I suppose these chapters do get slightly long winded but that is something I chose to do. Took me a while to complete this one and sadly it souds a little repetetive but please stick with me as its gonna start to get juicy. Thanks to all who review. FMA isn't mine.
Isabelle, if that was her real name stood in the doorway with a camera in hand. Visually she was still a little old lady but now held power. She had that vile creature at her command and she had to be wealthy. Foolishly Winry had thought she worked for the paper and was now proven wrong. If this wasn't a direct attack on her Isabelle was trying to get at Edward.
'Where are my clothes?' Winry demanded. Fear and confusion made it the first thing that came into her head and she had blurted it out. She felt ashamed stood in nothing but her underwear in front of this stranger. What was worse was she didn't know who in fact had taken her clothes.
'I had to give them to Gluttony,' she sighed, 'it was the only way to stop him eating you. Likes the taste of a young girls flesh you see.'
Winry sank to her knees as a new fear spread through her. She had momentarily forgotten that Gluttony wasn't a real person and could perform such an act. As much as she tried to stop it her body began to tremble in full view of her captor. As Isabelle smiled it was clear this was just the reaction she had been after all along. Shame was no longer a part of her emotions as the realisation of what had happened really began to sink in.
Isabelle held up the camera and looked at the terrified girl through it. The look on Winry's face was perfect but kneeling on the floor would just not do.
'Get on the bed!' Isabelle snapped.
Winry looked up in shock at the volume in her voice. Her mind was a boggle and the words did not register properly. All she could think of was to run so that was what she did. Isabelle may be scary but she still had to be physically frail. Just one push and Winry could just run until she collapsed.
But as she stood up something blocked her escape path. Gluttony stood in the doorway salivating. At the sight of her his tongue fell out and his stomach rumbled. Winry let out a small cry before crying again. She would not be able to get out of this one easily.
'Please get on the bed dear, then I can give you some clothes,' Isabelle sighed.
'Why?' Winry whimpered, 'So he can eat me in a wrapping?'
'I told you my dear he will not eat you. You are an important body and I can not let it get damaged. Now on the bed.'
What choice did she have? Perhaps playing ball could buy her some much needed time to think. She was obviously going to take a picture to invoke some extra fear in those trying to find her; make them think that she was in danger. She was in danger it was true but if Isabelle wanted Winry to stay in perfect condition little could physically happen to her. For now anyway. Clambering on the bed she looked out of the window, hands still bound behind her back. If those searching for her had to see her like this she would at least show in her face she was not afraid.
'Who are you?' Winry risked asking.
Isabelle positioned the camera for a good shot of Winry's slim and delicate figure. 'My dear, I am all you ever wanted to be.'
Edward flexed his right hand to study the mechanics. It had served him well but it was now quite battered. There was a new auto-mail arm waiting to be attached but he would not let anyone but Pinako put it on. Normally he wouldn't have let anyone but its creator fix it to him but that wasn't possible at the time. With Winry's fantastic piece of work he would be more able to face any foe and save her.
Al sat next to his brother and respected his silence. All his brother had wanted to do was to come home and settle down, but that was impossible for the moment. He didn't know of anyone who would want to hurt Winry and nobody who would want to hurt his brother. Al was worried that Winry had been chosen at random like when Barry took her. Edward said that wasn't likely and that they knew it was Winry and that she was their dear friend.
'Are we going home brother?'
Edward looked at Al before taking in his surroundings. They had been lodged within the military dormitories to keep them close to the action. If the kidnapper wanted to get hold of Ed he would either try Central or…
'We had better go home Al. I don't want Grandma Pinako to have to open any letters. She's upset enough already.'
'Rose is looking after her. We could ask Rose to hide any letters that arrive.'
'You know that would only make grandma angry if she found them. We should go home for a while Al, I can get my arm fixed while we're there.'
Al nodded knowing his brothers words to be true. Central held many bad memories for the both of them. Winry's kidnap was another added to the never ending list.
The next morning they were ready to go. No other evidence had come to light and the witnesses could still no longer give any clues. A description of the elderly woman had been given in the hope someone would report seeing her. They had done all they could do for the time being so it was time to comfort the one person who needed it most. Pinako was a strong woman but some things broke her hard front. Winry was her only relative and so her most sacred possession. The brothers recalled her face as they had left to come to Central. It was a silent plea to bring back her granddaughter. They had not achieved that nor had they got any closer to finding her. The guilt would eat away at them until Winry was home for it was their fault. Edward felt even more to blame after reading the article about him in the newspaper found at the scene.
'It's nothing new brother,' Al had told him, 'when you vanished she was questioned wherever she went. They all thought you were…together.'
'Where would they get that idea?'
Al had shrugged his shoulders and said they just wanted to make gossip. This had compelled Edward to look at some of the news articles on him while he had been away. He didn't realise just what a celebrity he had become. Some of the questions they had asked people that knew him were rather personal but he was relived to see that not even the Colonel had answered. There were many pictures of his brother performing alchemy and of Winry looking melancholy. He had gulped hard and put the pictures to one side.
'Okay brother, I'm ready.'
Sat on the train Ed drifted back into his thoughts. He felt like he was betraying Winry by going home but he knew it was the best option. It would not be for long and they would be back to Central calmer and he would be fitted with his amazing new auto-mail. He dreaded the pain of the nerves connecting but he had never cried because of it. He would be strong for Winry's sake.
