Nyago: We sat, we plot and we wrote. :D To be honest, I and Fullmetal Ai were screaming our lungs out writing this chapter. It has SUCH an emotional meaning to us that well...You will get the picture soon, just read the chapter and enjoy!
Ai: This is probably my favorite chapter yet, mainly because of the emotional intensity. n.n Like Nyago said, we were practically screaming out lungs out while writing it .. we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. Minus the screaming. xD
Disclaimer: The same as the LAST 4 chapters. XD
"Mothers"
By: Nyago and Fullmetal Ai (Cherry Studios)
The next thing Winry knew, she was laying on something. A very comfortable something, to be honest.. She opened her eyes, her vision coming into focus slowly. She blinked a few times, noticing at once that she was not at the military base anymore.. Wait.. The military base? Nora? Andrew? That transmutation circle? The Gate? It was all rushing back to her now at full speed, and she sat up quickly, but almost immediately laid back down once again upon feeling lightheaded. She had no idea where she was, but she could only hope it was somewhere with kind people; She could really use some kind hospitality at the moment. Winry turned her head slightly, hearing soft breathing from beside her. When she turned her head, she found herself gazing into the golden eyes of a young girl. The girl grinned, turning around and yelling into the other room as she became certain of Winry's awakening.
"DADDY! UNCLE ARU! SHE'S AWAKE! SHE'S AWAKE!" She squealed excitedly, jumping up and down to prove her excitement. Not long after, two male figures ran into the room towards the small girl, and once Winry took a look at them, her breath caught in her throat.
Edward .. Alphonse?
"Winry, I am so glad you are ok!" Al ran towards her, pushing the chair next to the couch and sitting across from her. He sighed in relief.
"Wha...? Where...?" So many thoughts were crossing through her head at that point but none of them seemed to want to stay.
"Relax Winry, I have no idea when you came, how you felt or...whatever happened but I can guarantee that you are safe with Brother and I." He then winked and notice little Trisha looking mad at him. "And Trisha as well..." He smiles softly.
Her thoughts began to click, Trisha? Ed and Al's mother? Or... she notice the small girl in the room, clinging to Edward's arm. She...has the same eyes as Ed...Wait. Didn't she call Ed 'father'? Does that mean...? Winry gasped, feeling pain coming to her chest. "Ah..." She places a hand on her chest, trying to sustain the pain inside.
"Winry? Winry, are you all right?" Al asked, as calmly as he could manage. Winry gave a quick nod as the pain subsided, and Al gave a sigh of relief. Winry looked to Trisha again, noticing that as well as having her father's eyes, the girl looked a lot like .. well .. herself. But how is that possible? Winry asked herself. She knew that Ed was the girl's father, but she couldn't possibly be her mother .. she would have remembered something as big as that. In any case, the daughter of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was an adorable little girl. Al caught her staring at Trisha and quickly whispered in her ear "I'll explain it later, if Brother doesn't explain it before me," before standing up and walking over to Trisha, kneeling down to her level.
"Trisha, I think we should let your daddy and Miss Winry talk a little bit .." Trisha looked confused.
"She isn't mommy?" Al shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, sweetie. Come on, let's let them alone for a bit .." With that said, Al lifted the little girl up from the ground and carried her to the kitchen to make her some hot cocoa. Ed didn't seem to recognize that his brother had taken his daughter into another room, and had left him and Winry alone; as far as he was concerned, he and Winry had been alone this whole time, and he had been staring at her. Why was she here? She was supposed to be safe, in Resembool.. in Amestris ..
"Winry .. I-"
"Edward, what's going on ..?"
Whatever words Edward was about to say had gone dry the very second she spoke to him. How could he explain to her that she was no longer in Resembool and will not return ever again? It took him years to adjust to this harsh environment, but he was strong and he had his brother, wife and daughter to carry on with him. But it seems those days of trying to avoid all questions was gone. Winry Rockbell, his childhood best friend was lying on the couch before him. She would ask questions until no end...
Or at least, that's what he thought.
Shaking her head, she tried to lighten up the mood. "Listen...I don't understand ANYTHING right now...I probably NEVER will because you might not explain it, or Al will think that I will never understand, but...for now, let me try to get some rest and call it a day, okay? I've had...a rather unusual day, and then other things, and seeing those...images wasn't helping me at all."
Images? Edward finally moved from his stone-like position, "What images?"
"I saw...this huge gate thing," She began before Ed cut her. "YOU WENT THROUGH THAT THING?" He yelled.
