Off to Central
It had been exactly one week since Mia and Laura came to Resembool. They had a fun time site seeing and looking at the different places. The two girls had also made good friends with Winry, who was gong to put on Mia's arm that day. It was nine in the morning and Mia was due to come by at around ten. At the moment Winry was getting the table ready with her grandmother (Pinako). Back at the hotel that Laura and Mia were staying at the two girls were just getting up. Laura had control of the bathroom brushing her hair and teeth. Mia sat on her bed trying to get her black coat on with one arm and not having it fall off.
"Done in there yet?" Mia called through the door.
"Hold on, unlike you I like to look presentable." Laura said.
"Hey! I look presentable!" Mia said.
"Okay then I like to look more presentable then you, how's that?"
"Better, now hurry up or we won't have any time to eat before we go. And that means we can't go to that diner you like so much."
"I'm done!" Laura said walking out of the bathroom with a smile on her face.
"Okay then ready to go?"
"Of course." Laura said as the two girls walked out of the room and down the hall.
Fifteen minutes later they reached the small dinner in the center of town. The girls got a table outside and began looking at the menu.
"Wha'cha gonna get?" Mia asked putting her menu down.
"I don't know yet, maybe the shrimp…." Laura said nodding.
"You like shrimp don't you?"
"Yes, and you like chicken."
"I do."
A waitress walked up to them with a small notepad in her hands. "Order?"
"Um, yeah I want the chicken with a beer." Mia said handing her the menu.
"I'd like the shrimp with an iced tea please." Laura said. When the waitress walked away Laura turned to Mia. "Beer?"
"What? Getting automail attached is a very painful experience, I could stand to be a little drunk during it."
"What would Maes say?" Laura said shaking her head.
"Probably that I shouldn't have too much to drink but he respects that automail surgery hurts a lot and yatta yatta yatta…" Mia said.
"Mmmm… I don't know…" Laura said. "Not sure that's what he would say."
"You haven't known him as long as I have." Mia said as the waitress came back with there drinks.
A half hour later they were finished eating and paying the check. Now they had about fifteen minutes to get over to Winry's house.
"Okay let's go." Mia said walking out of the diner.
"Ready for this?" Laura asked catching up to her on the street.
"I've done it before I can do it again." Mia said looking back at her.
"Yeah but there're attaching the nerves and stuff, must hurt."
"Like all hell, but I'm not fifteen anymore I'm a big girl."
"I don't know about that…"
"What's that supposed to mean!" Mia said turning around so that she was walking backwards and facing Laura.
"Nothing, nothing just saying is all…"
"Good." Mia said turning back around.
They reached there house in ten minutes and that gave Mia about five minutes to prepare for the surgery. After the five minutes Mia went to the back room of there house.
"Okay I'm ready for this." Mia said laying on the table taking her over shirt off leaving her bra on.
"You sure?" Winry said moving the automail over to the table.
"If I wasn't I wouldn't be here." Mia said.
"You said you first got your automail at fifteen right." Pinako said.
"Yeah, I had to get it refitted every three years or so."
"I see, well get ready here it goes."
They started attaching her automail, Mia tried not to scream but that was nearly impossible as they attached her nerves. She gave out a shriek every now and then but only once did she really scream at the top of her lungs. But after a while of the surgery it was finally over and Mia was on the table with her new automail arm ready to go.
"You okay?" Winry asked her when they were done cleaning up.
"Fine just dandy." Mia said sarcastically as she rubed her shoulder.
"You're fit with some brand new automail, now that is some good work right there." Winry said helping Mia off the table.
"Better then my old one." Mia said flexing her new arm.
"I'll say."
"Well I'd better go meet up with Laura downstairs she's probably worried sick."
Winry smiled and went back to her work in the room cleaning up while Mia went down the stairs and into the kitchen where Laura waited anxiously.
"Who we waitin on?" Mia said as she entered the room with a cocky smile on.
"Mia! You're alright." Laura said getting up to hug her.
"Course I am, what'd ya think I was gonna die? Did it once and I'm not looking to do it again." She said pulling away.
"Well I don't know what could happen, its surgery things can go wrong." Laura said.
"I suppose… But nothing did, now ready to go back to East City?" Mia said still smiling.
They looked up as they saw Winry walk into the room with a screw in her hand looking confused.
"Everything okay?" Mia asked.
"Oh yeah everything's fine nothing wrong here!" Winry said getting nervous.
The two girls shrugged and walked out of the room just as the phone rang they heard Winry talking apparently to Ed. When they walked back in the room with there things ready to go they saw Winry hang up sighing and Pinako shaking her head on the other side of the room.
"What's goin on?" Mia asked.
"Looks like I'm going to Central." Winry said.
"Why." Laura asked.
"Ed was being reckless as usual and broke his automail and now I have to go there and fix it." Winry said.
"Mind if I tag along I have to go to Central in a few days anyway." Mia said.
"Not at all." Winry said. "I could use the company."
"I have to stay away from Roy for longer?" Laura said.
"I never said you had to go." Mia said shrugging.
"But I want to, I just don't wanna leave him for much longer."
"It's called a phone Laura, and besides it'll only be for a few days."
"You're right, let's go back to the hotel and get our things."
"We'll meet you at the station okay?" Mia said as her and Laura left the house.
