trans_9 | Things gone by [Open]

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Things gone by [Open]

Fletcher should have known that it couldn't last. They'd actually been happy, relaxed, and enjoying themselves for once; of course it had come to an end. Everything had come crashing down around them. He should have predicted it. And Fletcher had spend the entire fight cowering, hiding, and clinging to his brother.

And now he was back on the ship again. He could have gone back to the science labs and picked up his plantsuit research again, or over to Hydroponics to do some work there, but right now he just felt lost. Again. As usual. He was ten years old; what could he do when a crisis like that came up?

Instead of doing something productive, Fletcher had run off to the Sensoriums. Right now, he was lying on his back in the garden at Belshio's house. Resting on his chest was a copy of the hologram picture Edward had taken back on shore leave: Fletcher and Russel standing in front of the line of statues that the two older brothers had transmuted. He wasn't looking at that right now, though; he was staring up at the bright blue simulated sky, watching the clouds float by.

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Ed snorted. He was good at reading little brothers, even little brothers who had no emotional value to a suit of armor's face. "Sure he's fine but what about you? You look pretty worn down or depressed. Maybe both."

"I, um..." He didn't look up, but shrugged a little. "I was hiding the whole time, so I'm okay..."

"Hiding huh? I woulda done the same at your age. Al and I, we weren't as brave as we were when we first met you guys. Come to think of it, we were downright cowardly when we were even SMALLER than you."

A beat. And then Ed cried out in horror "I JUST ADMITTED I WAS SMALL AAAAAUGH!" And he rolled around as if struck.

Fletcher looked up at Ed in surprise. Truth be told, he'd kind of assumed that the Elric brothers had always been brave and courageous. This was a shock for him.

And then... oops. "Ack, wait! Edward!" So it was a touchy subject even when Russel wasn't bringing it up. "I don't think you're small!"

Just as quickly, Ed recovered from his freakout ~~self esteem has taken a critical blow, roll for overkill damage~~ and straightened up. "But yeah, there's a lot people can do, even small kids."

"When Al and I were little, the river overflowed. We did our best to help, bringing sandbags and other supplies. It was an impossible task and it was the worst storm Risembool had. Then, she showed up. Our teacher, Izumi Curtis. Even without a transmutation circle, she clapped her hands, and created an enormous wall that kept the water from spilling across our fields."

Ed sighed as he reached up and grasped at the sun. "Al and I had no direction till then, and we bugged her for a day until she finally decided to teach us alchemy. And you know what she did?"

"Mrs. Curtis did that?" Oh, right-- now that he thought about it, she'd been able to do that at Central HQ, the same as Edward. Fletcher looked up at Ed's hand as he went on.

"What did... what did she do?"

Ed chuckled. "She abandoned us on this miserable spit of land. An island in the middle of the lake next to Dublith and told us to survive. Gave us a knife anyhow. For thirty days we had to live on our own, learning how to be strong and independant, and learn the truth that she was trying to impress on us."

"We were so weak back then. We couldn't catch fish, kill a rabbit for dinner, we nearly starved to death until I got so hungry, I nearly mistook Al for food. Gave him a right chomp on his right arm. And then I ate an ant. And another. And realized that All is One and One is All."

"Since then, we learned how to fight, to transmute as quickly as possible, but most importantly, we stood on our own two feet since the day our mom died." His expression darkened at the memory that never faded. "We made a mistake months later, but never looked back. In the end, us trying to help a bigger problem was the key to what made us into ourselves."

"So you see Fletcher, even kids have a place on the battlefield. Running water to troops, bandages and tools for the medics. Even being the back and looking after the other children. Anything big and small, it shapes you what you become today."

Fletcher was shocked. That was a horrible thing to do to two small children, but it looked like they'd managed to come out of it stronger. He listened, taking in the entire story and rolling it around in his mind.

The idea of even being present on a battlefield made him tremble with fear. What if he got hurt, what if Russel got hurt, what if he got in the way and everyone got hurt...

He didn't answer for a long time, but just looked down at the miniature statue, rolling it around in his hands. "All is one and... one is all?" was all he said, in the end. Whatever that meant, it sounded important.

"All is one and one is all," confirmed Ed. "It means that everything's connected. The sun gives us life, the water nourishes us. The ants are eaten by larger animals, larger animals by bigger ones. The fish, the cows, even the milk I hate to drink are all composed together, and when we die, we return to the earth to bring life to the rest of the universe."

"It was a hard pill to swallow, but it's something we learned but never understood until Al and I tried to bring back mom."

He made a grasping motion at the sun. "Sometimes, you have to walk on your own two feet, damn the consequences and lick your wounds when you do get hurt. But when you do do it, you'll feel so much more alive it's incredible."