"What?" Winry was now officially confused. "What's wrong with passing a stupid door? It just took me in and I passed out." She rubbed her swollen forehead. Ed ran towards her and checked her body from head to toe, grabbing her arm to check her pulse. "They didn't take anything, did they? You don't feel anything strange at all, do you!" He blurted out.
"No," Winry whispered, looking into his desperate eyes. Whatever that thing was, it kept making Ed worry.
"Edward, what's going on? Why are you so worried about me passing through a GATE? It's just an entryway, a passage into another place, a huge metal object that can either separate or allow entrance to another area. There's nothing special about a GATE. Now, if I could just--"
"Winry, you might not understand this, but I went through something much like that when I lost my arm and leg," Edward explained quickly, leaving Winry speechless. "I just want to make sure that damned thing didn't take anything vital. I don't want you to end up like I did .." Edward was even surprising himself at this point. He never opened up like this, ever, and it had only gotten worse when his wife passed on. Winry was surprised, yet she was glad that he was worried for her safety.
"Well as you can see, Ed .. I'm perfectly fine, nothing broken, nothing completely gone .." Winry said, as normally as she could. Edward frowned.
"I still think we should take you to a doctor. Maybe the doctor can tell if anything internal is missing .."
"Ed, I'm FINE!" Winry said, louder than she had intended it to be, and tried to sit up once more, wanting to move around, wanting out of the building, but she was pushed back onto the couch by Edward.
"Edward? WHAT THE-"
"You need your rest, Winry," Edward said quietly. "You said so yourself." Winry scowled and crossed her arms from where she lay on the couch.
"Fine. Fine. Just leave me alone, okay?" She growled, shifting so that she lay on her side, her back facing toward him. Edward stood up and smiled a little.
"Good. If you are hurt, I don't want it getting worse." With that, Edward left to the kitchen to see his brother and daughter. As Edward entered the room, Trisha squealed and ran to meet her father, and Edward gladly took her into his arms, walking over to a chair and sitting, placing Trisha on his leg. He looked to Al, and knew by the look in his eyes what he was asking.
"She went through the gate, Al. Something is wrong, I just know it .." Edward said with a sigh.
Alphonse sighed, "Maybe she was like me? No equivalent exchange was made?" He wanted to sound hopeful; he wanted to cheer his brother. Ed rubbed his eyes shut with his right hand. "I just hope NOTHING happened..." He began, "But how the hell she got here is what puzzles me. How can Winry get through the gate? She never learned Alchemy before, So..." Ed rubbed his chin.
"Maybe someone else did?" Al pointed out.
"But...why? Why Winry out of all people?" Ed questioned.
"Maybe...they wanted to hurt her? Or maybe she got caught between lines of a fight and there was alchemy involved?" Al tried to sound reasonable. "Whatever happens, lets just let her explain to us in the morning, right now we all need to rest."
"Daddy..?" Ed looked up to see his daughter tugging at his neck collar.
"Yes, sweetie?" He asked, opening his eyes half way.
"...She looks like mommy..." she pointed out. She wanted her mother, she would do anything to see her again...but this lady who looked like her was there...and her father and uncle claim it wasn't her mommy...but someone they knew from long ago. "How come?" She wanted answers.
"It's..."
"It's complicated, Trisha" Al blurted out, getting up from his seat and walking next to them. "Come on... let's get some sleep, okay?" He tried to carry her out of her father's grasp but she simply would not go. "NO!" She screamed. "I want to know WHY!" Tears streamed down her face as she yelled this out.
"Trisha..." Ed wiped the tears from her face. "She is kind of like mommy, but she is not. See, she looks like her, but her personality is totally out of place. She is tomboyish and unladylike, unlike your mother. Just...when she feels better you will get to know her."
Trisha sniffed a little and stared at her father with a scowl on her face. "Promise, Daddy?" Edward smiled and nodded.
"She'll be staying with us for a while, so that should give you some time to get to know her. For now, though, you should get some sleep too! You've got school tomorrow ..." Trisha wiped her tears on her sleeve and smiled a little.
"Okay, Daddy .." Edward smiled, standing up and holding the little girl in his arms, looking to Al with a sheepish expression before walking to the bathroom to give Trisha a bath before tucking her in. Al sighed and shook his head, walking to the living room to check on Winry, who he supposed was sleeping. He peered into the room and saw that her back was turned to him, and her blanket was nearly falling off. Al quietly walked over towards the couch and lifted the blanket, covering her with it as much as he could, and was about to leave when Winry's voice stopped him.
"So, explain why Edward has a little girl now. You said you would, Al." Al turned around and grinned sheepishly.
