Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction / Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Once More, With Pirates ❯ In Fortune's Hand ( Chapter 32 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Fortune's Hand

 

Taking all the pieces in the situation; Hoping we can work it out; With fate on your side, luck and some pride; You are on the right line; It'll be a sure sign. In fortune's hand; Where do we stand? In fortune's hand - Clannad (Anam)

 

Beverly Crusher rubbed her eyes, and tried to focus on the latest casualty reports from the planet's surface once more. The SaR teams had found most of the colonists at this point, and things were finally starting to slow down. Something that was most noticeable in the main area of sickbay. A temporary recovery and critical care ward had been set up in one of the ship's shuttle bays, and those that could be saved were there now.

 

There were still people trailing in of course, but now they all mostly fit in two categories. Either the injuries were minor and they were released immediately; or it was too late and they were already dead. For the most part, the rest of the medical team could handle it and were doing an incredible job. She hadn't expected any less, though.

 

That didn't mean she could relax, though. By virtue of the Enterprise's unexpected guests and Beverly's innate curiosity, she'd become the unofficial expert in Alchemist biology. This meant that the handful the SaR teams had come across were brought directly to her as soon as they were stabilized. If they could be stabilized.

 

Beverly rubbed her temples and thought about that. Biologically, none of the Alchemists she'd had a chance to examine were any different than any other Terran human. The only real differences were how they used their brains. Areas that for the average human worked passively were more dominant in the Alchemists. Chemicals like adrenalin that were dumped into the average human to trigger the fight-or-flight reflex, were released in controlled doses for the Alchemists.

 

And, she thought as she compared notes between Mustang and Fullmetal, it also seems to depend on the `affinity' they have. She set Fullmetal's records aside, and looked closely at the data she'd collected from Mustang's sojourn in the holodeck. He has to have the gloves to perform, she thought. Or rather, the transmutation circle on the gloves. She took a closer look at Scar's records. Q claimed to have rendered his arm impotent. Scar mentioned tattoos on that arm, but there weren't any when I examined him. Another transmutation circle? Despite all protestations to the contrary, all the data Beverly had on Scar indicated he was also an Alchemist. And the traces of brain activity and chemicals dumped in his system when that burst of energy came from Fullmetal would seem to bear that out.

 

She took a sip of coffee, and grimaced. It had gone cold, and she quickly set it aside to look at the data on the other two men from the Alchemist's universe. Hughes and Havoc. Neither of them are Alchemists, she thought. And the data on them makes them indistinguishable from any other human in this universe. It brought into question whether the ability to perform alchemy was nature, or nurture.

 

She sighed, and set the records down. She couldn't compare the colony Alchemists with Alphonse, for obvious reasons; and McKenna was a walking enigma. Her entire system was so contaminated with temporal residue from all her `traveling', that Beverly couldn't use her as a control. That was aside from the fact that the woman was slowly dying. Not to mention the fact she's not even on the ship, now, she reminded herself.

 

Using Fullmetal as a control is out of the question, she thought. The Colonel had told her that the boy was special, even by their standards. He didn't need the transmutation circle at all. Besides, she didn't think he'd stand still for being brought back into sickbay for more tests.

 

She looked at the data she had on him again and thought, If my theory is right about brain activity and chemicals, this boy is performing alchemy on a constant basis. Her brows knit and she scrolled back through the logs from when he was on life support. Her breath hitched in her throat at what she saw.

 

Brain activity in that condition was down to the barest minimum needed to keep him alive. One of the universal constants, the law of conservation. The machines connected to him kept him stable, and his brain was only working in concert with them. Nothing more. No thoughts, no dreams, no nothing beyond that minimum...

 

Except a small, isolated pattern that she'd never seen before on any human on that level of life support.

 

A tugging at the back of her mind had her sifting through the rest of the records for the other Alchemists on board, and after a few minutes of frustration, she found it. The same pattern of energy that was constant, albeit subtle, on Alphonse.

 

Beverly could swear she'd heard an audible `click' inside her head at that moment. Certain things suddenly became brilliantly clear. She had just isolated the one thing that made the Alchemists different from everyone else, and she now understood what made the boy's metabolism so incredibly high.

 

“He's keeping Alphonse alive,” she whispered.

 

She heard someone approaching her office, and looked up in time to see Deanna stop at the doorway. Beverly clapped her hands together and held them there, as she met the Counselor's eyes. “What does this look like to you?”

 

Deanna's dark eyes sparkled and a smile pulled at the corners of her lips. “A circle?”

 

“Geordi mentioned that Edward clapped his hands together before he did any alchemy,” Beverly said. She looked down at her clasped hands. “A circuit has to be closed in order for electricity to go from one point to another, right? Colonel Mustang uses the circle on his gloves when he does alchemy. Scar is an alchemist, as far as all my tests can determine, but -religion aside—he can't do it without those tattoos he had. Even Alphonse drew a circle on the deck when he used alchemy to fix the broken equipment.” She looked back up at Deanna.

 

“You're on to something?”

 

Beverly nodded. “I think so. Mainly, why that contaminated water effects the Alchemists differently than everyone else.”

 

“And when was the last time you took a break?” Deanna asked.

