Chapter 8: Training

I walked out of the house and saw nothing but two flags in the yard, I smacked his head. I knew this challenge field, it's where I was beaten by Winry the first time.

"I see you're up, that's good, is Al?" Winry said and I turned around.

"No, he's still asleep. Do you want me to get him up?" She opened up her pocket watch and looked at the time. She really does like it, even I don't constantly have it on me that much, mine is tied to my jacket in the house.

"He has another hour, he's fine." I nodded and I came over and sat next to her, next to the tree. "Is it hard for you?"

"Hurting people?" She nodded. "I try not to if I don't have to, even with the worst people, I try to get them damaged enough just to arrest, honestly if I killed someone I'd break down similar to the way you did. Probably worst, I wouldn't be able to get away if I killed them, I'd just stand there, or fall to the ground." It was the conversation we needed.

"Like you said after my whole family has given their life to saving people in war, decapitations and things like that, I don't think I could hurt someone beyond just a threat, I couldn't take the threat to the next level, never been on field."

"Was it hard for you?"

"To do what?"

"To fight me." She thought about it.

"When they asked me to I was not sure if I could but I realized it would be easy with your temperament to trick you and then destroy your flag, like the practice rounds, but fighting you wouldn't be easiest, I was careful how much power I used to destroy your attacks because I didn't want to hurt you, see the other alchemists I fought, all of them were like very strong and older compared to you and me; if a piece of their attack hit them it would be no big deal, trust me compared to them, you were very easy. I had to work on dodging, and everything with them, and holding their attacks captive. Mustang was very hard, I contained his and back fired them on him but that's not the point. I was scared to hurt you and almost refused to but for the respect I needed from all the state alchemists and especially you, it was something I had to do." I nodded.

"You defiantly got my attention, and my respect."

"That's all I ever asked for; now that you know my tricks I'd be in for a real fight, not any of my cheap tactics. I'd probably put myself in the hospital for a while if I accepted." I laughed.

"Then we better not because if you're in the hospital then chances are my automail will need repairs and I'd be in the hospital so you'd need to repair it and with Auntie under protection she couldn't do it, we'd all be in danger, that wouldn't be smart right?" She nodded; of course I wouldn't ask her, and neither would she.

"I know I'm going to have to fight, it's destiny, I wouldn't be able to be an alchemist if destiny thought that I had no reason to. What could it be if I couldn't fight?"

"Maybe it's to teach the world that alchemy doesn't have to be used to fight, but be used to defend the things we love, that's how you've always used it, right?"

"I guess but I haven't used it for anything other than destroying others' attacks so I wouldn't know. So you have anything else to tell me to help me with my predicament?"

"Yeah, Al told me this after I was talking about it. You may have to fight, Al and I can't protect you forever Winry, one day you'll need to fight, and if you refuse it could be the end of those people, or even yourself, it might not be a very good thing to tell you but you have to face, they won't go easy on you because you're a girl, Barry didn't and neither will this guy, if you're an alchemist they wouldn't even think twice about it, if they get a hold of you they'll hurt you, you have to understand."

"I understand but sometimes I wish I'd never tried accessed my powers, it's been nothing but a pain."

"It gets better, some days I tell myself the same things, if I hadn't tried alchemy, then Al and I wouldn't have gone on that journey, lost our bodies and we'd be just like all the people in the village. But it was for a purpose."

"What was the purpose?" Winry asked.

"I don't know, maybe it was to unfoil the whole hunt for the philosopher's stone, stop all the innocent being killed for the stone the homunculi were creating. Maybe other things as well, I just know that it had to happen, destiny and all. What do I know?"

"You ever feel that hurting someone is just going against what you're fighting for?" She asked, almost in tears; yet so far away.

"A lot of the time, when Nina was killed, I felt that if I would have been there I would have killed him, but I know I couldn't have, I would have stopped myself. If I took his life, was I no better than him?"

"You had a reason for it."

"Revenge, didn't Auntie say something about that Winry?" I asked her to see if she listened.

"Yeah, forgot."

"Killing is wrong, that's why I killed the homunculi, so if I killed for revenge, revenge is and excuse like their excuse was the stone, both wrong, one just seems to out weigh the other, Auntie said they don't a death is still a death, no matter the reason."

"True." She said.

"Al and I just hope that if the time comes and you're put in danger you won't think twice about hurting the person just enough to get away, you'll just know and act, because your life is more precious then them getting a scratch on them."

"I'll work on that but it's time to wake up Al now." I nodded and walked away from her as she just looked up at the clouds and I woke up Al.

We came down the stairs and she was holding balls that were maid out of grass. "What are those for Winry?" Al asked. He looked at me and I shrugged.

"Come down to the river and I'll show you." Al looked at me and I was sort of scared. There was a huge metal beam going across the river. "See I said I'd show you."

"So how does it work Winry?" I asked very interested and scared of what drastic measures we had to be pushed to.

"You stand up on these beams and I throw these grass balls at you, they're perfectly harmless but you have to keep your balance and not get hit with them, 3 times and we start again, if you can successfully dodge 10 of them in a row then we move up to the next level."

"Does it get any easier on the next level?"

"No!" She took a deep breath. "It just gets harder, and eventually I get to throw my favorite tool at you guys." Al jumped behind me. "See this is going to be fun."

"Winry, isn't this a bit crazy, we fall down and we'll be down stream for a while before we stop, and Ed is incapable of doing his alchemy under water, and I can't swim."

"See, that's the point, in defense alchemy you're pushed to extremes where you have to do things or you're in trouble. If I was to not worry about hurting Ed during my match with him, then I wouldn't be as damaged as I am, understood." Al nodded and looked at me; I was freaked out beyond belief.

"You sure this is the best idea Winry. How did you train?"

"Me? I just was already good at dodging; you Edward are not seeing as from 500 yards away I can nail you with a wrench every time. Al you're reflexes are just out of touch, but that's nothing I can't fix. Alchemy comes into the equation later." I sighed. "You have to do anything but you may not sit on the bar or use anything to hold yourself up, it's balance and dodging."

"Brother, Winry is scaring me." Al said.

"See you're scaring Al, Winry."

"You guys need to learn or I'm going to defend that building by myself while you're inside."

"Brother stop her, she's gone insane." Al started shaking me, and Winry just laughed.

"Al stop being weak and hiding behind Ed, and both of you get up there." I sighed and me and Al got on the beam. She threw one at Al and he fell back.

"Brother save me, my blood seal, help, help." I clapped my hands together and the water turned to ground. He was still squirming.

"Al, you're flesh now."

"I'm drowning; I forgot I need to breath, help."

"Al!" Winry yelled. "You're on plain ground now, you're fine."

"Oh ya, I am, silly me." Winry smack her head and Al climbed back up and she made the ground back into water.

She threw one at me and I lost my balance and regained it. "See this isn't so hard Al." She hit me with another and I fell in. she laughed and grabbed my arm and pulled me out.

"Isn't so hard, yeah, you fell on purpose, right?" Winry asked me.

"No, you cheated, you hit me twice."

"Your enemies aren't just going to stop after the miss you, you should know that." I crossed my arms and got back on. She kept going eventually we would dodge one but then get hit after 3 hours with the grass we finally could dodge the light slow moving grass balls.

"Winry how did brother and I do so far?" Al said excitedly when Winry and I hoisted him to the ground.

"Pretty good, except you only fell in what 20 times each." I just looked at Winry who was very bored with this.

"Enjoying yourself Winry?" She smiled and nodded. "Well what's next, socks?" She started laughing.

"No, rocks, close but rocks are more aerodynamic than socks Ed?" My eyes went wide and I looked at her and she smiled.

"Brother, she's going to throw rocks at us, help!" Al yelled and jumped behind me again.

"Winry, that bush is moving." She turned around and I grabbed Al and ran off. Winry stood in front of us. "Man, that was suppose to work."

"Edward, Alphonse; Mustang and Riza are coming here soon, you have to be ready." She complained. "Stop being such chickens and work harder!" She yelled.

"Brother, Winry's going to kill us." Al complained. She took a deep breath. "Wirny, brother and I are going to die."

She threw rocks and for the first threw Al freaked out and tackled me out of the way so we wouldn't get hurt, at least we didn't get hit but the fall hurt, even if it was water some of the time, the others he'd crash us into Winry or the ground to the side of the bar. Then he started running across the bar pulling me behind and jumping on the ground, he'd land on his feet, I was what he landed on. She sighed hugely because Al did this every time. Then Mustang and Riza walked over.

"How are your troops Winry?" Mustang asked.

"Watch for yourself." She threw a rock and Al tackled me into Mustang. "Alphonse, not again."

"So Alphonse is a bit over protective of Edward, right?" She nodded and I just squeezed out the extra water out of my clothes. Riza's question made it clear that Al was scared of Winry hurting me. "Alphonse get up on that beam now!" I followed. "Edward, stay where you are! Winry go." I did as she said. Winry threw a rock and Al freaked out and fell back into the water. Winry dived in the water to go get him.

"Seems Alphonse isn't cut out for this dodging stuff, correct Wirny?" I just watched Mustang's glaze fall to Winry pulling Al out of the water and setting him to the side.

"He was fine when it was a slow moving grass ball that wouldn't hurt him, if he fell first he was afraid for his seal, then it was him drowning, sad but he can dodge just not anything fast moving that could hurt him." I sighed.

"Like Wrenches." Winry turned around to me and just looked at me. "My turn now?" She nodded and I climbed up there.

"Alphonse stay still okay, we need to make sure Edward can handle this." Riza told him, and Al nodded with fear in his eyes.

"It'll be fine." I told him. Winry threw the rock and without thinking I grabbed the rock. Winry just smiled. "How did I do that?" I asked her.

"Reflexes like we've been working on. I would have guessed you'd use alchemy to destroy the rock but catching it works too. You pass this section, now how do we handle Al?" She asked me, helping me down. She noticed that where I caught it with my right automail arm there was a mark where it went threw the gloves and scratched the automail. "The other gloves would have been better to use for this, metal sustained to protect your automail and increase your accuracy on alchemy but we have to deal with what we have." I nodded.

