Me: So, I'm trying a new Author's Note style, one that I like much more than my previous way of doing it. I also apologize for the long wait.

Ed: She was having writer's block again but doesn't want to admit it.

Al: *writing and Roy translating* Brother, be kind. Could you do any better than Miss Angel has done?

Ed: *stiffens* Of course I can. Scribe for me and I'll write anything you want. Try me, I dare you!

Roy: *sigh* This is pointless. The point is, she's updating now, so let's leave the poor girl alone.

Me: Thank you, Colonel.

Riza: It's General now.

Me: I know, but he'll always be Colonel Roy Mustang to me.

Riza: *sigh* Reviews, please, and enjoy.

Me: One more thing; I'm adding in an OC. I think you'll like them and they are probably going o change the whole mood of the story. I realized I needed someone else to help move the story along and thus **** was born.

Riza: Why didn't you just say the person's name, or at least gender?

Me: Because I want it to be a surprise. Either way, they are coming your way so enjoy, read and review!

Chapter 7

Al was awoken only a little while after Ed fell asleep again by a weary looking Roy who gestured for him to leave without waking his brother. He nodded and quickly pulled on a shirt on his way out of the room, shutting the door with only a slight click. Catching Roy's eye, he raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'What do you need?' Roy led him downstairs and into the kitchen, where Riza and Havoc were already at the table. Riza was looking pristine and awake, as per usual, and Havoc was dismissed after Roy arrived. He saluted lazily and left, putting a cigarette in his mouth and heading outside to smoke in peace.

"Sit down, Alphonse." Riza said, smiling gently and pulling the chair beside her out slightly. Al sat, comprehending from the paper and pen laying in front of him that he was to give his report now. He glanced up to where Roy was now tiredly settling in the seat across from him, rubbing his face as if trying to wake himself up. Al was nervous. He had never been required to give a report like this before. Usually, Ed did all the talking with Al only putting in a few words. Now, Ed wasn't even here. He swallowed with difficulty, and Riza put her hand on his arm. Her smile comforted him, and he picked up the pen and began to write.

I was kidnapped several days before the time of Edward's story. I was being held in custody because of the Philosopher's Stone inside me. The homunculi kept me locked up until one day when they dragged me out and strapped me down in the middle of a transmutation circle in a gigantic ballroom. I didn't know then that Ed was inside of the Gate.

They were about to start the transmutation when Ed suddenly pushed through from the other side of the Gate. He and Envy, the shape shifting homunculus, fought and Envy said a lot of things about hating my dad and hating Ed. Ed pinned him, and he turned into somebody, I think, but I couldn't see from where I was on the floor. Next thing I know, I see blood spurting from Ed's body and I hear him choking. I called to him, but it was too late. Envy stood up, with his arm turned into a blade and coated with blood and Ed fell to the floor with blood pooling all around him.

Al's hands were shaking by this point, and he had to pause for several seconds to regain his composure. Riza wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him, but she sensed that he was far away in his memories and that her touch was neither expected nor especially wanted at this point. Roy was tense as well, although he could not read the words clearly from his position. He could see the tension in the boy and it set every protective instinct in his body twanging. Riza smiled. He really did care for these boys, didn't he? Al started again, soon needing to pull another page out of the stack and start anew.

I got angry at that point. I broke the chains that held me and stormed over to join my brother's bloody body on the floor. I activated the Philosopher's Stone inside me and poured its power into Ed, demanding his limbs, mind and soul from the gate in return for my soul's hold on this world. I felt myself leave the armor behind and I traveled again to the Gate, rejoining my soul and mind with the emaciated body trapped there.

After a time, I don't know exactly how long, Ed joined me, whole in body and mind. We expected to be sent inside, to join the spirits of the dead there. But instead, we waited before the Gate, unable to go in and unable to go back.

Finally, the Truth came to us. He said that for the price of the time we had spent there and for the taking of one small thing each from us, we could return, nearly whole in body and with our memories intact. We accepted. The price was my tongue and vocal cords, and Ed's eyes. We made our way to the Rockbells and the rest you know.

Al looked over his work, adjusting the curve on a couple of letters, then he handed the two and a half sheets to Riza and raised his eyebrow for her approval. She nodded and slid them into the envelope where Ed's testimony already lay, sealed the envelope and set it in her briefcase. Their work was done, and it was well past the time they should have returned to Central. Riza sighed.

"I'll make the final arrangements, sir. Anything else?" Roy shook his head and Riza went to dispatch Havoc to acquire train tickets for them. Then, he noticed that Al was hurriedly writing something on one of the extra pieces of paper on the table. He looked bleak and it scared Roy. He read the writing when Al handed it to him.

