother’s back once more and held on as they entered the Central Military Base. The halls were busy with people all dressed in blue uniforms. Michael and Lizzie were amazed and had never seen anything so…organized in their lives! Many of these people recognized the Elrics and he stayed close as not to be questioned on what he was doing there.
“We have to stop by Mustang’s office and then we’ll get settled in!” Al explained to Winry.
Winry nodded happily and looked back to see Michael’s look of confusion. “Colonel Roy Mustang is Ed and Al’s superior! He’s also a State Alchemist nicknamed the ‘Flame Alchemist’!” she informed him.
“Oh ok!” Michael nodded as if he knew what the hell that meant. Oh well, he’d figure it out eventually! Ed and Al entered the room casually and the others stayed put.
“C’mon!” Ed waved to them. So they entered still hesitant.
“Are you sure we’re not intruding, Edward?” Winry asked.
“Not at all! Please, have a seat!” Roy offered. He was sitting at his desk, trying to look official without anything to do. Winry took a seat and Michael put Lizzie down into one of them next to her.
“So what can I do for you boys?” Mustang asked leaning back.
“Well it’d be a big help if you put up our friends for a few days!” Ed pointed to Michael and Lizzie.
“Now hold on! We expected your fiancée but you can’t just pick people up off the street!” he standing up.
Michael expected this to happen. So he picked Lizzie back up and began to leave. “Come on, Girlie!” he whispered.
“Thanks guys!” Lizzie whimpered. She buried her face in Michael’s collar and cried.
Michael was headed for the door when, it opened on its own. Lizzie stopped her crying to see what was going on. There was a woman in the doorway. She was dressed as all the others in blue and her expression was unforgiving. Her face softened though, seeing the little girl.
“Why hello!” Riza Hawkeye greeted her and Michael. Michael stepped back to let her pass. She did so and greeted the Elrics as well. “Colonel!” she saluted. And her expression softened once more seeing Winry. “What are you doing here?” she asked as they hugged. “You should be home preparing!”
“I know! But I just needed a few things!” Winry said smiling at Ed. She smiled a lot it seemed to Michael. Not like it was a bad thing though. He would’ve expected nothing less from a woman about to get married so soon. Just then, Black Hayate trotted into the room.
“Oh, there you are,” she acknowledged him. He came over and sat down by her side faithfully.
“Doggy!” Lizzie laughed sliding down off Michael. She approached the dog slowly and reached for it. Hayate sniffed and licked her hand and Lizzie giggled. They started to play and everyone was now calm.
“Friends of yours, Edward?” Riza asked looking at Michael inquisitively.
“Yeah! Mike and Lizzie!” Ed introduced.
“You trying to recruit them or what?” Roy joked.
“Oh, no! I’m nowhere near good enough to be a normal alchemist!” Michael said scratching his head. “I only know the very basics! Like the process of alchemy itself is analysis, destruction, and reconstruction!” he admitted.
Roy was actually impressed. He never thought someone who looked like these two would know a thing about alchemy! “Alright then, Mike! You and your girl have earned your stay!” he said with a nonchalant grin.
“Yaay! Big Brother is smart!” Lizzie cheered. Also, a very happy Lt. Cl. Maes Hughes joined the crowd.
“Hey everyone!” he called. “Check out the newest pictures of my darling daughter, Elysia!” He then noticed the new faces in the room. “Hello! Lt. Cl. Maes Hughes at your service!” he introduced with a bow. Lizzie laughed at the line she often used.
Michael introduced them even calling Lizzie by her whole name, which after so long not using it, she didn’t really like.
“You seem to be about Elysia’s age!” Hughes assumed.
“How old is she?” Michael asked.
“She’s 7 now!”
“Then you’re right! Lizzie’s about that age!” he said. After a little more nonsense from long-time friends, Roy and Maes, the runaways were taken to their quarters.
The rooms were pretty big by orphan standards and the best he’d seen since childhood. Lizzie insisted that she and her ‘Mikey’ share a bed. That left Al with them and they trusted Ed and Winry with their own room.
end chapter 3
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:14 pm
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:12 pm
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CHAPTER 4
A FAVOR
Michael was ironically awakened by the tingling sensation of his legs being asleep. He lifted his head which seemed to weigh a ton to see that Lizzie was lying on his legs.
