Chapter 4: Curious Situations
^•-•^
There was an uncomfortable feeling in the atmosphere that made the air hard to breathe. No one would say anything and I doubted they would what with my being here.
I excused myself from the room and sat down against a wall in the hallway. I stared at the door, my eyes narrowed. I could hear voices in there and I began wondering what they were saying.
I brought my legs up to my chest to keep them from getting in anyone's way. I winced as the pain in my side came back.
I rested my head on my knees and sighed. With nothing else to do I began humming one of my favorite songs. I started to sing softly when I got to the chorus.
"And I don't want the world to see me, 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am..." (A/N: Bonus points if you can guess what song she's singing before it comes up later!)
I stopped singing when I felt the floor shake. My eyes went wide at the sight of a gigantic man in a blue uniform coming down the hallway.
I shrank away against the wall and continued to stare at the sight. I doubted that there was anyone back on my Earth that big.
He went up to Ed and Alphy's door and barged in. My eyes grew wider and I moved over to the other wall to find out what was going on.
I heard all three of them begin to scream at the sight of him.
I poked my head around the doorway just as the man began yelling about Ed's arm being busted.
I raised an eyebrow at the situation.
"And you Alphonse!" he boomed. "You're body would stand out too much. You'll have to stay here."
'Huh?' I thought. 'He could always take off the armor. And who would stand more than this giant?'
I watched as the large man dragged Ed out of the room and down the hall. I waved good-bye to Ed.
When he was gone I poked my head back in. "Hey you guys!" I called. They both looked over at me. "What the hell just happened there? And what did that big guy mean about your body?"
Winry and Alphy looked at each other and then back at me, uncomfortable expressions on their faces.
I moved so that I was now in the room. I folded my arms across my chest show I wasn't going anywhere.
[•_•]
Al didn't know what to do. Toni, if she was sane, hadn't even heard about alchemy before earlier. He would never be able to explain his situation to her.
Winry came to his rescue. "Hey Toni. You wanted to borrow a shirt right?"
Toni glared at the two of them but loosened slightly. "Yeah."
"How about we go to my room and get you changed," she offered.
Toni sighed and nodded. "Sure."
Winry got up and the two of them went to her room.
ו_•×
Winry looked through her suitcase for a shirt. Toni sat on her bed comfortably.
She pulled out one of her white tops and offered it.
Toni unzipped her jacket and took the shirt. When she pulled off her torn up black shirt, leaving her in only a tan bra, Winry saw a few dozen scars scattered on her torso. There were some on her stomach and there were a few running up her sides. She saw the fresh wound that must have come from the table.
Toni noticed her staring.
^•-•^
I looked down at my torso and sighed.
Winry's face flushed slightly and she looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to stare."
I put the white shirt on. It was a bit uncomfortable. We were about the same height but my bust was slightly bigger than hers. "It's fine. These are basically just proof of my existence. I've left blood all over the city I grew up in." When I said that, I was reminded of the next verse in the song; yeah you bleed just to know you're alive. Maybe I said it because the song was still in my head.
"Sounds like you've had a rough life." She sat beside me.
I shrugged and pulled my hoodie back on. "I don't think so. I've seen people who live off the streets, struggling to survive. I've been in about a hundred fights and a car accident, but they've had it a hell of a lot worse. Emphasis on the hell part."
We were quiet for a moment.
Winry broke that silence. "So, did you really come from a different world?"
I shrugged. "Unless this is dream, but I doubt it seeing as this wound still hurts like hell."
"And you never had a family?"
"Nope." I looked at my hands, which also had some scars on them. "I had a couple friends at the home. I also had a boyfriend. He's almost a year older than me." I smiled to myself and clenched my fists.
A sad smile appeared on Winry's face. "Let's go back. Al's probably lonely."
I smiled back at her. "Okay."
We walked out the door and started down the hall.
I decided that I liked Winry. I still knew nothing about her but I figured I'd eventually find out.
Later that day, we were all sitting in comfortable silence when a guy who looked like Jonah came in through the window.
My eyes grew wide again. I pointed a finger at the guy before he could get a word in. "Who the hell are you!?" I exclaimed, this being all my mind could process at the moment.
"You guys got another girl?" he said. His voice sounded a little bit like Jonah's as well.
I lowered my hand and glared. "Don't ignore me," I growled. "I said who are you?"
"My name is Ling Yao. I'm one of the sons of the emperor of Xing." The perky-ness in his tone was annoying me, but the conversation had started to confuse me.
"Where the hell is Xing?" I asked, looking at Alphy and Winry.
"There's a desert in the east," Alphy explained. "On the other side of it is Xing."
I nodded, getting it now. "So if you're the emperor's son that would make you a prince, right?" I asked.
"Yup." I can't explain how, but he smiled in a way that also annoyed me.
"If you're some high and mighty prince then what the hell are you doing over here?"
He sighed. "I'm trying to find the Philosopher's Stone to become immortal."
I cocked my head to the side. "Philosopher's Stone? That reminds me of the British version of Harry Potter."
I heard Alphy sigh in exasperation. I looked over at him as he spoke. "The Philosopher's Stone can give an alchemist amazing power. You can go past the laws and do amazing things."
"And immortality is one of those things?"
'Haha. Even more like Harry Potter now. This world's is weird.'
His metal head moved in a nod.
"So why did you come through the window?" I said, looking over to Ling.
"I have something to tell Ed and Al."
I huffed when that stupid prince didn't answer my question.
He began to talk about some one named Maria Ross and something about meeting in the dessert. My mind went fuzzy and random music started playing in my head.
