"Don't!" A hand grabbed Edward's metal arm.
Edward screamed again and turned around, trying to strike at her person behind her…
Only to have her Automail connect with an armored torso that could only belong to one person in this whole country. Another hand, clad in leather, covered the offended area, "It will take more than that to kill me."
For a moment, everything was silent. Edward stared, still horror struck at what she could have done to him if her brother was in a flesh and blood body. Alphonse waited for someone to say or do something. Winry and I stood there, watching the aftermath play out before us.
Then some soldiers arrived; one pointed a gun at Barry, who was still on the floor while another undid Winry's chains for her.
"Al…" Edward whispered, a tear falling.
Alphonse's voice sounded so concerned, "Brother, does it hurt?"
"I thought I was going to get killed. I really thought that I was going to die…" She turned her head to the floor and I felt tears gathering in my eyes when I noticed all the blood on her flesh arm, "I was scared… Terribly… Terribly scared."
Alphonse placed a hand on Edward's shoulder while she whimpered and I stood there, feeling weak in my knees but not sure if I should go hug them or keep my distance.
I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder and then my hat on my head. I turned my head to the soldier. It was a woman with soft looking brown hair in gentle curls around her face and shoulders, kind and understanding right blue and left green eyes, peachy skin and a kind smile on her face.
"Hey there, kid, no need to keep that scowl on your face," She knelled in front of me and offered me her hand, "Warrant Officer Nannally Cromwell's the name. And giving people a shoulder to lean on is my game."
Suddenly, my legs decided they couldn't take anymore and I feel to my knees, my hat falling off my head as I curled up into a ball and whimpered into my arms, trying to get myself to calm down before the flood gates opened. I felt Cromwell rub my back, but I didn't look up at her.
If you were hearing this from another soldier at the time, it would have sounded something along the lines of "Major Hughes realized that food trucks from Barry's Meat Shop went passed the inspections all the time and managed to get there in time to save 3 hostages, one of them being the youngest State Alchemist in history, Edward Elric."
If you read the paper, it would have said something like, "Breaking news! Barry the Chopper, a woman targeting serial killer, has been arrested by the State Alchemist Edward Elric."
But for the 3 girls who had been in there and seen that hell, it would be remembered in a terrifyingly different way.
When we got out, I realized the sun was setting as each of us (Win, me, Ed) were given blankets to keep us warm. Cromwell didn't leave my side the entire time; probably because she couldn't with me holding onto her uniform so tightly.
On a set of stairs, Edward and Alphonse sat there, Edward's eyes painfully numb and Alphonse' poster positively caring.
"Brother…" He turned to the direction of the sunset, "The Philosopher's Stone might really exist. But, in order to search for it, you have to be certified as a State Alchemist." He placed a hand over where his heart would have been, "Since I don't have a body, I couldn't really feel the terror you felt thinking you were going to be killed, Brother. I'm sure it must have been lonely… and painful…" His hand became a fist, "Sure, I want my old body back… to be human again. Once we find the Philosopher's Stone, even if it means having to go against the flow of the rest of the world, as though nothing will ever come of it…"
"Having nearly been killed, I realized something…" Edward began.
My ears twitched under the hat, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear this or not.
"All I could do was scream. My mind went completely blank." The grip she had on her blanket went slack as she stared at both her flesh and Automail hands, "I couldn't even bring myself to think there would be anyone to save me. For all that we are able to do, we'll have our hands full just trying to get our own bodies back. To that end, whether it means being a dog of the military or cursed as the devil I don't care…" I wasn't the only one listening, so was Winry, Mustang and a blonde woman who had given Winry a blanket, "But then again, we really aren't devils… and much less Gods…" She started to shake as her voice broke and finally, the flood gates opened as she buried her face in her hands, "WE'RE ONLY HUMAN! Tiny, insignificant humans, who couldn't even save Celina from her fate..."
Winry started crying and with all this heavy sadness around me and the stress of the horrible day, I was still trying not to cry. Cromwell knelt down in front of me, smiled softly and opened her arms, as if offering me a hug.
"It's okay to cry, Celina." She smiled at me, softly, "After all, we're all only human."
With that, the last of my resolve crumpled away and I lunged into her chest, crying and screaming my heart out. I couldn't stop the tears or the cries or the pain; I think I may have gone into hyperventilation if Cromwell hadn't been there, rubbing my back to calm me down.
Cromwell escorted me and the others to a place to stay since we weren't even going back to the Tucker Mansion. Winry and I wound up in a dorm with Ed and Al that we shared for the night.
In the morning, Edward reported in with Mustang, I learned the woman who had given Winry that blanket was Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and thanked Cromwell for her assistance yesterday. She told me she was under Major Hughes' command, so I could stop by with her anytime I ever needed a friend and I agreed to that.
After Edward came back, while Winry fixed up her arm, she told us her new State nickname: "Fullmetal". Alphonse said it suited her and I completely agreed, but Winry had no comment to make on it since she was concentrating so hard. Winry insisted we all go out shopping after fixing up Ed's arm and though I personally dreaded the thought, I was willing to give it a try.
If it would make her happy at least.