There was a clock on the far side of the room. Michael squinted at the clock to see that it was 6:30 am. He turned his head to see that Al was gone. Michael didn’t want to get up, but he figured he better get up before Lizzie. “Lizzie! Come on! Wake up!” he said quietly and shaking her arm.
Still as a rock. Lizzie wasn’t usually this hard to wake up because of all the energy she had. But Michael guessed a comfy bed and a life as stressful as theirs would do that to anyone! She finally rolled off of his legs but stayed asleep.
“Lizzie, if you wake up Al will give you a present!” he bribed standing up. The wonders of child simplicity! She almost hit the ceiling! Especially hearing that it was from Al!
She was all over the room, searching for Al and her present! “Calm down, Girlie! I wasn’t serious!” he yawned with a stretch.
“That was mean, Mikey!” she scolded slapping his leg. She pouted and whined, wondering where Al was. As she occupied herself with that, Michael took the time to plan out the morning as he usually did.
“Ok, take wake Lizzie up off the list!” he thought leaning against the wall. “Next is get cleaned up. Then food! Ok! We’re set for the morning!” As you can see, Michael only planned out the morning, if he planned any further, something would go wrong. Look at yesterday! Not everything goes according to plan, now does it? “Time to get cleaned up!” he announced walking towards the door.
Lizzie stopped her whining and grabbed Michael’s hand. They left the room to see everyone as they were yesterday, busy. “Michael!” a woman called. He looked back and forth until he finally spotted Ms. Riza Hawkeye. “I trust you slept well!” she said walking towards them.
“Yes ma'am!” he answered with a smile. Lizzie nodded in agreement. “We were just trying to find somewhere to get cleaned up!” he said scratching though dirty hair.
“That’s all been taken of!” Riza said waving for them to follow her. She led them to the showers and explained to Michael that everything needed would be there. “I’ll take care of Lizzie here!” she volunteered.
“O-oh, ok!” Michael agreed, surprised that these people were helping them so much! The orphanage was never this nice! He bent down to Lizzie’s level. “I want you to go with Ms. Hawkeye and be good! Ok?” he told her.
Lizzie smiled a big a smile and saluted. “Yes sir!”
“Good little soldier! Now march!” he said kissing her forehead. She left with the woman and he entered the showers to find he was alone. As she said, everything was there. Even clean, new clothes! This was unreal! He took his time and enjoyed the hot shower he hadn’t gotten in a while.
He left the showers dressed and ready to take in the day! Outside, Lizzie and Riza were waiting. “Mikey! Mikey! Loook! I got a pretty new dress!” she yelled jumping up and down.
“And it looks great on you!” he complimented, happy to see her even happier than usual.
Lizzie ran and hugged her brother’s waist. She rested her head on his stomach and giggled hearing his stomach growl.
“What is it, Girlie?” asked Michael.
“I hear your tummy again!” she said. “Let’s go eat!” she suggested.
Riza couldn’t help but smile at the overly optimistic child. “Well if you’re hungry, follow me!” she said walking away. She took them to the Mess Hall with everyone else. She noticed that even for orphans they ate, well…a lot! They’ve been roaming these streets for at least four days now! I’m not surprised they’re so starved! Riza thought with a sigh.
Michael heard her sigh and paused, “What’s wrong, Ms. Hawkeye?” he asked, concerned enough to stop eating.
“Oh, it’s nothing!” she answered sitting up. “Edward told me how you all met yesterday!” she revealed to them. Even Lizzie stopped then!
“He did?” Michael asked ducking his head like dog when it knows it’s in trouble. Nice going, Elric! You rat me out to the no nonsense, human sniper rifle! he thought.
Riza grinned, seeing his worry. “Sit up! You’re in no trouble!” she assured him. She was much nicer than he thought though!
“You know ma’am, despite your initial persona, you’re very motherly!” Michael commented.
“I guess you could say that! Dealing with the Elrics has kept me that way, I guess!” Riza admitted. Now they were done eating. That was the last thing on Michael’s list! Now what?
