Metallic Hearts -FullMetal Alchemist- Episode Twenty-Three: Heart Of Steel

Ed slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

Bloch: "Edward!"

Ross: "What a relief, you've awoken!"

Ed: "Where am I?" He laid there for a moment before jumping up. "Lita! Al!" He looked to his left and gasped. You were laying on your stomach. The black tube top had returned and you lower back was black and blue. You looked over at Ed sadly and he gave you a passionate look. "Are you okay?" You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "No... No, he didn't." Ed sat there, about ready to cry.

Ross: "Don't worry, Ed. It's not permanent. She's just lost her voice from the bruising on her neck. Her voice should be back in a couple of days. One of her ribs is broken, and she has some severe swelling and bruising to her lower back. But she'll be fine."

Ed: "And Al?" Bloch stepped out of the way to show a very bad looking Al.

Heart Of Steel

Ed: "I'm sorry... I'll fix you right away."

Al: "Okay..."

Bloch: 'What happened to you guys down there?"

Ed: "Nothing much."

Bloch: "Nothing much? But you're both badly injured!"

Ed: "This is nothing. But I was almost able to get a hold of the 'truth' too. Next time, I won't make a mistake like that..."

Ross: "Edward. Let me apologize for what I am about to do." She reached back and smacked him across the face.

You laid there with an 'Oh my god, baby, are you okay?' look on you're face as Al sat there shocked.

Ross: "You almost died! You have to understand that you're still a child! You should have a little more faith in adults. I've done something unacceptable as a lower officer, but please forgive me!"

Bloch: "Please forgive her!"

Ed: "Oh... I'm sorry too."

With Winry

Winry: "This is Ed's part all right." She stared down at the screw in her hands. "I, the one praised as a young and beautiful auto-mail engineer, made a big mistake!"

Pinako: "Is something wrong?"

Winry: "Oh, it's nothing... It's nothing wrong." The phone rang and Winry picked it up. "Hello, this is Rockbell Auto-Mail."

Ed: "Oh, Winry?"

Winry: "Ed?"

Ed: "Well, I can't move my right hand anymore."

Winry: "Just as I thought..."

Ed: "Just as I thought?"

Winry: "Remember how I told you that your arm was a lot lighter, but it wasn't as durable? You didn't get reckless with it again, did you?"

Ed: "Anyway, I can't make it out to Risembool right now, so I don't know what to do."

Winry: "Then I will come to you. I'll be there in a flash, you just wait!"

Ed: "Aren't you being a bit to nice today?"

Winry: "Oh? I'm always nice."

Ed: "Well, okay then, thanks."

Pinako: "Make sure to fix it right this time."

Winry: "Yes..." Ed looked at the phone and smiled.

The Next Day

Hughes: "Hey, Ed! I heard that you can get up now!"

Ed: "Yeah, a bit."

Hughes: "Babe, you okay too?" You shrugged, your back to him. "What about you Al?"

Al: "Yes."

Hughes: "Oh, yes. Can you guys buy me lunch?"

Bloch: "I'll do it, sir."

Hughes: "Lieutenant Ross, can I ask you to go with him?"

Ross: "Yes, sir."

Hughes: "Sorry! I'm starving." After they left, Hughes sat on a stool next to Ed's bed. "About the Fifth Laboratory... The incident that took place there has been settled by blaming everything on Scar. Of course, I wasn't satisfied with that conclusion. A large number of corpses suspected of being Chimeras... A lot of equipment that was working until yesterday... Some of the prisoners who were brought there claimed they say Brigadier General Basque Gran, who was killed in action. What happened there? Ed."

Ed: "How should I know? I passed out."

Hughes: "Tell me what you saw."

Ed: "Homunculus."

Hughes: "Homunculus? You mean..."

Ed: "But... They weren't human."

Hughes: "Did it have to do with the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed: "They were trying to make me make the Philosopher's Stone by using the prisoners."

Hughes: "What did you say?"

Ed: "Right, Lita?" You nodded slowly. "Guardians that only had their souls... A psycho names Envy... Tattoos of the Ouroboros... And the Transmutation Circle to make the Philosopher's Stone." Ed had drawn pictures of each of them. "Those are all the things we saw in there."

Hughes: "It looks like a lot happened over an experiment for a stone."

Ed: "I heard from Marco that the stone was used in the Eastern Rebellion. It's been serious for years now. According to them, they're keeping me alive because I can do something for them."

Hughes: "Thanks for telling me. Just leave the rest to me. Get some rest. Just think about yourselves for now."

With Winry

Winry: "I'm finally here. Let's see... He said he would leave me something that would catch my eye." She looked over the crowd and jumped when Armstrong spotted her.

