HEY EVERYONE sorry i'm late in updating got no excuse for it hope you enjoy this chapter of over 4000 WORDS YES 4000 MY LONGEST ONE YET NOW ON WITH STORY :)
DISCLAIMER: SERIOUSLY YOU IT BY NOW IF I DID OWN IT I WOULD BE IN A MANSION
AL: BUT YOUR NOT
ME: I KNOW WHYYYY IS LIFE SO CRUEL *CRIES IN THE CORNER*
AL:HE DOESN'T OWN FMA
chapter 10 (a replacement and doctors appointment)
Edward's POV
'lieutenant colonel Hughes what are you doing here?' 'the folks were a little busy so I thought I would see you guys off' 'great but would you mind telling me what the major is doing here?' Edward asked looking back to major Armstrong who sat beside him who had traded his uniform for a suit 'yeah you would think they trust us by now' Robert moaned looking depressed 'for protection what would happen if scar came after you again? your in no shape for a fight now the major is here to help so just grin and bear it' 'children can be so stubborn' the major commented 'SHUT UP I'M NO CHILD' Edward ranted 'anyway are you sure al made it on board?' 'of course' the major responded 'oh so where is he then?' robert asked 'I put him with the sheep in case he got lonely' said the major 'MY BROTHER ISN'T SOMEKIND OF FARM ANIMAL' Edward ranted again robert sighed putting his right hand to his head a bell went off then to signal the train was leaving 'alright you guys have a safe trip stop by my place next time you reach central' Hughes said saluting them Edward returned the salute with his left hand as he lost the other one robert copied the major the train then rolled out of the station Edward then sat down again robert simply hung his head again with a sigh Edward found himself staring at him 'what is he not telling me?' Edward thought.
(nearing sunset)
the major excused himself to the bathroom and to check on al robert leaned against the window looking out at the rolling country side Edward was still staring at him his eyes hadn't left him since they left east city robert then turned to face him looked him in the eye 'what is my face that ugly?' he questioned 'huh?' 'you have been staring at me since we left east city Edward you must want to know something' 'yeah now that you mention it I do how are you able to use alchemy without a transmutation circle?' robert simply shrugged his shoulders 'really that's all you are giving me a shrug?' Edward asked getting annoyed now 'if I had any answers I would have given them Ed I know you trust me less now but I didn't know I could do it either and speaking of questions why did you try to protect me from scar as well as al?' the flummoxed Edward a little 'why did I?' he thought looking out the window the awkward silence stayed there for a few minutes 'honestly I did it because I-' he trailed off again not able to come up with an answer thinking hard and looking down at the floor 'because it felt the right thing to do' he finished looking Robert in the eye Robert smiled a little 'huh I thought it was because we were friends' Robert commented 'huh? you did? why?' Edward asked confused 'well I thought we were friends since we left risenbool' now that Edward thought about it Robert really wasn't that bad sure he may be covering up some things and annoyed him sometimes but Edward couldn't blame him for that 'well seeing as you didn't see me as one before how about we start now?' robert asked holding out his hand grinning a little 'friends?' Edward thought about it 'ok friends it is' Edward said grabbing his hand and shook it 'good' Robert said he then yawned 'man I think I need a nap wake me up when we get there' Robert said putting his hood up Edward thought it might be a good idea for a nap too and leaned against the window and nodded off.