“Well, Lizzie and I best get out of here! We won’t stray too far though!” he said picking Lizzie up.
“Alright! Just stay out of trouble!” she warned.
“Yes ma’am!” Lizzie saluted. Riza simply returned the salute and watched them run off.
Michael and Lizzie traveled the city in search of entertainment, even though walks between the two were never dull. They found themselves at the station, watching the massive machines load and unload their contents of people and baggage. “Can we ride on a train, Mikey?” Lizzie asked.
“I don’t know, Girlie!” Michael replied. He didn’t think so at least. But to keep her happy, he changed his answer. “On second thought, Sure we can!”
“When will that be?” she asked.
“Soon Lizzie! Soon,” How soon? Sooner than he thought!
“Hey! You guys waitin on us?” Ed asked noticing them. Only Al was there with him.
“Ed!” Lizzie called hugging him. She hugged Al and stayed attached to his arm. She got to see Al after all, but the surprises were just beginning!
“Mike! Fancy meeting you two here!” Ed greeted. “I have a really, really big favor to ask you!” he said in all seriousness.
“Yeah, sure! What’s up?” Michael asked. What was so big?
“I think I can trust you with this! Besides, me and Winry already talked it over last night!” Ed added. He took a breath and finally said, “I want you and Lizzie to be in our wedding!”
Michael was really not prepared for this! There were so many things he didn’t know! Too many questions to ask! But at the time he hadn’t thought about it. “Sure! Why not? What about you Lizzie? You in?”
She nodded and said, “Michael and Lizzie!”
Then Michael finished, “at your service!”
end chapter 4
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:13 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:36 pm
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CHAPTER 5
RETURN TO RESEMBOOL
The entire day seemed such a blur to Michael! So to try and soak in the day so far, he relaxed in his seat on the train.
He and Lizzie woke up the same as yesterday, only this time, Al was still there. So after cleaning up and eating, they had to explain, in Ed and Winry’s room, the jobs of Michael and his sister in wedding. Michael’s job was to stand behind Al (who was best man) and that was it.
Lizzie, along with Elysia, would be a flower girl. She was equally happy with her job, but for a different reason than her brother. Michael was happy with the pure simplicity of his job while Lizzie was happy that she got to be with another girl her age and to play with flower petals.
“Wait,” Michael interrupted. “Won’t I need a suit? And Lizzie a dress?” he noticed.
“Everything was taken care of yesterday after you met everyone here at the base!” Winry explained. Yet another shocker for Michael. “Riza took your measurements while you slept that night! It confused me at first too!” she admitted with a nervous laugh. “But she has her ways of doing things!”
“What color is my dress?” Lizzie asked excitedly. She was all smiles and laughs as always.
“It’s a beautiful white dress!” Winry answered. The answer was sufficient for the child and she carried on listening.
“So now I have a question,” Michael announced. “Where exactly is the wedding going to be?”
“Oh!” Al realized that was left out of their details. “It’s gonna be in our hometown of Resembool!” he told them. “That’s why we were at the train station! To pick up the tickets!”
“So we get to ride a train?!” Lizzie asked with joy welling up inside her. The joy made her already high-pitched voice go up an octave!
“That’s right!” answered Michael, realizing himself that her prayer had been answered. Lizzie tackled him and hugged him tightly, laughing.
“What’s so exciting about a train ride?” Ed asked, not understanding the joy of a seven year old.
Michael explained,”Right before you showed up, she asked if we would ever ride a train! I guess telling her ‘soon’ was the right thing!”
“When are we leaving?” she inquired.
Ed supplied the answer to her question, “Tomorrow morning! So be ready!”
“Sure thing! This is just…just…amazing! Incredible! Things are looking up for us, Girlie!” Michael said picking Lizzie up and spinning her around. From his spot on the open floor, he stopped. “What’s Resembool like?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Ed t looked to Winry and she closed her eyes, envisioning her home. “Well,” she began and took a breath. “it’s a quiet little countryside with lots of hills and a river! My grandmother and I run an auto-mail shop from our home and help people like Ed!” she said in a distant voice.
“Sounds like a great place to grow up!” Michael sighed, sitting back down with Lizzie.
