Heya readers! Kira here, hacking Niri's account... -evil grin- and Ember-baka's here to witness mi crime... -innocent look- neways...here's the rest of chappie 14 (no thanx to -coughs- -hides from certain person- )
Ember: FUDGE IS GOOD! -drools uncontrollably and eats piece-
Kira: -cough- please ignore my immaturepartner-in-crime

have fun reading!

"Uuu - uggghh," a blond haired girl complained. "My butt hurts…" Winry Rockbell's blue eyes scanned the train station, saying, "Those four sure do get on these trains a lot even when it's like this…"

Despite her searching, she missed the two people behind her, looking at the "Welcome to CENTRAL" sign on the wall.

"Just like everybody says about Central," she said. "There's so many people…" Frowning, she muttered, "That damn Ed said, 'You'll find out when you see the landmark at the West Gate,' but what did he mean by landmark…?" Spotting a rather large man, she sighed. "Oh. The landmark…Major Armstrong!" she waved.

"Oh, Lady Winry!" the huge man said. "Thank you for the time at Resembool," he saluted.

"No, no, thank you for taking care of those stupid Elric brothers and their friends," she sighed, remembering their last visit. Getting mad again, she ranted, "But how can that damn Ed call me all the way out here and not even pick me up himself?"

"It is not his fault," the major soothed. "At the moment, he cannot move."

"Now what do you mean by 'cannot move'? He didn't mention anything about that," Winry commented as they walked down Central's crowded streets.

"Mmmm," the major thought about how he could phrase this. "How should I say…he has been kind of taken in…"

"TAKEN IN?" Winry jumped on his words, then sweatdropped. "Oh, I see…he's been put in a juvenile detention center for committing so many crimes…"

"Not at that sort of place," Armstrong tried to correct her.

"But, then why didn't Angel or Bella pick me up?" she ignored him.

When he didn't answer, she looked scared. "Huh…….You mean a hospital…?"

"No way!" Winry shouted, seeing Ed's bandage-covered body and Bella in the bed next to him. "I didn't hear anything about you being here for getting hurt that badly!"

"Actually," Bella said, looking annoyed. "It was less than half this bad at first, but…" she looked meaningfully at Armstrong.

"Ed! Bella!" she helped them take the extra bandages off. "But still…" she looked sad. "Aren't you still hurt really bad even without the part that the major did?"

"This isn't that big of a deal," Bella grinned, acting like her normal hyper self.

"They'll heal pretty fast," Ed added, pulling his hospital shirt back on.

"Wait…" Winry looked around expectantly. "Where's Angel? I haven't seen her anywhere…."

Total silence reigned over the room, and Armstrong left so the three friends could talk.

"Well…" Bella's happy grin saddened. "She's kinda…"

Al looked curious too, but didn't speak; he had been silent since Lab 5.

"WHAT!" Winry screamed as they entered Rei's room. "How…why…when…" she looked slightly lost. "I thought Angel was the smart one in your group? So why is she the most hurt!"

"Well…" Bella looked at Ed. "You'd have to ask Edo-kun. I wasn't there." And I'm not telling Winry about the cancer, she thought to herself. That's for Angel-chan to say.

"I was being stupid," Ed tried to take the blame off Rei. "She's part of the reason I'm still here…" he realized how stupid he was being by telling Winry that.

Surprisingly, she didn't scream like he thought she would. "So…she protected you…and now she's like this?" she looked at the sleeping girl. Her eyes looked confused. "Wait…" she moved Rei's automail, a thoughtful look on her face. She muttered to herself, gently shifting this and turning that.

"…What's wrong?" Bella finally asked.

"Nothing…it's just odd. Her body's all bandaged and hurt, but her automail's only missing a bolt; there's not a single scratch on the metal."

Rei opened her eyes, careful to move so that Winry wouldn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. "So?" she asked, startling the mechanic.

"Angel! You're awake!" Winry said, smiling. "What's your automail made out of?"

Ed and Bella sweatdropped. How like her…Angel's only just woken up, and she's already obsessed with automail… Ed sighed.

Rei had been unable to answer Winry's question, so the disappointed mechanic pulled Ed back to his room to fix his automail.

"If I recall correctly, didn't you say something like you won't need me or Granny once you get the Philosopher's Stone?" Winry tightened a bolt on the malfunctioning arm. "Yet you're the one that's still stuck with automail."

"Shaddup!" Ed sighed. "This is giving me a lot of grief!" Sighing again, he added, "For now, I have to keep it. And Al is still going to be like that…" Looking thoughtful, he told her, "Al's been acting strange lately…"

"Strange?"

"Yeah. It's like he's not talking as much or he's thinking about something," Ed looked sad.

"…I wonder if he's worried about something…" Winry said.

"Oh, you don't know either…" Ed looked disappointed.

"How should I know when you don't know even when you're always with him?" she glared, polishing the arm. "Ok, maintenance complete!"

"Oh, thanks," Ed moved it around. "It's finally fixed!"

"Now you hurry up and heal up!" Winry reprimanded.

"Heh heh…" Ed laughed, and they went back to Angel's room. Bella's hand was soon fixed, and Winry was working on Rei's when he came.

"HEY, ED! YOU GETTING IT ON WITH A WOMAN IN YOUR HOSPITAL ROOM!" Hughes waved. "Oh, hi Bella, Angel," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"She's only my automail mechanic!" Ed fell over.

"Oh, so you seduced a mechanic…" Hughes mused.

"AHHHHH!"

"Winry, this guy's Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Bella introduced, laughing at Ed's condition.

"Is it all right to sneak away from work?" Ed asked, recovering from his…condition.

"Hehehe, I'm off duty for the afternoon on," Hughes grinned.

"Really!" Ed raised his eyebrow. "Didn't you say that the tribunal's been really busy lately and you couldn't take a day off?"

"NO NEED TO WORRY!" Hughes assured. "I left the overtime work for Sheska to do."

"You're a monster," Bella sweatdropped.

"So while I was off duty, I came to check up on how you four were doing, but I also came to do something else. I've got some info about Scar. Seems like you'll be released from our watch pretty soon."

"Really?" Bella and Ed rejoiced. "We're finally free of these annoying escorts!"

"Hey, that's mean!" Brosh sweatdropped at their enthusiasm.

"What do you think would have happened if we weren't with you?" Ross asked, annoyed.

"Huh?" Winry turned on Ed. "Escorts…hey, what kind of dangerous business have you gotten into!"

"Ugh!" Ed froze.

"No, nothing! Don't worry! It's not a big deal!" Bella answered.

"…………" Winry sighed. "…Right. It's one of those things that you four wouldn't tell me even if I asked anyway. Well, see you tomorrow. I'll go look for an inn to stay at," she lifted her tool box.

"You can stay at one of the military lodging facilities for a cheap price if you mention my name," Bella and Ed offered at the same time.

"Military what? That sounds too stiff," Winry said.

"In that case, you can stay over at my house!" Hughes said.

"I don't want to impose myself on somebody I met for the first time…" Winry declined his offer.

"I'm telling you not to worry about it! My family would be delighted!" he grabbed her arm. "Ok, let's do that and let's go!"

"Huh? Excu…" she was dragged out the door by Hughes.

"He looks like a kidnapper…" Rei sighed, as the others sweatdropped.

"Grr…" Ed glared at the milk, as Bella laughed in the back ground. Rei was still stuck in her bed, and Al sat against the wall, lost in thought.

"So you're here again today, punk! I've had enough of this. What the hell is milk for?" Ed asked the air. "I'm definitely not drinking this!" Falling back on old habits, he asked, "Hey Al, drink this for me instead……wait. That won't work with that body…"

"…You have a real body, brother, so you'll have to drink it," the armor replied.

"I don't like stuff I don't like!" Ed ate the other food. "It's not like I'm going to die from not drinking milk!"

Rei tensed, causing Bella to look curious. "What is it, Angel-chan?" she asked.

"Something…" a sad look flashed through her eyes. "It would be better if we weren't here right now…" she sighed, looking at Ed and Al briefly. "This won't be happy."

Bella looked confused, and Ed continued his rant; he hadn't heard Rei's words. "And even if I look like this, I am getting bigger. But everybody keeps saying small, small! Al, you're lucky."

The door opened, and Al's fist clenched.

Unknowingly, Ed continued. "Since your body's huge."

Rei flinched, feeling a surge of emotion from the soulless armor. Winry stepped inside.

"I DIDN'T WANT TO GET THIS BODY!" Al shouted, standing up.

Ed froze, and Winry looked shocked. Bella glanced at Rei, and the sad withdrawal in Angel's eyes confirmed her thoughts: the girl knew this would happen.

There was total silence for a long time, unbroken by any sound.

"…I didn't want to…get this body…" Al said, shaking.

"Ah…" Ed looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry."