I think that Truth knew exactly what to take from us to cause us the most pain. Now, Ed can't see me after all these years and I can't talk to him and confide in him like I used to. It's tearing both of us apart. What do we do?

The end sounded like a plea, but Roy simply didn't know how to answer. Standing and walking around the table, he knelt before the boy, pulling him into his arms as he began to cry quietly.

"I don't know. We'll think of something though. Don't worry." He whispered. Al pulled back, pointing at Roy and then to the door, then shrugging. Roy got the message. "Yes, unfortunately, we have to go. Tomorrow, if possible. But I promise if we come up with anything, we'll bring it to you right away, alright?" Al nodded, taking a deep breath and wiping away his tears with a brave smile. Roy smiled back, patting the boy's back and standing.

"We'll think of something." He repeated.

The military personnel soon discovered that they would be able to leave early the following morning. Edward, awake now, was quiet upon discovering this, although he loudly professed relief at the 'Idiot General's' departure when asked. Alphonse clung close to Riza, an unforeseen development, but she didn't mind, ruffling his hair tenderly whenever she caught him at her elbow. Thus, Edward was left alone most of the day, and he chose to spend it out in the sweltering heat, sitting in the shade of a tree and taking vigorous walks around the perimeter of the house every so often. Winry came out often, talking to him, bringing him refreshments, but not encouraging him to come in or to spend time with his companions that would be leaving. She knew he would do it in his own way, in his own time, and as he saw fit. There was no use in pushing him.

As afternoon was fading into evening and a glass of frosty lemonade was put on the table for Edward, Winry spotted a lone, far-off figure on the road to the house. The only reason for someone to come down this way was if they were lost or if they were a customer.

Racing inside, Winry shooed everyone outside to get out of the way of the comer. Edward, Pinako and Winry were left behind as the figure drew nearer and the others were sent away for a picnic by the river. Ed would have gone too, but he sat himself on the porch, lemonade in hand, and staunchly refused to 'hide in the back room' as requested.

"Fine, at least try to look pleasant." Winry conceded, dragging Den to the basement and shutting the door. Then she hastily pulled her hair back, straightened her clothes, took off her kitchen apron and returning to find Ed affecting his familiar smirk. He leaned his head back against the chair, black band around his eyes only lending to the illusion of relaxation and sleep he was putting forth.

The comer was slow in arriving, and as the figure approached it became clear why.

A young woman, no more than sixteen or seventeen, swung slowly along on a pair of crutches, a knapsack bumping against the thigh of her right leg. The foot and calf of the limb were twisted weirdly, which showed the need for the crutches. She was singing loudly, two long, twisted ropes of red-brown hair swinging from the back of her head. Her bright yellow shirt was soaked in sweat and her feet, crippled and whole alike, were covered by soft, supple brown boots. A pair of tan cargo pants with too many bulging pockets to count were tucked into the tops of the boots.

She paused as she came over the final rise, waving and grinning at the two blonds on the porch. Winry put on her 'customer smile' and waved back. The girl moved forward again, carefully maneuvering her metallic crutches along the uneven road.

When she came to the bottom of the steps, she halted, moving her left crutch over to the other side and affected a cheesy bow, smiling widely at Winry, who joined her.

"Welcome to the Rockbell Automail Shop. My name is Winry and I'm the primary mechanic here. How can I help you today?" The girl glanced around, taking in the area with a slightly ditzy look on her face, finally refocusing on the awkwardly waiting Winry.

"Oh, sorry. Just admiring the countryside." She held out her left hand for a shake and Winry took it, trying to regain the conversation.

"What can I help you with today miss…"

"Cori. Cori Hendricks." She said. "And right now, I only need one thing." Winry raised her eyebrow expectantly. "A glass of that lemonade your friend is drinking. It's hot out here and hobbling down a dirt road is thirsty work!" Ed smirked wider at this, and as Cori swung up the stairs and inside, he leaned over to his childhood friend.

"I think I'm going to like her." He muttered snarkily. Winry glowered at him, scoffing and following the girl inside.

Half an hour later, Cori was seated comfortably on the couch, her left leg stretched out and her right tucked up close to the couch. She set an empty glass down on the coffee table, letting out a sigh of satisfaction and finishing her story with a terrible pun that only she seemed to laugh at. Winry forced a laugh out of courtesy, more than a little frustrated with this girl's seeming inability to get to the point. She decided it was time to step in and try with this customer yet again.

