Nixon did as he had promised and Alexander kept his end of the deal. In a few days, the cold war ended and the world was shocked. Even the war in Vietnam was over and the popularity of Nixon soared to the sky.
Alexander did all he could to stop conflicts all over the world and deter any plots of any party from starting a war. All this while, he saw the news on television about some hurricane and only one shrimp boat surviving.
Alexander knew that it was related to Forrest Gump. Forrest was now a national celebrity after the president ordered a detailed background check of Forrest.
It turned out to be a miracle story of a boy who went from zero to hero. A boy who couldn't even run and was cognitively challenged became a college football player, joined the army, became a war hero, became a national champion in ping pong, and represented the country in China. Then he opened a shrimp business and created a national brand. If this was not the embodiment of the American dream then nothing else could be.
Nixon quickly made him the face of the American Dream. That showed that even a boy who had nothing, no money, or even good health could achieve such results.
Hence, everything related to Forrest was now shown on national news.
~Hmm, isn't that kid's mom sick? Well, I guess I will help him. I can't see him being left alone in this world. Especially when he has friends like Jenny who always ignored him and when needed him came running after.~ Alexander muttered to himself and left for Alabama.
He didn't know the address and he had to go to the military base nearby to check the records.
After that, he immediately reached the place.
*Ding Dong*
Soon an uptight man came and opened the door. Forrest, being habitual to salute whenever he saw Alexander, saluted.
"COLONEL UNIVERSE!"
"Haha, calm down, kid. You are retired and I am not on official business. I came to check up on you. How are you?" Alexander asked.
"I-I am fine, Colonel, but my mamma is not," Forrest replied, without understanding the grave condition his mother was in.
"Well, Forrest. I have medicine that can treat your mom. Do you want me to give it to her?" He asked.
"Do you? Then come in, sir." Forrest quickly led him upstairs to his mother.
"Mamma, Colonel Universe is here to see you," Forrest said.
Of course, she didn't know him. But she understood he was Forrest's senior in the army. She tried to get up but he stopped her.
"Forrest is a national celebrity and he is also very respected in the army. I came to help you, Mrs. Gump. The army has medicine that can help you in your condition and heal you. I have come to give it to you." Alexander revealed and used a bit of his magic to make it all sound believable.
"Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you so much." She thanked him repeatedly.
"Here, this is the pill. Just one is enough." Alexander handed it to her.
He was the inventor of cancer cure so he knew what was best. He had made his cure even more potent now as he had a better brain.
After that, Alexander left the family alone. He didn't want to meddle too much. Forrest already had everything, money, friends, and a mother. Even his friend Bubba was alive. Lieutenant Dan though, still didn't have legs.
Alexander had just exited the house when he saw Lieutenant Dan coming towards the house in his wheelchair.
"Lieutenant Dan." Alexander greeted.
"Colonel." Dan greeted with a straight back.
Alexander took pity on him and gave him a card. "Here, go to this address. They will give you metal legs that will work just like normal legs. Don't worry about money, as long as you show this card it will be free."
Lieutenant Dan looked at the card and said thank you. He didn't think much right now. If in the future if he wanted legs he would go to this place.
Alexander returned to his work. Increasing the world's purity slightly every day.
The last thing he needed to do before he went away was to meet this Jenny girl.
He found her working in a restaurant. In the news, a story about Forrest was running. Forrest even named Jenny in his interview.
Alexander ordered a coffee. When she came to give him coffee, he spoke while looking at the T.V. "Hah, whoever this Jenny is, she gotta be the dumbest girl alive. She left a real diamond for dirt pebbles."
Then he suddenly looked at her face, "Right, Jenny?"
She was taken aback by this. But Alexander snapped his finger. Quickly their surroundings changed and they were standing inside the school bus on which Forrest and Jenny used to go to school.
Little Forrest and Jenny were sitting in their seats. Jenny was looking out of the window while Forrest was looking at Jenny,
"You were his first friend ever."
Then the scene changed to their high school days. Things were still the same except they were now walking side by side. Jenny was looking forward. While Forrest was looking at her face with a warm smile. He didn't know what love was or how it felt but it just happened.
"Then you became his first love."
From there, the scenes were divided in two and kept on changing as he described them.
"When you were in college, he was in college too.
"When you were thrown out of the college, he was fighting a war.
"When you were doing nude shows, he was already a war hero. While you were injecting heroin in your arm, he was receiving the medal of honor.
"When you were roaming around the country aimlessly, selling your body for lifts on the roads, he was already a national sports champion and the owner of a successful business."
