Another Chapter! See, I really am continuing to update. Maybe I'll even finish it this time! Anyway, it's a little bit short, but good stuff happens (The helmet finally comes off ((Oops, spoilers, ignore that)))

Reviews:
1904: I'm glad you like the story, and thanks for the positive review. It makes me happy to know that people are still interested in this story!
Codelulu-chan: Wow, that's a cool coincidence. Thanks for being so quick to forgive.
Pyromaniac: Well, it didn't take another two years...haha.

You all get some peach cobbler! (I had leftovers)

Disclaimer: The only thing I own pertaining to this story is my procrastination at writing chapters and updating. The characters/world/etc belong to artists who are much more dedicated and punctual than me.


Everyone was eating a hearty lunch of beef stew around the cramped table. Some of the people had to sit on doctor's stools because there weren't enough chairs.

"Ed, I'd like to do some maintenance on your arm and leg before you leave." said Winry

"Why? It's not like we got in a major fight since we saw you yesterday," said Ed.

"Daily maintenance is important to keep them from falling into disrepair," responded Winry.

"Yeah, but I'll probably end up busting them before they would have a chance to rust up anyway," said Edward. He was then hit with a wrench.

"You better not break them again! I just fixed them for you!," shouted Winry, "Besides, that sparring probably dented the cover." Winry then noticed that the host club members were staring at them in confusion.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked the twins.

"We're talking about Ed's bad habit of breaking his automail," said Winry.

"What's automail?" asked Honey with an innocent curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh yeah, you never did tell me what automail was." said Haruhi. Now it was Winry's turn to be confused at their lack of knowledge.

"Winry, these people are from someplace very far away. They don't know about automail, and before yesterday they didn't know about alchemy either." explained Edward.

"Well if you showed them alchemy why didn't you show them my automail?" asked Winry.

"I didn't think it was important," shrugged Edward.

"But you thought that alchemy was important?!" exclaimed Winry.

"Yes, I did," said Edward.

"Alchemy-otaku." said Winry.

"Mechanic-otaku," said Edward. Both of them stuck out their tongues at one another.

"So what is this automail that you're talking about" asked Kyoya.

"Simply put, they're metal prosthetics," said Edward.

"Edward, show them my automail! I wanna see their reaction!" said Winry in a childish tone. Edward sulkily took off his jacket and glove and pulled up his sleeve. Their reactions ranged from freaked out (Tamaki) to awe (Honey). After a few minutes everyone eventually calmed down and broke off into separate conversations.

The twins then started whispering to each other.

"So Al is sensitive to light, like Nekozawa-senpai." whispered Kaoru.

"I bet a little light wouldn't kill him." whispered Hikaru evilly.

"It would be funny to see a big guy like him cowering in the corner in fear of the light" returned Kaoru.

They stood up and said together, "Miss Pinako, we're done eating, where should we put our dishes?"

"In the sink," said Pinako. They walked toward the kitchen.

As they passed Alphonse they quickly reached out and pulled off his helmet. Shocked silence filled the room as everyone turned to look at Alphonse.

After a short time that felt like it lasted forever Tamaki broke the silence. "He's empty." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yeah," said Edward.

"How?" asked Haruhi.

"We broke the rules of alchemy," said Edward

"You guys have rules?" asked Kaoru

"That's kinda lame," continued Hikaru

"The rules are there for a reason," said Edward, "We aren't allowed to transmute gold, for example, because it would mess up the economy. However, the biggest taboo in the alchemical world is human transmutation, because it's morally wrong and also very dangerous to mess with something like human lives."

"Is that like what that one guy did to Nina?" asked Kyoya.

"Yes, but that's not all it means. It also means that trying to bring somebody back to life is forbidden." said Edward.

"You guys tried to bring somebody back to life?" asked Honey.

"Our mother...We just wanted to see her smile again, we didn't think that something bad would happen from trying to bring her back." said Alphonse.

Edward continued, "The basis of Alchemy is equivalent exchange. In order to get something, something of equal value must be given. When we tried to transmute our mother I lost my leg and Alphonse lost his whole body. By giving my arm I was able to anchor his soul in that armor, but his body is trapped within the Gate of Truth, along with my arm and leg."

"You guys gave so much..." said Kaoru.

"So you must have brought her back, Right?" asked Hikaru.

