When She Screamed (HBD to smileyfacegirl)

[Emily]

The title has like barely anything to do with this story but for maybe two lines. :'D But bad titling skills are bad titling skills so this will have to do. Anywaaay, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR LIKE THIRD TIME TODAY SFG! LOL I'm actually pretty anxious about this story because well...OOC and things like that...also your wonderful fics make me self-conscious and I love you and your writing and hope you never ever leave and we can practice polygamy so I can have multiple wives to read all their wonderful writing forever and legally bound and this makes no sense but happy birthday again and I hope you like this *meep*

Er, also there is no sneezing in this part because it starts out veeery slowly (testing out a plotline for once guys ohmahgawd)

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Part 1

“There’s no one here.”

“That damn old man. What does he expect us to see here, ghosts?” Edward Elric pulled his red coat closer around himself. “And it’s freezing! Why does the train even stop here?”

The younger armor-bound brother looked around uneasily. “Maybe we should start by gathering info.”

“Where, back at the station? There’s nothing here!”

The town, if it could even be considered one, was completely devoid of life. The few buildings that constituted it were so deteriorated that their wooden walks caved into the cracked windows, which were cloaked in remarkable layers of dust, grime, and moss. As Ed turned around, mumbling about the “stupid intel squad,” a piercing screech filled the air.

“What!—“ Ed clamped his hands over his ears tightly until the scream died away into the wind. “That wasn’t normal.” Suddenly the Fullmetal Alchemist realized that they weren’t alone in this wasteland. He cast a suspicious glance at the abandoned buildings and started towards them, a series of clanks following after.

“Wait here, Al. You’ll probably collapse the building.”

“Be careful, it looks dangerous.”

Edward began to open the door, only to fall straight through it and land in the middle of a disgusting mess inside the first weathered building. Coughing from the raised dust, he stood himself up and shook off a bundle of long, stringy bunches from his fingers. He observed the interiorl there was really nothing notable about the design or the sparse furniture. It was simply a very sparingly built home that had been abandoned. The tiny little town didn’t seem to have any apparent source of income. No wonder the few people who lived here had left. Satisfied with his brief inspection, Ed turned to leave and promptly stepped on something that cracked loudly. He looked down.

“Bones…” He faltered, then grit his teeth to keep from looking away. He stared hard at the dirt floor, littered with de-limbed fragments of skeletons and bodiless skulls that still had all their hair. He couldn’t slow the rush of disturbing memories pouring into his head. Now wasn’t the time to feel bad for himself.

Focus, he told himself. Ed did his best to concentrate on analyzing the situation rather than the events that led to his automail arm. He brought his hand to his head, kneading it and willing the memories to lock themselves away again.

“Ugh…damn it.”

He tore his eyes open and immediately became aware of the stringy object still entangled in his left hand, dangling before his face. Groaning, he lifted it into the shallow light. From his fingers dangled a mess of thick black hair which at the end was attached to an ugly cracked skull. Its yellowed teeth grinned at Edward. He took a shuddering breath as he struggled to repress the flood of memories of the monster.

“Brother? What’s taking you so long?” Al called nervously. He had been darting his eyes around the entire time, waiting for some sign of paranormal activity.

“Skeletons,” Ed muttered. He heard several dull thuds approaching. “Stay outside,” he voiced with his customary volume.

“This place is creepy.”

“Tell me about it. I’m surrounded by a horde of mutilated dead guys.” With one last determined look, the Fullmetal Alchemist scanned the room in its entirety before walking back outside. Exiting the building full of lifeless remains into the ghost town outside did nothing to relieve him of the resurfacing of his worst nightmares. However, Edward Elric was well-versed in the practice of concealing his discomforts and proceeded through the hole in the door he had made earlier with squared shoulders and a steely gaze.

“Did you find anything?”

“Lots of disfigured skeletons.”

Al made to follow his older brother, but he fell back when he realized they were approaching the second decrepit building. This one was considerably larger than the first, but it appeared even more unstable in comparison.

“Wait, Brother…” Al’s voice faltered as his brother turned around with a pointed glare.

“What?” The edginess in his voice evaporated some when he repeated, “What? Just spit it out already.”

“Never mind. I’ll just wait over here,” the younger Elric responded, clunking off to the side of the building, metal feet carefully avoiding the tiny visible signs of life in the dirt. Al glanced at his brother, who this time carefully transmuted the door into a pile of grainy sawdust.

