Al stopped to drink some water, but he realized there wasn't anymore in his canteen and since he was in the desert he kind of needed it. Al sighed, then an idea popped into his head. Al clapped his hands together and hit the soft sand. A well appeared in front of him, water shot out of in extreme amounts. Al took his hood off and let the water rain onto his face. He let out a sigh of relief. Al held out his canteen and let it fill up with water. He walked towards Liore.
Ed walked silently around the outside of Houshoffer's mansion. He spotted a broken window. "Ah ha." He whispered. Ed climbed in through it. He sliced his cheek while entering, but other than that he was unharmed. Ed walked through the hallways and peeked in through several windows that all seemed to look down at the same room. It looked like a giant warehouse. "What is this?" Ed asked himself. He finally found a door that led to the bottom. Ed looked around aimlessly and found another door. He entered. A ton of armored soldiers were standing there waiting for something. Someone walked in suddenly. Ed hid between them also waiting, but for the person the leave. Why are these guys here? He thought. Suddenly they all started moving forward. Ed was forced to either walk with them or be trampled. He decided to live. Abruptly, everyone was falling into somewhere. "Ah?" Ed said quietly. This was quite strange. He realized he was falling into a portal then. "Where am I going?" Ed asked himself.
Al walked into Liore. Everyone was running and screaming. Al saw a circle of land crumbling and noticed it was a transmutation circle.
"What?" He asked. No one would try to preform alchemy here, it nearly destroyed the entire city! Armored men started climbing out of the ground then. Al clapped his hands and slapped the ground. A small tornado formed in the sky. It spun around the armored men. Al walked into the crowd once the tornado vanished and took two of the armored men's hands. He connected them and suddenly their eyes started to glow. They turned around and started fighting the other armored soldiers.
"Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong greeted him. Al turned around.
"Hello, Major Armstrong!" Al greeted him gladly. Rose stood next to the Major, smiling. "Hi, Rose!" Al greeted her as well.
"Hello, Al." She said happily. An armored man struck at Al suddenly. Al ducked and put his palms on the armor's chest plate. It turned around and started to defend Al.
"What was that?" Armstrong asked.
"I transferred a portion of my soul into the armor." Al replied. Rose gasped.
"What?" Armstrong asked, alarmed. Al smiled.
"It's alright. It's only temporary and plus, I'm fine!" Al laughed. He ran into the fight then.
Local military soldiers finished dragging all the bodies of armor to the outside of a building.
"All these man are dead, Major Armstrong." Fallman reported.
"Dead?" He asked.
"Yes, It seems like they were dead even before they reached the surface."
"That's certainly strange." Armstrong said.
Al gave a toy to the child he was crouching next to.
"So Al...are you still looking for him?" Rose asked.
"Yeah." Al answered.
"But, Al. He's gone..." She said. Al just looked at the ground. Suddenly the armored men had a pink glow surround them and they started to float into a circle above them. Al ran to it. Maybe brothers where they're going! Al thought desperately. He grabbed onto one of the armored men's legs. Rose grabbed onto Al.
"Let go, Al! You'll disappear to!" She said. Al accidentally let go of the armor and fell to the ground. He sighed depressingly.
Ed landed in soft sand. He looked at the sky surprised.