OC POV
we arrived at a little town the next morning the train was getting water I was up already and bored as i could get watching the odd person go by the major was reading his book Edward yawned and woke up all of a sudden Armstrong stood up leaning out the window nearly crushing Edward 'DOCTOR MARCO THAT IS YOU ISN'T IT? IT'S ME ALEX LOUIS ARMSTRONG FROM CENTRAL' I saw marco run off 'friend of yours?' Edward asked 'he's from central a talented state alchemist he was researching into possible medical applications of alchemy but after the isvallen civil war he just disappeared' Edward then got a serious look on his face 'c'mon major' Edward said running to get off 'hey wait for me' I groaned getting up and running after them this doctor might know some useful things about bio-alchemy Edward explained as we walked into town the major carrying al we approached one of the townsfolk the major had produced quite an accurate drawing of marco 'excuse me sir do you know this man by chance?' 'wow you can draw really well' Edward said sweat dropping a little 'the portraiture has been past down the Armstrong family for generations' Alex replied getting the stars around his head again 'that man looks like doctor morro to me' the man replied 'morro?' Alex asked 'all of our doctors were drafted to help on the battle fields during the isvallen civil war then doctor morro came here he's really been a life saver around here' we went and asked others around town and got the same story after getting the address we headed there it was on the top floor of a flat roofed house 'this is it' Edward commented knocking on the front door after no answer Edward pulled on the door 'uhh hello?' only to meet the barrel of a gun causing edward to back off as marco fired a shot which zoomed past him and missing me by a hairs breath causing me to yelp 'ALRIGHT WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING HERE? HAVE YOU COME TO TAKE ME BACK? I DONT WANT TO BACK THERE' macro ranted the gun shaking in his hand 'please doctor calm down' Alex said holding a hand out 'no anything but that' marco continued 'no that's not it at all please listen' Alex reasoned 'so your here to silence me then' marco said still not lowering the gun 'n-no nothing like that' Alex spluttered 'i won't be tricked by you' Alex then got ticked off and threw al into marco 'I WILL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME TO PLEASE CALM DOWN' 'ALPHONSE' Edward called 'a tad excessive for asking' I thought sweat dropping after we all got settled down and al sitting upright again marco explained about his efforts in researching the philosophers stone 'you mean you still have it, it's here?' Edward asked getting excited marco then produced a vial from his pocket and unscrewing the cap 'how can that be the stone it's a liquid' Edward commented I simply stared at it 'to think something so small can do so much' I thought then marco poured the stone out where it settled into a blob marco then explained about the stone taking on different forms then Edward told them about the priest they met in liore who used that same stone against them 'if an incomplete product was that powerful who's to say that complete product can be made' Edward said slapping his hand down on the table 'please doctor marco I need access to your research materials' Edward demanded a slight smile on his face 'ah if only that could be' I thought major who exactly is this boy?' marco asked looking at Alex 'this boy is a state alchemist, doctor' 'what? he's only a child' marco said shocked he then pinched the top of his nose closing his eyes 'after the war many alchemists handed in their state certifications because they refused to be used as human weapons anymore and now a child...' 'you don't think I know what I signed up for? I know what I'm doing but I don't have any choice if it's a mistake then it is a mistake i have to make there is no other way' ed responded clutching at where his other arm used to be staring down marco with those fierce eyes 'I see so you committed the taboo' marco commented looking at al 'amazing the ability to transmute a human soul like this maybe some one as talented as you might produce a complete stone..' 'so?' 'but I can't let you see my research' 'why not?' Edward asked standing again 'you must not seek after the stone' 'not even if it will get our bodies back?' 'never this is the devils research if you chase the stone you will go through hell' 'I'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH HELL' Edward yelled 'please, please just leave' marco said turning away from us.
We all left marco's place and headed back to the train station as we waited on the train... 'Edward are you sure about this? even an incomplete stone would have been useful you could have taken it from the doctor by force' Alex asked 'yeah I wanted it so badly I could taste it still...' he then looked at al 'but still we don't want the stone so badly we would deprive this town of it's only doctor to get it' al said 'we gained plenty just by learning the stone can be made now we just need to find another way to do it' Edward said looking back at the major the train then steamed in Alex picked up al and Edwards case 'what about you major how do you feel on not reporting his location to central?' 'I saw a common doctor today I don't see any real reason to report that' Alex replied causing Edward to grin and I felt a smile pull at my face too at that moment doctor marco showed up panting 'doctor marco?' Ed asked 'this is where my materials are' marco said handing Edward a piece of paper 'if your certain you won't regret finding out the truth start here, look closely maybe you will find the truth hidden within the truth but I've said to much already' marco said walking away 'I hope the day comes when you will restore your bodies' marco called back waving good bye the major saluted and Edward bowed his head in respect after we all got back on and train started rolling Edward opened the note 'what does it say brother?' al asked 'national central library 1st branch' Ed read out 'hmmm I get it like hiding a tree in a forest finding one book in that place will be difficult' Alex said 'finally another clue about the stone' Edward half said to himself 'if only he knew how bad things were going to get' I thought 'which reminds me I need to get back to my plan of getting strong enough to become a state alchemist I'm going to need the money at least weather I like it or not can't keep on living off good graces of the Rockbells, Elrics and Hughes families'.