“Egh…” Ed Elric had made the grave mistake of touching the grimy wall with his hand, taking with him a long string of yellow, sticky residue. He groaned knowingly; it would take ages for him to clean the stuff off and if he couldn’t get it out himself, he’d have to call on Winry. And then she would proceed to chew him out about taking better care of his automail. Giving the yellow gunk a final reproachful glare, Ed turned his attention back to the dark confines of the house. Further away from the front door was a set of stairs that led presumably to bedrooms; nothing out of the usual there. Compared to the last house, this one could be considered a luxury home. He shifted his eyes to the floor, saving the worst for last. He’d stepped on a few when he’d walked in, but there were even more decapitated skulls and ripped-apart bodies here. His head was beginning to throb painfully from the constant barrage of unpleasant recollections.

Preoccupied with the skeletons strewn over the floor, Ed didn’t notice the sticky goo bubble and change form, expanding and sliding upward and coating his right arm. As it crept across his chest, another stream of grotesque memories promptly resurfaced again, etching their transparent images over and over until they burned as vividly as they had when he’d first seen the soulless monster he had summoned years ago. He fell back, dragged into the painful memories.

“Al!” he yelled as he blindly groped the musty air for a hand only he could see. “Don’t let go of my hand!” He would save him this time. the yellow substance glowed and spilled across his chest, swallowing it whole beneath the opaque yellow liquid. A faint outline of a woman’s gaunt face, bony and ashen, began to form. Her thin, cracked lips curved upward as Ed’s pleas grew more desperate, his distress apparent.

“Brother, what’s wrong?” Al’s voice carried over from the rotting doorway. Hearing no reply, he frowned, or at least he would have if he could express his uneasiness through his metal mouth. “Brother?” He lowered his head to peer through the door to see Edward Elric battling a montage of human bones on the floor.

“Brother, what’re you doing!” His cries fell on deaf ears. Al hesitated as he took a step into the house, his giant foot immediately sinking through the wooden floorboards.

“Idiot, don’t let go of my arm!” Ed flapped his arm into empty space, his eyes wild and fearful. The imprint of the ghastly woman glowed again from the older Elric’s chest, her face protruding slightly from the sticky substance. Her wicked eyes caught Al’s and she laughed, flashing an eerie yellow. He had to get rid of her, but how? Al stared at the mutating glob, panicking. His brother’s face was losing color and the grotesque woman was rapidly growing. She was holding his brother captive in her slimy prison and feeding off his energy. Al unstuck his foot from the wooden planks and clunked outside; he had seen a bucket near a water tap somewhere around here. He really hope that ice cold water would get rid of the parasitic goop.

“Ha ha! Hahaha heehee!”

“Oh no,” Al groaned as he dashed with his bucket of water back to the house. His feet crunched across the floor.

The slime woman was truly and magnificently disgusting—her head and torso had fully emerged from the now plentiful coating of yellow over Ed’s body. Thick droplets of the stuff clung to her scraggly black hair and dribbled in glistening rivulets down her emaciated cheeks. She turned to Al, grinning with a mouthful of slime-covered black teeth, and laughed.

Steeling his gaze, the younger brother took aim and emptied the contents of the metal container over his brother and the parasite. Immediately, a shrill screech split the air, the very same that had drawn Edward Elric’s attention. The woman receded into the yellow slime as it washed off from Ed’s body, sizzling and dissipating as it hit the floor. The last of the screams faded away when the yellow gunk had been rinsed off and Ed had regained his senses. The icy water mingled with his fear-induced perspiration and fell in steady drips from his thoroughly drenched body.

“I-Al—“ Ed couldn’t find the right words as it gaped open and closed. Memories of the accident were still swimming about his mind. Finally, he managed to form a single word.

“Thanks.” He stood, unsure of what to do for several moments. He was on assignment, and he had a job to do. Once again, he hardened his gaze and took another brief scan of the room. It was too dark to see much now. He would have to come back, unpleasant as this was. He was a State Alchemist and this was his job and he was going to finish it.

“Let’s go.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. We’re coming back tomorrow. My job here isn’t finished.”

***

The two hour-long ride back to Amestris was one of odd silence. Ed shivered through his drenched clothes, the open windows in the train car allowing the rushing wind to stab his body like icicles. The younger Elric knew better than to press on about the incident and so kept quiet as his elder brother sat in silent contemplation, eyebrows furrowed in unspoken anxiety.

