Chapter 6: Back to Work?!
It had nearly been an hour and a half since Winry re-attached Ed's arm to his body, and nearly an hour since Winry helped Al pick out an outfit for Lira's birthday party two days from now, and Winry was finally done cooking dinner.
"Gran? Can you call Al down? He should be done with his shower!" Winry shouted towards Pinako's private workroom down the hall.
"Alphonse! Dinner's ready!" Pinako shouted upstairs from her workroom before going towards the kitchen, where Winry was putting the final touches to a certain dish. Al ran in, fresh and wet from his shower, wearing pajamas and a towel around his neck.
"Should I go wake up Brother?" Al asked as he took off the towel and dried his wet hair.
"No. You go put that towel away and help Gran set up the table. I'll go wake up Ed," Winry ordered as she put a few dishes on the table.
"Okay!" Al shouted after her as she left the kitchen as Winry came bursting into the living room, yelling at Ed to wake up for dinner, but Ed, surprisingly, was already awake, stretching and yawning without her having told him too.
"Why, Ed?! Why is it that when you smell food after a nap, it's all 'Food? Yay! Food!', but when you have to wake up for an arm re-attachment, you always start freaking out and complaining!" Winry hissed angrily as she whacked Ed's head with her wrench and stormed off towards the kitchen.
"Ow! What was that for?! And I do NOT always complain and freak out!" Ed yelled after her, but had doubts that she had heard him. He grumbled to himself, stood up and followed Winry to the kitchen, where Winry was putting the dinner dishes on the table and Al and Pinako were finishing up setting up the table.
"Winry! What the heck did you hit me on the head again for?!" Ed cried as he stomped into the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Winry, and glared, making Al and Pinako stare at him strangely.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Winry replied calmly before she turned her back to him to get another dish to put on the table. Ed mumbled something about Winry being a work-a-holic, making Winry snap and turn around to point her wrench at him threateningly.
"Edward! Go wear proper pants and a shirt and then maybe you can think about joining us at the table!" Winry shouted. Ed gulped as he saw her veins pulsing with anger and nervously left the kitchen to go upstairs to put on some clothes. As Ed came down the stair with some proper clothes, the phone rang.
"I've got it!" Ed shouted and he ran down the stairs and went to the phone.
"Hello? Rockbell Residence. Edward speaking," Ed spoke into the receiver in a bored monotone voice.
"Good. Full-Metal. It's you," a voice Ed would never forget said on the other side of the phone.
"Führer Mustang...," Ed said in a hostile tone into the phone to Roy.
"Yes, I know. I'm calling personally from my office to remind you that the grace period I gave you is over, as of tomorrow. It's time for you to come back to work," Roy replied, ignoring Ed's hostility as he spoke.
"Wait...! WHAT?! Hey! Wait a minute! Just because you're bribing me with a dumb promotion to Colonel, I'm pretty sure that big loud mouth of yours said I was allowed a week off for vacation before I was required to come back to Central!" Ed shot back, clearly very angry.
"Look, Ed. There's not much time...-"
"Time for WHAT, exactly?! Look, mister! Just because you're the damn Führer, it doesn't give you the right to shorten people's vacations and randomly call them back to work for no reason! If you like to bring people back to work for no reason then good bye! I very busy! Call back when the week's over!" Ed shouted, about to slam the phone down when he was stopped by Roy.
"Wait! Edward! I do have a reason! There's something going on at Central and I want you to investigate. I know I said I'd give you a week off, considering you just got back and all, but these strange incidences have all been happening this morning and it's putting me on an edge! It's just too much of a coincidence because…-" Roy hissed before he was interrupted by Ed.
"Because what?! Spit it out already!"
"I think it's got something to do with the Homunculus and the Gate. I can't be too sure, but I think someone's planning something very lethal, and I can't tell you over the phone. It's just too dangerous because you never know who's listening on us," Roy whispered.
Ed stiffened as his eyes widened with shock and both men were silent for a while before Ed replied quietly, "Expect me there in a day or so. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"You're WHAT?!" Winry and Al cried together.