Bella and Rei sat quietly, not wanting to interrupt this. It's important they work this out…themselves…Rei sighed in her head. But…it tears my heart to hear two brothers…bound by blood…fighting like this…

"…Yeah, it's also my fault that everything got screwed up…" Ed continued. "That's why I want to restore your body as soon as possible…"

"And what proof is there that you're going to really restore my body?" Al asked icily.

"I'll definitely restore you! Trust me!"

"' Trust', huh? You're telling me to trust what with this hollow body……? In alchemy, they say a human being is made from the flesh, the mind, and the soul! But was there ever a person that proved that in an experiment?" The armor's voice could be heard in the hall outside. "If you think about it logically, all 'memory' is just 'information'…so it ought to be possible to artificially create one."

"What are you talking about…?" Ed looked confused and shocked.

"…Brother, you said there was something you were too scared to tell me before, right? Could that have been something like my soul and memories were totally fake? Brother, how do prove that a person name Alphonse Elric really existed? Right…isn't it possible that Winry, Granny, everybody was tricking me? WELL, IS IT, BROTHER?"

Ed slammed his hands on the tray, knocking off the fork. "…Is that…what you had been holding inside of you the whole time?" Ed's voice was quiet, void of emotion. "Is that everything you want to say?" Al nodded, and Ed didn't react. "…I see," he said, his expression not changing. He stood up, slipping on his slippers, and walked past Al out the door.

Bella glanced briefly at Rei, just long enough to see her nod, and then ran to the door. "Ed…!" she called, but he didn't turn around.

She turned around, and Winry said, "You…" As one, the two girls hit Al. "DUMMY!"

"Wh-what was that for?" Al asked, suitably scared.

Bella fumed, while tears streamed from Winry's eyes. "Wi…Winry…Bella...g" Al said, scared.

"AL, YOU DUMMY!" Winry whacked Al with her wrench. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW ED FEELS! THAT THING THAT ED WAS TOO SCARED TO TELL YOU…WAS THAT IF YOU BLAMED HIM FOR WHAT HAPPENED!" Quieting, she continued. "He cried every night while moaning from the pain and the fever that came along with the automail surgery."

"But…but you're still…" Bella said, continuing the mechanic's words. "In just world is there an idiot that would be ready to throw away his own life to make a fake little brother? Isn't he your only brother?"

Al sat, thoughtful, until Bella and Winry pointed as one to the door. "Chase after him!" they said, glaring.

"Ah…" Al stood. "…ok."

"HURRY UP!" they shouted after him.

"OK!" he bolted away from the angry duo.

Rei sighed at the two. "You over did it…" she sighed again.

"……" Al stood on the roof, looking at Ed. "Bro…"

"That reminds me," Ed interrupted. "I haven't sparred for a while so my body's gotten weak."

"Huh?" Al blinked. "What are you talking about? Your wounds haven't even healed yet…WAH!" he stepped back, narrowly avoiding Ed's kick. "Wai…wait! Brother, wait!" He continued to deflect Ed's attacks, missing the sheet Ed threw at him. "You'll open your wounds!...?" He missed the kick Ed launched, unable to see through the sheet.

"I won," Ed announced, flopping on the ground next to Al. "Hehehe, this is the first time I beat you, Al."

"…That's not fair, brother."

"Shut up, a win's a win!" Enjoying the fresh air for a moment, Ed continued, "…We fought a lot when we were kids."

"Yeah," Al replied. "Now that I think about it, we fought over a bunch of stupid things. Like who would get the top or the bottom bed in a bunk bed…"

"I lost that time."

"We always fought over snacks."

"Awww…I don't remember ever winning."

"We fought when we were training with sensei, too."

"The master told us to shut up and half killed us, so that was a draw. Who'd get the toys…"

"I won that time."

"And back when I doodled in your book, Al."

"I totally clobbered you. We fought when we played at Lane River, too."

"I got knocked into the river.

"We also fought over who'd get to marry Winry."

"Huh? I don't remember that!"

"I won, but I was rejected."

"…Oh, I see…Hey, I never won!"

Al laughed.

"…And you're saying those are all fake memories."

"I'm sorry."

"Weren't you the one that said this at East City? 'I want to restore my body, no matter what'. Are you saying that's also an artificial feeling?"

"…That wasn't artificial."

"Yeah, we've decided that we'll definitely restore ourselves. We don't need the sort of half-hearted hearts that would get shaken up by something as minor as this. I am going to get stronger, both emotionally and physically!" Ed punched his automail arm toward the sun. "…And drink as much…milk…as I can…"

"Haha," Al laughed. "Yeah," he set his fist against Ed's. "Let's get even stronger."