Jenny had tears in her eyes at that point. She had already realized that her life was pathetic and pointless as compared to Forrest whom she as someone who can never achieve something. When she was small she also liked Forrest but as she grew, she realized Forrest had problems. Even though she liked him, she tried to distance herself from him because she felt like she was using him as her father did when she was a kid.
"Forrest loved Jenny with all his heart but Jenny didn't love him back. Because Forrest was too simple-minded and had no future.
"Now that Forrest has everything, Jenny named her son after him so maybe in the future, Forrest would take the boy in because Jenny got Hepatitis C from drug abuse by using a used syringe and would die soon.
"I am sure the simple-minded Forrest would adopt the boy because he has the heart of gold. But if Jenny gets a second chance at life, would she stay by Forrest's side?"
Alexander finished speaking. He looked at Jenny to see her response. She was a crying mess right now.
"Who are you?" She asked with teary eyes.
Alexander waved his hand to tell her to look around. "I think you already know. This is not something happening inside your head."
"Can I really... be with Forrest? Can I really go back to how it was before? He will hate me for what I have become." She cried.
"Then I guess you still have not realized Forrest's true nature. He is a man who does not care about the world. If he thinks he wants to do something he would do it even if he has to stand against the world.
"Forrest already gave his heart to you, Jenny. He won't take it back. No matter what you do or say. I know you had a rough childhood and then even rougher adulthood. But, you still have a place to go." Alexander told her.
"I'm sorry, Forrest. I wish I could go back in time and be with you." She cried and sat down.
"You can. Remember all that happened here, child. I am giving you a chance, don't waste it again." Alexander warned.
*BOOM*
With a thud, Jenny found herself standing at the Restaurant again. In her hand was a coffee mug. On the table was an empty glass. Under it was a newspaper with big words written. "Don't waste this chance."
She quickly untied her apron and didn't rethink her decision. She quickly picked up her son and took a bus back to Alabama.
...
Alexander was happy and he had done his job perfectly. He was leaving behind 1 T-800 droid as it would be enough to keep the world in the right order.
As soon as the purity reached 90%. He packed his bags and left the world.
Forrest and Jenny lived together happily for years to come. She had learned her lesson and knew the kind of people to trust this time.
[A/N: Okay, Fullmetal Alchemist arc starts now.]
[You can see Forrest and Jenny on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]
______________________________
30 Advance chapters are available on -patreon.com/misterimmortal
Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif*
Thank you for your support!
“My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.” – Forrest Gump
1 Stone = 1 Banana flavored digestive tonic for yesterday's shrimp feast.
Alexander opened his eyes and looked around to see where he was. It seemed to be some kind of a desert with lots of ruins of various buildings. There was sand all around with little to no vegetation.
"Damn, I guess people here did some voodoo stuff." Alexander wondered while looking around at a circular pattern on a wall. It looked beautiful but meaningful too.
He quickly took out his mobile phone and instantly memory started flowing in. It was like a monologue with some pictures.
"A long time ago, this too was like earth. But, thirst for immortality brought doom to this city and created something that wasn't supposed to exist, something that changed humans by introducing the forbidden knowledge.
"As a True God, you reign supreme, but will you still be bound by the laws of equivalent exchange? Things may not always be as simple as they seem to be.
"Many plots happen under the shade of ignorance. You are an employee of Amestris's Army. You work in the archaeological department and are responsible for securing relics. You came to the lost city of Xerxes for research. But there is a surprise here, waiting for you.
World Purity - 50%"
Alexander was a bit shocked seeing the world's purity. "Ah, this world is full of sinners, Dobby."
Dobby had arrived outside and he looked around. "Hmm, it does seem to be full of sin. Well, I also feel the presence of Dark Magic here for some reason."
As an elf, Dobby had a higher sensitivity when it came to reading the air around them.
"Oh, wait. Let me check my clothes. I don't remember putting them on." Alexander said. He was wearing simple grey pants and a white shirt with grey robes over it. He had a bag tied to his back.
He searched it and found his identification card. "Hah, I look handsome in this. Let's see. Amestris Army, Major General, Head of Archaeological department. Well, it seems I am kind of a successful person. From my memories, I at least know that the level of technology in this world is that of the early 90s from the real world.
"But I was never interested in Archaeology. Why am I head of this department?"
"Maybe because in this department you will have the freedom to travel wherever you want," Dobby suggested.