"I saw we shoot bullets at Alphonse and hope he dodges." Riza said and I was jumping at him but Winry caught the edge of my shirt and held it. "I was joking what do you suggest Winry, this is your topic."

Winry turned to a tree and drew a transmutation circle for agriculture under him, and pointed to the spot. "Al, please come here and then, stand in this circle. When you feel frightened by the rock, I want you to transmute anything to stop the rock, okay?" Al nodded much more calm then before. She threw a rock and he dodged it.

"How did you…" I pointed to the whole in the tree.

She just smiled. "Al felt scared of you being hurt and then of himself falling now that both himself and you were out of danger he could do what came natural and dodge, the extra security of the transmutation circle made sure he could protect himself, now Al, go up there." Al did and she threw a rock and he dodge but was still losing his balance. Then there was a vine around him than held him up there and Winry smiled. I just opened my mouth. "If you hadn't noticed I put under the spots I told you to stand a transmutation circle of your most normal type so that if you were compelled to do alchemy it would be easier with the bar being able to, such is why yours was metal, Ed and Al's was wood not as you said to be harder on you."

"Fine, you aren't being unfair, you just don't explain it all, at the same time." She smiled snugly, and I pouted.

"Brother, I did it, did you see that." I nodded.

"Yah Al, you did good, and I owe you an apology Winry, you knew what you were doing all along."

"Final Exam, both of you get up there." Winry threw a wrench at me and I clapped my hands together and caught between my hands the wrench and it disappeared. She smiled. She threw one at Al and he easily dodged it but fell backwards catching the bar with his legs.

"I see that it is actually possible to teach and old dog new tricks Winry, thank you for doing this, so are you going to be staying on field with them, or inside." She shrugged and walked off not answering Mustang's question.

"Winry, what are you going to do?" I yelled.

"Let's get back to the house first," Everyone came to her house and then she sat in chairs that she had out on the porch. "I think I'm going to do both, go in and out as I please, in to keep myself at peace and out to watch these two, one last test for them to go, but they're doing good."

"Very well, I think that's a good idea, what do you think Riza?" She nodded. "So what's their final test?"

"Ed and Al are going one on one in combat in the flag test." Mustang smiled and I looked at her and then at Al.

"Wirny?" Al and I said at the same time.

"I can't hurt Al."

"I can't hurt brother."

"You two are complete opposites and this should be interesting, just destroy the flags, the flag test is all about defense, how to get the flag destroyed the fastest, and no tricks Ed." She knew I was going to pull the same trick she did. Al and I walked out to the field and then she placed the flag that she made out of non alchemic residue, you can't use alchemy on, so we couldn't use alchemy.

"How do we destroy it without alchemy?" She shrugged and then went back to her chairs by Mustang and Riza.

"Begin." She yelled and then Al freaked out because I forgot that Al didn't have a transmutation circle on the ground. He couldn't do anything Winry had noticed to because she ran out and held her hands out and stopped my attack. "Sorry Al, forgot." She walked out onto the field and drew a transmutation circle on the ground.

"Unfair, in battle you can't do that." I complained.

"This is preparation for when he's guarding, I will have drawn out circles all over the perimeter for him and any other alchemist to use so it is now, go!" She yelled at me, I mumbled whatever and then Al transmuted a vine going over to the flag, I used my alchemy on the ground to destroy the vine and I launched metal rocks at him and he dodged then and then I launched a one around the side and destroyed his flag Al sat on the ground and fiddled with the dirt. Winry looked at me and shrugged.

"It's okay Al, in battle you have to think beyond the capabilities of another, he knew you'd expect him to launch them at him so he did at first then around to the flag, the flags are non alchemic so you can't use direct alchemy but Ed figured he could use something made from alchemy to destroy it, and was right."

"Congratulations Edward." Mustang said and I turned around.

"What?" I asked.

"I told him that I'd test your right her on using defensive alchemy for you to put out from probation, Al isn't in the military so he's free to be on guard if he wants to you, had to pass the test, sorry Al." She said to him.

"It's okay Winry, I'm glad brother is off probation."

"Me too Al, me too." Winry quietly followed and sat on the field back facing the flag that I was guarding, then it disappeared. My jaw dropped and she stood up and walked past me pushing me over with her finger and laughing to herself.

"How…

"Alchemy, duh."

"But."

"Alchemy goes far beyond normal expectations, just like Mustang's can, you're just weighted down Ed." She said smiling and walking on.

"You going to teach me and Al that."

"It's beyond you, if you can't figure out how then you can't. It requires thinking outside the box." I sighed and followed her inside.

Al collapsed on the couch and Winry got snacks for me. I ate so much I couldn't move and Winry smiled and took a seat next to me on the couch. Mustang and Riza chatted about plans and whatever outside, they would stay here until the dance, why anyone would come after what happened last night I don't know but I knew many would, but that was putting them all in danger, I knew someone who wasn't the same.

Al stood up and looked at me watch Winry, Winry was resting her head on my shoulder and was now asleep I believe and Al waved and went outside to practice his alchemy, he did that once a day and seeing how far he had to come made him want to practice more, and he did.

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