"I…uh...need to go back to Central, tomorrow. The Führer needs me there, so I'm leaving first thing in the morning," Ed repeated nervously for the second time that evening. Winry's face darkened at the news as she looked away but looked up again immediately at Ed with a sad supportive smile.
Everyone was finished dinner - with a surprise of apple pie for dessert - and the three were lounging in the living room while Pinako was continuing to work on whatever she was doing in her private workroom.
"You sure are busy, huh, Ed?" Winry commented as she tried her best to look happy for Ed, but Ed had already noticed the sad looks Winry tried so hard to hide and sighed to himself.
"He will be, if he gets the promotion to become Colonel!" Al remarked quietly to himself. Winry's eyes widened as Ed waved his hands back and forth like a maniac to try and stop Al from revealing anything else any further.
"A...a...WHAT?! Edward Elric! How could you?! You never told me about any promotion!" Winry shouted quizzically as she stood up and glared at Ed menacingly, making Ed shrink back in his chair with fear.
"Oh! I uh, forgot! Honestly! I'm sorry!" Edward stammered nervously as he tried to hide himself from Winry so he wouldn't get hurt by her wrench.
"Ha! Yeah right! How could you possibly forget?! It's just that you never want to tell me anything, isn't it?! You two are always keeping secrets from me!" Winry shot back angrily, in a voice that was obviously hurt.
"Wait! I'm sorry, Win! Really! I am, but I've got to go pack up and go to bed now," Ed said as he stood up and tried to calm her down, before she disappointedly hit his hand away and stomped madly out of the room, leaving Ed and Al to gawk in her wake.
"Uh, sorry about that, Brother. I'll go talk to her," Al said as he stood up and went after the angry Winry.
Ed sighed sadly, slumped back down in his chair, buried his face in his hands and mumbled, "Oh, god. When will this madness ever end...?"
Ed woke up groggily the next morning to the alarm clock he borrowed from Al, the events of last night still fresh in his mind as he got out of bed and left the room quietly, to let Al continue sleeping. It was about sunrise and although Ed may not have been a morning person, once he was awake, he was always ready to go. As he walked towards the bathroom, he stopped at Winry's slightly opened bedroom door. He peaked through the opening, and saw her sleeping soundly in her bed and smiled sadly to himself before walking away to the bathroom. This time, there were no interruptions.
Once done with his business in the bathroom, he went back to his room, changed as quietly as he could, picked up his suitcase and left the room once again. Walking as noiselessly as he could, he went down the stairs and scribbled down two notes before walking out the front doors, shielding his eyes from the bright sunrise with his hands as he began to sprint down the front path towards the train station. Once at the station about 10 minutes later, he bought a ticket and dashed on the train, sitting in his seat to catch his breath as he put his suitcase on the ground and laid back, waiting for the train to leave. As expected, a minute later, an announcement came on, warning everyone to get on the train before it left for Central within two minutes.
The train whistle blew exactly two minutes later, as expected, making Ed sigh with boredom and he sat back in his seat and waited for the ride to be over.
Ed was finally on his way to back Central City.
Al woke up the next morning to the smell of sweet black Tea. He looked over in the bed his brother was supposed to be sleeping in but saw that it was empty and that Ed had actually made his bed, registering in his head that Ed had left.
Al sad up and went down the stairs, his nose following the scent of the black tea, and saw Winry, whistling a tune in the kitchen without a care in the world, standing before the stove with the kettle on.
"Uh...Winry...?" Al called out, catching Winry's attention and making her turn around, finally noticing that he had just come in.
"Oh! Good morning, Al. I didn't see you there. I hope you like black tea. Gran does," Winry smiled sweetly as she got back to brewing the tea.
"Yes, please. It smells really sweet. May I have a cup?" Al asked as he sat at the table.
"Sure. Just let me finish brewing it. We're going to have to be a little quieter, since Gran's sleeping. By the way, Al, what would you like for breakfast?" Winry asked.
"I'll just have some oatmeal, thanks," Al replied as he stretched and waited for his oatmeal.
