When Crono, Lucca, Robo, and Havoc got off the train in Resembool, they found themselves in a small, charming downtown surrounded by fields. Havoc pulled out a map that Hawkeye had given him, which had directions to the mechanic on it. The place was quite a long walk away.
"Well, I guess that we should get going," Havoc said.
As they were walking, though, they overheard a man loudly talking to some friends. "I'm telling you, I saw it with my own eyes! Right in the middle of the day, I see this gorgeous woman, couldn't be older than twenty-five, stroll into my ranch, lift one of my sheep over her head, and walk right off with it! She's the reason we've been having sheep go missing, I'm sure of it!"
While the man's friends dismissed his story, Crono and Lucca just looked at each other.
"What's up? Friend of yours?" Havoc asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Crono said. "Why don't you go ahead and take Robo to the mechanic, I'll see if I can find her," he told Lucca.
"Sure," Lucca said. "See you then."
Crono walked up to the man telling the story, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Where did you say this happened?" he asked.
The rancher took Crono to his field, and the approximate location of the incident. "I'd say it was around here," he said. "Say, why do you care, anyway? You don't look like you're from around here."
"Let's just say it's curiosity," Crono said.
He quickly found a set of tracks (Ayla never was one for stealth or subtlety), then waved to the rancher and started following them. They led him a considerable distance into a small thicket, where, as he expected, he found Ayla roasting meat on a campfire. Ayla was a woman from prehistory. She had long, curly blonde hair, and wore simple gray fur boots, a loincloth, and wrappings around her chest. The loincloth still had the tail of whatever animal was skinned to make it.
Ayla heard him approaching and bolted up, then ran straight at him and tackled him. They went rolling across the ground until she ended up on top. "Oh! Crono!" She said. "Ayla not know it you." She got off him and stood up.
"Good to see you too," Crono said, also standing up.
"Crono hungry? Want eat?"
"No, I'm here to tell you to stop stealing the townsfolk's sheep."
"But people have lot sheep. Ayla only take few."
"They're not your sheep, Ayla. If you want food, you can come back with us."
"Crono bring friends?"
"Just Lucca and Robo. We haven't found the others yet."
Ayla nodded. "Ayla come. See Lucca, Robo. Help find Marle, Frog."
"Good. Come with me, then."
Lucca, Robo, and Havoc walked to the edge of town, where a large, lonely house sat. A wooden sign out front had the words "AUTO MAIL" painted on it. As they approached, they saw a black dog with a metal foreleg run to where the footpath met the yard. It started barking and wagging its tail.
A few moments later, a short old woman came out the front door and made her way down the porch steps to the dog's side. She was wearing a green dress and white apron, round glasses, and had her gray hair tied up in a small, high bun. She was holding a long, thin pipe, which she took an occasional puff from.
"Now what do we have here?" the woman said, when they got close enough to speak.
"Hi ma'am, sorry to intrude" Havoc said. "I'm Lieutenant Jean Havoc, and my associates here got a recommendation from Riza Hawkeye. I understand you make automail?"
"Well, my granddaughter does most of the work nowadays," the woman said. "I'm Pinako Rockbell. Why don't you come inside, and we'll see what you need."
She led them into the house and sat them down at the dining table, though Robo remained standing.
"Winry, we've got customers!" the woman called up the stairwell.
"Coming!" came a girl's voice. She came downstairs and stopped, then looked the group over. "Boy, we nabbed a real freak show this time, huh?" She was wearing baggy white pants with a jacket tied around her waist, a black tube top, brown mechanic's gloves, and a green cloth around the top of her head. She had blonde hair in a long ponytail poking out of the back, as well as two long locks on either side of her face.
"Winry, be nice to our customers," Pinako said.
"We don't mind," Lucca said. "In fact, we've got two more coming sooner or later."
"Anyways, what can we do for you?"
"We're just looking for parts, actually," Lucca said. She pointed at Robo. "My friend there had part of his arm destroyed, and Hawkeye said that you might have the supplies we need to repair him."
Winry walked over to Robo and looked at his arm, with its exposed wiring and severed parts, then looked up and down the rest of him. "What's with you anyway?" she asked, confused. "Your arm seems to be made of automail, but..."
"I am a robot," Robo said. "A machine that looks like a man."
"A what?" Winry said. She turned back to Lucca. "Wait, are you telling me he's—"
"Not even a little bit human, no," Lucca said. "You guys don't seem to have computers here, but he's pretty much a person made from circuits and gears."
