Irenic Moons: Yay for 'Only You'! Thanks for comments. Sorry this one didn't get up as quick, I was stuck on ideas and I had a huge test in English on "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (which is not a very good book, so I do not suggest reading it). Anyway, here we go!
Only You: Chapter 4-The Arrival
Ed's POV
I struggled to sit up from the position I had been in, but sleep was still in my thoughts and the dream I had was greatly troubling me. Then I saw Winry, her head half-engulfed by the homunculus known as Gluttony, and I knew too well his abilities.
"WINRY!" I shouted as I tried to jump to her. But as soon as I stood up, I felt someone's or something's long razor sharp fingers on either side of my neck. I didn't need to look over my shoulder to know who this was, but I did anyway.
"Lust," I growled, "I thought you were dealt with." She laughed,
"Oh no, how do you even know if we ever were gone? Besides, as homunculi, we can be recreated."
"What the hell do you want?" I answered. "If that thing does anything to her I will-"
"Shut up!" she screamed, "We are not things. And I'll have you know that my dear friend Gluttony listens to everything I say." She tightened her fingers around my neck, "So as long as you play along, no one should get hurt…Of course, we can never guarantee that…"
I ripped my head free of her grasp, hitting her hands away with my metal arm, and was about to clap my hands, but I heard Winry scream.
"Foolish boy! Did you think we had forgotten about your abilities? If you try that again, he'll bite all the way through." My eyes widened with fear and I whipped my head around to Winry. Along her forehead were several incisions, from which blood was slowly dripping. She was trying not to look afraid, but her eyes and her trembling lips gave her away.
"Winry…" I should have never even thought of staying with them. I was going to cause them trouble; I couldn't handle the deaths of two more people on my shoulders. 'Dammit!' I thought, 'She didn't need to be involved with this.'
"I'm sorry Ed." Winry whispered.
"Now," said Lust, "keep your hands apart and we can continue in a more civilized matter." I pulled my hands up so that there were in the air beside my head, when I suddenly remembered the new weapons Winry had installed to the automail. Lust began talking, I wasn't listening. I was watching Gluttony out of the corner of my eye. I waited, and suddenly the moment came. He blinked drowsily and loosened his grip on Winry's head. I activated the blade in my arm and leashed out at him, knocking his jaw back and off of Winry. I was shouting, Lust thrust her claw-like fingers at me, but I parried them. Soon I was holding both Lust and Gluttony away with my metal limbs. Winry was still on her seat. It was too dangerous for her to be here.
"WINRY, GET OUT!" Her eyes looked confused and afraid, as if she were stuck in her spot. I clapped my hands together and sent a wave of energy at the homunculi. Smoke blurred our vision, but I could see Winry sitting on the floor and coughing. I pulled open the door to the main train and roughly shoved her out of the compartment. Then I locked the door and prepared myself…
Winry's POV
I was sitting on the floor, my forehead still stinging from so-called Gluttony's bite. Smoke was everywhere and I couldn't see. Suddenly, I felt arms picking me up and before I knew it I had been thrown against the wall outside the compartment. It took a few moments for me to realize what had happened. 'Ed' I thought, 'he's alone in there with those monsters.' I frantically tried to open the door. It was locked. I slammed my fists against the door and began to cry. Inside I began to hear muffled shouts and screams; I knew not who they came from. Things were being rammed against the door. Soon people from the other compartments began looking out at us. Seeing me with the blood on my face, slouched against the ground, scared them, and they quickly retreated into their own cabins.
I was alone. Tears were pouring down my cheeks. I hit myself with my hands. 'Why do I have to be so useless? Even when I am there with Ed all I become is a hostage that people use to get him to do what they want.' The cries turned into sobs and instead I started hitting the wall. I don't know how long I sat there, but the door creaked open. It opened farther, Ed stood in the doorway. He held out his hand to me as if it was his duty to do so and nothing more. I didn't take it. I stood up on my own and leaned against the wall, head still down. Then I walked into the damaged compartment and sat down on the torn seat covers. He followed behind, not saying a word. He rummaged through his only suitcase (which had been thrown to the floor) and brought out a handkerchief. Standing over me, he patted away the dried blood from my face and then tied the kerchief around my head. He sat back down across from me and we rode the rest of the ride in silence.