“Trust me, it is!” Al exclaimed. “You’ll love it there!” Then at that time, they left to catch their train. They had been traveling for awhile now and Lizzie looked out of the window with Alphonse, admiring the view. “This is great! We’ll get to see home again, Brother!” Al whispered.
“Yeah, I guess it’ll be good to see home after so long!” he said staring into Winry’s eyes lovingly. They sat there and shared a laugh together as they did so. Michael had by now dozed off as the evening approached.
“Wake up, Mikey! We’re here! We’re here!” Lizzie announced louder than the conductor himself. Michael opened his eyes and saw the others grabbing their things and sprung into action himself.
“Hurry up, Mike! Time’s wastin!” Ed called. Micheal pulled himself off of the train, yawning and stretching towards the sky. The sky was painted with the colors of oranges, purples, and the blurry yet thin line of pink. Lizzie climbed onto his back as usual and they began to walk.
Not too long after they had begun, Al shouted, “Hey! There’s your house, Winry!” That comment gave the unspoken challenge to race there and they all took off! By the time they all got there, they could barely talk. They put their things down and rested.
Just then, Michael heard barking. It grew louder and he searched in the dim light seeing nothing at first. Then a large, black and white dog came dashing from around the house. “Den!” Winry called to him. The canine followed her voice and ran to her. He licked her face in happiness for her return and the Elrics were given the same warm welcome home.
Lizzie approached the dog fearlessly unlike her first encounter with Black Hayate. Her results were the same, if not better, as the dog licked her cheek. Den noticed Michael and welcomed him as well with a few licks. “Hey!” Michael laughed. As Den wagged his tail furiously, Michael noticed one of the dog’s front legs was auto-mail! “She does animals too?” he thought looking at the mechanic. “She must be really good!”
“Hello everyone!” Pinako greeted. Michael and Lizzie looked up to see a very short woman as tall as Lizzie. She was wearing an apron and out of the doorway, leaked the aroma of food.
The others greeted her warmly and introduced Michael and Lizzie to her. They all ate dinner as Michael retold him and Lizzie’s story and got more acquainted with her. The next few days would be hectic as he was told.
end chapter 5
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:16 pm
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:47 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:56 pm
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CHAPTER 6 PART 1
THE WEDDING FINALE
There were now three days until the wedding. The ceremony would be outside since the weather seemed to permit. Mike and the Elrics were outside setting up the chairs. But when they finished, Ed asked, “Hey Mike, have tried your suit on yet?” as they entered the house.
“No, we’ve been too busy for me to!” he answered with a shrug.
“He’s right, Brother!” Al agreed. “So now’s the time! It’s in our room, come on!” he said leading Michael to their room.
Ed opened the closet and revealed a black and white suit with a tie, and shiny black shoes to match. “Nice, huh?” Ed grinned.
“Hell yeah it’s nice! It’s…great!” Michael said astounded by the suit. “How much did this cost?” he asked imagining all the things he could do with that kind of money.
“Not too much!” Ed answered casually and gave it to him. “Now hurry before the girls get back! Then you won’t ever be able to take it off!” he ordered.
Michael took his time to figure out the complex outfit. When he finally did get it on, he looked to the brothers for advice. “Looks great! How does it feel?” Al commented.
“It’s…ok! A little uncomfortable, but I’ll get used to it!” Michael answered honestly.
“That’s good! Exactly how it’s supposed to feel!” Edward confirmed with a thumbs up. Michael changed back into his normal clothes and the young men left the house again.
“Where are we going now?” Michael asked. They had been walking a good distance until they came to a cemetery. Then he remembered. “Your mother…” he said just above a whisper.
“Yeah,” Ed answered. They walked a bit further until they came the tombstone. The light breeze whirled around the boys as they stood quietly.
Michael thought about the event at hand and was grateful that his mother was still alive. At least to his knowledge at this point.
After another silent moment, Ed and Al turned and began to walk back. “Let’s hurry and get back!” Ed called as he started to run. So Michael and Alphonse followed close behind.
By the time they got back, they found Cl. Mustang and Ms. Hawkeye in the house. “Oh! You’re already here!” Al said happily.
