Fullmetal Wizard | Chapter 56

Ed froze as he reached for the arm, and widened his eyes. After a moment, he hefted the spare arm with both hands. It, too, was lighter, but it looked much the same as he remembered it.

"NO. Hell. No. I'm not letting that freak anyvere near me. I know he looks at me dat vay, but know I am not looking at..HEY!!...WHO TOLD YOU TO SAY ANYTING ABOUT MY PROVLEMS ANYVAY???"

Ed scowled and quickly glanced to Tonks again. She had her head down like she was carefully examining her shoes. Jon chuckled, and Ed found he was glad he chose change the subject when he turned back to face him.

"Arm's state of the art, too. Bleeding edge even. Packed mostly with carbon fiber. Not as tough as that thing on your shoulder, but it might give your back muscles rest for once. Hell...you might even..uh...get a bit taller...when you bother to put it on."

"Better NOT be calling me short." Ed growled.

"More like 'stunted'." Jon snorted. "Metal thing like that HAS to weigh a TON. I don't know how you can manage to move at all...much less..hel-lo..."

Ed watched as Jon turned his head and regarded one monitor, with a confused look on his face. Ed blinked.

"vhat iz it?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a brother, would you?" Jon tapped a screen and the figure standing at the counter enlarged, pixelated out, then refocused once again...Ed widened his eyes as he watched his own face as it looked around nearly wide-eyed. Light colored eyes beneath a dark mane of long hair clearly visible in the image. Even his clothes he was currently wearing were the same.

"Y-yeah...but he's.." Ed began, then scowled, and glanced back to Tonks.

She wasn't there.

He heard the door handle jiggle. He dropped the spare arm into his knapsack, backed into his fight stance, leading with his right, and waved Jon to back out of his way with his gloveless left. Jon widened his eyes, and quickly grabbed for a weapon...the desk lamp, holding it in front of him like it was a cricket bat.

'Yeah..like that's gonna work.' Ed thought.'Really really need to show him katas.'

"Stay back.." Ed said firmly.

"Don't worry. If YOU'RE that nervous.." Jon said, and ducked a bit behind the table. "..then I figure there's a damn good reason."

The handle turned slowly, and the door swung smoothly inwards. Ed saw a familiar..and even more sickly-looking, face peek around it.

'Remus.' Ed narrowed his eyes. 'Or is it..?'

The door opened wider, and Ed could see Harry, Hermione, and Ron pressing against 'Remus's' back to see into the room he was in. Ron's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped slightly as he looked at all the monitors in the room.

"Blimey..just like portraits..."

'That HAS to be Ron.' Ed thought. 'But the others..?'

Though the light was dim, he saw Hermione blush when she looked at him.

"Relax, it's us." Harry said.

"Prove it." Ed said.

"I know better than to call you 'short'." Harry replied. Ed felt a vein bulge in his temple at the mention of the word, and he scowled slightly as the pounding of his head increased slightly in response. He narrowed his eyes at 'Remus'.

'Remus' held both his hands up in clear view. "I don't know what I can say to prove it's me, honestly. That word for Buckbeak again?" 'Remus' said.

Ed cautiously lowered his arms.

"Friends of yours, bookworm...?" Jon asked. Ed glanced to him. He saw that Jon had a deathgrip on the desklamp, but both of his hands were clearly shaking. Ed raised an eyebrow, and cleared his throat.

"Yeah. Yeah dey are." Ed said cautiously. It felt like just acknowledging the words... Felt like he betraying someone...

'Too soon.' Ed thought,'Can't..wait..that door was closed when that 'Tonks' vanished. I know it was.' The idea burned in his mind that she had not left. Not yet anyway.

"Jon.." Ed said in a low voice. "Do you have camera for dis room?"

"uh...And why, exactly, would I ever want to watch myself?" Jon said.

'You being a perverted dweeb is reason enough.' Ed thought with a scowl.

"...Do you or not?" Ed said.

"Ok..yes. but.." Jon said.

"Pull it up. Full spectrum, begin cycle avound 1600 mu. You four..come in, close dat door. Be quick." Ed glanced at all the shadowed corners in the darkened room.

'Chameleon chimera?' Ed thought. 'Or is it..? ... wouldn't I feel him long before he got this close if it was...'

"Vhatever it is, it has to still be here..." Ed muttered, and turned to the screen of the large monitor that Jon was currently touching with two index fingers. The thing Jon called a 'GOOEY' came to life under his fingertips...looking much like complex, yet unfinished array to Ed, as it slowly spun in the assigned cycle hovering above the image of everyone standing in the room. "Took my advize, I zee." Ed said as he glanced to the corners again.

'Yeah...Well, I DO like the Gui much better this way...fantastic for precise... What..?"

'POP!'

Ed blinked at the telltale, but barely heard, sound. Seeing nothing in the half-gloom. He met Harry's eyes, then turned back to the screen, knowing what happened. 'Like with the twins...' He thought.

"I-I saw it for maybe half a half second..but..it's just..gone." Jon stammered.

Ed nodded a slight nod. "Continue vith cycle. I vant to be sure ve are clear first. Den, in exchange, I'll introduce everyvone here. Equivalence?"

Jon swallowed.

"Deal, bookworm. Deal."

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