A/n: Hey guys, I've started updating every second day. You know how life is sometimes. Ed is back in Amestris! Yay!
WARNING: This chapter has a bit of violence in it. It may shock some people.

Chapter 6: Discovering the Hate

"Edward. I don't know what happened to you in Amestris, but I do know that you are strong enough and smart enough to get that little girl home. The intelligence and courage of your choice has confirmed my suspicions- you have learnt everything I have to teach. You have exceeded the level of a mere student. Now, you are a master at what you do; never forget that. Goodbye, and good luck."

Edward woke slowly, Kabir's words of farewell echoing in his mind. He looked sleepily into Elysia's eyes, surprised to find her jumping up and down beside him in childish happiness.

"Brother! We're here, we're here! We're home again! Yay!" Elysia squealed, clapping her hands and leaping off the open end of the wagon they had been travelling in. Yawning, Edward pulled the shade-cloth aside and squinted at the scenery.

Instead of the scorching, waterless sand that had surrounded the group for days, Edward saw the very familiar sight of green grassland and fields, with spacious houses scattered around. A river flowed down the middle of the town, pooling into a lake at one side. Edward froze, unintentionally tearing the cloth in his sudden burning hate.

Risembool. He was back in Amestris. Edward scowled, holding back the urge to hit something with his metal arm, and jumped off the wagon, landing effortlessly on his feet. He noted Eli playing with Elysia in the grass a short distance away. After saying goodbye to the nomads who had guided them across the desert and paying them, he began walking down a familiar path towards the town. Everything here was familiar- every sound, every sight and scent, every tree- and yet, it didn't feel like home. Edward felt uncomfortable and restless here.

"Come on," he muttered to Eli and Elysia as he passed them. "We've got to get to Central." Edward stepped off the path, intending to skirt around the town instead of going directly through it. Whilst he was still wearing his Xingese clothes and his hair was still dyed black, he didn't want to chance being recognized by one of the village people.

The route Ed intended to take went past the lake's edge, meaning that the group of three would be far away from the Rockbell house. This was no coincidence.

"Hey Ed, how are we getting to this Central place?" Eli asked after they'd been walking for half an hour or so. He was obviously still mad at Edward for lying to him for two years. Who wouldn't be angry after that?

"Train," Edward replied shortly. Elysia had run ahead of the two boys, filled with excitement and enthusiasm. However, she stopped abruptly, staring at something in the lake.

"Brother?" she asked slowly. "Is that a person?"

Ed sighed. "Where?" He scanned the surface of the lake. It wasn't hard to spot the disturbed water at the deepest part. Someone was in there, thrashing desperately.

"They're drowning!" Eli shouted, leaning forward with worried eyes. He'd grown up in a town with a severe lack of water; he couldn't swim.

Edward sighed again, quickly slipping his sash and his tunic over his head. He kicked off his shoes and dived into the lake, swimming with difficulty towards the commotion. His metal limbs had long ago been adjusted so that they wouldn't cause him to sink in the water, but swimming required the kind of hand- eye co-ordination that metal limbs did not provide. He arrived at the spot just as the person went limp from lack of oxygen.

He dived underwater, seeing that the swimsuit of the girl was snagged on an underwater tree branch, preventing her from getting her head above the water. Edward clapped his hands and used alchemy to separate the organic and in-organic material, freeing her. She floated to the top helplessly. Ed also swam to the surface, coughing a little. He reached towards the swimmer to help her to the edge went he paused.

The girl looked to be his age, and had long, blonde hair. There was no way…

"Win…ry…" he choked, feeling all his suppressed fury bubble up inside him. With a roar of anger, he grabbed the semi-conscious traitor by her ponytail and smashed her head underwater, holding her there. Winry screamed underwater, too exhausted to struggle.

"Edward! What are you doing?!" Eli yelled from the edge. Edward glared at him, hatred etched into his expression. Eli felt the smallest trickle of fear slide down his spine.

"Brother! Please let her go!" Elysia began to cry. "Please!" Her faint voice seemed to have a calming effect on the enraged teenager. He pulled Winry above water again and dragged her to the edge by her arm, leaving her there. Eli and Elysia rushed over to her anxiously as she coughed and hacked, trying to get the water out of her lungs. At last, she stopped and began to take short, pained breaths.

"E…Ed… I…" Winry gasped, shaking. Eli turned around, frowning at Edward, who was standing with his back to the three.

"Hey, she wants to talk to you," he said flatly.

Ed closed his eyes. "Well in that case, she can burn in hell."

Elysia's mouth dropped, unable to understand why he would say something like that to Winry. "Brother…"

"I'm… I'm sor… ry… sorry… really sorry… ple-please…" Winry clenched her hands and hid her face. She was crying.

"H-hey, miss, don't cry over this jerk," Eli awkwardly tried to comfort Winry. "He hates everyone anyway." However, his comment only made Winry cry harder.

