Author's Note: Phooey, I'm still all depressed from writing the last chapter... T.T

JuniperScaymoore: My school animal is actually a Mawrtian, isn't that cool? XD I think he'd appreciate some pie too!

Your favourite plushie: 'sniff' I had to watch this episode too many times in writing the last chapter... and Hughes was my favorite character with all his insaneness!

TheCrazyScotswomanOfDOOM: Ah well... in the subtitled version I watch, they call her Glacier... though I do have to admit Gracia does make more sense, but I'm used to that now... I'll be sure to check out your story!

kyyrin allorma part faerie: ... how in the world can you sign your reviews 'The Sleepy Faerie' when you're anything but?

EdwardElricsFan4Ever: My mom asked me why I was crying when I wrote that part. I had to make up some quick excuse for my contacts sliding or some crap like that...

L is 4 LOVE: I'll see what I can do.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Rush Valley

Lieutenant Ross saluted to Mustang and Hawkeye. "Sorry to disturb you two."

"Not at all."

Ross handed Mustang a slip of paper. "This is from Mr. Edward Elric."

Mustang slit open the envelope and glanced at it. "An invoice?"

"He wants to have the Eastern Headquarters pay all his bills. Hospitalization, medication, food, as well as various other expenses."

Hawkeye took the paper from Mustang and ran her eyes down it. "Snack expenses… comic book expenses… and a large number of receipts from a toy store."

Mustang leaned over her shoulder. "Explosives… and the hospital forced an additional charge because of the trouble caused by one Hanabi Saya…" He made a face. "Why did I let that girl switch automail mechanics?" he muttered to himself before he looked at Ross again. "So where are they?"

Ross looked sad. "They have set out on a journey to accomplish their goal. I believe they will contact us when the time comes, so we have to be patient for now."

"I'm asking where they went," Mustang said harshly.

"Colonel." Hawkeye pointed to a map on the wall, where a city in the south was circled in red.

Mustang started to walk towards the wall when the door slammed open. A woman with her hair done up in braids and a huge man accompanying her stormed into the room. "Are the Elric Brothers here?" the woman yelled.

Everyone was instantly on guard. Hawkeye reached for her gun, Mustang stuffed a hand in his pocket where he kept his ignition glove. Ross got up the nerve to answer. "No."

The woman did not look happy. "Where did they go?"

Ross quailed under the woman's fierce glare. "Uh, um…"

The man took the map of Amstriss off the wall. "Here," he said, pointing to the city marked in red.

The woman made a thumps up. "Way to go, honey! Let's go."

They left, leaving behind three stunned officers.

A big red sign over the entrance to the main street boldly proclaimed "RUSH VALLEY".

Winry squealed, stars in her eyes. "We've finally arrived at Rush Valley!"

It was a sweltering hot day, so Ed and Saya had taken off their jackets, their now-exposed automail gleaming in the sun.

Saya made a face at Ed. "I don't understand why you have to wear a tank, a jacket, and that red cloak thingy of yours. Don't you ever get hot? You were wearing all of that while we were walking in the desert on the way to Lior, come to think of it. No wonder you got dehydrated."

Ed glared at Saya. "It's because you and Al wouldn't stop running away. And what about you? You wear a jacket everywhere too."

Saya wagged a finger at him. "Unlike this city, most people aren't used to seeing automail and would spazz if they did. It's for their sake."

Ed shrugged. "Well there you go."

Saya blinked, then saw his point.

Upon hearing a squeal that Winry was deaf too, Ed, Al, and Saya glanced at a lady in a red dress with stars in her eyes, practically drooling over the jewelry store window. "Ah! This ring is a new model from Remis Studios! I didn't think I would see it in this city!" She turned to her lanky boyfriend, dressed smartly in a white suit and a cowlick in his hair. "Please buy it for me, please?!"

"Sure thing honey!"

Winry squealed. "AH!! This automail is Gotz's Eleventh year model! I can't believe the day I can see it with my own eyes has come! It's so cool! I want it I want it I want it I want it! EEE!!"

Saya sweatdropped. "Too much squealing…" she grumbled irritably as Ed and Al traded uncomfortable glances.

Farther down the street and hidden in the back of an alleyway, a small automail shop marked its territory. This shop belonged to an old man with a muscular body, toned by years of working with the metals.

A girl with dark skin leaned on the counter, with a plainly visible automail arm. "That's so cool!" she said to his latest creation. "Put it on me!"

"No."

The girl made a face. "Why?"

"A culverin is a man's dream. A girl like you doesn't need it."

The girl scowled and was about to argue more when a swanky young man entered the shop with an automail arm. He was well dressed, and certainly not hungering for money. "What's this place?" he drawled. "It sure looks crappy."

Both the girl and the man tensed.

The young man didn't notice. "Hey, pops! Give me the strongest thing you have here. I got all this money for free anyways, might as well spend it all at once!"