They bypassed the place where Winry's train had been stopped without any trouble. They could see some men looking for evidence by the line which eased their pain. It was good to know they weren't giving up on finding something in the grass. Still they held little hope of anything new being discovered. Whoever this kidnapper was they knew what they were doing and would not make stupid mistakes and give themselves away.
The almost sickeningly peaceful journey came to an end as one again they saw the familiar hills of home. So very little changed in Rizembol but word had clearly got around. Anyone who saw the pair gave them a melancholy look as if to sympathise with what they were feeling. If it wasn't for a quick escape Ed may have been compelled to demand they stop looking like that as Winry would be fine. Yet he could not bring himself to say those words for he feared eventually eating them.
Den who was nothing more then a dog was not nearly his usual self. He trotted toward them wagging his tail slowly instead of the usual pounce that pinned them to the floor. Den was an expert in the puppy eyes field but you could not explain things to him to try and comfort him. Clearly he sensed disrupt in the house and had expected Winry just as the rest of them had.
Rose stood in the doorway and a tear streaked face. She was visibly biting her lip to stop the flow of any more tears. She gave the brothers a small wave decided it was not the right time for an emotional welcome home. Winry had become a close friend to Rose which may have been the reason she had vanished. Rose secretly believed she was cursed as anyone she got close to either died or were not the person she believed them to be.
'How did it go?' she asked them carefully as they reached the door. It was a stupid question really but she didn't know what else to say. Pinako had demanded she be left alone and so Rose had only had Jack for companionship.
As Edward completely blanked her it was Al who answered that they didn't know much else. He apologised for his brother and guided Rose back into the house. Edward had clearly gone to hunt down Pinako and tell her all he could. In his hand his brother carried the case with his knew improved arm and leg which he would need fitting. Whether Pinako was up to it or not was an entirely different matter.
Pinako was in a pitiful looking state when Edward found her tucked away in an upstairs room. Her usual rigid hairstyle was unkempt, there were bags under her tired looking eyes and she slouched in a way that made her look entirely defeated. He went to speak up so she knew he was there but he didn't need to.
'Have they found my grand daughter?' she asked with a clear tremble in her voice.
'No…no they haven't yet,' he replied also with a strong tremble distorting the words. He waited for Pinako to scream and yell that this was his entire fault but she fell silent again. In a sense this was worse as her spirit appeared to have been crushed.
She turned toward him but she did not look at him. Instead she looked straight at the case in his hand. Edward swore he saw the feint hint of a smile in the corners of her mouth but it soon vanished.
'Your present arm and leg are useless. I had better fit what is in that case if you are to save Winry without messing it up.'
He almost stepped back in surprise as suddenly the normal Pinako spread forth from no-where. She wasn't the type to give up hope that easily and it had only been a few days since the incident. She would not let herself mope in front of anyone else let alone Edward. He would be acting tough on the outside to not show his sorrow and so she would follow suit.
'Let us get this out of the way. You never did like the nerves connecting did you?'
Even if he never cried he always let out a deep moan of pain as his nerves burned all through his body. Al had volunteered to connect his leg at the same time as Pinako connecting his arm so he would only feel pain once.
None that Al enjoyed seeing his brother in such pain. The comfort was that his brother would be proud of him for doing it. Rose hadn't remained to see it happen as she was unable to stomach cries of pain. It was the one little reminder of a life she was once surrounded by and it was a memory that would never leave.
While she sat away from the rest of them the post arrived. While Winry was away letters arrived all the time so she didn't pay too much attention. Then it occurred to her that it was unlikely to be from Winry and she rushed to pick it up. It was addressed to Edward so it was not her place to open it. Yet there was something about the paper; it had a smell that she couldn't quite put her finger on but recalled it from somewhere. Although it was weak on the paper it was clearly a strong odour to begin with.
Taken from her thoughts by Jack calling her from upstairs she put the letter down and attended to her sons needs. She was sure that if she didn't think about it she would remember that smell. Sadly she could also be very scatterbrained at times and she didn't think about the letter for the rest of the day. The rest of the day went on as normal for o-one could face mentioning the very thing that had them all together at that moment. Pinako did not once fall back into the state Edward had found her in and acted as if all was well. Winry would not show any fear for those she loved to be strong for those that surrounded her. Being the adoptive grandmother for the Elric pair she had as duty to be the last one standing.
Edward spent a good part of the afternoon and some of the evening recovering from the shock his body had suffered. It also meant he managed to get to grips with his new limbs. They really were as fantastic as they looked with fluid movements and no more weight then a normal arm. The metal looked strong enough to cope with whatever Ed would put it through. It was smooth and sleek and shined in all it's glory. He would not let such a piece go to waste and mentally promised Winry no damage would ever befall his greatest work. Unless it was in process of rescuing her that is.
He would spend another day recuperating then he would return to Central. He had just picked up the phone to call the military base when he noticed the letter addressed to him. It smelled vaguely of something but he didn't like it. Many people had written to him recently so another letter was nothing special.
Opening the envelope he realised the contents were stiffer then paper. It was in fact one photo with the blank side facing him. In beautifully written handwriting were the words 'what you always wanted'.
Flipping it over his heart sank with a distraught thump back into his stomach. It was a picture of Winry looking more determined then ever not to cry. She lay on a grand ornate bed with nothing on but her underwear and a scowl aimed at the lens.