"Sure see ya then." Winry said waving, then she sighed and looked back down at the screw.
Mia and Laura were back at the hotel packing there things for the long ride to Central.
"You have your uniform with you right Laura?" Mia asked as she closed her suitcase.
"Yeah, I got it."
"Okay then ready to go?" Mia said taking off her glasses and putting them on the night stand to rub her eyes.
"Always am." Laura said as she took Mia's glasses when she wasn't looking.
When Mia opened her eyes she reached down for her glasses but they were not there. "Hey Laura what did you do with my glasses?" Mia said feeling around for them. "I can't see."
"That's for calling me idiot." Laura said under her breath as she slipped the glasses under some paper on a table. "Haven't seen them."
When they reached the station they got there tickets and saw Winry waiting there on the platform.
"Hey Winry." Laura said and Winry turned around.
"Oh hi guys ready to board?"
"Yup." Mia said nodding.
"Alright then lets go."
The three girls walked onto the train and took there seats in the back and prepared themselves for the long train ride.
All three of them fell asleep on the ride and were woken up by the sound of the whistle going off as they entered the station at Central.
"We're there?" Winry asked looking out the window.
"Looks like, so where you headed?" Mia asked.
"Headquarters, that's where Ed is."
"We're going to HQ to, gotta go meet Maes and surprise him." Mia said.
"We can walk together then." Laura said as they stepped off the train.
"It's this way." Mia said as they walked in the direction of HQ.
"How far is it?" Winry asked.
"Not far, probably ten minute walk."
When they reached the central HQ the first thing they saw was a big guy at the gate stopping them from going in.
"What's goin on?" Laura asked.
"Somethin' I'd like to know to." Mia said.
"In order to get in you need a military ID." He said. "I'm sorry but with the recent events."
"What recent events?" Winry asked.
"With Laboratory Five and all."
"Laboratory Five…" Mia mumbled looking down, she remembered from her work at the investigations department that Lab Five had closed down and had not been used for some time. "Here." She said still looking confused she handed the guard her military ID and Laura did the same they said that Winry was with them.
They walked up to the building and when they went in they saw that there were a lot of people looking slightly confused. Mia recognized most of these people as people in the investigations department and under Maes's command.
"Well, I have to go and find Ed." Winry said running off in the direction of the hospital wing.
Mia and Laura walked around to Maes' office and when they tried to open the door they found that it was locked. "Hmmm…." Mia said.
"Now what?" Laura asked looking up at Mia.
"Now we ask someone where Maes is…. Hey!" She called to a Warrant Officer there.
"Captain Loup." He said saluting her.
"Put your arm down Falman." She said. "Do you know where Maes is?"
"Last I saw he was still at Laboratory Five doing research, ma'am."
"Thank you Falman." She said and walked away.
They walked out of HQ, Laura was completely confused and tried to keep up. "So what are we doing?"
"We are going to Lab Five to meet up with Maes and after I surprise him I will interrogate him and yell at him for not keeping me updated."
"Oh…" Laura said thinking over what she just heard as they got in a car and sped off to Lab Five.
In a couple minutes they reached the so called abandoned laboratory and got out. The first thing they saw was Maes giving orders to some of his men and then rubbing his hands over his face in frustration.
Mia crept up behind Maes very slowly and cat like, she had practice with being a cat before since she could change into a big cat with her alchemy skills.
When Maes sighed heavily she went right behind him and leaped on his back and put her hands over his face.
"Holy!" Maes shouted as he almost lost his balance with Mia on his back, this shout caused several of his officers to look at him strangely.
"Guess who?" Mia said.
"Mom?" He said sarcastically.
"Shut up." She said and removed her hands away from his face as he shifted around and he was now giving her a piggy back ride.
"What are you doing here?" He said sighing.
"I came to surprise you and besides Elycia's birthday is coming up, did you forget?"
"Of course not!" Maes shouted. "I would never forget, I would die before I forgot about my Angel's birthday!"
"I know." Mia said as he let go of her legs and she slipped off his back.
"So, what made you come here rather then wait for me?" Maes said right before he got slapped. "Um…" He said as he rubbed his cheek.
"Why didn't you tell me what was going on over here? I have a right to know!" Mia yelled.
"I didn't want to worry you." He said. "You were already under so much stress with the automail."
"But still I have a right to know, here you are ordering all your men around with some big Lab Five secret now tell me what it is and I'll apologize for slapping you!"
Maes sighed. "Alright but right now we do not know much…" Maes went on to explain the whole Lab Five incident to Mia and Laura who listened intensely.
"Weren't kidding when you said you didn't know much." Mia said thoughtfully.
"But still what we heard is bad." Laura said.
"So how can I help?" Mia said.
AN: I'm soooo sorry for the late update but school is being a bitch. And I'm sure all of you know how bad High School can get. So I' decided that I should give you a real long chappie. It also killed me to slap my baby but I had to do it. Now I thank SmokeBringer and yeah I've realized that, Baraa, Day Dreamerz Rule and Kioko-chan. I treasure your reviews. And I'm sorry about Winry maybe being a little OOC. I'm not good at writing her or Pinako. Also I haven't seen the automail eppies in a thousand years so I don't remember anything about getting the automail that well. Well cya I'll try to update sooner.