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okay I'm ready come at me bro

[SapphireSong]

ZOMG!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU EVEN NERVOUS FOR?!?! This is... this is...!!! I seriously don't know what to say to communicate the full extent of my LOVE FOR THIS Emily!!!! :'D This is pure unadulterated WIN, for real. The plot in and of itself is EPIC. Super creepy LOL and totally in keeping with the style of the series too! Ed and Al are not OOC at all. Like, I can see everything happening exactly this way. The dialogue is perfect, too - I can hear them in my head (which is the mark of excellent fanfiction for me. If I can hear the actors in my head. ) And, though I probably don't even have to say this because it's pretty much a given hehehe :3 I love where this is going. Like... really really love where this is going~ THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!!! This is truly incredible. If it's any indication of how much I love this, I am DYING to read more and find out what happens!!!!!! Thanks again~!!!! *virtual glomp*

[Akahana]

This is AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see where this goes!!! (and sneeze Ed heehee~ )

[Emily]

= 3 =; A very short part, but hopefully enough meat to leave you hanging at the end.

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“I don’t need to change!”

“But Brother, you’re shaking—“

“I’m NOT shaking. And I need to report to the Colonel. If you’re going t-tuhh—” Edward faltered as his left hand shifted impatiently to his face. His eyes became slits as he slammed forward into his sleeve. “uh’GHKksh-uH!” He sniffed quietly, pride wounded. “If you’re following me, quit nagging.” He straightened his back and walked on to enter the Central Headquarters.

Instinctively, Al followed behind immediately, scuffling along through the doors into the building. Several officers nodded their greetings as the pair navigated the familiar halls to Roy Mustang’s office. It was past one in the morning, but seeing as most of the officers under the Colonel were still here, he hadn’t left either.

Without knocking, Ed opened the door and marched in.

“Well, pipsqueak. It’s about time you got back,” Mustang mused, waiting for the usual reaction. He didn't comment on the young State Alchemist's sodden appearance.

“Who’re you calling a pipsqueak?” Edward growled irritably. Flicking back his still-wet hair, he glared at the colonel pointedly.

“Well? Do you need an invitation to give me your report?”

Grinding his teeth to keep the annoyance out of his voice, Edward replied testily, "There's not enough evidence to give you a report. I'm going back tomorrow to find out whatever the hell the thing infesting that place is."

The Colonel was unimpressed. "So? What does it do? This was an intel-gathering mission."

"It screams, it's parasitic, it's female, and it'll possess you."

"Interesting." He was examining the gold buttons on his wrist cuff, completely indifferent to what the young Elric had just said. "And what about the town?"

"It's a waste of space, that's what it is," Ed responded angrily. "There's no reason anyone would even go there!"

"Hm." The Colonel was now analyzing his white gloves for what appeared to be every microscopic speck of dust, seemingly oblivious to Edward until he tossed a casual glance at him that gave the impression he was eyeing a particularly disgusting bug. "Is that all?"

"You want some more?" Ed felt a vein in his head pulsate, temper flaring and the beginnings of a headache forming. "Why don't you go there and take a look yourself, provided you can stand a little dust getting on your precious hands."

Roy didn't answer him and instead took several minutes to trail back to his desk, taking care to arrange himself comfortable at his seat and organize his piles of paperwork. Having reached the limits of his patience, Ed made to leave. He was irritated, cold, and dripping wet.

"I don't remember dismissing you."

"And I don't remember promising my night to you," Ed snapped, fiery golden eyes making contact with the Colonel's black coals. He stomped outside wordlessly, leaving his brother to hastily apologize and bow himself out.

When they had exited the building and the doors had slammed themselves shut, Ed drew out a long sigh, kneading his head and pushing his golden hair out of his face. After his hand left his face, the growing shadows beneath his eyes became all the more apparent, and Al noticed that his usually rigid shoulders were slumped over significantly. He decided it wasn't the time to nag.

Then, face stiffening, Ed's breath rose in short gasps, and he could barely contain himself as he jerked forward and sneezed harshly into the folds of his dripping sleeve.

"heh'MPHff-shiuhh!"

The creases on his face didn't smooth, and he regressed into his sleeve as he inhaled sharply once, crumpling into his tented hands.

"UHphH-shuh! Heh'JHITSh-uu! Heh...hih'JIh-shuH!" Edward stared at his hands in mild disgust and scrunched his eyes together as a wave of throbbing pain crashed through his head. He groaned as he noticed that his forehead was a little warmer than usual beneath a layer of cold, clammy skin.

"Brother," Al began, cut off as the elder Elric stalked off to their room in Amestris, slowing frequently when cold rippled through his wet body.

Once they had returned, Ed didn't even bother to shut the door and instead collapsed onto the couch, and fell in a dead sleep.

"Brother," Al said, prodding him gently on the shoulder. "Shouldn't you change first?"

"I'll do it tomorrow. Just lemme sleep," Edward mumbled in reply. He shivered again as he curled himself into the sofa, looking very much like an oddly shaped sack. He really wasn't going to change out of his wet garments. Al sighed, slightly annoyed because he knew exactly what was going to happen tomorrow. He also knew his brother was not going to budge another inch tonight; shaking his metal head, he withdrew from the supply closet, a folded blanket, unrolling it to a sizable length and spreading it over the soggy, shrunken form of Edward's body.