"Where the hell am I?" He asked himself. He looked around cautiously. Then saw a city in the distance. "Liore...?" He asked. Ed's eyes widened then he grew a giant grin on his face. "I'M BACK! I'M BACK! I'M HOME!" Ed screamed. He ran towards Liore. When he finally got to the edge he was panting. "I'm back..." He sobbed. He fell onto the ground and leaned on a nearby building. Ed clapped his hands together and slapped the ground. A giant spike transmuted out of the ground. "Yes! I'm really back!" He yelled. He jumped with joy. "Ah ha ha!" He cheered. Ed realized he was thirsty then. He clapped his hands and hit the ground. A small well appeared. Ed drank from it then entered Liore. He looked at all the familiar surroundings. Ed smiled brightly. "I can't wait to see Al, and Winry and all the others!" He said. He walked into the center of the city. Nobody was there. Unknowingly to Ed, Armstrong, Rose and Al had evacuated everyone in the city. Ed sighed. "Where is everyone?" He asked. He walked around a bit. Everything was still running as if people were still living there. Ed got to the center of the city. He noticed that the ground had collapsed around that area. Ed clapped his hands and reformed the ground to its original form. He sighed. "If only someone was here...Rose would probably be here...and maybe Al..." He told himself. Ed walked around a little more and saw a crowd of people in the distance. He waved to them. "Hey!" He yelled. Most of them waved back and started coming towards the city. "People! Yay!" Ed shouted. The people in the crowd had been waiting for that signal. It was the signal Al would give when they could come back. Of course now Ed had given it. They were brothers so you really couldn't tell the difference from as far away as they were. Ed walked around a bit more before all the people of Liore returned.
Al saw the people of Liore returning.
"I didn't give the signal, why are they returning?" Al asked. Rose and Armstrong shrugged their shoulders. They came to the center of the city. Al was about to fix the ground when he noticed it was already fixed. "That's odd." He muttered. He saw someone move behind a building nearby. Al turned suddenly, but the person was gone.
"Who was that?" Rose asked. Al ran after the person.
"Who?" He asked himself. He couldn't find them though, they were gone.
Ed looked at the giant billboard on top of one of the buildings. It had Armstrong painted on it and read: I'll be waiting for you.
"Armstrong the same as always." He laughed. Ed saw a map dropped onto the ground. He picked it up. It was a map of Amestris. "Ha, Just what I need!" He smiled. He saw the train station. "I should head back to Resembool to find Al." He said. He hid behind a trashcan until the train started to leave. Ed jumped onto the back and climbed on top of the train. He didn't feel like being caught on a train without a ticket because he was broke.
"I can't wait to see Al!" He said cheerfully.
Al noticed something written on the ground. It read: Edward Elric is back! Al was shocked.
"No...He's home? No, this is a lie someone made up." Al told himself. Rose nodded. Armstrong had decided to try to follow the man Al had seen. Armstrong ran back to Al now.
"Alphonse...the man...I didn't get a good look at him, but he had blond hair tied back in a ponytail and kind of wheres clothes like me." Armstrong reported and showed Al his clothing. "Do you think it's Edward?" He asked. Al shook his head.
"Brother wouldn't wear clothes like that." Al answered. Armstrong was crushed.
Ed jumped off the train at Resembool and started running to Winry's house. He grinned happily. He watched the house as he got closer and closer. He finally got to the doorstep. He stood up straight and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" Pinako said. She opened the door and looked up at Ed. "Where you been, short stuff?" She asked gladly. Ed glared at her.
"I'm not short!" He yelled. Pinako laughed.
"Come in, Ed. I haven't seen you in years...Nobody has." She said sadly.
"Yeah...I got trapped." He said as they sat down in the living room.
"Trapped, huh? Where?"
"In another world. But I'm finally home." He said cheerfully. Pinako smiled.
"Winry's gone to look for Al. She'll be back tomorrow." Pinako told him.
"Oh...And wheres Al been?" He asked.
"He's been searching for you ever since you left." She replied.
"Oh...I'll have to tell him I'm sorry."
"I think you returning home will be enough." She laughed.
Winry grabbed her suitcase and stepped off the train the next morning."I'm home.." She whispered happily. She walked to her house from there. Winry opened her door. The house was still a little musty and damp from it being early morning. Winry saw her grandmother Pinako pouring tea for two. Winry smiled.
"Thanks grandma." She said as she grabbed one of the cups of tea. Pinako slapped her hand. "What?" Winry asked. Pinako smiled.
"That's Ed's." She said. Winry smiled at her grandmother's denial.
