Chapter 2
"It just disappeared?" Ed asked after his brother and Noah had related the story. When they had come in, he had just been handing an empty mug back to Winry. Apparently, he had bumped it accidentally and broken it, but it was an easy fix for an alchemist. Now, although Winry's eyes were still red from crying, she was focused on the tale Al and Noah were telling instead of the loss of her grandmother. "Winry, have you heard of anything like this before? Has anything happened while we were gone?"
"No... I would have heard about it if something like that had been seen in town."
"Edward," Noah asked, "do you think it had something to do with how you were suddenly able to come back through the Gate?"
Ed sighed and finished off the last of his now cold hot chocolate. "It would not surprise me at all. That thing didn't come from either of our worlds, but if there are two worlds connected, there may be more that we do not yet know of. I don't know what we can do about it, especially if no one else knows about this. I hate to say it, but it may be best just to wait and see how things develop."
-
The next morning, Ed found Winry sitting on the balcony again, staring off into the distance. She had been in this position so many times in the past while waiting for Ed and Al to return that it had become a habit. Wordlessly, Edward stepped up to the rail and rested his arms on it, following Winry's gaze out to the green and blue horizon. After standing quietly like that for a long moment, he asked, "how are you feeling?"
"I guess I'm okay," she mumbled without moving, not even to look at him. A gust of warm air from the south flowed pleasantly through her long, light blond hair. "I'm... I'm sorry for breaking down like that yesterday." She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched a fist. "I'm not normally that weak."
Ed looked at her seriously. "We all have to cry sometimes. I cried like that when my mother died. There's no reason to be ashamed of it."
She bowed her head and smiled sadly, but it looked more like a grimace. "You're right, Ed. Sorry."
Ed took a deep breath and pivoted around to face her, putting on a cheerful face for her sake. "Well, if you need something to keep your mind occupied, you could give my auto-mail a tune-up. It needs it."
Winry stood up then and grabbed Ed's right arm, pulling back the sleeve and quickly glancing over the scratched and battered machinery. "Sheesh! What did you do to this thing!"
Ed grinned sheepishly. "Hey, it's been three years since I've seen my mechanic! You should consider it a miracle that it still works at all!"
She rolled her eyes and swatted him lightly over the head. "I guess you're right. Come on, we better get this fixed now. How's your leg?"
"If it gets much worse I'll be limping everywhere."
She let out an exasperated sigh as she dragged him inside. "I should have known. You idiot..."
Ed didn't mind the mild abuse and name-calling at all. He was just glad that he had been able to cheer her up, at least a little. He had certainly chosen the very best subject for the job, of course. Constructing auto-mail was not just Winry's job or hobby, it was her passion.
-
"Ow," Edward said casually as Winry adjusted a connection between a metal plate and his chest. He expected a rebuke for whining, but instead she mumbled an apology and slowed down her work to make it more gentle.
"Sorry," she said again, "I shouldn't have been angry with you. I'm impressed that you did keep your auto-mail in such relatively good working condition on your own."
"I had to," Ed answered sincerely, changing position as Winry moved her attention to his left leg. "I had no idea if I'd ever see you again."
She paused momentarily, keeping her eyes lowered. "I'm glad you did... I'm glad you came back, that is. I don't know what I would have done without you."
"Oh, come on," Ed argued a bit frantically, "you're stronger than that!"
Winry smiled, but still didn't meet his eyes. "You're right. But still... You are my best friends, you and Al. Now that Grandma's gone, you're the dearest friends I have."
He placed his left hand on her shoulder, finally getting her to look up so that he could see his reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we won't leave you behind again."
-
The three friends spent the next few days catching up, with Noah filling in information about her world that the brothers still were not sure of. Winry was still a bit melancholy, but she no longer cried or stared off into space anymore, and Ed did his best to keep it that way.
-
Just five days after her death, Pinako's funeral was held. several old friends from Rizenbool were present, as well as someone who Edward had not expected to see.
Roy Mustang had been a bit nervous about showing up at the funeral of Winry Rockbell's grandmother, but he felt it was the right thing to do. Still, he hung back at the edge of the sad gathering, as of yet unnoticed by the girl whose parents he had slain. As much as Ed was surprised to see him, Roy had expected even less to see the ex-State Alchemist who had disappeared three years earlier.
Careful not to attract Winry's attention, Edward stalked over to the Flame Alchemist whose back was turned to him, and stood even with him, annoyed to find that he was still quite a bit shorter than the soldier. "What are you doing here?"