we arrived in risenbool about two hours after that and went up the road to the rockbells house 'yo granny' Edward called out 'were home' al called I followed behind feeling a little scared remembering how bad my left arm was 'I think my life span just shrunk up to the next minute or so' I said 'oh dear what have you done now?' pinacko asked with dex beside her barking excitedly 'heh alot has happened can you fix us up?' after Edward greeted Alex and pinacko to each other pinacko stepped back 'well Ed i haven't seen you for a while but it seems like you gotten shorter since last time you visted' I quickly suppressed a laugh while Edward started ranting at her about how big she was meant to say he had gotten taller 'but why would i say something completely untrue' pinacko responded I heard a vein pop 'I'M STILL TALLER THAN YOU, YOU MINI HAG' then a wrench flew out of nowhere and clocked Edward in the head 'EDWARD I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO CALL WHEN YOU WERE COMING BACK FOR MAITANCE' Winry called 'WINRY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME' Edward yelled back 'she is killing me with her humour' I commented between fits of laughter 'YOUR NOT HELPING ROBERT' Edward yelled at me Winry then laughed 'welcome back' 'yeah' Ed grumbled.
'OOOHHHHHH NOOOOO' Winry screeched grabbing two handfuls of what used to be Edwards arm causing me to wince 'yeah I'm sorry it's a little smashed up' 'a little smashed up? a little Edward do you know what you have done to my beautiful creation that I slaved over for you?' Winry asked shaking with rage 'oh dear' I said 'it's basicly the same just in smaller pieces' Edward said smiling with a cup of tea in his hand Winry promptly punched the little prodigy into the ground 'don't tell me your a little smashed up to huh? what kind of trouble have you two been up to anyway?' Winry asked al who blushed and pretended to smile that got him a kick to the helmet causing him to fall over then she turned her attention to me which got me sweating bullets 'so how about you?' she asked cracking her knuckles 'ummmmm' that got me thrown across the room to land with the other two in a heap 'you idiots all you ever do is worry me' Winry said sighing 'seriously why is she lumping me with al and stunted braniac over here' I thought picking myself up Edward then explained the situation to pinacko who took a look at Edwards leg too 'not just the arm your leg needs adjusting too' 'guess your growth isn't completely stunted after all' Winry said slyly 'TCH YEH SHUT UP' 'the shape the legs in were going to have build it from scratch' 'is there any chance you can have done in a week?' Edward asked 'give us some credit Ed' pinacko said taking a draw on her pipe 'three days but you are going to have to make do with this spare for now' she said attaching the leg to Edwards socket 'that's 3 all nighters' Winry commented 'um what about me?' I asked 'oh that's ok I got a spare pair of arms made up for you Robert we can fit them when we get Edwards order finished' 'wow you anticipated me damaging this?' I asked looking at my arm 'yeah well those were going to fall apart soon anyway they were built off of spare parts I had to scrounge from Edwards used arms now I got a pair especially made up to your size' Winry said smiling at me 'but you had better believe it Edward and Robert your going to owe me loads in rush order fees' she said turning to Edward 'damn she doesn't let a bargain go easy I would bet' I thought sweat dropping.
