Chapter nine

Ed slowly went back to Al, carrying the limp form of Winry over his broad shoulders. He gently shook his brother, who at first didn't respond but then he opened his eyes. He smiled happily when he saw Winry, and the two of them limped outside each of them taking turns holding Winry.

As Ed switched shoulder with Winry he realized that their was no way they would make it too the hospital on foot. As if Al had been thinking the same thing, he croaked.

"Brother, we have to find a payphone...somewhere" Al whispered hoarsely as he collapsed on the ground. Getting weaker and weaker by the minute. Ed's wounded leg wobbled under Winry's weight, so he had to admit to himself that even he couldn't walk that far; and he sat down. Al dozed off under the tree, and Ed just sat there, Winry's head in his lap.

Ed clenched his fist. They couldn't just lay here! He laid Winry on the grass beside Al. As Ed walked on, he saw a small phone, and he ran over to it his leg screaming with pain each time he did so. Ed picked it up, and a woman answered from the military line.

"Put Roy Mustang through now!" Ed basically yelled into the phone.

"Hold on one minute please" she said, and then there was a long pause, in which Ed thought he would faint.

"Hello" the emotionless voice of Roy Mustang said.

"Mustang I need an ambulance here now" Ed said frantically looking back at Winry, and Al.

"And where is 'here' Ed" Mustang asked still emotionless.

"Umm…."Ed mumbled looking around the darkening street, at the end of the road there was a sign. (Ed had found a road behind the storage house, and that's where there at…though there a few miles from the building).

"Cheatam Road" Ed answered.

"Why in the hell are you all the way out there!?" Roy said loudly.

"I'll talk about it later Mustang, just get help, and get it fast!" Ed said.

"Edward calm down, and tell me who's hurt" Roy said his voice no longer emotionless but, concerned.

"Al is…hurt, and Winry is too…Ed said.

What about you?" Roy asked.

"I'm fine Roy! Just get an ambulance; please Al doesn't have much time! and neither does Winry" Ed yelled frantic, and trying to hide the scared tears that ran down his face.

"Why would Winry...never mind. We'll be there soon" and there was a click. Ed hung up the phone, and slumped back over to Al, and Winry.

Ed didn't know what the chimera DNA was doing to her body, but it was obviously doing something. And he had no idea what having the stone ripped from Al was doing, but it also had an affect.

Ed sat for three hours constantly checking for breathing from both, and watching for any signs of pain or any movement. Finally though the blood loss from his injury took him, and he leaned against the tree, and just as the sun went down and it became dark and the sound of a car coming his way sounded; he floated into darkness.

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Ed sat up in the hospital bed, Al beside him on his own bed at the other side of the room. Al was asleep, and Ed couldn't sleep from the pain in his leg. Winry wasn't in the room with them; she was in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).

The doctors said that they wouldn't have to amputate his leg, they could sew the leg wound up, which is what they did, and now he was just recovering from the pain the needle had provided. It took three men to hold the blonde down while he yelled, and squirmed. The needle poking him multiple times whenever he did so, there were even puncture wounds around the sewed up wound.

His arm was still wooden, Winry could fix it when she woke up…but, what if she never woke up? NO! Stop thinking like that….she'll be fine. Those thoughts had been running through his head non stop.

Flashback-

"Alphonse has three broken ribs and some internal bleeding from...bruising, or almost like some one kicked him. All that can be fixed, but the boy keeps getting weaker, and weaker without any explanation. It's like his body is shutting down slowly; we'll get to the bottom of that" the doctor said holding a clip board, and looking into Al's eyes with a small flashlight.

"What about Winry" Ed asked from his own bed, as a nurse inspected his leg.

"The….blonde girl. Well her body is…in perfect condition nothing is really wrong with her except she has deep gashes at her wrist, and ankles; and cuts all over her face. Now she also has these two strange cuts on her back, but they don't look like they were their very long, or for a very short time. They look like a snake bite, and the snake dragged hi fangs a little, without all the blood" The doctor explained in a way Ed could understand.

And her behavior…is strange she keeps making ...bird noises" he said.

"And your injuries are….

End flashback.

Bird noises? Oh he wanted to see her, but they wouldn't let him walk on his leg, and being the stubborn brat Ed was he didn't want to be wheeled around in a wheelchair like some old lady would have.

Roy had been here, and Riza; and Pinako all of them left shortly though. How could they help Al, and Winry? Winry was turning into a freaky bird creature, and Al was getting weaker…dying basically, cause he would get so weak that soon he'd die. It made him so mad. What was he going to do? Sit here while his only family died?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the door opened, and closed and Roy Mustang came in.

"Hey shorty" he said but, it didn't have the usual amusing tone in it.

"Shut up…" was Ed's retort. Roy smirked, realizing Ed didn't have his usual hype. Roy sat down in the chair beside Ed's bed.

"I...saw Winry" Roy said almost as if it was a secret.

"H-how is she" Ed asked now turning his head in Roy's direction.

"Well Ed...I'm not going to lie to you something is deffinatly wrong with her, and I think that only you know why, and only you can fix it…so that's why your going to go see her in a minute" Roy said. Ed smirked.

"Great" he mumbled, and watched as Roy walked out of the room. Then there was some movement on Al's bed, and he sat up rubbed his eyes and looking around. Once he realized where he was, it all came back and smacked him in the face about why he even here in the first place. He plopped back down on his pillow.

"Damn" he whispered.

"That's what I said" Ed replied looking at the folds in the covers as he moved his legs and feet.

"Well what'd I do to myself this time" Al asked sitting up again but, ever so slowly.

"Three broken ribs, and internal bleeding, but very little. They said that can be fixed, and doesn't have to be worried about, their worried about how weak your getting" Ed said.

"When he took the stone out, he must have taken my life energy that the stone took. But why would I still be getting weaker when it's out of me" Al asked speaking as lowly as possible from across the room.

"That's what I want to know. It's not close to you anymore…"but Ed didn't finish his sentence cause a long 'oh' came from Al and he smirked and slapped his head.

"My stupidity could cost me my life" Al said, he took his coat off (they had taken him immediately to the ICU, and back then whether or not your had on the hospital clothes didn't matter). He reached in the pocket, and pulled out a little red stone.

"Why did you put it in your pocket in the first place" Ed asked staring at the red gem.

"Well…I didn't really know what else to do with it" Al answered. Ed's eyes widened, about the same time Al's did.

"C-couldn't we use the stone to put Winry back to normal?" Al asked.

"I don't know…it's a possibility. I mean the stone is powerful, but…it would be risky" Ed said.

"But it can be done though?" Al said rolling the stone around in his hands.

"Yeah, but it'd be dangerous. You do know it's…human transmutation" Ed said his eyes falling to the floor.

"Yeah I know, but this is Winry we're talking about" Al said smiling.

"Okay but, we'll need to get her out of here, and far away. Then we'll bring her back here after we're done, but we'll need help" Ed said.

And just as he did said this, Roy Mustang came in followed by Riza Hawkeye.

A/N-Once again ending could have been better, but No flames, and please review!!

Chapter ten coming soon.