"Wow..." Winry said. "That's incredible! And you know how it works?! Can you show me?"
"Sure," said Lucca. "I could probably use some help getting his technology and automail technology to negotiate, anyway. I'm really interested in the stuff; I never thought to apply mechanics that way. It might be able to help people like my mom."
"There's no automail where you're from?" Winry asked.
Lucca shook her head.
"Well then let me show you!" She grabbed Lucca by the collar, grabbed Robo's arm, and dragged them both upstairs.
"I'm sorry about her, she's... excitable," Pinako said. "So, Mister Havoc, what's the story here?"
Havoc chuckled, and lit a cigarette. "You're asking the wrong person, ma'am, I'm just the escort. Maybe the third one can tell you when he gets here."
"Hm," Pinako grunted. "Well, in the meantime, would you like some tea?"
"Wow, this is amazing," Winry said, peering into the insides of Robo's head. "These parts are so small. How do you work with this?"
"Well, for the most part those are the parts you don't touch," Lucca explained. "I had to get way down in there once. That's not an experience I want to relive."
"Wow, look at all the components... Is that gold?"
"I think so," Lucca said. "Anyway, back to the arm."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Winry giggled. She got down from her stool and knelt next to Lucca. "I've definitely done arms before. Let me go get the spare so you can take a look."
She went into a closet, and came out moments later holding a metal arm, which dangled limply. She handed it to Lucca.
"Do you mind if I open it up?" Lucca asked.
"No, go ahead."
Lucca unscrewed the outer plating of the arm. "Wow, this design is really impressive. Everything fits together so nicely," she said. "I'm guessing this cable provides the tension needed to move the muscles?"
"That's right," Winry said. "You catch on pretty quick."
Lucca nodded absentmindedly. "Robo's rocket fist uses a similar mechanism. We should be able to remake the arm if we use the left one as a reference. Luckily, I still have the hand, so that won't be an issue." She patted Robo's chest lovingly. "It'll look a little out of place, but we'll get you fixed up, buddy."
"Hey, how did you find him anyway?" Winry asked. "This technology is otherworldly."
"You have no idea how right you are about that," Lucca said. "I'll tell you about it while we work."
Lucca told Winry about how they'd gotten pulled into Amestris, as well as the story of how they'd originally found Robo, and how he'd been trashed by units of his own model.
"That's a lot to take in," Winry said, after she was done.
"I know," Lucca said. "I have a hard time believing it myself sometimes."
"So, Ed and Al, they're missing?"
"You mean the 'Elric Brothers'? Yeah they are. Do you know them?"
"They're childhood friends of mine."
"Well, we're fairly certain that they took our places," Lucca said. "I don't know much about them, but from what I've heard, they sound like they can handle themselves."
Winry frowned.
"I know, I know. Doesn't really help much. All I can say is that we're trying to get home as fast as possible, which means we're also working on getting them home."
"...yeah, I guess so."
"Winry, dinner!" Pinako called from downstairs. "Bring your new friend down too!"
"Huh? Has it been that long already?" Winry said. She walked to her balcony and looked outside. "Hey, who's that?"
"Hm?" Lucca stood up and looked with her. Crono and Ayla were walking down the path to the house. "Oh boy," Lucca said.
"Are they the friends you were talking about earlier?"
"Yep. Come on, this is going to be an interesting dinner."
They went downstairs and out the front door, where Pinako and Havoc were already meeting Crono and Ayla.
"Ah, here they are," Pinako said as they approached. "This is my granddaughter, Winry."
"Nice to meet you," Crono said. "I'm Crono, and this is Ayla."
"Nice to meet you..." Winry said, holding out her hand. Ayla grabbed her forearm, yanked her close, then lifted the arm up and inspected it, then let go. Winry stepped back, dazed.
"You strong. Ayla like."
"I'm sorry about her," Crono said. Winry just blinked.
"Why don't you two come inside? Dinner's ready, and we've got enough for everyone," Pinako said.
"Really? Thanks," said Crono.
They went back inside. There wasn't room for all of them at the small table, so Crono sat on the sofa, while Ayla sat cross-legged on the floor.
"So, what's her story?" Winry whispered to Lucca.
"Would you believe me if I told you she's quite literally from the stone age?" Lucca whispered back.
Winry looked at Ayla, who was now tearing into the food on her plate with her bare hands, then shrugged.
