Disclaimer: I only own Mr. Reward, k?
Sorry if anybody seems OOC...
Edward woke up with a start. He sighed. He was at the hospital. But it was night, and Al wasn't here. And it seemed quite drafty. Edward yawned, and stretched out his legs.
"Hello, Edward."
The sudden voice made the blonde yelp and pull the covers protectively around him. It was that damned man again.
"Leave me alone you bastard!" Edward snapped.
He heard the man whistle softy and then in a monotone kind of voice, replied, "No. I came to tell you my name."
Edward sat up and glared at the man. The teen didn't care what his name was; he cared about why this bastard couldn't give him a second's worth of peace.
"It's Botulf," The man smiled when Edward gave him a confused look, "It means 'Reward Wolf' and if you are good, I'll give you plenty of rewards." The man pulled off the robe he was wearing on his head and showed Ed his bright, blue eyes and long, black hair.
"What are you? Hohenheim's slave?"
Botulf laughed, "No. I'm more like an old friend."
Edward turned his head away from Botulf, "You said that we've met before… Where?"
Botulf thought for a moment before replying, "I think the first time was at your birth. I remember Hohenheim being proud of finally having a son. Even though he had one 400 years ago..."
Edward gasped, "Wait. Don't tell me that you used the Philosopher's Stone to switch bodies as well?"
Botulf shook his head. "I just heard stories from him. Nothing else." He paused. "I'm actually here without his consent. Hohenheim has been acting strange lately."
Ed snorted, "No kidding. He is gone for ten years, and suddenly he's everywhere. And now he has brought you to the party as well."
Botulf sighed, "You don't understand. I only killed that girl because I wanted Hohenheim to be happy."
The teen turned so quickly that he lost his balance and fell off the bed. "You bastard! You never told me what I did wrong and you still killed her."
Botulf shrugged, "Her death was painless."
"That doesn't make a difference!" Edward tried standing up on his wobbly legs but he fell back to the ground.
"I'm trying to help you Ed. I don't know why your father is acting so strange." Botulf made a faint sigh.
"Then why don't you just leave the bastard?"
Botulf clicked his tongue. "We have the same relationship as you do with that Roy person. You like each other, but you don't let other people know it."
Edward gritted his teeth. "And how is it that you know so much about me?"
Botulf went back to a monotone voice, "Because when I enter your dreams, I also see your memories." Botulf paused to laugh, "Alchemy is pretty nice. But most people only know of its physical characteristics: the ability to change an object to another. But your father learned some of its mental characteristics: Entering a person's dream and seeing their memories… I can only enter dreams if your father is already there though."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Edward had climbed back into his bed by the time Botulf had finished speaking.
"Because… I need you to help Hohenheim. I think Dante is forcing your father to do some crazy things."
"But-Dante's dead!"
"Are you sure?" Botulf asked.
"Well I…" Edward really wasn't sure. Wrath said she was, but was Wrath that reliable?
Suddenly, a pain jolted through Edward's head. He screamed and flailed his arms. The teen sensed Botulf run up beside him.
"Relax, Ed. Don't fight it." The blonde barely heard him. He tried relaxing, but that caused more pain.
"I… Can't…" Edward felt Botulf place his hand on his forehead and just as suddenly as it had came, the pain was gone. Edward released a thankful sigh fell back against the pillow. Botulf watched the teen lay there for a few minutes before getting up to leave.
"… Wait…" Botulf turned back and saw that Ed's golden eyes were opened. "… Winry… Is she… Really… Gone?"
Botulf made a slow nod, and then left the room through the door before the teen could say anything more.
"I told you, I don't remember!" The police had returned to ask Ed about the broken window. The young alchemist had told them many times that he was sound asleep when it happened, but they said that that didn't make any sense.
"You screamed. Why?" The police with a notepad asked.
"Maybe I had a bad dream and it happened to be at the same time someone bashed open the window." Edward said through gritted teeth.