"It think it'll be cold before he drinks it." Winry said sadly. Pinako smiled.
"I don't think so." She said. Winry looked at her grandmother suspiciously. Then it hit her.
"Ed's back?" She said. Pinako nodded. Just then Ed walked down the stairs into the kitchen finishing putting his hair back. Ed looked up and smiled at Winry. "ED!" she screamed and ran to him. She hugged him joyously.
"Hey...Winry." Ed said sheepishly. Winry let him go and looked at him.
"Ed, you've grown...You're as tall as me now.." Winry said happily and disappointingly. She'd kind of hoped he would be shorted than he forever purely because she enjoyed making fun of him.
"Thanks?" He said. Ed blushed.
"I can't believe you're back! Where did you go?" Winry asked. Ed smiled.
"I was trapped in another world, the other side of the gate." Ed said.
"Really?" Winry was stunned.
"Yeah, but I'm back now." Ed laughed. "Where's Al?"
"Oh, Last time I heard he was in Liore." Winry replied. Ed smacked his head.
"I was just there!" He yelled. He sighed angrily at his own ignorance.
"Well, he'll be back soon! I'll call him! Then we can all be together again!" Winry yelled excitedly. They all sat down and drank tea while Ed told them about the other side of the gate. He told them about the rockets and Television. Ed mentioned how he met everyone except himself and them.
"And the only people I didn't see were you too. That's really why I came here first." Ed told them. Winry and Pinako blushed.
"How sweet, Ed." Winry commented. She stood and headed to the phone.
"I'll call Rose now and see if Al's still there." Winry said. Ed nodded. He thought for a minute.
"I wonder if I'm still a State Alchemist." He said wondrously. Pinako shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, Ed." She replied.
"If Al's not in Liore I'm going to go to Central." Ed told her.
"So you can check?"
"Yeah, and to see if Al's there." Ed said devotedly. Winry hung up.
"He's not in Liore anymore." She said. Ed sighed.
"Hey, Winry. Want to come to Central with me?" He asked her. Winry grinned.
"Of course!" She answered. Ed smiled sheepishly.
"What do you think of riding on top of a train?"
"What?"
"Yeah...I don't have anymore money..so." Ed said nervously. Winry sighed.
"Oh, well." She said. She noticed Ed's right arm then. It looked like skin. "You got you're arm and leg back!" She said cheerfully. Ed smiled nervously and took the tip off one of the fingers. He pointed out the wooden inside.
"No..." He laughed. Winry sighed. I guess this is one thing their still not all that advanced in...Winry thought.
"Well, I guess we'll have to give you new ones!" She said happily. She took Ed's hand and led him to the living room. Ed sat on the couch while Winry grabbed some auto-mail she had made for Ed while he was gone. It looked exactly the same as the old ones, just a little bigger.
"Are you sure they'll fit?" Ed asked. Winry nodded her head cheerfully. She took out the arm and leg and set them beside Ed. Then Ed took out the arm and leg that were attached to him. Winry connected Ed's new arm and leg (confusing huh?).
The next day...Ed opened the front door.
"Lets go Winry! We're gonna miss the train!" He said. Winry ran down the stairs. They both left then and started running for the station. Ed jumped onto the back of the train while it started leaving. He helped Winry on. He put one hand on his hip and with the other pointed to the top of the train.
"Okay, now we just climb on top and when we enter a tunnel we just come back down here. Got it?" Ed explained. Winry nodded. Ed climbed up first then helped Winry. They stayed there until they reached Central.
Ed and Winry jumped off the train at the same time. Ed smiled proudly to be back in Central.
"To H.Q!" He said happily. He couldn't wait for some money for food. Winry walked to Head Quarters happily. Ed held the front door open for Winry. They headed straight to Colonel Mustang's office. Ed opened the door. He peeked inside. Nobody was even in there. They walked in.
"Are you sure it's alright to be in here?" