More waiting.
Winry watched the shadows move across the room as time ticked by painstakingly slow. She played card games on her phone intermittently, but mostly just waited with the thoughts in her head.
The past few months had happened so quickly, she felt as though she hadn't had the time to register what she'd lived through. Traveling back to Amestris and finally putting what she'd learned from Hisoka to the test against the homunculus Sloth, and the mannequin soldiers. Then returning to Heavens Arena only to be surprised by Hisoka's gift.
To kill Scar was the thing she had wanted most for so long, and too many times knowing he was still out there...alive...had hurt so much she couldn't breathe. The opportunities she'd let slip between her fingers had haunted her. Ed's judgment had held her back. Hisoka recognized the seedling of darkness in her, and she was utterly without doubt that he had watched eagerly while it blossomed and festered, continually denied the one thing that would give her rest.
Had Ed let her kill Scar that day, it would have ended there. Instead it had eaten her alive from the inside out until she was no longer even the same person. She wouldn't have been able to dismember him so remorselessly otherwise. And she wouldn't be able to share this space so peacefully with six corpses.
Anyone can act as Examiner...Yet so many people believe that they are only meant to be the examinees. The world has enough of those.
Scar had merely been Hisoka's litmus test to see how far she was gone. Little did he know she had already submitted to Chrollo about the lengths she was willing to go.
"I am the Head of the Spider...We are the Phantom Troupe. We steal, and we kill whenever necessary — without hesitation. You have a skillset that would benefit me, Winry, if you consent to be of assistance when I need you."
"I'll help you."
"Even if it meant that blood needed to be spilled?"
"Yes."
Glancing at the bodies lined up nearby, however, it was still hard to believe it had been this...easy. If Ed had ever killed someone, whether intentionally or not, he would've been sick with grief. He would have lamented what his other options were, he would have eaten himself alive with the guilt of the deed. Her conscience was quiet.
The phone rang.
"It's Machi. I assume you're not busy."
"Just waiting for you all to tell me what's next."
"Meet us at this address I'm about to give you in half an hour. I think I might be able to make good use of you."
The address was to a chocolates shop, and as Winry arrived she spotted Machi standing in the shadows of the alley. She looked the group up and down with a raised brow as Machi shoved a handful of clothes into her arms. Phinks and Shizuku were there, and it took her a moment longer to recognize Shalnark, Nobunaga, and Feitan in their disguises.
"Put these on."
It was a suit, similar to what all of them were wearing. The men turned their backs as Winry stripped out of her kamon and dressed herself in the suit. Machi pulled a black wig over her vibrant hair.
"Uvogin has been captured by the mafia," Phinks said over his shoulder, and her fingers fumbled on the buttons of her shirt in surprise. "We have to go in and get him."
"What do you need me to do?" she asked, instinctively looking at Machi for the answer while she folded her collar up and began to thread her tie.
"He's been paralyzed by a neurotoxin, but Shizuku said she can handle that. But Shizuku's Nen ability can't take in anything that's still living, and he's been infested with leech eggs."
"Machi said you might be able to handle that," Phinks said, turning around to face her. Winry heard the interest and question in his voice. Feitan, Nobunaga, and Shalnark followed suit.
"Hey — Do my tie, too," Nobunaga said, stepping forward without waiting for her response. Feitan's eyes strayed to one side, and the tone was the same as if he'd rolled them. "How'd you get yours so even?"
"So can you do it?" Phinks asked as she obliged Nobunaga's request, her fingers making quick, deft work of the length of material.
"I haven't tried anything like that before, but I will try."
"It's fine if you can't," Shalnark inserted. "Machi told me you might be able to help after I'd already called about the beer. I hope you didn't go through any trouble."
Winry bit her lip to keep from laughing. "None at all."
"Uvogin will want the beer anyway after all this," Nobunaga said. "He's going to be heated."
"You're telling me. I can't believe we're having to do this at all," Feitan replied, his voice a hoarse whisper. He stared at her pointedly. "Are we ready?" She gave him a curt nod. "Good. Stay toward the back with Shizuku."
"You think Winry — Hisoka's protege — needs protection?" Phinks scoffed.
Feitan's eyebrows rose with newfound curiosity.
"Is that so. I didn't think Hisoka could trust someone enough to let them get that close," he commented.
"Hisoka doesn't trust anyone," Winry countered as she tied her hair back in a low ponytail.
"Which is why he was such an odd addition to the Troupe, even if he's strong. We all at least trust each other," Shalnark chimed in, his upbeat tone cutting through the thickening tension. "Which is why we better get going. Uvo is waiting."
They traveled in two black cars to the building Shalnark explained he had learned Uvogin was being held. Her nerves hummed as they drove. Her Hatsu still felt so new to her, and she was aware she hadn't laid out its limitations in black and white. She wasn't certain that she could — it almost felt as though it were still evolving, just beyond reach of her fingertips to control. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to do what they expected, but at the same time she felt it shouldn't be so much of a stretch that she couldn't.
There was no precursor.
They parked directly in front of a building, and went to the doors together. Winry kept her face stoic, following the Troupe's example. Calm. Cool. Collected. Phinks pressed a button for them to be buzzed in.
"Yeah, we're on floor B2," a man's voice answered.
