A few days passed with nothing out of the ordinary. Winry had taken Den into the main village stores to find the pair's clinic, but found that it was still not open. It was an old building, with boarded up windows and a locked door. Winry frowned as she thought about how much work the pair had to before they could open the clinic. She remembered how bored she would be if she just went home, so she knocked on the door. Moments later, the woman appeared at the door, barely opening it so no one could see in.
"Oh, hello little one. Im sorry but remember we told you we wouldn't be open for a few months." she said anxiously.
"I remember, I just thought that you may need a little help fixing up the place. Im pretty good with tools and stuff." Winry smiled. A large crash came from inside the building, fallowed by the man swearing loudly. She woman turned around and yelled angrily at the man.
"Careful with those you idiot! We can't afford any more cages, Brother!" She demanded.
"Cages? What do you need those for?" Winry asked as she tried to catch a glimpse of the inside.
The woman shifted and replied quickly, "Oh you know, for over night patients."
"Oh! Well, would you like a hand? Den can help to!" she laughed as she gestured at Den. Den was glaring at the woman, but the woman smiled and said "No thank you, little one. You are very nice, and you have a very wonderful dog." She observed Den once more as Winry and Den left.
Winry and Den walked home, and Winry went inside to tinker with some machinery, and Den stayed outside. It was clear, the stars illuminated the yard dimly as night came. Den decided to sleep outside because of the nice weather conditions, and he settled own next to a flower bush.
Crack
Den's head bolted up as something made a bush limb snap. He sniffed the air, and smelled something familiar. From behind the bush emerged the skinny, black haired man from before. He was grinning wildly as he bent over the bush towards Den. Den stood up and backed away while baring his teeth.
"Now now, little doggy." smirked the man. He took a rope with a lop on it and eased up to Den. At the right moment, he tossed the loop over Den's head and pulled it tight, almost chocking Den. Den would have barked for Winry or Auntie, but the loss of air made it impossible. The man tugged on the rope and drug Den along down the road and into the village stores.
They came to the run down warehouse the two odd siblings hd bout, and the man knocked on the door. The woman came and let them in, and Den saw the inside for the first time. It was dark, and candles lit up the dirty room from all corners. Cages lined the far wall, only a few were occupied. There was an extremely large lizard, drool dangling from its razor sharp teeth, an exotic looking cat that had an odd assortment of stripes and spots on its golden yellow fur, and in a rather large cage was a miniature pony. Den was drug to a cage, thrown into it, and locked in.
"There, I got the damn dog, happy?" scowled the man. He sat down in an old chair next to the woman who was flipping the pages of a book.
"Yes, I am actually. I think it will be much easier to make a Chimera from a two domestic animals instead of exotic ones..." she mumbled. She put down the book and walked over to the middle of the room where she had made a complicated looking transmutation circle. "Perfect" she muttered. He said some things to herself as she crossed to room and took the pony out of it's large cage. The man tied a rope around it's neck and made it sand in the circle. Then the woman got Den out of his cage and made him stand next to the pony in the circle.
The two bent down and place their hands on the lines of the circle. Thre was a flash and a whooshing sound. Den yelped in pain and collapsed. His front left leg was missing, and he was a bloody mess.
"Damn it!" Yelled the man. "You made the circle wrong!" he screamed at the woman.
"It was your design, its your fault. Ugh, look that the pony..." The pony was reeding up on its hind legs. It now had a furry black forearm and paw.
"We'll have to get rid of the dog." sighed the man. He walked over to Den who was laying in a puddle of his own blood, wining pathetically in pain. The man picked him up and put him on a table. He took a knife from his back pocket and raised it above Den's neck.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The man hastily shoved the knife back into his pocket. The knock became a frantic banging when the pair didn't answer. From behind the door came a muffled voice.
"Hello? Please open up! Are you there?" the voice pleaded. The woman went to the door to answer, and carefully opened the door slightly. Winry was standing there, her panic stricken face wet with tears. "I can't find my dog, Den. Remember him? He's big and black, and was a white muzzle! He ran away, and he has never run away before! You guys are vets, can you help me find him? What if he is hurt!"
The woman's eyes lit up, then she gave an un noticeable sly smirk, which quickly turned into a loving smile.
"We found you poor little dog just a few minuets ago, dear. But Im afraid that He was hit with a car, and his leg..." she trailed off, opening the door for Winry to see.
Winry screamed when she saw Den. She ran over to him and cried over his big black, bloody body.
"Help him!" she cried at the pair.
"There isn't much we can do, dear. We haven't received any of our equipment in the mail yet..." the woman lied.
"Then can you at least wrap him up! I can take him to my house, my aunt is a doctor..."
The man took a cloth and tied it around Den. Winry grabbed Den and ran the whole way back to her house. Aunt Pinako cleaned Den up, and took care of his wound. A few days later, the decision was made to equipt Den with an auto mail. Winry had a fantastic time designing an auto mail for her beloved Den. After the operation was over, she thought happily that now she had he two favorite things, machinery and her pet, all packed into one.