"It's all… my fault… I'm so sorry, Ed!" she cried, suddenly leaping to her feet and running to Edward, clutching his arm. Before anyone could react, Edward slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch me," he growled. Winry stumbled back a few steps, tears falling constantly. Ed turned on heel and stalked away, vanishing behind a bunch of overgrown trees.

"So, this is your house, Miss Rockbell?" Eli asked later. Elysia and Eli had seen Winry home, and she had gotten changed and put some lunch on the table.

Winry smiled painfully. "Yes, sorry for the mess. And please, call me Winry. I'm an automail engineer, you see." She had calmed down considerably over the last hour, and now held Elysia comfortingly on her lap.

Eli closed his eyes. "Winry, then. Perhaps you could tell me what's going on?"

Winry was momentarily silent. "…you mean with Ed." Eli nodded.

"It's all my fault," she whispered, hugging Elysia closer.

"It's okay. Tell me what happened," Eli urged.

"We're still not entirely sure, but… Well, everything was normal until a little over two years ago. One day, the officers, Al and I were- you don't know who I'm talking about, do you?" Winry asked sympathetically, catching Eli's puzzled look. When he said no, she explained about Colonel Mustang and his team, Major Armstrong, Lt. Colonel Hughes and Maria Ross, and lastly, Alphonse.

Eli was stunned. "Wow, I never knew he had a little brother… but I guessed about his parents."

"Anyway, all those people were gathered in Mustang's office for a brief meeting about some border skirmishes up at Fort Briggs, or something. I was just waiting for the boys to arrive, and well, Al came running in alone. He began to shout about Edward, saying how many faults he has and how he hated him…" Winry faded off.

"What did you do?" Eli encouraged, trying to get the blonde to continue talking.

She suddenly dropped her head onto the dining table with a groan. "I was such an idiot. I just got so… angry with him. I don't know why, but I just felt so furious. As if I hated him. I said a lot of horrible things, as did everyone else. I just wanted him to leave." She curled up a little, as if she was about to cry again. "I'd give anything to take it all back! To have him with me again! Nothing's been the same since…" she sniffed.

Eli was puzzled. "You mean, you just… got mad? For no apparent reason?"
Winry gazed up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Yes… I wasn't the only one though. Everyone in the room felt that way, apparently. After that, we all came out of the office to find Ed's suitcase lying by the door… And our rage just kind of… vanished. Later we found two letters from Edward, one addressed to Al and me, and the other was a military resignation letter. He was last observed at the train station later that day, and no-one's seen him since then… I haven't seen him since then." She grabbed her hair in frustration. "I was so stupid! I just want to apologize, for things to go back to normal! I want to make everything alright again, but I can't…"

"What happened after that?" Eli inquired softly. This girl was really hurting- he could see the desperate pain in her eyes. She hadn't known whether her childhood friend had been alive or dead for over two years.

Winry seemed to have composed herself after finally speaking her troubles out loud.

"The Drachman army happened," she sighed. "They invaded Amestris, and even managed to take over the whole country for a couple of weeks… But even though the military had given up, we hadn't," Winry said determinedly. "The rebels, nicknamed the Abandoned, revolted and pushed Drachma back the northern and western areas. I joined them, healing those I could and giving them discounts on automail if they needed it. I've actually only just arrived back from Central- that's where the Drachman army is standing now. Currently, the two armies are at a stalemate-"

"Wait, you joined the rebels?!" Eli interrupted her. "How could you do something so dangerous when you can't fight?!"

Winry suddenly stood, putting Elysia down with a huff. "You don't understand! Everyone I care about has been captured!"

"What?" asked Eli, startled.

"Everyone. The Colonel, Miss Riza, Miss Ross, Mr Armstrong, and even Mr Hughes… they've all been captured along with the other Amestrian soldiers. And then I found out…" Winry crossed her arms. "I found out that Al had been fighting too, and he's also been captured! Who knows what those maniacs are doing to my friends? I can't just sit by idly, especially after ruining everything with Ed! So I joined the Abandoned and helped them. We even won back half the country." Winry sounded proud of the rebel group.

"They're all being held at Central. It's only a matter of time before the Abandoned win the battle there and all the Amestrian soldiers will be released, I'm sure of it!" Winry stated confidently.

"But how did Drachma get past- what did you call it? Fort Briggs? - In the first place? You said that place is practically impenetrable," Eli raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Winry frowned a little. "I'm not entirely sure, but the Abandoned said that Drachma acquired a new type of alchemy. That in itself isn't odd, but people have claimed it can affect a person's actual emotions."

"Are you serious? How?" Eli wondered.

"I don't have all the details, but it's something about affecting the naturally occurring chemicals in the body, to stimulate a certain emotion. For example, using the bodily chemicals to produce confusion in the Amestrian soldiers. Once they were confused, it was easy to overpower them and pick them off one by one," Winry told him.

"Wow, that's insane," Eli murmured thoughtfully.

"Yeah," agreed Winry.