"So, may I ask what your purpose is in coming here today?" She inquired, making a concerted effort to catch that forest green gaze as it traveled randomly around the room yet again. Cori's eyes lit up with sudden remembrance and she put her hand up in a 'wait just a second' gesture. Leaning forward, she reached toward the floor and Winry expected her to pull up her pant leg and show off a malfunctioning old dinosaur of an automail foot, but instead she reached into her bag and pulled out… a watch.

"Here's a sample of my work. You're a genius in your field, so I'm sure if you look at it, you'll be able to appreciate the work. Feel free to keep it. I can do just about any kind of work; cooking, cleaning, repairs. That should pay for my room and board. I'm grateful to accept this gracious offer of apprenticeship under the greatest mechanic in all of Amestris, Resembool's very own Winry Rockbell. When do we start?" Winry halted her examination of the actually quite sophisticated watch to choke on a gasp of shock. From her spot by the table, Pinako raised an eyebrow as a wisp of smoke puffed out from between her lips by the stem of her pipe.

"Excuse me?" Winry stammered. Cori shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged as though considering if there was a simpler way to put this.

"I'm a mechanic. You're a mechanic. You know things I don't. I want to learn those things. You teach, me learn. Yes?" Pinako chuckled at her sarcastic attitude, but Winry was still taking in these strange speeches. Cori waited, a blankly expectant look on her face and her uninjured knee bouncing with pent up energy.

"You want to be my apprentice?" Winry finally managed, brow furrowed as she worked carefully through what she thought she had heard.

"Yes." Cori said simply, reaching down absently and pulling some scraps of metal and wire out of a pocket. As she fiddled with them, Winry thought over the matter in her head. On the one hand, this was completely unexpected. Not that she didn't appreciate the compliments, but how had this girl come to even know about the rather secluded little shop where Winry worked? And was Winry ready to teach her trade to another? Especially one who obviously had some pretty good experience as well. Her pride won out.

"All right. I could use a challenge." She determined, raising her head with a confident grin. "I'll take you on. A trial period first, just to see how you work and what you know. Then, if we can come to an agreement, I'll take you on full time." Cori grinned, even teeth catching the light and setting off her tan skin.

Now that that business was settled, Winry's eyes were drawn to her new student, taking in the toned muscles of the arms and the steadiness of the hands. When her gaze rested on the twisted leg, she cleared her throat quietly.

"So, um, what happened to your leg?" She asked, watching Cori's face. Cori's visage darkened, but she shrugged and went on twiddling with the scraps in her hands.

"You want to see?" Winry nodded and Cori shrugged again, bending over and pulling up her pant leg. The limb showed no scarring or other sign of injury, but the muscles were all taut and twitching, and it was this tension that had drawn the leg into its slightly bent, twisted form. He toes were curled against her foot and her foot was being yanked as close to her shin as it could go. Strain in the calf was pulling her foot to her left and the knee was being forced to bend slightly. The amount of tightness in the muscles should have been causing Cori an enormous amount of pain, but she showed no sign of it. Winry winced as she saw the calf twitch slightly and pull her foot a bit more to the left, but not even a blink showed that Cori had even felt it.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, once again looking for a sign that she had pushed too far. Cori blinked and stared at Winry, then raised her eyes to her inspection of the room again.

"Yeah. All the time. Especially when I lay down to sleep at night. But it's alright. I can deal." She shrugged, something that seemed to be a huge part of her conversation skills. Then she stretched her arms up, yawned and dug her crutch into the ground to pull herself to her feet.

"All right then. I'll take my stuff out to the lawn and be back in to start work." Winry was confused.

"The lawn?"

"I like sleeping outdoors. I can see the stars that way. Don't worry, I've got a blanket and I usually lay on my knapsack for a pillow. I've done it for so long I don't think I'd sleep if someone gave me a real bed. I'd just bounce around all night, pull out the springs and give you another reason to sigh and shake your head at me. Be right back!" And almost faster than either Pinako or Winry could have believed, she was out the door, leaving Winry still holding a wristwatch and Pinako puffing out a large cloud of smoke.

"Well, she's certainly enthusiastic. You can't fault her on that." Pinako stated.

"No, I suppose not." Winry said, sounding slightly in shock. This girl was going to take some getting used to. Winry sighed. A lot of getting used to.

Me: So, what do you think? Don't you just love Cori?

Cori: Yeah. Don't you love me yet?

Ed: You are loud, energetic, snarky, tough, and a mechanic. Everyone's going to love you!

Winry: Edward?

Ed: What?

Winry: Should I be jealous?

Edward: No. Wait, what? Um…I-I-I…

Me: Winry, stop teasing him.

Winry: You want me to keep teasing him don't you?

Me: Yes, this is hilarious keep going.

Al: *sigh*

Roy: Please review.

Riza: Yes, we would really appreciate that.