"And after I was kicked by this guy," Ed pointed to a quick sketch the cross-dressing palm tree, "I don't remember anything else."

"Soul guardians…precious sacrifice…allowed to live…a person named Envy…and according to Mr. Marcoh, the stones were used even at the East Area Civil War…" Armstrong looked thoughtful. A tattoo of the ouroborus, the transmutation circle for the philosopher's stones…there are many mysteries just concerning the experiment on the stones."

"Even if we try to investigate this any further, the research institute is a pile of rubble now…" Hughes sighed.

"Are you sure there was nothing else?" Armstrong asked.

"Any detail, however small, might make our work a lot less…" Hughes added.

"No -" Ed started, but Rei stopped him.

"After Ed passed out, Envy and Lu - …the woman talked for a bit longer," she skipped the part where she beat up Envy, dismissing it as pointless. She told them everything the two had said, leaving out Envy's final complaint.

"Still…" Hughes looked thoughtful now. "There's a big time difference between then and when Ross and Brosh found you…"

Rei hesitated, finally nodding. She didn't speak, though, so Ed poked her. "What happened?" he asked.

"…I beat him up a bit," she grinned, as did Bella, "and called him a murderer. That would have been at least 10 minutes; he took a long time standing back up. And…" she shut her eyes, but despite the other's prodding, refused to say any more.

"Go Angel-chan!" Bella celebrated. "How much?"

"A punch…and more than a few kicks…" her grin vanished, but there was an evil look on her face. "No more than that fucking murderer deserves." Pain and hate flashed through her eyes.

Everyone blinked, surprised to hear her speak so vehemently. She had always been so silent, but when she spoke, she hadn't cursed others like Bella often did.

Rei was saved from questions by Winry's arrival. "I bought the train tickets you asked me to get," she handed Rei the tickets, not trusting Ed with them.

"Oh, thanks," Ed said.

"You're in a rush," Armstrong commented. "None of your wounds have healed, on any of you."

"We can't stay locked up in a place that stinks of antiseptics forever! We're leaving Central tomorrow!" Bella announced.

"Where are you going this time?" Hughes asked, looking at the tickets. "Dublith?"

"Where's that?" Winry asked.

"Umm…" Al scanned over the map. "Right in the middle of the south area," he pointed it out.

"AH!" Winry shouted. "Over here! Right before Dublith!"

"Rush Valley?" Ed looked where she pointed. "What's over there?"

"Nothing," Bella said, but she was drowned out by Winry's explanation.

"Rush Valley, the Holy Land of automail technicians! I've always wanted to go there! Take me, take me, take me, take me!"

"Go by yourself!" Ed said.

"Who's pay -" Winry began, but Rei interrupted her.

"You can't come," the girl said. "It'll be too dangerous. Besides, your grandmother will be lonely without you."

"But…" Winry sighed. "Fine…But you have to buy me something, okay, Ed?"

Ed sighed, but nodded anyways. Winry smiled, waving good bye. "I need to get back to granny," she said, leaving.

"Wow," Al said. "I've never seen Winry change her mind so fast!"

"What are you going to do at Dublith?" Bella asked, waving bye to all the people at Central.

"I talked to brother about a bunch of stuff, but we thought we should go see teacher," Al said.

"Aargh…" Ed sighed. "We're definitely going to be killed…"

"Kill…" Bella looked disbelieving.

"Just what kind of person is your sensei?" Rei asked.

"Sen…sei?" Bella, Ed, and Al looked confused.

Rei sighed. "I keep forgetting…I'm not home…" she looked sad for a moment before explaining. "Sensei means 'teacher' or, literally, 'one who has come before' in my people's language."

"Oh, like 'baka!'" Bella said.

"I knew it! I'm scared, brother!" Al returned to panicking.

"Be strong, little brother!"

"………" Rei and Bella just watched them panic.

hehe... -reveling in the panic- MWAHAHAHA! we are the all powerful hackers! -ignoring comments from the peanut gallery next to me- -cough- well, according to Ember-baka, we are the all powerful '.hack'ers...but w/e!

so, as always...REVIEW! and send LOTS of death threats to Ember-baka-sama! (Ember: or PERISH! -maniacal laughing- -chokes on piece of fudge- )

so, for now...Kira and Ember-baka, signing off! -flashy lights-