AN: The characters and concepts of FullMetal Alchemist belong to Hiromu Arakawa. This story revolves around the first anime of FullMetal Alchemist, not the manga. Do not flame because of that small difference, I've read the manga and seen the real anime that follows it, but the first anime is what captured my heart about FMA, so this story is tribute. Enjoy the story. The lyrics are "Lost It All" by Avenged Sevenfold, I do not own the lyrics to the song. -Carrie.
"I ain't waiting for a miracle; I ain't waiting for the world to change.
Under my skin lives the reason, under my armor I lost it all."
Sporting some new wrench-shaped bruises on her human arm, Carlina was busy in the kitchen washing the mountain of dishes. Pinako and Winry had both taken to beating the girl despite her apologies. Worn out from the exercise, Pinako was upstairs already sleeping. Winry sat in the sitting room with Ed and Al, who were both thinking similar things. The silence broke when Winry shifted in her seat, running her fingers through her hair.
"Winry, I've got a question about Carlina." The blond girl looked up at Ed, a serious expression etched on his face. "Uh, sure Ed, shoot?" "Why can she do alchemy without using a circle?" The room was silent for a few more seconds before Winry began laughing, catching the brothers off guard.
"An alchemy question, Ed? Really? You know I don't specialize in that, it's not my field," her laughter died down upon seeing the expression both Elrics shared, "why do you ask?" "Well it's just, out in the cemetary, when Envy showed up-" "-wait brother, Envy was there-" "-guys who is Envy-" "-stop it," Al and Winry both stopped when they heard Ed's tone, sitting back with mouths firmly shut. "She transmuted without a circle, no gloves that had arrays on them, she didn't use chalk. I don't think she clapped- although I could be wrong. He went at her and she stood there, it was like he hit an invisible wall before flying back," Winry and Al looked even more confused at the description he gave.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, like I said, I don't really know anything about alchemy," Winry said, before the group descended into silence again. The sounds of splashing and moving could be heard from the kitchen as Ed rose and began pacing. "She said alchemy is in her blood, what did she mean by that?" "Most of Carlina's family have been State Alchemists, or at least practiced alchemy. It's a tradition for them to take their alchemy exams by age thirteen," Ed and Al both froze, their eyes wide with wonder. "You mean there are some families that practice alchemy, like, together?"
"I thought most families practiced that way," she asked, looking at Ed as he shook his head, "Not multiple generations, Winry. Most of the time you get parents and children but rarely full families!" "Oh...Well, they were a full family of alchemists. Her parents would hire tutors for the children as they grew up, they were to pass the exam by age thirteen, and then military service or individual research ensued-" "-children? Carlina has siblings?"
Ed and Al froze as Winry bit down on her bottom lip, wringing her hands together. "Had, she had siblings. Four of them, and a cousin that lived with them. Her brother Carlton was the oldest, an independent researcher. Two older sisters, twins, Aimee and Isabella who served in the military. Carlina was next, she wasn't sure what she was going to do when the time came, and everyone thought she was very advanced from what she's told me. Jeremy and Janet were her whole world, he was a year younger and she was five years younger. Her brother meant everything to her from the second he was born, and after Janet got orphaned and the family took her in, Carlina had a younger cousin to treat like a sister..."
Winry cleared her throat, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "But why isn't Carlina living with her parents? Does it have something to do with Jeremy's death? It sounds like everything is so good for her," Al froze at the expression on Winry's face, her eyes wide as she looked toward the kitchen.
"This conversation has been nice but I really don't think we should continue," she gushed as she rose and walked toward the kitchen. Ed grabbed the top of her arm as she reached the doorway, spinning her around and looking her directly in the eye. "Please Winry, we just want to know-" "-I'm not supposed to talk about it," she whispered, peeking around the corner to see Carlina still diligently scrubbing at the food stuck on the pans. Winry sighed and nodded her head, working her arm out of Ed's hand before walking back to the chair. Ed followed and they sat at the same time, the room growing silent again.