Ed grinned. "Fletcher, I was about your age when a half-crippled teacher was kicking the hell out of me. What's say I teach you how to fight? I promise under my tutelage, you'll become even a match for those overpowered kids I saw on the battlefield. I'll even throw in gloves made to transmute on the go."

That was it. That was everything he'd ever learned in his botanical studies, but had never really put together with the reality of the situation until right now. It dawned on him like an epiphany when Edward spelled it out for him, so much so that he almost didn't comprehend what he said next, the words tried to bring back Mom.

...almost, anyway. That was another explanation, then. Why Alphonse, who in the end had been no larger than Fletcher himself, had been able to move around in armor that big. But that wasn't what was important right now.

This was something that would make a difference. Sure, the other things he could do were something too, but when he'd been cowering and hiding during that battle before, they'd seemed so far away and insignificant. If he could fight, he could help protect people. He could make a difference, maybe save people. His face, covered in worry and guilt and fear, hardened into a determined expression. "You mean it? You'd really help me?" He brought the statue to his chest, and nodded. "Okay!"

Ed grinned and his grin turned ferocious. "Alright!"

And in a flash of light, the entire scenario changed around them to showcase the yard in Dublith, Ed's old stomping grounds as he stood up. "I wanna see what you know already. C'mon Fletcher, try to beat me up! And we'll work on everything from there!"

He had scrabbled to his feet and he waggled his good hand in a "bring it" manner. "If you don't pass this test, then I'll forget everything I said today!"

Fletcher stood up with Edward, setting the photograph and statue aside, but his brief and sudden show of bravado wavered. He swallowed. "Um-- Even though you're already hurt? I mean-- we can wait until you're better..."

While learning to fight, on the surface, was something he definitely needed, Fletcher was the sort of person who caught spiders and ants when they got inside and then put them out in the garden. He wasn't sure he could hurt another person even to save his own life.

Which was actually the whole point.

"C'mon Fletcher! One good hit, I can take it. If you do, I'll sweeten the deal by teaching you things that even Al can't do!"

"Equivalent Exchange, even in fighting. Alchemy's like a battle Fletcher. For every punch you land, I'll teach you something new!"

So tempting. It was so, so tempting. He wanted to learn, he wanted to get stronger... but it was impossible to do without hurting anyone, wasn't it?

Maybe he was wrong. Russel, Edward, Kang... everyone on this ship was good at fighting, at least that's how it seemed to him. And they were people he looked up to and admired. Maybe he was wrong about not wanting to hurt anyone.

Fletcher took a deep breath, and threw himself at Edward, hands curled into fists. He punched wildly, without any sort of technique or consideration. He was in need of more than just a few lessons.

Ed grinned as he was pounded into, blocking a few stray shots that went below the belt with his good arm but otherwise let Fletcher hit him. The impacts stung since the surface area of his fists were rather small and packed quite a surprising amount of punch.

After counting mentally, he clapped his hand around Fletcher's fist. "30! That's enough!" He grinned. "Man you have a good punch."

"As promised, 30 impacts, 30 days of training. For every day you hit me in real training, the more I will teach you. And the first thing you need to learn is how to throw a punch without hurting yourself. And falling. We'll work on endurance, speed and technique as soon as you get good enough to keep moving at a high intensity pace."

"I won't lie to you; this is going to be rough. I teach like teacher taught me. High intensity, painful, but the results will be worth it. Those kids I saw on the battlefield, the ones who were kicking and punching like they knew what they were doing? You can do it too. And I'll arrange sparring lessons with them as well."

Ed grinned. "You hit pretty good."

Truth be told, Fletcher's knuckles were sore, and his shoulders ached a little, and there were a few times when he would have fallen over if he'd missed his blow, which luckily he hadn't. He didn't know the proper way to punch, and it was obvious. But at least he'd managed to land some blows.

He stopped finally, when Ed took hold of his fist, and couldn't help looking a bit guilty as he listened.

"You-- you really think I can do it?" If Edward thought so, it was probably true... But it was something so bizarre for him to think about. "Um...! Okay. I'll do my best, Edward. I won't let you down. Honest."

Ed grinned and patted him on the head. "Don't worry. Everything starts small and grows. You'll make it out alright. And who knows? You'll probably surprise me when it comes down to it."

Ed grinned. "I'll meet you here around seven ship standard time. Sound good? I've got a few things to do, people to meet... and duck. Once Winry finds out I've been fighting and got my arm busted, she'll beat me till I'm black and blue."

He shivered. "I wonder if I can get a nifty transforming arm with a gun in it..."

Fletcher nodded, and folded his hands behind his back. "Um... good luck with Winry, and your arm," he said.

How would Russel feel about this, he wondered.

"Same to you." And Ed headed out, knowing Russel would probably FLIP at the thought.

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Things gone by [Open]

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