The name reminded me of the one I'd seen on the newspaper. While they talked I moved over to the couch and the coffee table. The paper was sitting right there. I picked it up and unfolded it. I smiled at the fact it was in English.
"I was told that you would tell me about how you got your body," I heard Ling say. It was obviously towards Alphy.
My ears practically perked up when they started talking. I got up and walked over to them.
"What do you mean his body? He's just wearing armor. I've seen stranger than that," I said.
Winry and Alphy looked at Ling, somewhat aggravated.
Ling happily informed me of the situation, the whole time that stupid smile stuck to his face.
"He's a soul glued to a suit of armor. He doesn't have to eat and he never gets tired. If I can't get a Philosopher's Stone, then putting my soul into armor seems like the closest thing I'll get to immortal."
My eyes were wide the entire time he spoke. "How is that even possible?" I questioned. "I'm happy to hear that I actually have a soul, but how can you glue one to something like armor?"
I heard Alphy sigh as he put his hands on his head and pulled it off. I reeled back some at the sight of the empty armor. He pointed to spot on the back. I got closer to him uneasily and saw another circle, this one red.
"It's my blood seal. The iron in the blood bonds with the metal in the armor," he explained.
I nodded, still creeped out by the fact he didn't have a body.
"How do you see?" I asked, wondering how something with out eyes knew what was going on. "And memories are stored in a part of your brain, so how can you remember anything?"
Alphy put his head back on and I relaxed some. "I guess a soul can remember things as well."
I nodded. It was the best explanation I could get for now. I got the feeling that Ed knew more and could explain it better if I asked.
The three of them said some other things that didn't make much sense to me. I ignored it and let them be. After a while I allowed my head to be filled with other random songs.
I became alert when Alphy suddenly got up and Ling started yelling at him.
"Hm?" I said.
"I'll be right back," he said. Winry looked at him with sad eyes.
"Okay," she said her voice soft. "Be careful."
"I promise," Alphy said.
I stared at him in confusion as he left the room.
^•-•^
Winry could get really depressed I learned this after Alphy left. For the next couple of hours she was stuck in a mild depression. After a while she went outside and sat down on the steps to the building. For a while I stayed away and gave her space. After about ten minutes I decided to leave the room and join her. I wasn't the biggest fan of being alone in a weird place.
"He's all right," she would mumble every few minutes.
I rested my hand against her shoulder. "I know he is. I may not know much of anything about these guys, but I can tell that they're both pretty strong."
For a while we sat there. The dark cloud hanging by Winry was getting to me.
She stared up at me while I stood up.
"I can't take it anymore!" I screamed in irritation. My teeth were clenched and my hands were balled up into tight fists. The edges of my nails were digging into my palms.
Winry looked up at me in astonishment. "Toni!?"
I hopped down from the stairs and walked onto the road. I jabbed a finger in her direction. "Why are you so god damn depressed!?"
I don't know how to describe her expression, but her face puckered almost as if she'd bitten into a lemon. It was funny but I was too pissed off to give a shit.
"I've know Ed and Alphy for less than a day but even I can tell they're both to stubborn to die! You've known them for years, haven't you? I get that you care but to completely shut down seems pointless! If anything bad did happen you'd just get even more depressed! That won't help anything, and now you're making me feel like absolute crap! Get over this and cheer up! If you don't I swear I'll pound on you like a drum!"
She stared at me, her mouth half open like she wanted to say something but there were no words. After a couple moments she sighed and looked down.
"You're right. It doesn't help anything and I should know better," she said softly. "It's just that I've known them for forever. I can't help but worry when they go off."
I folded my arms across my chest and walked back over to her. "In this case Ed was technically dragged off wasn't he?"
I got a small laugh out of her with that one. "Yeah. Major Armstrong is like that."
I decided to take this chance to mess with her. I looked her dead in the eyes and stared.
"Tell me the truth. There are two of them, so which is your boyfriend?"
Her face flushed rose red. "Neither of them! They're like brothers to me, and annoying ones at that."
I smiled evilly. "If that's the case why are you blushing?"
She got defensive. "I'm not blushing! You asked me an awkward question!"
"What do you mean awkward?" I demanded. "How was that awkward?"
"Well imagine you had a brother and someone came up and asked if you were dating?"
She made an interesting point but I still didn't see it. "Well I don't have a brother and I don't have anyone close enough to me to be a brother. Bad response, try again."
She made fists and growled at me.
The argument would have gone on but I heard clanging in the distance. I looked around Winry's head and saw Alphy.
My jaw dropped. "What the hell happened to you?"
Winry turned her head around. She got up and ran over to him.
He stepped into the light and I saw more damage. He was covered in burnt spots for some reason and the bottom half of his head was missing.
"I, uh, I'm home," he said.
Winry looked as if she was going to cry. "Moron!" she screamed. "Welcome back!"
I raised an eyebrow at this. "Huh?"
Alphy rubbed the back of his metal head. "Uh, thanks."
Winry sniffled and started laughing. Alphy joined in. He was still rubbing his head when his right arm fell off.
"What the hell?" I screamed.
"That's not supposed to happen!" Winry shouted.
"It won't stay on!" Alphy cried out in irritation.
A/N: Aw. Ed was going to have Mustang do something about Toni. Yay! Armstrong made her stay! I planned that though. I can't have her show up with the military yet. I have plans.
So who knows the song previously mentioned? It's actually my favorite song. Kinda convenient how it works here. You don't know, I'll reveal it next chapter.
One more thing. Please review!