Roy jumped and did a double take when he realized who was standing beside him. "Full Metal? When did you return?"
"The day Pinako died," answered Ed darkly, glaring straight ahead instead of looking up at Roy. "You didn't answer my question."
"I though it was my duty. I feel responsible for the deaths of the girl's parents, even though I was only following orders."
"You are responsible, and you're probably the last person she wants to see right now."
Roy looked pained, but Ed was not about to let up. "We may have been allies at some points in the past but you were never a friend of mine or hers. The best thing you can do is to stay away from her." With that, Edward turned neatly on his heels and walked away, leaving Roy thoroughly cowed. For his own safety as well as Winry's sake, he left early, and Ed kept his mouth shut about the whole thing.
-
"How was it, Honey?" Riza Hawkeye - soon to be Riza Mustang - asked when her fiance came home.
"The Full Metal Alchemist was there," he answered in a tone so gloomy that Riza had no doubt of the answer to her question.
"So the Elric brothers have returned? That's unexpected."Riza followed Roy to their sofa and stood behind it when he sat down, starting to massage his shoulders. "I'm afraid I have some news for you, too."
"I take it it's something bad?"
"A neighborhood on the eastern edge of Central was attacked yesterday. The reports describe strange, semi-humanoid creatures that seemed to literally emerge from the shadows. They were said to have large, yellow eyes, and some of them were wearing armor. Damage was minimal, but two people involved in the attack were reported missing afterwards. Guns and bladed weapons did work on them, but not well. By the sound of it, it was lucky that their were only two casualties."
The only good effect the report had was that Roy looked more awake. "Any ideas what those things were or where they came from?"
"None, and those that were killed were said to have vanished into thin air. I'd think it was a hoax if there were not so many people with the exact same story."
Roy groaned and slouched lower into the sofa. "What sort of precautions have been placed?"
"Any civilian who sees one of those creatures is to stay away from it and report immediately to the nearest city guard. The guards are ordered to shoot the creatures on sight."
"Good enough. Hopefully we won't have to deal with anymore of those things at all."
She leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "We can only hope."
-
Bark! Barkbark!
The four were once again sitting around the coffee table, holding mugs of hot chocolate. The funeral had been hard on all of them. Even Noah, who had not known Pinako, had been reminded of Alphonse Heidrich's funeral.
barkbarkbark!
Ed winced as Den barked again from outside. "Al, would you please call that dog in so he'll stop chasing squirrels or whatever?" he grumbled without raising his head from his hands were it rested.
"You're closer to the door, Brother."
Not in the mood to argue, Ed just stood up and opened the door. Sure enough, Den was chasing something... but it was not a squirrel.
As soon as the door was fully open, a small gray shape streaked into the house and vanished under the sofa before anyone could get a good look at it. Den came barreling in after it, barking madly, his auto-mail paw scuffing the wooden floor.
Snapped out of her reverie, Winry jumped up and caught the beast by his collar, but not in time to keep him from bumping into the table and spilling the hot chocolate that Ed had set there.
"Put him back outside, Winry!" Al yelled over the noise of the barking. Edward helped drag the energetic dog back out without much mishap, and then shut the door securely. Den continued to bark and try to get in for a while, then got distracted by something else and wandered off.
Meanwhile, Al was on his hands and knees, trying to coax whatever Den had been chasing to come out.
"Al, be careful!" Ed called in alarm. "What if it's another one of those shadow things?"
"It's not," All said with certainty, reaching under the sofa and pulling out... a small, dark gray tabby cat.
In response, Ed sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I should have known... Al, you're a cat magnet."
"It's not my fault," the younger brother argued, "they just like me for some reason! And how am I supposed to abandon a homeless, starving creature that's so cute and soft?" He held the shivering animal close to his chest, stroking it gently and whispering words of comfort to it.
"That's why they like you. They know that you're soft, too, in another meaning of the word," but Ed's voice was resigned. If his brother wanted to keep the cat, who was he to deny him? Al would have to be responsible for it, though. "Don't expect me to take care of it or keep Den off it. If Winey says you can keep it, that is. This is her house, you know."
Of course, Winry was already standing close to Al, helping him soothe the cat. "Oh, it's so skinny! Bring it into the kitchen and I'll give it some food. I guess dog food will work for now. I'll buy some cat food later."