Armstrong: "Why, why, Ms. Winry! Thank you for traveling this far!"

Winry: "That works. What? I didn't know you were hospitalized!" Winry had gotten to the hospital and with one look at Ed she dropped her tool box.

Ed: "Yah, well, a chain of events lead me here..."

Winry: "It's not funny."

Ed: "Winry?"

Winry: "I didn't fix your arm properly... That's why you're like this."

Ed: "It's not really you're fault! Right, Lita?" You rolled your eyes and rolled over, nodding again, that being the only thing that you could do. "See? And Lita doesn't lie."

Winry: "But..."

Ed: "You fixed my arm perfectly. Also, it stopped moving by chance. And if it hadn't have stopped when it did, I could've gotten myself into a worse situation. And it broke because I was reckless with it."

Winry: 'Did he not notice I forgot to put a screw in?' "Yeah, you're always reckless, Ed."

Ed: "Hey."

With Hughes

Hughes sat at his desk and looked up when Scieszka walked in.

Scieszka: "Excuse me. Lieutenant Colonel, there's a call from Colonel Mustang."

Hughes: "Hey! You called at a great time! I have good news!"

Roy: "You're soldiers have located and captured Scar!"

Hughes: "No you obsessed idiot. How would that be great news? Did you forget? Tomorrow is Elysia's birthday!"

Roy: "If you don't want to become charcoal, you better give me the current status now."

Hughes: "Don't worry, I'll let you know if something turns up. Oh, you'd better send Elysia a present. Bye!" And he hung up, leaving a very angry Roy.

Scieszka: "Are you sure you didn't have to tell him... About what happened?"

Hughes: "It's okay. He doesn't have to know anything right now. More importantly, how's the reports going?"

Scieszka: "Oh? I finally completed them with no sleep!" Hughes set a heavy book on top of her desk.

Hughes: "Great! Here's your next task."

Back With You

Winry: "How are you feeling, Ed? Oh, you already ate it all."

Ed: "Yeah..."

Winry: "Then let me get started on the repairs." Winry looked down at the tray and noticed he didn't drink the milk. Ed."

Ed: "Please, don't make me drink it..."

Winry: "What are you talking about? Milk is good for you! Drink it!"

Ed: "Shut up! I hate what I hate! I won't die if I don't drink milk!"

Winry: "Ah, geez! That is the reason you are always going to be as small as a bean!"

Ed: "A bean!"

Winry: "Yeah, a bean. Right, Lita?"

You: "Just do what she says Ed, drink the dumb milk." You're voice was very raspy and hoarse.

Ed: "Lita, you're lucky, you're a cat, of course you like milk."

You: "Shut up, it wasn't my choice to be this way."

Ed: "You're right. I'm sorry."

Winry: "What's wrong, you two? Al. Did something happen? Hey! Why? Why won't you tell me anything? You didn't even tell me about you're injury... I'm worried about you! So why won't you tell me these important things! Ed! Lita! Forget it!" She whipped around and ran out the door.

Hughes: "Hi! This is the first time we've met, Winry. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. It's nice to meet you."

Winry: "Same here..." They shook hands.

Hughes: "And this is my cute Elysia. See? Isn't she cute? You want to see her, right?"

Winry: "Err, sure."

Hughes: "Okay, I'll let you."

Winry: "What?"

Hughes: "I'll take care of Winry. Bye!" Hughes shut the door and ran off. "You're very lucky. Tomorrow is Elysia's birthday."

Winry: "Come to think of it, it's also Ed's..."

Hughes: "Yes. I'll need to get him a present too. So what are you going to get Elysia? What? A teddy bear? A big one? Elysia will love that!"

At the party

Everyone clapped as Elysia blew the candles out on her birthday cake. Scattered congratulations could be heard all over the room.

Gracia: "It's better if you soak the apples in syrup first."

Woman: "Really?"

Man: "Lately, my daughter..."

Girl: "Nice present, Elysia. That bear is cute."

Scieszka: "Elysia. Happy Birthday. Here, your present." She handed the little girl a book.

Elysia: "Thank you, Bookworm lady."

Scieszka: "Bookworm?" Elysia looked over to see Winry standing at the refreshment table by herself with a glass of water.

Elysia: "Big sister." Winry kneeled down next to her and smiled.

Winry: "Elysia, can you say how old you are now?"

Elysia: "Um... Four."

Winry: "Right! You're so cute!"

Elysia: "Big sister, um... Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations."

Winry: "What?"

Elysia: "Daddy said the more someone says 'congratulations' to you, the more good things will happen to you. So I said it to you."