"She was ten. Her parents came back from another military campaign, although it was the first for her sisters. To celebrate the successful return, they were hosting a party at their mansion. All the family was there, from every corner of the world. These kind of parties weren't unusual," she began as the brothers leaned forward in their seats, eager to hear more.
"The party didn't go well though. Halfway through, three figures appeared and started killing whoever they could get their hands on. They kept being killed by alchemists but coming back, they were searching for Carlina's tutor but he wasn't in attendance. Carlina managed to escape for a few hours, coming back to the house to find the carnage waiting for her..everyone was dead. The people who had killed them stayed behind long enough to taunt her and disappear. When she looked closer, she realized Janet was still barely breathing," Winry's breath hitched and she shook her head, the Elrics looking down at the floor.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "She ran for a while until she finally found a doctor. There was nothing that could be done, Janet ended up dying...her parents had served with mine in the war. In their wills, Auntie was given custody."
"Is that why she got the automail? Because of what happened at the party," Ed asked, his brow furrowing when Winry shook her head. "No, I don't know what happened to her arm exactly...she was missing for a few months and suddenly out of the blue, she called in the middle of the night. She told me she was in deep and she was sorry, and hung up. Next thing I knew Auntie was bringing her in and giving her automail. She told me that what Carlina did in that basement was terrible, and the only good was that Jeremy's remains could finally be put to rest...what's with the looks," she asked as the brothers looked at one another and then back at her.
"It sounds like what happened to us," Ed said, Winry putting a hand to her mouth as everyone was quiet again. It ended when someone cleared their throat from the doorway, all heads turning to see Carlina standing in the doorway with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Winry opened her mouth but closed it when Carlina raised her hand, "Don't, just...don't. I think you've said enough for a while." She turned her gaze to the brothers briefly but shook her head, turning and running upstairs. "I think I should go talk to her," Winry found with more awkward silence, sighing before burying her face in her hands, "Or, not...I'll just sit here, and hope this might all get better in the morning. Maybe by then, she'll stop being mad at me..."
The next morning, everyone but Carlina was sitting down at the table. Pinako glanced between Winry and the brothers, before she rose from the table and walked toward the door. She nearly ran into Carlina, who brushed some hair from her eyes before sitting down next to Ed, the furthest seat away from Winry.
Breakfast passed in silence for the most part until Pinako sighed and placed her mug back on the table. "So Carlina, did your mind change at all from yesterday about becoming an alchemist," she got right to the point, everyone else flinching at the word 'alchemist'. Carlina looked down at the table for a few seconds before she lifted her head, an odd smile on her face. "Actually, I did. I mean, it's in my blood, and I'm a year overdue for the time I should have gone in for my exam, but some things do change," she said softly, Pinako smiling encouragingly, "but last night showed me something."
Carlina rose to her feet, her smile turning sweeter as she looked at Winry. "Risembool is too small for a girl like me, these last four years I've wasted my time and talents. I can't continue to sit around and do nothing when I come from a family like mine," Winry looked ashamed while everyone else looked shocked.
"So, you can bet your ass I'm going to Central with the brothers and taking my alchemy exam. I don't even know what I'm going to do once I complete it, but anything is better than sitting around here. You want me to pay for my hair? I'll find a way to do that. My 'best friend' can't keep my secrets to herself? Then I guess I'll keep everything to myself. Who knows, after my exam, maybe I'll be assigned with the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother? But tomorrow, I'm out of here," she finished with the same sweet smile and left the room, as Winry burst into tears and everyone closed their open mouths.
AN: I know it's a bit later than I expected to have it submitted, but another update, woo! Leave reviews please, it helps me to have some feedback, or submit to my inbox if you're a bit shy. Hope to have Chapter 5 up two weeks from now! Thanks for reading and glad to know it's still being read after all this time. -Carrie.