A/N- Sorry if chapter 3 seems a little long... I went a little overboard I guess, but all the better. More to read!

Disclaimer- I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.

Chapter 3- Ed's New Problem

After being away from Edward for five years... Five years... How was the twenty-one year old Winry supposed to feel when she knew he was going to be gone again? She wasn't even sure this was her fault, but blamed it on herself anyway, thinking the voice might just be one of her many creations after suffering from lonliness for so long. It was now that Winry was abandoning the idea of ever getting married, and if she couldn't have that, well... Best not to think about it.

Working on Ed's automail, she cautiously took a quick look around the room, her eyes shifting from one area to another. She wanted to know for certain that Al wasn't looming over her, expecting an explanation for her strange way of life lately. He got off on following her around the house sometimes, and Ed begged for him to leave her alone, because Ed, who thought he knew everything, was certain there was nothing wrong with Winry. Al knew better.

Since she couldn't detect Al's presense, she stood up, ready to make her way to the upstairs bathroom for her usual slash session. The voice in her head was acting up again, and she never knew how long she could deny it before something bad happened to someone. She just hoped that Edward wouldn't be killed on whatever misson Roy was sending him on.

Edward, meanwhile, sat in the guest room, appreciating the silence as he read yet another book on alchemy. You never could know everything, right? Well, Ed didn't think so, at least. He heard Winry walk by, and shifted his weight a little to another side, hoping she'd come back with his repaired arm soon. Having only one arm to work with was slightly uncomfortable, and a little weird looking. When he heard the bathroom door slam, he just sighed to himself. That was when Al walked into the room, some sort of detirmined look on his face. Edward, being Al's brother, knew this look very well.

"Brother, something's up with Winry," Al stated, lowering his voice so Winry, whatever she might be doing, wouldn't hear him talking about her. Ed looked up, and rolled his eyes, trying to ignore Al's protests. "I'm serious, Ed. She's acting strangely."

"Well maybe she changed a little while we were gone. You know, five years can be a long time to some people..." Still, Al protested.

"How often have you known Winry to put off fixing your automail for a day at a time? She's obsessed with automail. Something's wrong with her. And aside from that..." Al took a moment to reach into the pocket of the trench coat he had on. It was red, like Edwards. What he pulled out was quite odd looking to Ed. A razor, stained with drying blood, a little bit dull from some obvious overuse. "I think..." Ed gulped. "She might be slaughtering animals."

"Al! What are you, an idiot!" Ed slapped himself over the face. "Where did you find that thing, anyway? If you found it in the kitchen, it's possible that's food on it or something..."

"I found it on Winry's bed." At this, Ed cringed a little, thinking of what this might mean.

"Eh, you never know with girls..." Ed replied, brushing his brother off as he returned to his reading. Al still refused to give up, and walked out of the room, probably to try and have a quick talk with Winry if she wasn't too busy working on the automail. Just as he was walking down the hallway, the door opened up, right in his face.

Winry was lucky she'd hidden the towel in the bathroom this time instead of bringing it with her, or she would have been in a rather large predicament. "Hey Winry," Al said, happily. Winry smiled at him. He held up the razor, and her expression immediately changed to fear. Al could tell something was the matter. "I found this in your room. I was wondering why you'd have one."

"Oh that..." Winry began. Great. What would she say to this?

It doesn't matter what he thinks. Just walk away.

"No..." Winry muttered under her breath.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine. It's just... uh... I found that outside earlier today. I was looking at it. I wanted to know where it came from. You know, I should really get working on Ed's automail." Alphonse nodded and let her walk away, as he stalked back into the guest room, feeling no achievement whatsoever.

Later that day, as Winry worked on Ed's automail, the phone rang again. This time, she didn't answer it. She knew she'd disobeyed the voice earlier when it told her to walk away from Al, and she didn't want to think that it was trying to interfere with her life again. Instead, she continued working as though nothing had happened. Hours went by, until it was eleven at night. Winry still hadn't eaten dinner.

Edward was laying on the guest room bed, trying his hardest to fall asleep, and feeling the unmistakable absence of his arm, this was somewhat difficult. Without his automail, he felt incomplete. And that was what he was. Incomplete. He'd been so ever since he was ten years old, ever since that horrible day he'd attempted human transmutation. He remembered it perfectly...

His brother screaming. Poor Al. His body was slowly being broken down by alchemy. His entire body. Ed had been lucky, just losing his leg. But knowing he could never live without his brother, and although it was selfish, knowing he could never live being the last Elric alive, had sacrificed his right arm to bind Al's soul into a suit of armor. It had been just five years ago that Al had finally been put back into the flesh, as a ten year old boy.

Now Al was fifteen and learning to deal with physical pain more and more everyday. Ed couldn't believe how lucky he was, to witness how happy his brother was these days, now that he was normal. After these thoughts, Ed finally found himself drifting into a deep sleep.

Edward...

He awoke with a start, hearing some strange, raspy voice in his head. Or maybe not. Someone was speaking to him, and the voice, although it was raspy and sounded a bit different than usual, also seemed oddly familliar...

Ed looked around. The clock next to him said it was two-thirty in the morning. Not nearly late enough that Ed would be getting up, and that it would seem normal.

Edward Elric!

He jerked a little, moving around to get a better view of the room. Where was the voice coming from? It sounded so real. Surely he couldn't be imagining it. "What?" He asked in alarm, quietly, as Al was laying in the other bed, probably sleeping. At least Ed hoped he wasn't awake to see what happened next. It scared Ed out of his mind. Something was different. No, more than one thing. More along the lines of two.

Listen to me. You never did like seeing your brother happy, did you?