The old man glanced at the youth, then turned back to his work. The young man scowled. "Hey, don't ignore your customer, man!" Then his eye was caught by the man's current project. "Oh, what's that? It looks good, give me that!"

"No."

The young man blinked. "What?! Why?"

"I only give my automail to those who need it."

"What'd you say?! I'm a customer!"

The old man fixed the youth with a fierce glare. "You don't need this."

The youth was taken aback for a second before he blinked and shrugged. "Heh… I don't want your stinking automail anyways, you good-for-nothing old mechanic." He left, slamming the door behind him.

Silence in the store. The girl just looked at the old mechanic for a moment before going outside.

"Come one, come all! This is Rush Valley's special show, the automail arm wrestling contest!" a voice boomed over the street. "There is only a minor participation fee of 10,000 cens, and if you beat the champion, you win the stakes!" The announcer pointed dramatically to a big pile of gold and cash. "Take it all home!"

The champion was a huge man with impossibly big left and right automail arms.

Ed, Al, Winry, and Saya all pushed their way to the front of the crowd just in time to see a man come up. "I'll try," he grinned.

"Hey there, you seem really interested!" said the announcer. "Just pay up, then step to the table!"

The man paid, then both men locked their right automail arms. The announcer put his hand on both of theirs. "Ready… fight!"

The crowd roared as both men went at it, then the challenger lost.

Saya blinked. "Ed, Al, did you see that?"

Ed made a face. "I'm not sure…"

Boom, boom, boom, down went challengers one by one by one by one, giving the three alchemists plenty of opportunities to see that something wasn't right with this. Table after table fell splintered to pieces.

The girl from the shop was the next challenger. She looked her opponent directly in the eyes. The champion gave a taunting smile. "Hey, hey miss, you sure you can win with that old automail?"

"Hey now, you can't win!" It was the youth from the shop earlier. "It's that shitty geezer's automail after all."

The crowd laughed. The girl scowled. She was holding the man's big claw of one… or more accurately, his thumb: his hand was that big.

"Ready… fight!"

They went at it. The crowd was silent for a moment, then started to roar as the girl actually held her own against the champion… then started to win…

Suddenly, the table broke and the champion slammed the girl's hand down onto the ground. "Too bad little girl," he cackled. "Would you like me to introduce you to a good mechanic?"

The girl clenched her teeth and ran away into the crowd.

"Now, any other challengers?" the announcer asked. He spotted Al. "You sir! You look pretty strong, how about a match!"

"Me?" Al waved his hands in the air. "I'll pass."

"Is that so… then how about th-"

"Don't say it!" Saya yelled, but it was too late.

"… the shorty there!" Then he seemed to 'reconsider'. "Actually, it'd be bad to make this bean by challenge the champion."

Saya groaned. "Dammit…"

Ed charged the announcer. "DON'T CALL ME A BEAN!!"

Saya and Al grabbed and arm each to hold him from killing the announcer. "Ed!"

The announcer raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're pretty energetic for a bean! Although your automail looks really junky!"

Stress marks bulged on Winry's head, and her eyes were dark with venomous malice. "Al, Saya, let Ed go."

Al and Saya took one look at Winry and instantly obeyed. "Yes ma'am," they chorused.

Ed stomped up to the table and growled at the champion. It was a death glare/ death growl combo.

"Ed! You'd better not loose or I'll kick your ass from this end of town to the other!" Winry shouted.

"Wow… I really hope he doesn't loose," Saya muttered, though no one heard.

A new table was brought out. "Ready… fight!"

Almost immediately, the champion's arm tore off in a spray of electricity. "Sorry," Ed said with an evil grin and stress marks, "but it looks like the recycling center will have a busy day today."

The crowd was stunned, then they roared with appreciation. Winry stared, then suddenly a smile lit up her face like the sun. "In your face!"

Saya grimaced. "Crap …"

"Ah, 510,000 cens huh?" Winry squealed, holding the prize bag as they continued to walk along the street. "I can buy all the parts I've wanted with all this!" Suddenly she turned and smiled at Ed. "But, I'm really happy that…" Her eyes traveled to Ed's right hand.

Ed flushed a little. "What?"

Winry chuckled. "Never mind." She started to turn and walk again when the two men from earlier barred their way. She blinked.

"Thanks for beating us back there," said the announcer. The champion was, well, you can't crack automail knuckles, but he was doing the movement. "If you don't want to get hurt, just hand over that money."

"Why?" Winry asked. "We beat you fair and square!"

Ed, Al, and Saya all ran up to place themselves between Winry and the punks.

"Shut up!" the announcer said. "I know the bean there cheated."

Winry blinked, but Ed pointed at the announcer accusingly. "You used alchemy too!"

"You used alchemy too, you bastard!"

Winry's eyes widened. "Ed… you used alchemy?"

"Yeah."

She turned to Al and Saya. "Did you guys know as well?"

