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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"Yo," greeted Ed as he walked into the Sensoriums. "Thought I might find you here."

He wore some of his clothing from the battle, still all tattered, his short sleeved flower-print shirt and shorts and because of it, you could tell that he was missing his arm quite easily.

Sitting down, he sighed. "What's up?"

When he heard Ed's voice, Fletcher turned his head to look at him. He didn't really know how to answer, so he just looked back up at the sky and stayed quiet for a moment.

Finally, he asked, "Edward, where'd your arm go?"

"Ohm got it." replied Ed. "Winry hasn't seen the damage yet so um, I'm escaping her brutal wrath for the moment. I did bring back a trophy though."

And he reached into the sack he was carrying and pulled out a miniature version of the big composite statue. "Saved it before I was pulled off the battlefield. The big one I had to animate into a weapon."

Finally, he pushed himself up so he was sitting and looked over. When he saw what Edward was holding, his breath hitched into a hiccup-like sound. "O-oh."

He didn't know what else to say, really. Ed was just being so casual about everything that had happened, even the injuries he'd sustained. How was Fletcher supposed to react?

"Here, take it." said Ed, handing it over to Fletcher. "It's the least we can do, considering everything."

Any psychologist worth his salt knew that Ed was compartmentalizing. Considering the horrors he had seen over the last few weeks leading up to his awakening on the ship and the attack and the bloodshed, it was taking all of his composure not to just flip the metaphorical switch and wig out as it were.

"Your brother safe?" inquired Ed as he laid down and rested his good arm under his head as a pillow.

Fletcher took the statuette when Edward handed it over, and unconsciously held it close to himself. He looked down at the grass and nodded.

"He's okay. He-- he's fine." Fletcher nodded again, but his voice quavered.

Of course, Fletcher would imagine up a garden. Kang shook his head, smiling, and carefully sat down near the boy. His left arm was in a sling, and the wing on that same side was bound to his shoulder, immobile. Looking down, he propped his good arm on his knee, "...hey, kid. Glad to see that you didn't get hurt during that mess."

When Fletcher heard someone approaching, he sat up and looked over, and his blank face immediately took on a look of worry. "Kang? What happened to you?!"

"Ohm. I'll be fine, though; just a couple of broken limbs and a dislocated shoulder," Kang snorted, glancing at the cast on his arm. "I've dealt with worse before."

Fletcher fidgeted, clenching the fabric at the bottom of his shirt nervously to try to keep calm. "O-okay... Just-- just as long as you're okay..."

First Edward, and now Kang. And Fletcher, meanwhile, had spent the whole battle hiding. He couldn't help feeling guilty and more than a mite useless.

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?"

Kang frowned, "Hey. Don't worry so much. We all survived." Only because the Ohm had let them, but he didn't say that out loud.

Vivio needed to get her mind off of what happened. It felt horrible to know that not only did her family get beaten like they did, but they also failed to stop the Ohm. Maybe if she hadn't gotten hurt (which she still couldn't fully remember), she could have made a difference.

Still weak from the attack, Vivio pushed her wheelchair into the Sensorium, only to find it to be occupied with...

"...Fletcher-kun?"

"Yeah..." He nodded, but kept twisting his shirt practically into knots. "I-I'm glad we're okay."

He looked back up shortly after that. "But-- but that planet's... and all the people there... I know some of them survived, but..."

Somehow, Fletcher wasn't really feeling much better after his conversations with Edward and Kang. He still just felt... numb. He was still lying there, looking up at the sky, picking at grass with one hand.

It just figured people would keep coming in here. He looked over, and when he saw Vivio, he just stared for a second. But then his eyes narrowed. "Vivio...? What happened to you?"

Vivio looked down, noticing Fletcher's glancing briefly. She let out a sigh as she spoke.

"I... I was fighting the Ohm with everyone. One of them... got me." she said, clutching her slung up arm. It still stung where the Shrike got her.

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."

He sat up again -- maybe he should just stay sitting up, he figured -- and finally, for the first time since he'd returned to the ship, burst into tears.

"I'm-- I'm sorry..."

Vivio let out a gasp as Fletcher started crying. She pushed herself over to where Fletcher was.

"No! No, don't be, please!" Vivio said. "I... If I had to, I'd do it again! Don't apologize for what happened!"

Now she was feeling bad for what happened... which is probably why she was reaching out to hug Fletcher, tears welling up in her own eyes.

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.

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Things gone by [Open]

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