WOOHOO, CHAPTER 4! Sorry it took so long, but I've been busy this week and well…y'know. Anyhow, thanks for waiting, I hope you like it!
WildfireDreams: Well, here ya go, chappie 4 served on a silver platter. Or whatever. Hope you like it!
PsycoNeko15: I know, it was sad, but I'm hoping to make things a tinch better for Ed. But just a tinch. I didn't say this story was going to be happy, did I?
fullmetal4eva: Please don't slam your head into a laptop, it deteriorates your reviewing capabilities. Haha, I'm glad you like it! We'll see what happens to Al as the story progresses, but for now I say, 'ONWARD, MEN!'
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Suddenly a pair of golden eyes flew open.
Edward sat up quickly, knocking down a bunch of books at the end of his bed. He sat there, panting for a few seconds, his whole body trembling, cold sweat on his face.
"It was all…just a dream…just…another dream…"
He closed his eyes again, and forced himself to calm down. His auto mail limbs were aching in pain, almost as bad as the day he had the surgery. Ed grimaced slightly as he began to massage the area where skin and metal were forced together in an unnatural marriage near his shoulder. As he did so, he tried to put in order his turbulent thoughts.
The first thing he thought of was that tree he had seen in the room.
"Those will take from the tree of knowledge will be condemned to hell…I thought I learned that lesson a long time ago." Ed said bitterly to himself, his eyes narrowing slightly at the thought. Then he remembered Al.
He started trembling again, this time against his will. The room had seemed to get a lot colder, and the pain in his limbs had started up with a ferocity of a dragon.
"Al…I'm so sorry…I had never intended this to happen…all I wanted was to get your body back, and fix that giant mistake that I had made."
A small realization crept through Ed. It had been mainly his idea to resurrect their mother; it had been his idea to play around with alchemy, it had been his idea to play God.
And Al…Al had just followed with him as he plundered on recklessly, followed him with a blind faith that they would bring back their mother. And when it had came to the time to pay the price for it all, it had been Al who paid the dearest.
"You're always dragging people into messes Edward, and this is what happens. You're a walking danger to people."
Had he been two years younger, Ed would've never agreed to the idea, never given in to saying that he was the cause of everyone's troubles. But now…he wasn't so sure.
"…It's true." Ed said, looking at his metallic hand, the proof of all the turmoil he had to go through. But he clasped it in a tight fist, as if a signal to fight against all the words the Truth had pushed against him, trying to make him give up, let go of everything he had ever tried to achieved, make him lose his grip on reality.
"But I won't let anyone else get hurt."
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The small rays of the sun where beginning to creep out into the world, giving an almost unearthly glow to the world. Winry yawned and forced her eyes to open, finding herself in the living room of her house. She sat up, letting a large blanket fall off of her. She looked at the blanket oddly for a second, trying to remember exactly how she had gotten there to begin with.
"Oh, right, I had stayed up to make sure that if Ed had any trouble I'd be awake to help him…guess I fell asleep at some point. But where did the blanket come from…"
"Ed?"
Suddenly Winry jumped out of the sofa, and ran to Ed's room. She paused outside the door, and quickly knocked on it. "…Ed…? Are you up?"
No answer.
She grabbed the handle of the door, and pushed it open. The bad lay empty, bandages strewn on the floor. Winry backed out of the room, and ran throughout the house, yelling, "Ed, ED?"
Suddenly she stopped in one the kitchen. Her grandmother had a large collection of photos from their childhood, tacked up on a large bulletin board. She said it was so, "That there are good memories to look back on so that we can forget the bad." One of them had been of Alphonse, sitting by the large old oak tree, reading. But the area where the picture had been now lay empty.
Winry sank down into a chair, her eyes stinging slightly from holding back tears. She stared back at the empty space on the bulletin board, a small memory of that picture forming in the back of her head. It was funny, the day today looked almost exactly the same as it had did in that picture. A brisk, autumn morning, leaves scattered around like pieces of gold.
Winry stood up, and walked to the back door, opening it. She walked outside, and paused as she stared at the long, winding road that led up to the cemetery. Rubbing her arms as a chill breeze swept through the air, blowing her soft blonde hair, she started trudging up to the cemetery. She could hear quite distinctively the cold crush, crush as she stood on dried leaves, and she silently hoped that Edward wouldn't get angry of her coming.