"That thing," said Edward bitterly, "Wasn't even human."

A cold and mournful silence filled the room. That silence soon became awkward, and everyone wanted to say something and lift the heavy atmosphere, but nobody knew what to say.

Eventually, Winry plucked up the courage and said, "Well...does anybody want dessert?"

All the club members looked at Honey, as that sentence was his cue to start talking about one of his favorite things in the world, cake. After about ten seconds Honey realized what was happening and snapped out of his sad daze.

"Oh...yeah, I like dessert...cake is my favorite. But if it isn't cake, that's okay too...I like anything that's sweet..." he said in an uncharacteristically dispirited way.

Okay! Haruhi would you like to help me get the plates?" asked Winry in a fake cheerful voice.

In this way, the carefree and almost celebratory atmosphere characteristic of the host club slowly returned, and soon the happy chatter continued.

"So Ed, you mentioned that you were going to Dublith, right? asked Winry.

"Yeah, to see our teacher," said Ed through a mouthful of peach cobbler.

Winry perked up and said, "That means you're going through Rush Valley, right?"

"Yeah," said Ed slightly suspiciously, "What about it?"

"ED!" squealed Winry, "Rush Valley is the Mecca of Automail engineers! I've always wanted to go there!"

"So what?" said Ed nonchalantly.

"So what!? You need to take me, that's what!" exclaimed Winry.

"No way," Said Ed.

Winry started pouting, "Please. Pleasepleaseplease. C'mon Ed, please take me with you. Pretty please?"

"If you want to go so badly just go there by yourself!" retorted Ed

"But if I did that, who would pay my travel expenses?" asked Winry matter-of-factly.

Edward started growling, "So you just want to mooch off me."

"Well the way I see it," explained Winry, "You're already taking seven people, so what's one extra ticket matter? And besides, the Military reimburses you on travel expenses and such anyways, right? That means it won't hurt you to take me, so please let me go with you."

"Oh, all right," Ed grumbled, "But only to Rush Valley, you won't come to Dublith or anything."

"Yippee! Thanks Ed!" exclaimed Winry happily, "Oh yeah..Granny, is it okay for me to go?"

"Of course, Winry," said Pinako.

"Okay! Well I'd better go pack!" said Winry cheerfully as she deposited her plate in the sink and went upstairs.

"So Winry Onee-chan is coming with us too?" asked Honey.

Ed sighed, "Apparently."

"Yay! This'll be fun!" exclaimed Honey.

"Yes, I do believe that having a beautiful woman to accompany us will make the journey much more pleasant," added Tamaki. He suddenly realized what he said and added, "But of course no woman is more beautiful than my daughter, right Haruhi-chan?" Haruhi gave Tamaki an unamused glare.

"Boss, that made you sound like a total creep." said the twins in sync.

"I was just showing affection for my daughter!" shouted Tamaki, "There's nothing creepy about it."

"Except for the fact that she's not your daughter," said Hikaru.

The bickering between Tamaki and the twins continued, and the fight was resolved with a glare from Haruhi and a few usa-chan chops from Honey. After everyone was done eating and Winry had finished packing, the group, with the addition of Winry, set off to the train station.

"Hey Ed! Why are you getting tickets for the slow train?" asked Winry.

Edward heaved an exasperated sigh and said, "If we take the express train we'll get to Rush Valley in the middle of the night and then we'll all have to go get off the train and find lodgings until morning. It makes more sense to take the slow train, sleep on the way there, and get there in the morning. My original plan was to take the express train from East City and get there early in the evening, but somebody thought it would be a good idea to stop by Resembool," for the last part Edward sent a glare toward Alphonse.

Winry was about to complain when Haruhi chimed in with, "I think it's a good idea! Honey-senpai and Kyoya-sempai don't like being woken up, so I think it's best for everyone's health if we don't have to get off the train in the middle of the night, when some of us might have fallen asleep."


So reviewers, do you get what I meant when I said I had leftover peach cobbler?

Yay, the plot is progressing! Things start happening a lot once they get to Rush Valley/Dublith...I think. I still don't have the plot concretely set up in my mind...

Also, general service announcement: I'm going to a summer camp soon, and they don't allow electronics at all, so there probably won't be another update for about two weeks (I also have to update my other story so that those readers know that I'm alive, which will take time). Sorry.

Finally, please review so that you can get a sweet treat too!