CHAPTER 2: THE EMPTY HOME

Resembool – May, 1927

"Well, I see the problem here. It's actually quite minor." Winry Rockbell carefully inspected the automail hand lying on the table before her. The mechanical hand was attached to the arm of a middle-aged woman, probably in her thirties who looked very relieved.

"Thank goodness. My mechanic told me one of the parts had broken down and he would have to charge me a hefty price for the repairs." The woman said. Winry looked back up to face her and gave her a broad smile.

"It's not broken; some of the components in the part are a bit loose and worn but it's not something I can't fix with a screw-driver and some oil." Winry replied cheerfully. She brushed some of her hair aside, picked up one of the many tools laid out on the table and started to work while the woman watched in amazement.

"I'm glad I decided to come all the way here. They weren't wrong when they said you're the best automail mechanic in all of Amestris." Winry let out a cute giggle and blushed.

"Haha, all this praise is going to get to my head one of these days." Winry finished tightening a screw, and squeezed some oil onto the component and sat back up to take a breath. "Try it out, see how it feels now." The woman raised her hand, and started flexing and moving it around. Her expression told Winry that she had done a good job.

"Wow! That's a big difference. It feels wonderful; it's so much more responsive then before." Both women shared smiles again. The two exchanged a few more words before the woman paid the mechanic and politely bid farewell and left the Rockbell residence. Winry watched her latest customer depart and let out a sigh. The house was empty again.

"I suppose I should clean this up." She said to herself, looking at the pile of tools sewn haphazardly across the table. As if reading her mind, Den walked in from the other room and gave her a nudge with his noise. Winry smiled down at him.

"I know I know, soon as I get this cleaned up we'll have lunch." Winry set to work, and caught sight of the board in the corner of the room. Pinned across it were a number of photos of Edward and Alphonse Elric and the various people they've met in their travels, plus some childhood photos of the three. She glazed at it sadly for a moment before returning to focus on her task. They're gone. It's just me and Den now that granny passed away. Winry brushed the thought aside. I better hurry up before Den starts biting my arm off. She didn't worry about the Elrics anymore, but it certainly wasn't easy. In fact it was very hard on her, but after all these years she's convinced that she's accepted their decision and had moved on. I won't wait for you anymore Ed.

"This is such a lovely and peaceful village." The man said to himself as he walked along the dirt path towards the house in the distance. His brown fedora hat shielded his eyes from the bright rays beaming from the sun, and his matching brown trench-coat kept the spring winds out. He eyed the building he was heading towards more sharply as he got closer. I do believe that is the place, it looks like I'm finally here.

"So my cooking has gotten better huh?" Winry smiled cheerfully at Den who barked happily in response. She polished off the last scrap of food on her plate before putting it in the sink. Now what was she going to do? There weren't any customers right now and she didn't feel like going back to her research just yet. She looked at the board of photos one more time. Maybe… I should put that away now. She walked towards the photos slowly and grinned a bit at the memories they brought up. A breeze coming in from the open front door played with her hair. Not yet… no… not yet.

"Ahem… excuse me?" Winry jolted towards the source of the voice, and turned to face the open door. Standing in the frame was a fairly tall man wearing a brown hat that she didn't recognize, and donning a large brown coat. The man took off his hat, revealing his black hair and red eyes. He looked back at the woman standing on the other side of the room, clad in a white dress shirt with a black skirt that went down to almost her ankles. He looked a bit startled at her appearance.

"Um… yes can I help you?" Winry replied gently. The man stared at her face with his mouth half open for a second before snapping out of his trance.

"Oh, pardon me." He said, bowing politely. "I'm looking for Winry Rockbell." She noticed that he was blushing a little.

"That would be me." She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry to bother you Ms. Rockbell…" He started, but she cut him off almost immediately.

"Please, call me Winry." She said, and the man relaxed a little. "And you are?"

"Ah… my apologies, how terribly rude of me. My name is Gabriel Mackenzie. I'm an investor from Central."

"Oh, from Central? She looked a tad surprised; she's never had an investor visit her before. She looked at him quietly and motioned him to take a seat at the table. "Um… please sit Mr. Mackenzie."

"You can just call me Gabriel, or Gabe whichever you prefer." He corrected her as he sat down. Winry brought over a pot of tea and some cups from the kitchen counter.

"Tea?" He nodded, and she poured each of them a cup. "What can I do for you Gabriel?"

"Ah well you see, I've been seeking some investment opportunities in the last few months and I'm actually interested in investing in your automail business." He replied, really catching her off guard.

"Automail… business?"

"You're quite well-known in the industry Winry, very well known in fact." Gabriel started his pitch. "I figured; we can open an automail shop in Central. A large one, with your talents and expertise and my money and management skills it could be a highly profitable venture." Gabriel sounded quite excited, so much so that Winry thought she saw sparkles in his eyes. "The money we could make... and we can open up multiple franchises all over the country… Rockbell Automail will be a household name!"

"Um…" Winry stared at Gabriel somewhat dumbfounded and he realized that maybe he went a bit overboard with his presentation. She looked down to Den sitting on the floor beside her and then back at her feet. "I'm flattered… but I don't think I can go to Central and leave Resembool… this is my home." She said, almost in a whisper. Have I really let them go? Gabriel looked at Winry who kept her head down, and then caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"You have a lot of nice pictures there." Winry brought her head back up and followed Gabriel's gaze to the picture board. "Friends of yours?" He asked, indicating the ones with the Elrics. Winry remained silent as a sombre veil fell across her face.

"Yes… they were. They're gone now." Gabriel turned back and saw her sad eyes which where still fixed on the pictures. "They're gone forever." If only she knew… Gabriel thought to himself as the room fell into silence.

"I'm… sorry if I upset you." Gabriel started, breaking the quiet. He pushed his chair back and stood up, which regained Winry's attention.

"Oh… no, it's okay." She said, sounding marginally more upbeat now.

"Anyway, I understand you not wanting to leave Resembool." Gabriel gathered his fedora and plopped it back on his head. "It is a very beautiful place." He started towards the door and Winry stood up to follow him. "I'm sorry to have taken your time Ms. Rockbell." She was startled by his sudden return to formality.

"It was no trouble at all." Gabriel opened the door and took a step out, adjusting his hat to shield his eyes from the sunlight once more. He turned back to her and gave her a polite bow.

"Thank you for the tea Ms. Rockbell." Before she could reply, the man had already turned and started down the steps to the dirt path. She watched him as he walked, rather hurriedly down the road towards the village. She couldn't shake the feeling though that something was odd about him. Who… is he? She continued watching him walk away but he never once turned back. Who? Den's cold and wet nose nudging at her hand snapped her out of her train of thought. She looked down at her faithful friend, gave him a reassuring smile that she was alright and returned back inside her home.

Damn, damn, damn! Gabriel angrily cursed himself as he continued his brisk hike towards the Resembool train station. That was smooth Gabe, real smooth. What the hell was that? He was frustrated that all his preparation had neatly been washed down the drain, but most of all he was furious at how he handled himself. She looked just like her… her hair, eyes, even her smile. Damnit! Gabriel stopped briefly and allowed himself to catch a breath. How could I let my sentimentality get the better of me like that? Then he slapped his forehead, frowned and sighed as he tried to calm down.

"Nothing I can do now. At least I know she's here, I better get back; I've got work to do." He resumed his journey to the train station. As he walked through the core of Resembool he noticed all the people lingering around the village proper. It truly is a peaceful place. I wish… we could've been here instead. Gabriel quickly stopped himself; that wasn't a place he wanted to go down again. He caught sight of the station and was relieved that the train to Central had not yet departed. As he accelerated his pace, his sharp eyes caught hold of something that didn't belong there.

"Huh?" He didn't dare turn his head towards the target of his suspicion, nor did he have to for years of training had honed his observational skills. Those guys… he saw several figures in the small bustling crowd who looked normal enough but his instincts told him otherwise. They've gone to a lot of trouble to blend in. He noticed that no one was paying them any heed. Suddenly he froze in his tracks. Wait… no it can't be! His eyes widened as the realization dawned on him.

"They're here already?"

To Be Continued…