Ed's POV
Next stop was ours. We grabbed our bags and walked down the long hallways of the train, the sounds of our feet echoing. I sighed and looked down at my feet as I walked. I could see the light of the doorway ahead. Simultaneously we both stepped off the train and onto the platform. I searched for words,
"Well, um, I guess we better-"
"WELCOME BACK EDWARD ELRIC!" shouted a large group of people, some of which were in military suits, Aunt Pinako along with them.
"GYAAA!" I shouted in fear, dropping my bags and jumping behind Winry.
"Ed you idiot, look at all your friends who came to see you!" said Winry. I peaked one side of my face out above her shoulder. There was a huge group of people. It included Pinako, Riza, Havoc, Fuery, Ross, Armstrong and many others who I either did or did not know. I took a breath of relief which was quickly turned into a gasp of distaste as Colonel Mustang stepped out from behind the group. I stepped out from behind Winry and stiffened. Winry frowned as she saw the scowl on my face.
"So Fullmetal, you're back?" Mustang began with a smirk.
"And I suppose you'll be wanting me back to do your dirty work?" I replied.
"Ha, you haven't changed in most ways…" I was confused for a second, but then pride grew in me. I had grown. I crossed my arms.
"You can't call me shrimp anymore."
"No, no I can't…Now you're just naturally short." I cracked and would have run him over if Winry had not whipped out her wrench and thrown it at me. Now, I was lying on the pavement, face down and twitching. My head stopped spinning and I saw that the group was now surrounding me.
"Ed! Tell us of your travels, what happened?"
"Did you go to the other side of the gate!"
"Have you been hiding from the military long?"
"Did you find your brother?" I flinched, not because of the many questions being asked, but because of the subject of my brother. Aunt Pinako was my distress and directed the attention away from me.
"My god Winry! What happened to your head?" cried Pinako. Everyone turned towards her. Winry's cheeks blushed. There was still a little blood seeping through the kerchief so everyone made a fuss.
"Winry," Pinako started, "did Ed do that to you?" Winry's eyes opened in a state of shock.
"N-no no, grandma…Of course not, we can explain, but right now I'd like to get some rest and settle down." That was when Armstrong interrupted.
"Miss Winry! We must rush you to a medical facility where your wound can be examined! I will take this duty upon myself!" With that, he grabbed Winry, swinging her onto his shoulder, and ran off after saluting Mustang.
"Come to think of it Ed" said Pinako, "you don't look the greatest yourself." She continued after noticing the few rips in my shirt and cuts on my arms.
"I'm really fine." I said shaking my head and waving my hands, a guilty look on my face. Mustang interrupted.
"Well than Fullmetal, I insist you come back to headquarters with me so we can discuss what's been going on." I grimaced.
"Fine with me."
"Let's go." We both got in the back of a black military car and the driver started the engines. Soon we were driving off to HQ…
Winry's POV
I gently brushed my fingers over the new bandage covering my head. I was standing in the doorway of a mansion. Grandma was at my side.
"So Winry, this is the house of the Franklins'. You and I will be staying here while we work on Mr. and Mrs. Franklins' daughter. She's your age, so I'll bet you'll get along quite well. I hope you brought your stuff…"
"We're not staying with Ed?" I questioned.
"No, but I'm sure you'll find time to be with him darling…" she smiled evilly. I sniffed,
"I just want to keep him out of trouble." I crossed my arms and turned away.
"Well then," said Pinako, "I'll bring you to meet Cassie." Grandma led the way through the long hallways and stairwells. We turned a corner and she opened the door. It was a huge room. Silk and satin adorned all the windows and bedspreads, beautiful paintings and glass trinkets were scattered about the room. There was a gorgeous vanity desk with a large mirror behind it. The windows were open and light streamed into the room. On a mahogany four-poster bed, a young girl reclined, occupied with a book. She had light auburn-brown hair that was straight and went a few inches past her shoulders. Her eyes were also brown and her skin was a light honey color. She noticed us and looked up.