"Alright, then. I guess I'll have some too, since I haven't eaten yet. Hey, Al?"
"Yes Winry?"
"Ed left both you and I a note," Winry said emotionlessly as she walked over from the stove and passed Al a folded slip of paper marked "To Alphonse" scribbled down in Ed's familiar handwriting, which read:
"Alphonse,
Don't worry about me. I'll be back from Central in a few days.
I've been doing a lot of thinking before we got back through the gate, and considering that it's summer, kids your age have a break from school. I know I made you go to school back Germany, and I know you hated it, but now that we're back and that you're (somewhat) 15 again, I'm thinking of getting you into an alchemy school, or any school you like. If I even accept that promotion, your education isn't going to be a problem, besides the ride there.
I'll talk to you more about it when I get back. I don't know when since that stupid Mustang will let me come back to Resembool . So until then, stay safe. Protect Granny Pinako and Winry from strangers. I'm leaving it up to you while I'm away.
Ed."
'How mean! You even say you know I hate school! Oh well. School, huh? Haven't been there in a while, but how unusual of Brother to leave me a note?' Al thought as he folded up the note and put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks, Winry. I guess Ed really did leave already. So where's your note?"
"Huh?" Winry asked, confused as she looked up at Al with a quizzical look.
"Your note? From Brother?" Al repeated, trying his best to hide his annoyed inside.
"Oh! That! Uh, it's, um, somewhere," Winry replied hesitantly after a few seconds while she started making the oatmeal for their breakfast.
"Can I read it?" Al asked, before seeing Winry's face flush red as she shook her head and continued to mix the contents she had dumped into a pot before replying, "You can read it later, after breakfast, Al."
Deep inside, Al was actually expecting Winry to have said no, and was quite surprised by her answer but didn't say anything as he silently stood up and helped Winry.
About an hour later, Winry and Al had eaten their oatmeal, and cleaned the dishes; Al decided to ask her again before she got away.
"Hey! Winry!"
"Yes, Al?"
"Can I read the note now?"
Seeing the pleading, sad look in his eyes, Winry decided to give in, sighed, pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket before handing it to Al. Al smiled mischievously and opened the note, quickly scanning it to see what it said:
"Winry,
I'm sorry about last night. I meant to tell you about my promotion a little before I got I was ordered to come back to Central, but I knew it would upset you knowing I'd be away again, and you know I hate it when you cry. Win, you're strong, and I know you can make it through whatever challenges you face, and Al will be with you. So please don't worry too much about me. I promise to come back as soon as I can. I'll keep in contact whenever I can. Just have a freshly baked apple pie ready for me by the time I come back in a few days, and I'll bring you a souvenir!
Ed."
Al stared at the paper for a few minutes before folding up the note and giving it back to her, who had been waiting silently and patiently with a darkened face beside him. Al felt something was wrong and was about to try and put his hand on her shoulder to console her before she shrugged it off like a bug.
"Thanks for returning my note, Al," Winry mumbled quietly before she turned on her heals and walked away, leaving Al speechless.
Little did he know that Winry was trying to hide the sad tears flowing silently down her face like a waterfall.
It was nearly three in the morning and Ed's train had just arrived at Central City. Ed stumbled off the train recklessly with his suitcase, and yawned from a lack of sleep due to the stress of leaving a certain someone behind yet again for work. He looked around to see if anyone was there to greet him, but it was too dark to see, even though there were tons of people there bustling about and waiting for their [very early] trains to arrive. Surprisingly, Ed felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly flashed into defence mode and flipped around to see who tapped him and his eyes widened at the sight of Major General Armstrong gleaming brilliantly behind him. Ed sighed pathetically and decided to let his guard down before his veins pulse and his eyes slit angrily.
"Hey! What's your deal, going around and scaring people at three in the morning?!" Ed shouted furiously as he glared at the Major General.
"Oh, sorry Edward! I didn't mean to scare you," the Major replied as he bent down and patted Ed on the back, making Ed even angrier than usual, causing him to swat the Major's hand away.