As she got closer, she could see a lone figure standing with his back to her. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but all that came out was a gasp.
"Hohenheim?"
No, it couldn't be. For one, Hohenheim was a person of large stature while this person…somewhat lacked it. And even though it was Hohenheim's clothes, they still hung loosely on Ed's body. But even so…this person was slightly taller than the old Edward that she knew. And his back managed to fill out at least three quarters of Hohenheim's long overcoat. His straw-colored hair was pulled in a ponytail centered around the middle of his head, and it wavered slightly as the wind gave another fierce gust, sending chills down Winry's back. She called out uncertainly, "Edward?"
He didn't answer, most likely because at that moment yet another gust of wind blew, drowning out her voice. She walked closer, rubbing her arms, mentally cursing herself for not bringing a sweater. "Hey, Ed?"
He still didn't answer. Winry stopped right behind him, and put her hand gently on his shoulder. Suddenly Ed flinched and whirled around. Winry pulled back her arm quickly, for a second afraid. He gazed at her for a while, the expression on his face undeterminable. "Winry…what are you doing here?" he asked. Winry looked at the ground unsure whether Ed was angry at her or not.
"Y…you weren't in the house when I got up, so I got a little worried…I just wanted to make sure that you were ok."
Ed's face softened, and he said quietly, "I'm…fine, don't worry about me so much Winry, otherwise that's all you'll ever do in life." He turned to the grave that he had been looking at before.
Winry stood beside him, and looked at the marble grave. Her eyes widened slightly at what she saw. It said in simple, gold lettering:
Alphonse Elric
On top of it was a stone replica of the helmet that was part of the suit of armor that had been Al. Underneath Al's name, there was the picture that had been taken from the bulletin board, Al's picture.
"The army had a 'memorial service' for Al a few days after…the accident… since there was no body. I couldn't make it because that day my wound started bleeding again and I was in the hospital again for 3 days. Beside, I know that Al would've wanted to be remembered here, in Resimbool, where he grew up. It's…the least I can do."
Ed's last words trembled slightly as he said them, and he grasped his hands into small fists. Winry looked at her childhood friend with a sense of sadness for him, and took his right and in hers. "It is what he would've wanted." She said softly. She noticed that left to the grave there was their mother's grave, Trisha Elric. Winry turned to face Edward "Ed…you made this… this morning, didn't you?"
Ed nodded slowly. Winry looked back at the grave, her eyes slowly going over the replica of Al's helmet. Another breeze blew through the empty graveyard, causing Winry to shudder. Ed, noticing this, took off his heavy coat and placed it around Winry's shoulders. Winry clutched the coat, thankful for it's warmth. It had an old, musty smell, mixed with Ed's smell. "…thanks." She said. Edward shook his head, and said, "You idiot, coming out without a coat on. You want to get sick? Besides, there's something I need to talk about with you, and I need you to be in optimal condition to help me with it."
He took one last look at the grave, and started down to the road back to the house. Winry followed him, wondering what it was he needed her help with. "It isn't about your auto mail, is it?" she asked as they approached the house.
"…partially." said Ed, opening the door.
They walked in to the living room, a welcome change of temperature from the cold outside. Winry sank into the sofa, while Ed sat on the chair opposite her.
He sighed softly, as if not knowing where to begin. "…Winry," he started, looking down at his hands. "I'm going back to Central ahead of schedule. I think that I've rested enough, and I need to take care of some things."
Winry stared at him, a mixture of feelings rising up to her throat. He…he couldn't be leaving again, not just yet. He wasn't properly rested, sure he was walking, but there was something…something still there. Besides, she didn't want him to leave her again, leave her wondering every day where he was, how he was doing, whether he was alive or not. However much she hated herself for thinking this, a small part of her was secretly happy when he came back, even though it had been a tragedy that had brought them back together.
"You can't go!"
Ed's eyes registered a mixture a shock. "What?" he said, looking at Winry.
"You can't go…at least not yet…you've barely been here a month! You're still not ready to go back!"
"Winry, I need to go back as soon as possible, I can't stay here as long as the military wants me to, besides, I'm feeling fine now."
"Then take me with you."
"What?"
Winry silently regretted those words. "I…take me with you. To Central. Please." She said, looking down at her hands which were clasped in her lap.