"Hey, you must be Winry!" I could see her face more clearly now. There was an exotic look to her. She was quite pretty. Her voice also had something in it, strength maybe? You had to be strong to get automail, but it seemed like there was also a feisty, bouncy quality to her. She pulled a chair over to the bed to help herself stand up. Now that she was not on the bed, I could see where she needed automail. Where her right foot should have been was nothing but empty space up to her knee joint. 'Just like Ed, but on the other side.' I thought to myself. Also, her right hand was missing, but only to the wrist. She already had automail sockets, which was good for us, less work. She was more petite than me, both in height and width. She seemed like a little sprite.
"Yup, that's me. It's lovely to meet you." I said as I smiled.
"You're going to fit me with the best automail ever right?" She joked and laughed loudly. I laughed too.
"Of Course!" I replied. 'Of course NOT' I said in my head, 'my best automail is for Ed, hmmph!'
"We've got to get to know each other; I can just tell we'll be great friends! Here, I'll call someone to help me downstairs and we can talk in the parlor!"
"You don't have to do that, we'll help you." I offered and looked to grandma who was just standing quietly.
"You sure? Well ok then." We walked towards her and supported her on either side. With that, we walked out of the room.
……A Little While Later……
We had been talking for about 30 minutes now. Cassie was really nice, she was right that we were going to be great friends. We exchanged backgrounds, our likes and dislikes, lots of stuff. Now, as we talked about our shared passion for shopping, her parents walked in.
"Why, it must be Winry, the young, beautiful automailist. We've heard so much about you!" A man, obviously Cassie's father said.
"Glad to meet you…Mr. Franklin?"
"That's me! And this is my wife." He said pointing to the women beside him. Both were tall. Mr. Franklin had light brown hair, while, Mrs. Franklin had darker hair. They emitted a warm feeling of friendliness.
"Pinako has told us about your designs," began Mrs. Franklin, "we're intrigued! You see, Cassie here has been the subject of several kidnappings. We've decided it would be best if she had some self defense now that she's older."
"Ah yes!" I gleamed, "My new designs are quite special, and they're custom made too, so you can choose what you want!"
"That's wonderful," smiled Mr. Franklin, "do you happen to have an example with you?" I stopped in my tracks, but then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well, not here at the moment, but I fit the Fullmetal Alchemist with automail, and he happens to be in Central right now! If you want I can call him over."
"The Fullmetal Alchemist? Wow, you must be great, sure! Call him over!" A maid led me to a telephone. I dialed the military and a secretary picked up.
"Hello?" I asked, "Um…This is Winry Rockbell and I'm calling for Ed… uh, the Fullmetal Alchemist. If you can reach him, could you tell him to come to 181 Plum Boulevard as soon as he's done? There are some people that would like to meet him."
"At the moment he's meeting with someone, but I'll tell him. Goodbye." I heard a click, and the call ended. I went back to the parlor.
For the next hour or so we talked. We were also served a small diner of noodles, rice and vegetables. Content and full, we were sleepily resting on the couches as Pinako and Mr. Franklin talked excitedly about automail, when I asked.
"Cassie, I don't know if you're comfortable with this subject, but, how did you lose your hand and leg?" She smiled easily and I relaxed.
"Oh it's fine, I don't really remember it that well anyway…I was three, no, four, I think. I was in my father's collection room. He likes to collect old things, pottery, paintings, but I was in his war area. He had old swords, spears, suits of armor and I was always interested in them. One day he got a new axe that had these really intricate patterns on it with gold and jewels. I wanted to see it, so I pulled on it, and it fell on me. My hand was cut off, but my leg was only partially severed. They tried to reattach it, but apparently the axe had some sort of poison on it, so it got infected and had to be amputated. I've had automail ever since."
"Wow," I began, but was interrupted as a butler announced that Ed had gotten here. He walked into the room looking moody and teenagerish, but brightened as he saw that there was food. 'He's so shallow…' I thought. We made introductions, talked a little and fed him. Now Cassie was asking him about the automail.
"Oh I'd love to see your automail…Winry says it has installed knives that can be activated with nerves…How are they?" She asked.