'How can this guy NOT be tired?!' Ed hissed furiously inside his head before he suddenly felt like someone was watching him, and sneakily looked around to see who. Unfortunately, for Ed, he wasn't able to see a suspicious character at all. Major noticed his strange actions and looked at Ed curiously before asking, "What's wrong, Edward?"
Edward motioned for the Major to lean in and whispered to the Major, "I think someone is watching us, so watch your back!"
Major General Armstrong perked up at the news and nodded silently as he began to quickly direct Ed away from the station and what he thought was away from danger. Sadly, he was wrong, and Edward still felt uneasy inside. His hunch was proved correct when he saw some dark figure moving towards them from the corner of his eyes.
'I was right! Someone really is following us!' Ed thought rashly as he quickly tried to come up with an escape plan in his head. He looked at the Major, seeing that he too noticed the shadowy figure as they were reaching the area where the pickup car and sleepy chauffer were awaiting them.
"C'mon, Major! Someone really is following us! Let's get out if here while we can!" Ed whispered. The uneasiness in Ed's voice didn't go unnoticed, making Alex nod and continue to drag Ed along with him to the car. They just about reached the car when the figure appeared right in front of them, stopping them from getting to the pickup car, away from him.
'Shit! We're so dead!' Edward thought with fear as he and Alex skidded to a stop and got prepared to fight their new hidden nemesis.
A gloomy Winry sat on her bed in her little bedroom, staring blankly at Ed's note, her seemingly never-ending tears falling on top of the paper, making the words become blurry. Winry herself though didn't notice as her eyes swelled up and her vision became blurry and wiping them away wouldn't have done any good. She folded up the note and placed it on her bedside table, wrapping herself in her blanket to stop her quivering and shaking. Remembering Ed's promise to never make her cry tears of sadness, and her brows crossed as she mumbled, "You're such a liar, Edward...!"
A knock sounded on her door, and opened, even after Winry shouted to go away, to reveal Al's head. This time however, he didn't miss the woman's tears.
"Winry...? Are you alright?" Al asked worridly as he let himself into her room.
"I'm...fine. Please go away...and tell Gran I'm not going to work today since I'm tired," Winry blubbered as she turned her head away from Al. Al's face showed a worried expression as he said he would and left Winry to go find Pinako, who was tinkering away in her workroom as usual.
"Auntie Pinako? Are you here?" Al asked as he again let himself into the room. Pinako stopped her work and turned around to face Al and ask, "What is it, Al?"
"I...I need to talk to you...!"
"Huh?! It's YOU?!" Ed shouted with surprise at the figure that had just appeared in front of him and Major General Alex Armstrong.
"Yah, you two can sure run fast! It took me forever to catch up to you and my disguise was almost uncovered," Roy Mustang panted as he tried to catch his breath and fix up his so-called 'disguise'.
"Führer Mustang! What are you doing here?!" Alex asked with shock as he straightened himself up. Roy looked up sheepishly and stood up, dusting himself off as he mumbling, "I wanted to make sure everything was okay. You can't be sure with the kind of people around these days."
"Humph, yah right! I can't believe you, scaring us like that!" Ed shouted in an irritated tone of voice as he crossed his arms. Roy put up a finger to his lips as a way to hush them up as he replied, "Get in the car before we cause a commotion! I'll explain on the way."
The other two men looked at each-other, and having decided to obey him, quickly got into the car. Roy also swiftly followed them after having told the chauffer the location. Without delay, having known who Roy actually was, the young sleepy chauffer hastily closed the car door after the three, got into the driver's seat, started the engine and abruptly drove off down the dark road.
"So, can you tell me what's happening?" asked Ed as he started murderously at Roy.
"Yes, please do, sir!" Alex chimed in.
"We have a really bad situation here," replied Roy hauntingly, "There have been numerous reports of people disappearing for three days and then they appear dead in their very own bedroom....!I've only heard of it this morning of course."