(sunset that day)
'OH EDWARD ELRIC' Alex yelled grabbing Edward in a back breaking hug al and me just stared and Winry gave a nervous laugh 'WHAT UNYELIDING LOVE TO TRY AND BRING YOUR MOTHER BACK TO LIFE WHAT A TRIMENDOUS SACRIFICE TO GIVE UP YOUR ARM AND LEG TO TRANMUTE YOUR BROTHERS SOUL WHAT DERTERMINATION TO BURN DOWN YOUR OLD HOUSE SO THERE WAS NO RETURN COME EDWARD ALLOW ME TO OFFER YOU THIS COMFORTING EMBRACE' the major continued throwing off his shirt 'GAH STAY BACK DONT RUB YOUR CHEST ON ME' Edward yelled trying to get away 'man if that ever happens to me I think I would preform suicide' I muttered we then sat down for supper afterwards I went to the workshop bringing a bowl of stew for Winry I knocked on the door 'come in' I heard I went in Winry was working on a foot joint 'here some food' I said setting it down on a side table 'thanks she said taking a break I took a seat near the door Winry took the stew and dug in 'need any help around here?' I asked 'with automail? not unless you are an engineer' she said smiling 'I may not have full understanding of it but I did a fair bit of tinkering back in the classroom' I said leaning back and giving a smirk 'huh an alchemist and a quick eye to automail you might be taking mine and Edwards jobs at this rate' she said smiling as she finished off the bowl 'heh I will take that as a compliment, bread?' I offered the plate she took a slice munching on it 'well I should get back to work' she said moving back to the workbench as she started working I sat there watching her after a few minutes she stopped again 'what? something wrong?' she asked 'no just thought you might need some company while you work think I will just sit here you need me at all give me a call' I said pulling out a book on 'bio-alchemly for beginners' and started reading winry just stood there for a moment 'sorry was i wrong if so I can leave?' I asked getting up 'no it's fine I wouldn't mind' she replied blushing a little 'good' I then sat back down and got to reading Winry continued with her work amazingly time passed quick I felt the first rays creeping in for the morning I then heard Edward wander in 'look at you working hard this early in the morning' he commented 'been up all night' Edward sweat dropped then came to me 'hey can I have a word' he whispered 'sure' I replied getting up 'need anything Winry?' I asked 'no thanks' she replied still focused on the parts I walked out with Edward we got outside 'what's up?' I asked 'did you stay up all night too?' 'sure had nothing better to do why?' 'well why did you do it? you know I might need some help finding that book' 'yeah I know Edward and I will it was just nice to see her again' I said feeling a little hot under the collar 'huh is that so?' Edward asked giving me a serious stare 'what?' I asked 'nothing' he said then walked back inside I followed and took my seat again back in the workshop.
day two rolled by without too much trouble apart from Edward nosing in now and again I brought Winry food and drink when she needed it on day three Edward started getting too close to Winry for her liking I could see tensing 'robert can you deal with it?' she asked while still working 'sure' I said setting down my fifth book and picked Edward up by his shirt and dropped him out the door 'GET OUT' I yelled after him slamming the door I heard grumbles then a stomping as he stormed off 'impatient dwarf' I mumbled sitting back down 'I agree' Winry said I quickly turned red 'oh sorry I didn't mean-' 'I know you didn't but he can get on my nerves sometimes the alchemical freak' she said giving a half glance and a smile, on the same afternoon Winry was done and ran out holding the arm 'phew man I'm beat' I said getting up putting my books away in my knapsack and throwing them back into the brothers room and went to freshen up a couple of hours later Winry and pinacko were fitting Edwards arm and leg on 'ready?'' pinacko asked 'um yeah' Edward responded bracing himself 'on one' 'on two' Winry said 'three' they both said at once and Edward squirmed a bit as the nerves connected 'that's the worst part when they connect' Edward complained 'once we get the stone I can kiss that pain goodbye' 'our greatest source of income I will be sorry to see you go' pinacko said twisting the wrench' Edward gave another yelp of pain 'ugh stay still do you want me to do this right or not?' Winry asked twisting another screw into place again another twinge