“Yes, we arrived just a minute ago!” Roy told them. He and Riza were sitting at the table, sipping coffee and neither was in uniform.
“How have you been, Michael?” Riza asked.
Michael smiled, sensing her motherliness again. “I’ve been great! This place is amazing!” he sighed looking out the window.
“Well I’m glad you think so!” Pinako said appearing from the other room. She came and sat at the table with the others. “Please, sit!” she insisted. So the boys all took a seat.
At that time, the door opened and Den, Winry, and Lizzie entered the house. Lizzie darted toward her brother and jumped into his lap. “Mikey!!” she laughed hugging him. The sight made everyone smile.
“Hey, Girlie!” Where have you been all afternoon?” he greeted.
“We went shopping! We looked at flowers, and then I got to play with Den!” she told him.
“It sounds like you had fun!” Riza said with a smile and sipped her coffee.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you two here?” Michael asked scratching his head.
“Same reason as you!” Roy replied. “We’re in the wedding!” he explained leaning back in his chair a little.
“Yay!” Lizzie cheered.
“Yay is right!” Michael sighed with relief. It was explained that Roy and Riza would be groomsmen and bridesmaid respectively. This meant they would be walking down the aisle together as well! Michael would be walking with Hughes’s wife, Gracia as he was told by Mustang.
“Winry, you never told me who the maid of honor was!” Ed asked thinking on it.
“Oh, it’s Teacher! She agreed to do it!” Winry smiled.
“SHE DID?!” Ed and Al shouted grabbing each other in fear of the very name!
“Who’s Teacher?” Lizzie asked.
“Her name is Izumi, and she taught us almost everything we know about alchemy!” Alphonse explained letting go of his brother.
“She’s a tough one!” Ed added his voice shaky.
“She must be to put that much fear into you!” he thought. But what came out was simply, “Oh, ok.”
“I believe she’s on her way here now, right Winry?” Pinako asked.
“Yeah, that’s right!” she answered.
end of pt.1
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:34 pm
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CHAPTER 6 PART 2
AWEDDING FINALE
Two days left. Michael and Lizzie sat on a near by hill looking at the puffy clouds roll by. “Clouds are so slow!” Lizzie yawned.
“Well, they can only go so fast, Girlie!” He looked over to see that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and shook his head. “C’mon,” he whispered picking her up. He carried Lizzie back to the house and laid her down on his bed.
Michael decided to go and take a short walk as long as she was napping. He followed the path away from the house along the endless fence. Until it ended. So he sat upon the fence and did some more cloud watching.
The whiteness of them reminded him of the wedding to come. The thought of the two living a peaceful and successful life gave him some hope for himself. “I guess I better get back to Lizzie,” he said to himself and headed back down the path.
“Hey guys!” he called once he saw the brothers standing outside.
Edward rushed over to him and covered his mouth with his auto-mail hand. “Shhh!” he hissed. “She doesn’t know we’re here yet!” Even if it was his auto-mail, his hand still shook.
“Oh, come on! She can’t be that bad!” he replied moving Ed’s hand. Michael walked over to the window and peeked through. Everyone was at the table except Lizzie. Then he noticed two new faces. The woman, wearing a white dress, long dark dreadlocked hair, and a stern face. Near her was a rather…large man with a similar expression. He was the intimidating one!
Lizzie had just woken up and wandered into the room. She noticed them and was frightened. “AH! Mikey! Where are you?!” she cried. She ran to Riza and Winry for safety, knowing they’d protect her.
“Lizzie! I’m right here! And no one wants to get you!” Michael said coming into the house. She ran over to him and climbed to her favorite position aboard his back. She was on the brink of tears and he stroked her head to calm her down. “Now what’s wrong?” he asked playfully.
“They scared me!” she mumbled pointing to Izumi and Sig.
“Oh, it’s ok! I’m sure they’re nice people who love little girls like you!”
“Yes! That’s right!” Izumi agreed with a smile. “Isn’t that right, Edward and Alphonse?” he said raising her voice.
The Elrics came into the house slowly and answered in unison, “Yes, ma’am!” and they bowed.
Izumi stood and walked over to them. “I am very proud of you Edward! And you Alphonse!” she said softly and hugged them.