"What? So you want me to catch a murderer?! You told me this had to do with the gate and the Homunculus!" Ed cried with fury. Roy looked at Ed mysteriously before replying, "It does....because there are alchemy circles left on the bodies of the victims...and it's the same Ouroboros mark the homunculi bear."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
April 26th. 2010
Hey guys! Fellow Writers! Fellow Readers! Whatever you want me to call you! I'm back and I'd like to finally say: HERE IS CHAPTER 6! IT'S FINALLY DONE! THREE CHEERS FOR ME! I AM THE GREATEST!
HIP! HIP! HOORAY!
HIP! HIP! HOORAY!
HIP! HIP! HOORAY!
No seriously, I am NOT the greatest! : )
Sorry if I fooled you! ):
AND SORRY THAT THIS IS A LITTLE LATE! I've been really busy with school and stuff lately...!! Sorry!! (And sorry for making Ed swear) Just for that, I tried making this chapter a bit longer than usual!!
NOTE: MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PUBLISH CHAPTER 7 UNTIL AFTER MID MAY TO JUNE!!! PLEASE CHECK MY PROFILE FOR UPDATES ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING!!!! THANK YOU!!!
THIS IS THE CHAPTER WHERE THE ALCHEMY AND FIGHTING BEGIN! YAY! AS I PROMISED, I'M ABOUT TO START A FIGHT! WHEE! FIGHT SCENE! FIGHT SCENE!
And Ed's one week vacation is over! How sad! If you remember, in Chapter 2, Roy gave Ed a nice one week vacation before Roy went to a meeting and Ed left to go see Gracia and Elicia and then go back to Resembool!
And BY THE WAY: You'll find out what Lira's last name is in the next chapter! The birthday party!
And you'll also find out how Ed and Al were able to come back! (I think. That might not be revealed until I could think of HOW!)
So look forward to that! And look forward to chapter 7, which will include Lira's 15th birthday party! Yay! Yay!
Anyways! I'm ending this rant now! So…ADIOS AMIGOS! OR AMIGAS! PLEASE READ THE SPECIAL!!
It's Detective Conan/Case Closed inspired!!
SO CYA SOON FRIENDS OR WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO CALL Y'ALL FOLKS! : )
SEE YOU SOON!
Until Next Time!
Ciao!
--J. U. T. H. L
EXTRA BONUS:
Detective Inspired SPECIAL! Part 1 *Detective Conan/Case Closed inspired**
Author: This scene takes place backstage after this chapter…let's see what happens!
Edward: *sigh* Why me? I don't WANT to be a Colonel! Then I have to do all that cruddy paperwork that cheap and dirty Mustang's doing all the time!
Roy: *glares at Ed* WHAT did you just say?
Ed: *gulps* NOTHING! Honestly!
Riza: Roy, just ignore him! Edward! Winry needs to see you.
Roy: *sulks off towards Riza*
Ed: *phew!* *Goes to Winry*
Ed: What is it Winry?
Winry: *sniffles* Oh, Ed! It's horrible! Someone stole Al's party outfit costume!
Ed: Which costume? Wait?! What party! That wasn't in the script!
Winry: The outfit I picked out for Al in chapter 4 for Lira's party? Oh yeah! The director changed a bit of the scenes you weren't in and you probably didn't hear about it! So you probably also didn't know that Al's supposed to-
Director: *angry voice from far-a-way* WINRRRRYYYY!!!!!
Winry: *Gulps* Opps…! Almost said a spoiler…Hehe…*shivers*
Ed: *laughs nervously* Oh! That outfit!
*Al appears*
Al: *sad voice* I looked everywhere! I just can't find the costume!
Ed: *confindent look* It's alright Al! Cause….!
*Ed pulls off his clothes to reveal a hidden detective outfit being worn underneath and pulls out a magnifying glass!*
Ed: Detective Edward Elric is ON THE CASE!
Author: WHO STOLE AL'S PARTY OUTFIT COSTUME….THING?! WILL ED ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE CASE? WILL AL GET HIS COSTUME BACK AND GO TO THE PARTY? WILL ROY GET TO PUMMEL ED FOR CALLING HIM CHEAP AND DIRTY?
FIND OUT NEXT TIME IN…Detective SPECIAL! Part 2 ~!!!!