Ed followed them to the kitchen to fetch a paper towel, then returned to clean up the spilled chocolate drink. He listened to their conversation while doing so.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Winry asked while pouring kibbles into a small dish.
"It's a tom," Al answered after a short pause.
"We'll have to get him neutered or he'll start spraying in the
house," she said with distaste, but before the sentence had
completely left her mouth, Al made a sound of exclamation and the cat
zipped out of the kitchen, past Ed, and back under the couch. With a
sigh, Ed reached under and pulled him out by the scruff of his neck,
but held him for a moment to look him over rather then letting him
go. His fur was slate gray with darker stripes of an interesting
shade that was almost green. The cat's eyes were large and an eerie,
pale green. Ed noticed something else, as well. "Al, I think
he's already been neutered."
"Huh?" Al walked
over to Edward's side to retrieve his new pet. "I could have
sworn he wasn't... But you're right. That's weird."
"Well, it makes things easier," said Winry from the doorway. "We won't have to deal with it, then." She brought the bowl of food into the living room and set it at Al's feet near the couch. "Feed him here for now. He'll be more comfortable if he knows he can get to his hiding place if something scares him."
Al let the cat down and watched the the starving little animal buried its face enthusiastically in the food.
"What should we name him?" Winry asked.
Al smile fondly down at the animal. "Little Brother."
"That cat is not your brother," Ed growled.
Ignoring his bad temper, Winry suggested, "how about Al? Or Ed?"
"You are not naming that cat after me," grumbled the grouch on the floor.
Al scratched the back of his head uncertainly. "I like cats, but I don't think I'm much like one..." he trailed off as Ed stood up slowly, having finished his task of removing the chocolate from the floor.
He spoke one word: "Lucifer."
Noah, who had stayed in the background until that moment, responded, "why Lucifer?"
Ed looked from her to Winry and Al's curious faces to the cat who had already scarfed down all the food and was now licking his paws contentedly. "In Noah's world, Lucifer is the name of the Devil, but it also means Light Bringer. In my experience, cats are usually either affectionate, delightful pets or destructive little terrors. Either way, the name fits."
The others all gave Ed weird looks, then smiled or, in Winry's case, even giggled. "I like it, and it's so true."
Grinning, Al bent down to pick up the little cat. "All right, your name is Lucifer then," he said, scratching the creature's head gently.
Ed sighed and started to turn and go to the kitchen to dispose of the chocolate-soaked towel he still held, but spared on last glance at the cat in his brother's arms. Both Winry and Noah were now hovering over, stroking and playing with the thing as if it was a baby or something. Yet despite all the attention from Al and the girls, Ed swore that, for one instant, the cat looked directly at him... and winked.
Unnerved, Edward retreated hastily to the kitchen.
-
Ed was winning, or so he thought. He had Envy pinned down and was punching him repeatedly. Envy kept shape-shifting his face to those of Edward's friends and family, but ed knew better. The face of Roy Mustang appeared, and Ed grinned darkly. "That's the easiest face to punch," and he proceeded to do just that.
Then Envy asked if he wanted to see his real face. Ed raised his fist for another punch... and froze. At first he thought it was his father looking up at him, but no, there were slight differences. Still, the similarity was unmistakable. If -
Unbelievable pain lanced through Edward's chest. Envy had taken advantage of his hesitation and ran him through. Edward had thought that there could be no pain worse than what he had felt when his arm and leg had been ripped off, and the auto-mail surgery that followed, but this equaled if not surpassed it. This was pure agony.
Thankfully, it did not last long, for within seconds the world faded and there was nothing, not even darkness.
-
Edward awoke with a sock, breathing hard. His chest was still in pain and it felt as if there was some kind of wight on it, but as the dark mists of dreaming faded and he grew more aware, the pain became less frightening and more annoying. He squinted in the blackness, and saw two glowing green orbs in the center of a dark silhouette. At that point, Edward finally recognized the sensation of cat claws kneeding his bare chest methodically.
"Ugh... Lucifer?"
The cat purred.
Edward glared at it, but it seemed completely undaunted, so he pushed it gently but firmly off of the bed and rolled over onto his side. The cat, of course, jumped right back on and curled up against his back. He sighed and commenced to ignore it, and the rest of the night went by just fine.
-
The following day was spent mostly trying to acclimate the cat to the rest of the household and vice versa. Den tried once more to chase it, but one good scratch on the nose from the suddenly bold little feline taught him better. Winry asked Al to go into town and buy cat food, and take Noah along in order to show her around. As an afterthought, she sent Den with them as well so that he would get some exercise. That left her alone with Edward and the cat.