Edward looked at her with a strange look in his eyes that she had never seen there before.
"I can't do that." he said softly.
"But why not?" Winry said, trying to avoid Ed's golden eyes.
"Because…because I don't want you to get hurt. It's become really dangerous down in Central, and if I take you with me…it's a big chance that something's going to happen. And if anything ever happened to you…I would never forgive myself."
Winry sat in silent shock, her heart pounding. I don't want you to get hurt. Is it that Ed was actually worried about her?
"But…could you at least tell me what you are planning to do?"
Ed paused for a second before answering. "No."
"But why not?"
"Because if I told you, you'd be in a lot of danger. The reason Al and I never told you anything was because we were afraid that the more you knew, the more you'd get involved in all this…shit. I'm sorry, I just can't tell you."
Winry's eyes started to brim with tears. "You're going to do something reckless and crazy again, aren't you? Something that'll probably get you killed?"
Edward's eyes were full of guilt as he tried to answer. "Well…Winry…"
"Ed, what happens if you're auto mail gets messed up, and you're miles away from home? You need me to come with you so I'll be able to fix it."
Ed looked up at Winry, his eyes full of determination this time. "No. I told you this was too dangerous. But you're right, my auto mail will probably get broken. But that's why I need your help."
For a second, Winry felt like she was looking back into the eyes of the 11-year-old who had asked for auto mail 5 years ago. "With…what?"
"I want you to teach me how to repair my automail."
Winry blinked. "…What?" she said.
"You heard me, I want-"
"I know, I know, but Ed, it takes years to learn how to properly fix and create auto mail, and you barely keep up with maintenance as it is…"
"Two weeks."
"What, Ed, you're crazy!"
"Two weeks, teach me. Please Winry, I'm asking you."
Winry stood up, letting the coat slip off her shoulders. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out how to handle Ed's request.
"Three weeks."
Ed stared at her, feeling a sudden admiration for Winry. He knew that he was asking a lot from her, but if he was going to carry out his task, he needed to know how to fix his own auto mail.
Winry started walking to the kitchen, but she stopped right in front of the door. Her face was hidden as she spoke. "But Ed, you must promise me one thing."
"Sure."
"When you're done with…whatever it is you're going to do…you must promise me that you're going to come back in one piece."
Edward widened his eyes for a second, but softened them as he answered. "Sure…equivalent exchange right?"
Winry nodded, and Edward could see that out of the corner of her eye a large, silver tear was forming. For a second he had a strong urge to wipe her tear away, hold her, assure her that he was going to come back, but he remained where he was. All that he could manage was a weak, "…thanks."
He could see a small smile form at the base of Winry's lips. She turned around, and said, "And sometimes I wonder how much easier my life would've been if I had never met you."
Edward opened his mouth, but shut it, unsure if what she meant was real or a joke. Winry simply smiled, and headed into the kitchen, saying, "I'm gonna see if Grandma left us any food, I'm starving."
There was silence for a moment, but then a loud yell could be heard. "HUH, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST OF THE PIE!"
Winry popped her head back inside the room, her face furious. "Edward Elric…" she said dangerously.
"I was hungry, I hadn't eaten properly for days!"
"BUT THAT WAS A WHOLE PIE!"
"…I said I was hungry."
WHACK
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Two figures hidden in long cloaks met up in a dim alley. One of the figures ordered in a sharp tone, "Envy, what's the report?"
"The Fullmetal brat seems to have made a speedy recovery." said a high-pitched voice. "I didn't really expect him to be in bed as long as the military wanted."
"Hmph, that was to be expected, but that slightly puts our plans out of turn."
"I don't think it matters so much; Lust already has the Key."
Though it couldn't be seen by Envy, the other figure smirked underneath the cloak. "Very well, I guess this isn't going to matter at all. In fact, it's for the better. Good work Envy, just keep tailing him."
Envy shifted uncomfortably under his cloak, and said in a slightly worried tone, "But sir, I think the Fullmetal knows about the plan. He'll start coming after us sooner or later."
The other figure simply shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to put a stop to it."
"Just remember to be careful, Father will be furious if you mess anything up."
"Don't worry Envy, as long as I'm Fuhrer, there will be no trouble."
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Ohhhhhhh cliffhanger! Sorta. Muahaha. Anyhow, please review and have a nice, safe day.