"You might not understand it, but I think you should know." Winry shifted so that she was looking at him.
"I'll try my best to understand it, then," She said with a tiny smile.
Al sighed, he didn't even have the slightest clue where to begin but Winry assured him to take his time. "Start from the beginning, from when you guys left me," She told him. He stared at her for a moment before he began. He explained what they did after they came from home, what place they were in and now, how Ed had met a lovely young lady a few years back (Though he didn't give her name or much of a description, trying to avoid another onslaught of questions). He explained that Trisha was named after their dead mother because Ed asked his wife (Winry STILL couldn't believe that Ed, out of all people, got married). Then he explained their jobs and how they were doing, leaving out a few details here and there, but nothing serious.
"So...Trisha is her name?" Winry wondered.
"Trisha W. Elric," Al responded.
"What's the 'W' for?" Al swallowed. "I am not sure..." He lied. He moved a bit from his current position. "So...I guess I explained what needed to be cleared...care to explain what's with you?" He was curious to know how Winry got there in the first place.
Winry swallowed hard. "To be honest...I don't know. One minute Colonel Roy Mustang had called me, I went to central and...Everything else is blank." Al softened his expression. "How is everyone?" He missed them. Although he had his brother and a family, he still missed them.
"Fine, Fine. Grandma is still as stubborn as a mule. Roy is still working for the military, and Riza married him."
Al choked, "What? They got married?" He burst out.
Winry blinked a few times before answering, "Yes...why is that shocking? She was on Colonel's butt every single day, WHY not notice the HINTS? Or are you men too macho to notice it?"
"Hey...I resent that." Came a voice from the doorway. Winry looked see who it was; Edward. "Not all of us are idiots...some just takes longer than others to realize what's going on."
Winry smirked. "Oh, that's right. I forgot that some men are complete geniuses." Edward rolled his eyes and chuckled. As much as he worried for Winry's safety in this world, it was still good to have her with them, just the same.
"So. You're feeling awake enough to joke around, are you? Why don't you tell me what you remember of the time before now, in Amestris, when you were called to Colonel Dogshit's office?" Winry lowered her gaze to the ground.
"I've already told Al, I don't remember much. Only that I was called to Central to do an Automail installation, and the boy's sister called me in to look at something.. Then the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a huge transmutation circle, and--"
"WHAT!" Both Edward and Alphonse shouted in unison. They looked to each other, nodding in confirmation.
"In that case, Winry, you're lucky to be alive." Winry was confused.
"... I am?"
"If our suspicions are correct ..." Edward started, "That girl might have been trying to take your body to be her own. You wouldn't have been yourself any longer if that had happened." Winry's eyes widened.
"Winry, what did you do when you found out that you were in the middle of a Transmutation circle?" Alphonse asked, as calmly as he could possibly be.
"Well .. I ran. I mean, I don't think I would want to be in the middle of a transmutation.. Apparently, I wasn't fast enough, seeing as I'm here right now." The Elric brothers looked to each other one more, nodding once more, and then sighing in relief; the worst hadn't happened to their dear childhood friend .. She was more than likely all right.
"You rest now, okay Winry? We'll take you to a doctor in the morning, just to be sure you're all right," Edward said softly, kneeling down next to her and brushing some of her bangs out of her eyes. "And don't you even think of telling me not to worry." Winry smirked, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.
"Like hell you'll worry," She said jokingly, which made the Elrics laugh a little.
"Goodnight, Mechanic Junkie," Edward said mockingly, walking towards the hallway to his room.
"Goodnight to you too, Alchemy Freak. And by the way, that is not the right way to greet an old friend." Edward laughed again, disappearing to his room. Alphonse looked to Winry and smiled sheepishly.
"I'd better head off to bed too. Do you need anything?" Winry shook her head. "Good. Have a nice rest! We'll see you in the morning!" And with that, Alphonse disappeared to his room as well. Winry turned over to her side again, a smile forming on her face.
"Those two haven't changed that much ... that's good."
Winry lay back once again, and wrapped the sheets around her. It was going to be a long night; she could feel it already coming. For some reason, however, she welcomed it without problems. Tomorrow she would find out what was going on, and even if Al and Ed wouldn't give her an answer, she would find the answers out by herself. With another sigh, Winry closed her eyes and went to the world of dreams.
-To be continued-
Nyago: Because? We are evil and we want more reviews :D So press that PRETTY button and submit "Review" It would make little Trisha very happy.
Ai: Trisha likes to be happy:D You could also review .. because .. you love us:D C'mon, you can't deny it, you love us. xP