Eyes cracking open in slivers of gold, Ed said in a voice muffled into the cloth of the ratty couch, "Thanks."

The night passed on with Ed's fitful dreams of the failed human transmutation of his mother, her anguished cries as she burst from murky yellow goop on his chest, and dark red blood oozing from the stumps of his own arm and leg. He awoke several times bathed in sweat, mouth hung open as his chest rose in frantic attempts for air. He could never get used to the nightmares, but somewhere along the way he had learned to bear through them quietly enough that he thought Al wouldn't notice.

Sometimes, however, he moaned in his sleep, and this was often accompanied by a series a troubled protests, mostly incomprehensible, but Al always heard his name clearly. He watched as his brother shuddered violently, clenching bunches of the blanket into tightened fists. A glean of sweat covered his paled face, forming a ring of blonde hair plastered to his forehead.

A glimmer of orange sun peeked over the horizon, splashing its hazy light over a foggy, still-asleep city. The rays of light snuck through the single window of the Elrics' room, casting an eerie shadow across the sparse furniture. Edward groaned as it shone onto his face, stirring and making the blanket slip off his body.

Ed didn't have to look in a mirror to know he wouldn't have stood a chance in a beauty pageant today. His eye sockets felt hollowed out and useless; his eyes wouldn't have stayed open even if he stuck toothpicks between them. When he moved, everything ached, from his head to the nerves connected to his automail leg. He propped himself up to a sitting position on the couch, taking a moment as he recovered from the sight of the room spinning in circles.

"Al, whad tibe is it?" His voice cracked at the third syllable, and talking made his throat hurt and, apparently, itch, because he bent forward in a fit of raspy coughs. "What the hell..." he muttered hoarsely.

"It's almost six," the younger Elric responded. "Maybe you should take a sick leave today. You don't look so great."

"No!" Ed rasped hastily, dissolving into yet another fit of fretful coughs. "I'b dot taki'g

a day off."

"But can you even stand?" Al asked pointedly. With great difficulty and the aid of the sofa, Ed pushed himself up on his legs, shaking from the effort. He stared at his brother in defiance, daring him to speak further.

After a long silence, Ed sank back down into the couch, at which point Al spoke up and said, "I told you, you should have changed."

"huht-SHiuhh! Shut ub. I deed to fide out what that thi'g is and I'b goi'g back to that stupid towd."

---

After a great deal of effort, and unwillingly accepted help from his brother, Ed arrived at the train station and boarded the least crowded car, slumping into the most isolated window seat and falling asleep immediately.

It was not without difficulty that Al managed to awaken his brother at the last stop, their destination, and when they stepped out, they found themselves face to face with someone they had not been expecting. Ed narrowed his eyes, stiffening his slumped figure.

"Did you like my new toy?"

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GUESS WHOOOOO

[SapphireSong]

OMG YOU POSTED MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :'D

...DUDE. Emily. I can't.... I can't even..... THIS IS AMAZING. Ed!!!!! <3 poor guy!!! uwaah~! this fic - GAH, so many feels I love the way you write Ed and Al!!! Everything is just.. absolutely perfect. Thank you soooo much!! You are awesome, as always. I reallyreallyREALLY wanna know what happens...!!

"It screams, it's parasitic, it's female, and it'll possess you."

^LOL that line is epic. XDD And so something he would say!

O.O WHO...!!!? lolol I'm trying to figure out where exactly this falls in canon... who the heck... DANGIT now it's gonna drive me crazy until you post more!!

THANK YOU. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go reread this. kthanxbai.

[VividBubbles!]

I am bumping this because I just finished watching the last episode of Fullmetal Alchemist on Netflix and I am in sore need of some sick!Ed to sooth my aching emotions. This fic is amazing so far, I absolutely love everything about it, and since it's been left at a cliffhanger, I reallyreallyreally hope I could get a continuation. It's really good and it's so sad to see it left unfinished. I really hope this is continued. *puppydog eyes* Pleeeeaaaase?

BYE!

Edited April 29, 2014 by VividBubbles!

[weepy]

Oooh, this is really good! I like it! Plot line is great, sneeze spellings are marvelous~~

[Emily]

Oh oops. I didn't realize this got bumped up. I suppose I could try to see what I can do with it. Considering I have some vague recollection of what I was gonna do with this. Give me a week or something LOL I'll try. Rereading this made me kinda cringe so I'll do my best to write more that's less cringe-worthy.