of pain from Edward then Winry went on a rant about automail 'crazy gearhead' Edward complained 'you would be lost without me alchemy freak' after they were done Edward stretched out his limbs while Winry explained about his new limbs and the differences between the old and new ones which he ignored and went out to fix al leaving Winry fuming I gave a laugh 'what's funny?' she asked 'oh nothing I just forget sometimes that he is still around my age is all he acts so grown up sometimes it's scary' 'yeah that he does' she said sighing I probably stared a bit more than usual 'she really was cute when she stood a certain way' I thought 'HEYHEYHEY CAREFUL THERE YOUR NOSE IS BLEEDING' my head warned I quickly took out a hankie cleaning up my mishap
'right your next' she said I sat on the couch laying my stubs down on the rests looking at them again reminded me of old pains I really thought I had left behind they connected me up I only reacted a little the pain wasn't to bad really I had been through worse afterwards I rotated my arms around they felt a good deal lighter than before and felt tougher too 'I gave the same sort of set-up that Edward has on his automail it won't rust as easily but it won't as strong so you can't take too many risks with it' Winry lectured 'yep I got it all the first time when you talked to Edward' I said waving it off I had listened to her of course just I knew they might not be there for long if Edwards track record was any judge on how many times he would bust his automail after that Edward came in announcing we would be leaving in the morning
(middle of the night)
I sat on the porch looking up at the sky it was a clear night I heard the front door squeak I looked round and saw it was Winry she was in her PJ'S and had a blanket around her 'hey' she whispered I raised a hand in silent greeting and looked back at the stars she sat beside me 'shouldn't you be asleep?' I asked quietly 'shouldn't you?' she asked back I shrugged 'robert can I ask you something?' 'depends what it is?' I looked at her now she was looking down blushing a little and playing with a corner of the blanket 'well I was wondering do you have anyone you like back where you come from?' she asked blushing more I sat there for a moment 'someone that I like?' I questioned 'you know like a girlfriend?' 'oh' it was my turn to blush 'well... not where I came from no-' she sighed 'I see' 'but' she looked up at me 'I never had anyone interested in me that way so it never happened even before my family died and I never tried to find a girl like that' 'why?' 'well' I then sighed 'it's hard to explain' I finished she then leaned in close 'if you want to I can try to be that girl' her breath felt warm on my neck I turned red 'WHAT IN THE NAME OF HOLY FUDGE STICKS? IS THIS HAPPENING?' I thought 'well there's an unexpected development for you' my brain said I sat there not wanting to look at her but at the same time I wanted to pull her into a hug and never let go I turned slowly to look at her she leaned back as I did 'you really want that? what about Edward?' I questioned 'him? well I don't know-' she looked back at the ground she looked confused now 'look Winry' she looked at me again 'I am flattered really I am but don't feel forced into this if you want this then I am fine with you being with me but if you want to be with Edward then go to him do what your heart tells you to it won't steer you wrong' I said smiling now Winry sat there for a moment then she nodded then she gave me a hug 'thanks robert' she whispered then she kissed me on the cheek and went back inside I put a metal hand to my face 'well that was interesting oh by the way your nose is bleeding again' my mind told me after quickly wiping up my mishap I went back to staring at the sky 'could it really be possible?' I asked the sky I didn't get an answer I fell asleep on the step
(next morning)
all of us left for the train station Winry gave a final goodbye she still looked tired we got on the train and sat down and I sat at the window looking out letting my mind drift over last night 'robert? you ok?' al asked beside me I snapped out of my daydream 'yeah al I have never felt better' I replied smiling.
HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT ANY COMMENTS OR REVIEWS PLEASE POST THEM AND A BIG SHOUT OUT AND THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED AND FAVORITED MY STORY SO FAR UNTIL NEXT TIME ROBERT23991 SIGNING OUT :)