Saya made a face. "Yup."

Winry hung her head. "Is that so… Ed."

"What?"

Saya (being the girl) could sense what was wrong, and also what Winry was about to do. "Winry, don't-"

Winry swung a wrench with all her might at Ed's head. He fell over.

"Nii-san!" Al yelled. "Winry, what a-" Winry knocked Al over too.

"Winry-san!" Saya shouted. "Stop i-" Thunk.

The two men hugged each other in fear as Winry advanced towards them.

Boom, boom, they were out for the count.

Ed stood. "The hell Winry, that HURT! What are you do-"

Winry wordlessly hit him again. She started to walk down the street before turning once.

"Nii-san!"

"Ed, you idiot!" she yelled, before leaving.

Saya sat up, clutching not her head, but her ribs. "Ouch…" she groaned. To Al's inquisitive glance, she explained, "I think the shock traveled down here… did she always have that monster-strength?"

"Yeah…" Al realized something. "Saya-san, if you're not fully healed, you shouldn't be moving around so much!"

Saya waved a hand. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm not going to die from it. Give me two days and I'll be fine."

"But bones take longer than that to heal! I'm not a doctor, but even I know that."

Saya laughed nervously. "Ahahahahaha… It's fine, it's fine!"

Mustang quietly stood at the entrance to a public telephone booth. He wasn't there to make a call. Staring at the phone, he could imagine his friend's hands at the machine to call him, as they had so many times, to obsess about his family or tell him to get a wife…

"Colonel," said Hawkeye. "I have brought Major Armstrong."

Mustang turned to see Armstrong saluting. He led them all into an alleyway.

"We have an idea about the ones who killed the Brigadier General," Armstrong said.

Mustang narrowed his eyes. "Then why have you not arrested them?"

"We have an idea, but we are not exactly sure where they are."

"Explain it in detail."

"I cannot."

"A Colonel is ordering you to."

"I cannot."

"…forget it. Leave."

"Sir!"

Hawkeye watched him go. "That's odd…"

"No. 'The ones who are suspected of killing Hughes'… that means there's more than one. He could not follow the Colonel's orders because someone of a higher rank has forbidden him to speak of it. Furthermore, if the Elric Brothers have started moving on their own without reporting to me, as Lieutenant Ross reported… we should assume that there are military authorities involved with the Philosopher's Stone."

"Does that mean…?"

Mustang sighed. "At this rate… with everything remain in darkness?"

Ed, Al, and Saya sat on a rocky outlook that gave a clear view of the city later that night.

"Winry's gone," Al said. "Using alchemy in that arm wrestling thing was a bad idea."

"It's because they were the ones cheating in the first place," Ed grumbled.

"Yes, but…"

"Well that's why Winry's mad, don't you get it?" Saya pointed out, pulling a face.

Ed and Al looked at her. "Hm?"

Saya sighed and lay back to stare at the stars. "You two are such blockheads sometimes," she sighed. "Are you ever going to get mature enough to understand girls?"

Ed and Al blinked. "Huh?"

Saya's face fell a little. "Actually, do me a favor and just stay the same forever."

"What? You're not making any sense," Ed grumbled.

Saya grinned and waving her hand around. "Yeah, yeah."

Winry walked the dark streets alone when she saw the girl at the arm wrestling competition moving around her automail in a strange way. "Did you hurt your arm?" she asked.

The girl looked up, surprised.

Winry smiled. "I was watching the arm wrestling contest."

The girl made a face and rubbed her head. "Oh man…"

"May I sit?" Winry asked. The girl shrugged and moved over on the park bench to make room for her.

Winry sat. "Are your legs also automail?"

The girl blinked. "Yeah… how did you find out?"

"I'm a mechanic. You hurt your arm, right? Show me." Winry took the girl's arm and tested it, her eyes widening. "This is amazing… it's structure is simple, but extremely high quality. The design is very efficient… but the suspension in your wrist must've been damaged. The cylinder's bent."

The girl blinked. "You found all that out with just a simple look?"

Winry smiled. "Whoever made that is amazing! You should show it to the maker as soon as possible."

The girl didn't answer. There was a peaceful silence, then Winry asked, "Hey… why did you get automail limbs?"

"Oh that? I was in a train accident. I was sitting in an alleyway when that person came and put automail on me."

"That person?"

"Yeah. He took custody of me and gave me an arm and legs. His name's Dominique-san."

"That's all the more reason you should ask him to fix it."

The girl made a face. "That's true, but… I don't want to tell him that I lost an arm wrestling contest. I wanted to prove that his automail was incredible. But…"

Winry thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "I know! You just have to prove that your automail is incredible, right?"

"Yeah… but how?"

"If you beat a State Alchemist who uses automail, you can prove the automail is amazing."

"Maybe…"

Winry looked ahead. "Just leave it to me."

Next: The game! Grab the pocketwatch, and the really really really REALLY scary Sensei!!