Hughes: "Oh? When I look at you two, you look like sisters."

Winry: "Yes, I wish I had a little sister like her. I'm an only child, so..."

Hughes: "You do though. Have siblings, I mean."

Winry: "If they were really siblings, they'd tell me more. They don't tell me any of the important things. Its been like this ever since we were young. Lita always got to know everything, while I was kept in the dark."

Hughes: "It can't be helped, men display things through actions instead of words." He took off his glasses and began to clean them.

"If it's something tough, they don't want to let another feel the same way. And they don't want someone else to worry. That's why they don't tell you. When the times come, you need to except that. Isn't that okay? If the big sister looks like that, the younger brothers can't depend on her."

Gracia: "Here! Thanks for waiting. I'm done baking the birthday cake."

Hughes: "Now then, go."

Gracia: "Here."

Winry: "But I thought that Hughes was going to get Ed a present too."

Hughes: "What are you talking about? There are no presents that could beat your smile, Winry."

With You

You all sat in the room in silence, Ed kept staring at you. Winry walked in.

Winry: "Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Well, on your birthday, the more someone congratulates you, the happier you will be. Here this is from Gracia." Ed took the box.

Ed: "Okay..."

Winry: "She told me how to bake it, so I can make it when you can eat again, Al."

Al: "Thank you."

Ed: "Now that I think of it, the three of us used to eat a lot of cakes when we were kids."

Winry: "Yeah. I remember that one time Den ate Al's cake and Al started crying."

Ed: "Yeah, I remember that."

Al: "Did that really happen?"

Ed: "You were still small, you probably don't remember."

Al: "I see..."

Winry: "Is something wrong?"

You: "I'm going outside, until Ed's repairs are done." You rolled off the bed slowly and walked out of the door. You sighed and leaned against the wall, trying not to cry out in pain. Al had decided he would join you and you both sat up there together.

Winry: "Hey, Ed... Something happened between you and Lita, right?"

Ed: "I... did something horrible to her."

Winry: "What?"

Ed: "I had the chance to return her to normal, but I hesitated."

Winry: "Why?"

Ed: "I had to sacrifice humans. Compared to her, those people shouldn't have meant anything to me. But I couldn't do it..."

"Not with her watching me. My concions got in the way."

Winry: "That decision was correct. Because even if you could return her to normal through the sacrifice of others. Lita wouldn't be happy with that. Maybe Lita is mad at you because she saw the guy she idolizes thinking of sacrificing someone else." You sat on the roof, staring at the clouds.

Al: "Lita, do you ever feel like... You're something you're not."

You: "Everyday, Al. Everyday."

Winry: "I'm done. Now lets go to where Lita is."

Ed: "But... I don't know what to say..."

Winry: "Don't be silly. Just apologize. You need to tell her more things in words."

Ed: "Fine." Ed and Winry were up on the roof. "Lita. I'm sorry." He set the metal parts next to Al. "Al, I'll fix you right away."

Winry: "I brought a variety of things from Risembool."

Ed: "Lita. I won't give up. Let's return to our normal bodies our way... No matter what."

You: "You may be able to return, Ed. But I don't think I ever can."

Ed: "Of course. Don't worry about it. I'm starting." Ed transmuted Al's armor back to normal. "How is it?"

Al: "Great, thanks brother."

You: "Ed." He looked at you. "When we... You know... How did, it just, doesn't make any sense. You both lost things, yet I gained. Why is that? Unless... I never really existed. An Alchemist like you. Could easily create a Homunculus."

Ed: "You... Were thinking about such a thing?"

You: "A while ago, there was something to ask me in Risembool. You said you were afraid to ask. Were you trying to tell me. That I have no soul, no real memories. That lie about you finding me in the woods. That lie about my 'parents.' They were something fake that you created."

Winry: "No! Ed wanted to ask you..."

You: "It's okay. The 'human' named Lita Nitro didn't exist in this world to begin with."

Winry: "What are you talking about? You two have been together almost forever! Also Auntie and I have been with you too. Believe us, Lita."

You: "What do you expect me to believe? What? There's the possibility that all of you are tricking me."

Ed: "Is that what you've wanted to say all this time? Is that all you have to say?"

You: "Answer my question. Why won't you say anything? Why?" You stood up and Ed grabbed your arm. "Let go. There's no point in me living." You pushed him away.

Ed: "Idiot!" He grabbed onto you. "Lita!" You reached back and smacked him across the face, making him fall to the ground. "Lita..." You turned away and jumped off the roof. Al ran to side and tried to grab you but you landed catlike on the ground and ran, clutching your stomach. "Lita!" Ed went to jump to but Al grabbed onto him.