Edward had been relaxing on the sofa since before Noah and Al left. Now Winry joined him. Neither of them looked at the other, and the awkwardness grew as both tried and failed to think of something to say. Edward was too distracted by Lucifer, who perched on one corner of the coffee table and stared at him. That cat was really starting to freak him out.
"Ah..." Winry started uncertainly, "how is your auto-mail holding up?"
Ed blinked. So did Lucifer. "it's perfect. You fixed it, so why wouldn't it be?"
"Oh... good," and the silence returned.
After a moment Lucifer stood up and hopped lightly off the table, padding quietly out of the room. In his absence, Edward relaxed. "You're feeling better now, Winry?"
"Yes. Thank you." There was yet another pause.
"Ed?" Winry touched Edward's hand as she spoke, and he turned curiously to face her.
"Huh?"
"I'm really happy..."
"What are you talking about, Winry?" Ed noticed that their faces were mere inches apart, and their hair - which neither had bothered to tie back that day - fell together in a mingling of golden strands.
"I'm happy that you're here," she explained shyly, face tilted downward so that her blue eyes were looking into his from under long eyelashes.
"W-Winry, what brought this on?" His expression was that of a deer caught in headlights, and Winry laughed slightly despite herself. "Just that I always think of you, especially when you're away. I love you."
"Winry, what?" Ed blinked, thinking he'd misheard her.
"I love you, just like I love Al and Den and I loved Grandma. I'll never forget any of you. That's all."
"Oh." A small smiled played on Ed's face and he stopped blushing quite so much. "I feel the same way."
Winry smiled brightly at him, even as he backed off a little, and they sat side-by-side talking of more trivial matters until the errand-runners returned.
-
A week later, Alphonse came in from outside waving an envelope around. "Brother! There's a letter for you!"
Ed emerged from what had been Grandma Pinako's bedroom, where he and Winry had been sorting through some of the old woman's belongings. "A letter? But who else knows that I'm back?" He stopped, remembering who had been at the funeral. "Oh, no... give me that." He took the envelope from his younger brother and tore it open, unfolding the paper inside and skipping down to the signature at the bottom. "Oh, hell no," he said in irritation, the tone of his voice causing Noah to peak through the doorway of the kitchen where she'd been washing dishes.
"What's wrong?"
"It's from Roy Mustang..." Ed glanced up to note that Winry, who had followed him, now bore an expression as dark as his own. With a sigh, he skimmed over the letter, looking more and more irate. "He says that Central has been attacked twice by strange creatures. His description sounds a lot like the monster you killed, Al. He says there is a shortage of State Alchemists in Central right now and he requests my assistance in defending the city. That jerk! He knows I'm not a State Alchemist anymore!"
"Are you not going, Brother?"
"Of course not! He can deal with it himself. The only way I'd get involved is if those things endanger Rizenbool."
"But Edward," Noah cut in, "we've already been attacked once. Doesn't that count as endangering?"
Ed glared at the paper in his hands stubbornly. "There was only one of those creatures here. It sounds like there were several involved in both attacks on Central. The one you fought was probably lost or something."
None of the others three looked content with this answer, but none of them wanted to argue with Edward, either. In Winry's case, she had even more reason to avoid Roy Mustang than Ed did.
Ed crumpled up the letter and tossed it into the fireplace, then turned on his heel and marched back into the vacant bedroom. Reluctantly, Winry followed him, and the other two went back to what they'd been doing before the interruption.
With the living room empty, Lucifer - having been eying the paper since he heard it being crumpled - slipped out from under the couch and padded casually over to the unlit fireplace. With one dainty gray paw, he batted the paper ball out and chased it back into his hiding spot.
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author's note: At this point, I need my readers' opinions in relation to the next chapter! The crossover aspect of this fic is really going to pick up in chapter 3, the problem is that it takes place after the second installment of this other story, which has not actually been released yet... (I know, you've probably guessed what it is by now, even before reading this note, but I'm gonna keep being secretive.) So here's the deal: I already have the 3rd chapter written, but I'm sure it's horribly inaccurate. Either I post it now and you deal with the inaccuracies, or I wait until I actually know what's going on and can fix the inaccuracies, but you have to wait about two months for an update. The third option is that I post chapter 3 now so you don't have to wait, then rewrite it when part two of (blank) does come out.
Please vote in your reviews.