“Th-thank you, Teacher!” Ed answered. When she let them go, Ed introduced Michael and Lizzie.
“Or if you prefer to call her by her real name, it’s Elizabeth! How do you do?” Michael greeted. At first, Lizzie didn’t want to talk, but he got her to wave.
“We’re in the wedding too!” Lizzie exclaimed proudly.
“So you are?” said Izumi. “Well I look forward to it! Oh, and this is my husband, Sig!” He only nodded. But that was sufficient, for he was a man of few words. Without any more time wasted, they rehearsed a few times, and all enjoyed dinner together.
The next day, Maes and his family arrived. Michael then met the woman he would be walking with. Mrs. Gracia Hughes. She was a beautiful woman, younger than she looked. She was very nice. And little Elysia, Maes pride and joy, made quick friends with Lizzie.
They had just finished rehearsing again. Roy, Maes, and Michael sat outside and watched the two children chase each other around. “Those are our girls! Not a care in the world!” Hughes sighed.
“Got that right!” Michael agreed. The two girls spotted Riza and Winry at the door.
“Hey you two! Let’s go pick some flowers for tomorrow!” Winry suggested.
“YAAAY!” they cheered. They jumped up and down as the women approached them.
“We won’t be long!” Riza told the men with a smile, and she ran off to catch up. By the time they did return, dinner was ready. Dinner was full of conversation and stories from “way back then”.
That night, Ed, Al, and Michael lay awake in their beds. “So, Ed…you ready?” Michael whispered.
“Ready for what?” Edward yawned. He seemed oblivious to the life changing aspect of tomorrow.
“Your wedding, Brother!” Alphonse reminded.
“Oh yeah! That!” he chuckled. He didn’t answer for a minute. “I’m ready! I’ve done way harder stuff! What’s so scary about a wedding?” he said drifting off to sleep as had the others.
Michael sat up from the bed. The sun’s bright rays shined through the window. He was awake first in the room. He knew this from the many overlapping footsteps and voices from outside the room. As he was about to open the door, Roy burst in. “Good! You’re awake! Ed! Al! Wake up! You’re late as it is!” he shouted.
The Elrics jumped clear out of their beds! In recorded time, they all cleaned ate and dressed themselves. Everything was ready to go!
Soon, the small crowd of spectators from the area had gathered and the wedding ceremony began. The weather was perfect as expected. Warm and sunny with a gentle breeze to soothe you.
Roy and Riza had just begun to walk up the aisle. Michael was desperately trying to calm himself down, taking deep breaths. Just then Gracia grabbed his arm gently. “Calm down! We’ll be fine! Just smile and keep at a steady pace!” he advised him.
“Uh-huh!” he nodded. It was all he could manage at the time. So they began to walk. Step. Step. Step. Closer. Closer. Now split up. Michael had done it! He couldn’t hold his broad smile and puffed out his chest a little.
Lizzie and Elysia did their job and did it well. Then it was Winry’s time to shine! She traveled slowly yet steadily. Her dress flowing behind her. Stunning to every degree! And Edward was just dumbfounded. But he quickly regained his composure.
Honestly, Michael zoned out. But he was given a nudge by Roy to signal the ceremony’s end. The minister concluded, “…and by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the Bride!”
And with those words, they sealed the deal with a passionate kiss. Michael smiled and began to clap. Everyone followed his lead and applause rang out over the hills. Th reception afterward was of the norm, consisting of cake, champagne, pictures, and dancing.
This was truly a joyful moment for all, not just Edward and Winry! After the event was over, they shed their formal garments. Riza and Roy left that same, evening back to Central. The others were to return the next day.
“So where will you and Mikey go?” Elysia asked Lizzie.
“They’ll stay here! With us!” Winry exclaimed. There was a pause.
“R-really?” Michael stuttered. This meant he wouldn’t have to run anymore. No more stealing or being hungry, or walking aimlessly for days on end!
“Yeah really! We’ll make room for you two!” Ed answered confidently.
“Alright! I’ll take you up on that offer! We’ll help any way we can! Michael and Lizzie at your service!” he said along with Lizzie saluting.
THE END
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:53 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:35 am
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