They told Crono and Ayla about what they were doing to fix Robo, and how it would probably take about a week at least. When they finished dinner, Lucca and Winry went back upstairs, while Crono and Havoc helped clean up, and Ayla went outside.
"So, what about Crono?" Winry asked, when they were alone. "What's the story with you two?"
"I've known him pretty much my whole life," Lucca said. "He was my only real friend for a long time. Someone like me doesn't really get out much, you know."
"Yeah, I get it," Winry said. "You must be close, huh?"
"Yeah," Lucca said. "Although he's already spoken for, if that's what you're asking."
"Wha— No, of course not!"
Lucca raised an eyebrow. "And what about you? Are you very 'close' with either of the Elrics?"
Winry blushed, then started to stammer something.
"I'm just messing with you," Lucca said. "You should see your face, though!"
Winry pouted, then grabbed a wrench off her workbench. "Come on, let's get back to work," she said.
Crono spent the next few days either helping around the Rockbells' house, or training incessantly. He was determined not to let Scar or either of those strangers from the sewers get the better of him again.
Eventually, Lucca and Winry came out of their hideout, with Robo following, and they proudly displayed his new left arm. It looked strange and out of place, being the color of steel while the rest of his body was more like that of brass, especially since his old hand was still attached. Nevertheless, the work was impressive, as it seemed to effortlessly mesh with Robo's original parts. Ayla, of course, didn't seem to fully appreciate it, as she looked on with a blank expression.
"Nice work, you two," Crono said. "So, how's it feel?" he asked Robo.
Robo pumped his fist in front of himself. "Lucca's work is stellar as always," he said. He turned and bowed to Winry. "Madam Winry, of course, did wonderfully as well. I am grateful to both of you."
"Robo strong now? Ready fight?" Ayla interjected.
"That is one way of phrasing it, yes," Robo answered. "We must be careful when facing Scar in the future."
Crono and Lucca nodded.
"So, I guess that means you're leaving?" Winry asked.
"Yeah," Lucca said. "I had a good time here, though."
"Me too," Winry said. "Feel free to come back anytime."
"Thanks," Lucca said. "For all your help too."
"It was nothing. I got to see some amazing things."
"Oh, that reminds me," Havoc said. "How much do we owe you? I can write you a check right here if you want."
Once they had that sorted out, they gathered their things, thanked the Rockbells, and were heading back to East City within the hour. When they arrived at Eastern Command that evening, Havoc knocked on the door to Hawkeye's office. "Yo, Colonel, we're back!" he said.
"Come in," Hawkeye replied.
They opened the door to see her, Hughes, and Armstrong huddled around her desk. As they approached, they saw that they were looking at a map of the city, which was covered in red markings.
"Hey, Colonel, what's up?" Havoc asked.
"That's the problem, nothing's up," Hughes answered. "We've scoured the whole city for this guy, and he's nowhere to be found."
"You talking about Scar?"
Hughes, Hawkeye, and Armstrong nodded.
Havoc looked the map over. "A whole week, huh? Maybe he's not even in East City anymore," he said.
"It's certainly a possibility," Hughes said. "In fact, Armstrong and I are heading back to Central tomorrow. We believe Colonel Hawkeye can handle things over here." He looked up at Crono and the others. "Wait, who is she?"
Everyone turned to look at Ayla. "Me Ayla!" she said.
"One of the friends they were talking about, sir," Havoc said.
"Huh, figures," said Hughes. "Anyways, like I was saying, the colonel and I have already discussed it, and we think it would be a good idea for you three—er, four—to come with us."
"Really?" Lucca asked. She looked at Hawkeye, who nodded.
"There are a lot of state alchemists in central," Hawkeye said. "And, well, the two who were in East City are missing and dead, respectively. Central could use your help a lot more than I could."
"You've certainly proven yourselves," Armstrong added. "You took down McDougal, and together we were able to hold our own against Scar."
"Not to mention their work in Liore," Hawkeye said.
Crono looked at Lucca, who shrugged. "Alright, I guess we'll go," he said.
"Great. Be sure to have your things ready by tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of paperwork piling up," Hughes said, before leaving the room.
Crono awoke early the next morning to a knock on his door. "Hey, kid, change of plans, we've gotta get going way earlier" he heard Hughes say. "A state alchemist in Central went missing last night. We're not sure if it's Scar, but we need to get there as soon as possible."