So this was the plan. To walk right in the font door. She wondered what Shalnark had done to arrange this deception. Winry mirrored them; she took the door from Machi, then held it open a moment longer for Shizuku behind her to grab it. Gold elevator doors were across the lobby from them, and they got in together. Phinks pressed a button.
B2.
Her heartbeat hammered staccato.
Another lobby waiting for them when the doors opened, and they were buzzed through the next doorway there.
"Thanks," a dark-haired man said as he welcomed them in. Welcomed them. The absurdity might have made her laugh if not for the gravity of the situation.
"You haven't killed him yet?" Phinks asked.
"No. This way." The hapless fool led them down a hallway, then unlocked another door and guided them inside.
Uvogin laid half-naked and strapped to a table, bound with wires and shackles, his wild hair splayed everywhere, and blood staining his face and shoulder. Winry bit her tongue to keep from making a face at the lingering, trace-scent of fumes in the air. It wasn't strong, but it was enough for her to detect. Uvogin's eyes opened, already focused on them. His expression remained unchanged.
"—couldn't get a needle in him," the man was saying, "which meant we had to paralyze him with gas instead."
A pause.
Then Uvogin murmured, "Clothes really make the man."
His captor had no opportunity to react. Phinks' strike was swift as a cobra, right arm lashing out in a single, smooth gesture to impale the man who'd brought them this far. Winry watched as he collapsed onto the floor, blood spurting from his chest, and Phinks took a kerchief from his pocket to clean his hand.
"I didn't believe it when I heard," Phinks chuckled, looking down at Uvo. "Never pegged you as the type to get yourself kidnapped."
"Hmph."
Nobunaga peeled off the facial hair he'd been wearing, and Machi her wig. Shalnark ran his fingers through his hair to ruffle it from the slicked-back style he'd worn it in. Phinks placed a pharaoh-styled nemes on his head. Shizuku was already walking toward the table.
"It's time for work, Blinky," she said, hands poised. Winry's lips parted as she watched a macabre device manifest in the small woman's hands. A tongue slid over a mouthful of teeth. "Now get in there and suck out all the poison that's paralyzing Uvo."
Shizuku lowered it to a wound on Uvogin's shoulder. Winry couldn't help except revert to Gyo to watch as the device performed its task.
"Okay. All done."
Uvogin made short work of snapping the wires that had been wrapped around his thick limbs, and sat up.
"Now you," Phinks said, turning to her.
"You're the Boss' mechanic," Uvogin said, sounding pleasantly surprised as he looked her up and down, as though only just recognizing that it was her. "I'm sorry there's nothing on me to fix — I'm all man, not machine." Winry ignored his comment, flattening her palm low enough on his torso for him to jerk from the unexpectedness of it. "Hey—"
"Release your aura," she instructed.
He did as she bid without question. With trust. She reflected back to what Feitan had said not so long ago. Winry closed her eyes and let her aura slide through him, searching. She found the leech eggs in his bladder easily. Could she kill them though?
It was child's play.
She had to be careful. Not as careful as with Izumi, but it was delicate nonetheless to avoid the healthy tissue of his bladder and kill only the eggs. If it caused Uvogin any discomfort, however, he didn't so much as flinch.
"They're dead," she announced when she drew her hand away. "You'll need to excrete them out when you urinate and that may not be the most comfortable experience considering the size of the eggs versus the circumference of the urethra, but I'm sure you can handle it."
"I see," he smirked. "So this is why the Boss is really keeping tabs on you."
Winry didn't know what to say to that. Uvogin didn't say more though as he turned, swinging his legs off the table, and inhaled a slow breath.
Phinks and the others immediately clamped their hands over their ears, and Winry hastily did the same just as Uvo bellowed, "DAMN IT!"
The force of his war cry shook the air, and the dust in the room flew up around them. The walls trembled. Winry hunched down under its assault, holding her own breath to keep her steady against the storm.
"I'm going to find that Chain User, and when I do I'm going to make him pay for this!"
Chain User?
She didn't have time to dwell on it. Uvo punched open the door to the room, shattering the wall around the frame as he did. Winry followed on Shizuku and Shalnark's heels as they tracked after him. She saw a spider tattoo with the number eleven low on his back. Had Hisoka had a tattoo like that with his number?
"Where is he!"
"I think he just ran away," Shalnark pointed out.
"It's probably because you were so darn loud," Shizuku added.
"We're heading back," Phinks said, ignoring Uvogin's outburst as he strode by, hands in his pockets. "Our job is here is done."
"And we got the treasure, too!" said Shalnark, falling in line behind the others to head toward the exit. Winry paused only a moment before deciding it would be better for her to stick with them.
"No!" Uvogin refused. Phinks paused. "You tell the Boss I'm not leaving. I can't go back until the settle the score with that damn Chain User."
"If that's what you really want," Phinks shrugged.
"You guys head back to the hideout with the treasure," Shalnark said. "I can probably help Uvo do this the right way."
"What? With your little Hunter license?" Uvogin taunted.
"Winry." She looked to Shalnark. "The address you texted me. Is there a computer there?"
"Yes," she nodded. She'd seen one downstairs when she had checked the rest of the house for any survivors. "There is. And beer."
"Let's go then," Uvogin growled, stalking off in the direction of the elevators. "I'm fucking thirsty."