 

Beverly blinked, then gave her friend an embarrassed smile. “Probably too long ago.” She got up from the desk and stretched. “Let's get something to eat,” she said. “And I'll bore you with the details.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

As the two women made their way through the dimly lit sickbay, Beverly stopped and bent down to glance under one of the exam tables. “I'd wondered where she'd gone,” she said, and pulled the light cover off the top of the table. She knelt down, and gently tucked it around the sleeping form on the deck; deliberately keeping it low where a slim brown arm wrapped around a welsh corgi.

 

She caught the questioning look on Deanna's face as she straightened back up, and said, “I doubt she'd appreciate it if I tried to move her.”

 

0o0o0

 

Edward Elric was currently shoveling his third serving of Governor's Shrimp and Lo Mein into his mouth. He was intent on the information he was reading on the data pad that Alphonse brought him, and so paid little attention to the activity flowing around him in Ten Forward. All that mattered at that moment was the information in front of him, and the fact that Mustang wasn't around to make some snide comment about cannibalism. With the second confirmed and out of the way, he gleefully immersed himself into the first.

 

His brother's silent presence across the table from him was a comfort. With everything that had happened recently, it seemed like weeks since he'd spent this kind of time with him. He didn't realize just how much he missed it until now. Has it really only been a week since the Bebop crashed? he thought. It feels like it's been a lifetime.

 

As he went through the events, he suddenly realized he should be exhausted. But he felt more energized than ever. It was hard to feel tired when everything around him was a new experience in simple amazement. Even the data pad in his hands was a small miracle compared to what he was used to seeing.

 

He snickered at the idea that the overwhelming… incredibleness of everything surrounding him recently should have him curled up in a tight little ball and gibbering senselessly. But he was too curious and having too much fun uncovering what else this universe had to offer.

 

Okay, so his first experience with the transporter almost did him in, but otherwise, he was enjoying it. And with the information in front of him, the possibilities that here he could return his brother to his body were promising.

 

If they were stuck here for the rest of their lives, he would adjust and most likely enjoy every minute of it. He knew he'd never be bored, that was for certain.

 

But what about Al? he thought. Or even the others? Would they adjust?

 

He looked up from the information he suddenly realized he really hadn't been reading, and stared at his brother in silence a moment.

 

“Brother?” Al asked. “Did you find something?”

 

“What if we never get back, Al?” Edward said. “Can you live with that?”

 

The armor was silent for a long time, but Edward was used to the quality of his brother's silences. He'd always been the more introspective of them, so he waited.

 

“I think I would miss Auntie Pinako and Winry the most,” Al said, finally. “But I could live here. As long as you and I can be together.”

 

A small part of Edward grew mischievous, and he grinned. “You sure I wouldn't be in the way of you and Ed?”

 

Alphonse fidgeted, and rubbed at the back of the neck guard. “Not fair, Brother! She's just a friend.”

 

Edward snickered behind his hand. He wasn't even going to try and hide it beyond that. It would have been impossible.

 

“I mean sure, you think she's weird, but she's really nice… and funny. And she's really smart… and…” Alphonse just gave up. His hands dropped in his lap, and he looked down. “I suppose it is funny in a sad sorta way, isn't it Brother?”

 

Fullmetal suddenly stopped snickering as he realized that he had perhaps crossed a line with his brother. His heart ached for him at that moment. He was used to Alphonse. He was a constant presence in his life, as much as his right arm was; and he knew that he couldn't live without him, either. He never saw Alphonse as anything but Alphonse. He didn't see the armor so much as the soul shining bright inside of it.

 

It had also never occurred to him that his brother would develop a crush on anyone other than Winry while he was in this state. And Winry was… Well, Winry. She'd known both of them all their lives. She saw Al the same way he did.

 

It didn't change the fact that as long as Alphonse Elric was a soul bound to that armor, he would never be able to live anything remotely resembling a normal life. And among the two of them, it would be Alphonse who would most crave the stability and comfort a home and a family would provide.

 

“Al?” he queried softly. When his brother looked up, he smiled gently and said, “I'm sorry.”

 

“You must think I'm a joke for liking Ed.”

 

Fullmetal shook his head. “She's… interesting, I guess,” he said. He didn't want to say that he thought the girl was beyond weird. Aside from the fact that it would be an insult to his brother, it was just a personal opinion. Besides, even with all that weirdness, she was damned brilliant. He supposed if he could figure out what the hell she was saying half the time, he might feel differently. But his brother didn't seem to have any problem understanding her, and that was what mattered.

 

“She likes you, Al. Just for yourself. That makes her alright by me.”

 

“Thanks, Brother.”

 

Edward smiled and shrugged, then went back to concentrating on his dinner. “Besides,” he said around a mouthful of shrimp, “it's not like we're gunna stop looking for a way to get you your body back; even if we are stuck here.”

 

He gave his brother a pointed look. “If we're stuck here, that means Ed is too, you know.”

 

He shoveled a huge amount of Lo Mein into his mouth, and barely chewed it before he gulped it down. “Which means she'll be there when you get your body back.”

 

He crammed the last of the shrimp into his mouth, and moved his seat back just a little bit. “You could end up with a buncha little redheads running around that only speak in riddles.”

 

At the scandalized tone of Al's voice when he squeaked, “What?” Edward Elric grabbed the data pad, and beat a hasty retreat.