"Yeah I did..." Ed answered. "Why? Of course I love seeing Al happy..." Ed sat up. No... He pushed himself up. With one arm? This didn't seem quite right...

Well, even if you did... Now, you didn't really think it was fair that Al had all of his limbs, right?

And at this, Ed seemed suprised. Looking down, he found that, yes, he did in fact have his right arm back. "What the hell?" He asked, though on the inside, he was happy enough. Lifting up the blankets, he found his left leg was no longer mechanical. It was real. Flesh. It had feeling to it. "Whoever you are... Thank you," Ed said.

Don't mention it. Just one thing though.

"What?"

I'm going to want something from you in return, Edward Elric.

Ed seemed a little startled at this. "What do you mean, something in return? I thought this was just a gift.. And who are you?"

It will be answered in time, Edward. In time. You needn't worry about doing anything you wouldn't usually do. It will take a few days, but you will be able to repay me. Oh yes, in some of the greatest of ways. You will repay me.

And without another word, the voice in Ed's head was gone. No matter how much he called to it, asked it questions, or even tried to have a small conversation with it, it would not answer. Finally, about a half an hour later, he gave up. He made sure to pull the covers tightly over him, so he could suprise Al in the morning. Then again, was it really possible to explain how he'd gotten his limbs back? No...

He couldn't possibly tell Winry he didn't need her automail anymore, either. It would break her heart. He'd decided then and there that he wouldn't tell anyone. Not for a long time. Ed figured he'd be able to keep everything secret, and things would be normal. Too bad he didn't notice the red markings appearing all over his body.

Five came, and Winry awoke, her first thought of Ed's unfinished automail, which lay downstairs, forgotten. She hadn't finished it. Of course, she hadn't been able to, with her wrist swollen and everything. "I wonder what's on the agenda for today," she said sadly to herself, examining her wrist. How much more blood could she afford to lose? She wasn't sure.

Rising from her sleeping position, Winry took in those first few beams of morning sunlight as she opened her curtains. The breeze that was flowing through felt wonderful, almost as though it were haulting all of her pain, inside and out, whether it be the slashed wrist or the lonliness.

Fresh air is not good for you, Winry.

"Fresh air is good for everyone," Winry replied, not ready to take any shit this early in the morning. Especially not from a bodiless voice she barely even understood the ramblings of to begin with. "And I am like everyone else, so I'll breathe fresh air in all I want to."

No girl. You're far different from everyone else. No one understands you. You don't belong here...

And it was so, at the sound of these words, that Winry felt her strong lead for the morning weakening, falling apart before she could do anything to prevent it. She felt like she could break down crying again, like she had the first time she'd felt the knife slicing away at the skin on her bare wrist. "But where else do I have to go?" Winry asked, sadly. She was talking to no one in particular, but the voice answered anyway.

Why don't you come with me? I think I know some people you'd fit in with really well.

"Like who?" Winry replied.

Trust me. You'll adore them. It would take some time, but you'd get to liking them.

Winry sighed, deciding not to answer the voice. It was certain. She wanted to leave, to run away from here and never return, hopefully to find somewhere she'd truely belong, with people who'd accept her. But then there was Pinako, and Al, Den, and... Edward. She couldn't leave Edward. Couldn't bring herself to believe that she didn't care about him, when she knew so well that she did. The voice would not hear of it though.

Give up on that damn Elric. He's good for nothing. In fact, he's hiding something from you...

Winry did not doubt that Ed would hide something from her. He'd done it in the past, and nothing stopped him from doing it now. She walked downstairs, a grim expression on her face as she wandered towards the automail. It was almost finished, at least. A few touches here and there, and then it would shine in all its glory, looking as perfect as it always had. Winry's best work. Something to remember. And sure enough, a few minutes later, it was done, completed, ready for Ed to trash it up again. That thought depressed Winry worse than ever, but she wasn't letting it get to her yet this morning.

She was about to go tell Edward, even if she had to wake him up, when he came bounding down the stairs, trenchcoat closed tightly together, right arm shoved down in his pocket, so it still looked as though he had automail there. "Thanks, Winry!" He said happily, grabbing the piece from her before she could react. "You know, how about I save you the trouble and put this in myself?" He asked, walking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

Winry should have known something was wrong, but she ignored it, instead concentraiting on the question as to why he wasn't letting her install it for him. She believed he was distancing himself from her, and she began to feel that great saddness taking over her again. She was left staring at the ground until Ed came out of the bathroom again, smiling more than ever as he ran over to Winry, and for the first time in a great while, gave her a hug.

Suprised as she was, and for how long she felt she should appreciate this gift of honor, something didn't feel quite right about it. His right arm hadn't felt metal at all. Then again, maybe it was just her, happily taking in how it felt to be hugged by the fullmetal alchemist. After all, what would the military call Ed if he no longer had automail?

"Something wrong, Winry?" Ed asked her, releasing his grip. Winry shook her head and smiled at him. No matter how much she wanted to concentrait on his face, no matter how happy he looked, staring into her eyes fakely, trying to make her believe he was happy that she had worked on the automail, her eyes trailed off to another corner of the room, where Al was standing, smiling at the two. "Well Al, I guess we should be going then, right? Now like that jerk Mustang wants to take any of my shit today..." Al nodded. "Sorry Winry. I'd love to stay for breakfast, but we've gotta catch the first train to central." And without a goodbye, Ed was out the door. Al stopped next to Winry.

"I'll call you after they give me my name." Al said. "We'll make sure we come back, I promise." Winry nodded at him, and watched as he ran to catch up with Ed.

A/N- Like I said, longer than usual. Chapter 4's gonna be awesome...