"But why were you on the ground?"
"Maybe because I felt like it!" The blonde alchemist was losing his patience and was thinking about transmuting the men into bricks. Bricks never asked so many questions.
The men sighed. They finally realized that they were getting no where with Ed. Eventually they left; leaving the teen with blissful silence.
But it was about noon when Edward remembered what was missing: Al hadn't shown up yet today! Ed wanted to go home and leave this stupid place behind. He pictured what would happen if he tried to leave. If he could manage to walk all the way to the main doors, those crazy doctors would drag him back here before Ed could explain anything. Damnit… Where are you, Al?
Al was still at home. He hadn't slept a wink without an image of Winry's death clawing at his mind. So he stayed awake. He didn't know even what time it was. Midnight? 5 AM? 7 PM? Al looked at the clock. It said that it was noon.
"Why should I trust you anyway?" Al asked the clock, "All you do is sit there and move your stupid hands."
Normally, Al wouldn't be in such a grouchy mood, but it is interesting what can happen to a person when they don't get their rest. In fact, Al had forgotten that his brother was at the hospital. Instead, Al yelled at the stove for burning his arm.
"If you do that again, I swear I will beat you with pots and pans!"
Meanwhile, Roy was walking up the pathway to the same house. He rang the doorbell and heard glass breaking and a certain alchemist swearing. Roy stood there, flabbergasted (1). Is Al turning into Fullmetal when no one's looking?
When the door opened, Roy saw that Al hadn't even groomed himself today. "Is something wrong, Alphonse?"
"Nothing's wrong." He yawned, "Just tired."
"Well… Shouldn't you be at the hospital with Ed?"
"Ed?..." Al paused like he just considered it. Then he shook himself wildly, "Gah! I forgot!" He then darted to one of the bedrooms with Roy chasing after him. Al threw clothes around, trying to find something to wear.
"Al, calm down. I'm sure he's fine. I was just curious." Roy placed his hand on Al's right shoulder. Al was muttering almost mute words.
"But sir, Ed might be wondering where I am. He might be worried…" Al gazed up into Roy's dark eyes. "Why are you here anyway? I don't even remember giving you our address."
Roy sighed. "Ed gave it to me a month ago, but that's not important right now." Roy paused for a long time, shifting from foot to foot before continuing, "Did you heard about the train wreck yesterday?"
Al stiffened.
"There were 47 deaths and 15 major injury cases. And… One of the deaths…" Roy found it difficult to find the right words, "One of them was… Winry Rockbell."
Al couldn't stop himself. He fell to his knees and let the tears roll down his face. He didn't want to hear that his brother's prediction was correct. But it was.
Roy wanted to help Al cope with the news of his friend's sudden death, but he couldn't find the right words. So he stood there helplessly.
"Did you tell… Pinako yet?" Al said the words through his sobs.
"Her Grandmother? No. Not yet. But… When are you going to tell Fullmetal about this?"
I bet Brother already knows, Al thought hopelessly. Still, he supplied an answer, "I don't know. Maybe tomorrow… Perhaps…"
Roy sighed. "Well, my task is done. Do you mind if I join you on your trip to the hospital?"
Al shook his head, and brushed off his tears.
"Damn… it…" It was 12:30 and the nurse was bringing in today's lunch. She looked at Edward for a moment and checked his temperature. Apparently, he was fine for she left as soon as she checked.
"It must really suck for people who stay in hospitals for months. They never give you any real food." He took a bite out of a Nutrition bar and spat it back out.
"Yuck! It tastes like dry skin!" He threw the bar at the wall as punishment for being disgusting. Then he looked at his other choices: A plate full brown slime that looked like Roy's cooking and a glass of milk. Edward glared at them with all of his hatred.
"Damn you food. Go feed someone else!"
(1) That's such a fun word. Flabbergasted...
I threw in that last part just because I think this chapter was to serious. I needed to lighten things up.