"They're really great. They actually saved us a little while back," Ed said. I noticed as Pinako raised her eyebrow at the "saved us" part. "They're a little hard to control at first, but you adjust." Now Mr. Franklin spoke.
"That's amazing, weapons attached to nerves, usually the person has to manually activate them…You just have to let me see how it works, can I take a look?"
"Sure." Ed replied as he held out his arm. I ignored it at first, but then remembered what I had put inside the arm. My eyes widened in fear and I literally jumped onto Ed.
"NO!" I yelped.
"Winry! What the hell?" Ed screamed as I pounced onto his lap, grabbing his arm away. Now everyone was staring at me and I began to blush.
"Um…Sorry Mr. Franklin, I can't let you see his arm because um…It's the limb that is really hard to lock, and it's hard to see inside. Hehehe?" He nodded in understanding, but with some disappointment. Seeing grandma's evil glare, I spoke quickly.
"But you can look at the leg! There's more space inside so it's easier to observe! Plus, your daughter would be getting the same type, foot to the knee!" His face lit up.
"Really! That's great!"
"I'll be right back with my tools!" I said as I hopped off Ed's lap while turning and running back to the doorway where I had left my stuff. 'Phew, that was close…' I kept thinking, 'Good save though…' Or so I thought, but back in the parlor Ed was thinking, 'What was that all about? Harder to lock? She's terrible at lying. I'll look at it when I have some time, she's probably put a tracking device in it or a tape recorder…sigh…'
Now I was sitting at Ed's feet (or Ed's foot and MY wonderful automail). I had unscrewed the cover and was now explaining all the gears and such inside. Mr. Franklin and Cassie were both very interested; however, grandma and Mrs. Franklin were not so they said they were going to get my and Pinako's rooms ready.
"See here?" I said with gusto, "These gears are the ones that allow all the joints to move. Each toe, ankle, everything!"
"Wow! Amazing!" They both said.
"Now this is the really amazing part. See these wires? They are artificial nerves. They connect the parts of the automail, to the body, allowing them to move."
"Does that mean it would hurt if they got destroyed?" Cassie asked with a little apprehension.
"Um…" I started, "I don't really know, but you do know what it feels like to get automail attached right?"
"Yeah." She replied, "But it's been awhile. Usually I don't get my automail stolen by a bunch of evil people." She laughed.
"Girls, I have to leave you now, early to bed, early to rise right?" said Mr. Franklin as he walked away. We both nodded. Then I noticed Ed was basically asleep on the couch. An evil idea came into my head.
"Hey Cassie."
"Uh-huh?"
"I don't know if automail hurts when it is destroyed, but watch this." I picked up a screw driver and began searching around inside the automail. I found the wire I was looking for. I held the artificial nerve in my hand and pinched it. Instantly, Ed's eyes shot open and we heard him gasp and saw him arch his back.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?" Cassie and I looked at each other and fell to the floor laughing. Ed grabbed a screw driver and began closing his automail.
"I'm leaving now!" Ed shouted as he stomped off to the door. Before he opened the door, he sighed and turned his head back to us. "Thanks for welcoming me into your home Cassie." With that, he stepped out and shut the door behind him. Cassie turned to me.
"What did you do?" She asked.
"Oh, nothing…" But I knew perfectly well what I did, because that particular wire connected to the nerve that led up the inside of his leg and…never mind.
"Well, we should both get some sleep." Said Cassie.
"Yeah, here, I'll help you up and you can show me where I'm staying." After helping her to her room, Cassie directed me to where I would be sleeping. I opened the door. There was a nice bed and large window. Doors led to a bathroom and a closet and my stuff was already in there. It wasn't that late, but I hadn't gotten a good night sleep on the train the night before, so I quickly took a shower and then fell into a deep slumber…
Irenic Moons: How's that, eh? Yes I know it took me a long time to get this up, but I had writers block! But, this one was a little longer, so I think that sort of makes up…right? (Gets attacked) Guess not…Well I know what I'm doing next mostly, so I don't think it will take as long…Hope you liked it, and if you didn't, don't leave a review!