"Hmm, a good possibility. But let's not fret about it and let's explore." Alexander cheered and flew up in the air to look around.
He started looking around at the area and the ruins. It seemed like Persian architecture. "Hmm, whatever happened here must have been sudden."
"Oh, what do we have here? Is this some kind of a canal?" Alexander wondered when he came to the perfectly dugout canal-like area. For some reason, the sand inside it was hard, as if it was burned.
"Hmm, let's get a bit higher to have a better look," Dobby suggested.
They flew higher and saw the whole structure. "Dobby, I am having a bad feeling about this. This does not look like a canal. This looks like the same voodoo pattern we saw in the ruins. Except, here, it was dug to surround the city."
"Were they trying to protect themselves with some magic?" Dobby wondered.
"Well, we will find out soon. That's how things go on. All I know is that this place must be important if we want to solve all the mysteries in this world." Alexander commented.
"Boss, look, there are some tents." Dobby pointed to smaller ruins.
They both flew to it and found people there. All of them had white hair and red-eye. They all looked pale and weak.
"This looks like some kind of a refugee camp," Alexander said and went closer.
"WAIT! What are they doing?"
...
The people were all Ishvalan refugees. Since the time of civil war, they had found refuge in the ruins.
Ishvalans were indigenous people of the nation called Ishval, which would come to be a region in the southeastern area of greater Amestris. The Ishvalans were an ethno-religious group identified by their ethnicity but unified by common religious beliefs.
The culture of the Ishvalan people was steeped heavily in their religious ideology, which marks the earth god Ishvala as the sole true god and lord of all creation. They were called to pray fervently to Ishvala and live lives of simplicity and righteousness as part of his creed.
It was likely that Ishvalans' strict code of religious conduct was borne from the severity of the land they lived on, which was not largely farmable and contained very few natural resources, if any.
Ishvalans considered their names sacred, as gifts from God, and usually wore sashes striped with burgundy and gold, presumably as a sign of their faith.
However, the most contentious point of the Ishvalan religion was its rejection of the craft of alchemy, considering it a practice based in hubris, perverting the natural creations of Ishvala into unnatural forms and thereby suggesting that human hands are more capable. Alchemy was so hated by the Ishvalan people that those found practicing it were exiled from the community and branded with a mark of shame that prohibits faithful Ishvalans from interacting with them.
After the annexation of Ishval by Amesris, Ishvalans became normalized Amestrian citizens by law. But their radical cultural differences, particularly their aversion to alchemy, put them at odds with the rest of the Amestrian population until tensions on both sides culminated in the Ishval Civil War in 1901. Then it all led to a full-scale eradication of their ethnic group.
Those that remained were still hated and hunted in Amestris, so they found refuge wherever possible.
When the people living in the camp in the ruins saw Alexander, they thought that he was a wicked alchemist. But, as Alexadner came closer, they saw his features. Tall, white hair and golden eyes.
Now, none of them knew what their god looked like. But for some reason when they saw Alexander, they felt that God must look like this.
So, while Alexander hovered over their heads, they all kneeled to the ground and started chanting their god's name.
"ISHVALA... ISHVALA... ISHVALA"
...
Alexander didn't know if he should be happy or sad. He always tries to not act like a god but just after looking at him, he was branded a god again.
"Boss, I think they see you as their god or something," Dobby pointed out.
"I know, Dobby. I know."
*Sigh*
He landed in the middle of an empty area. The people quickly came to him running and kneeled.
"Please help us, god Ishvala."
"My son is sick, god. Please save him."
"Please enlighten us, Great Ishvala."
Alexander looked at their ragtag clothes and shrunken bodies. It was clear as day that they had not eaten anything in a long time. But Alexander didn't know anything about their culture.
So, he looked at the memory of the oldest one of them and saw the world history through his eyes. Quickly, he found out everything. About them, the civil war, their extermination, and the main bad element in all this was called Amestris, for whose army he seemed to work.
~Well, I guess I'll be a secret god now.~
"SILENCE!"
"I know you're in great pain, that is why I will build your homes here. I will build wells for you and make some land fertile. I can only show you the way, you will have to help yourself after that. That is the right way." Alexander told them.
All of them cheered and started chanting something that made Alexander chuckle internally.
"THIS IS THE WAY!"
"THIS IS THE WAY!"
Alexander just shook his head and got to work. ~Did I make Mandalorians here?~
[You can see Ruins and Ishvalans on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]
______________________________
30 Advance chapters are available on -patreon.com/misterimmortal
Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif*
Thank you for your support!
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT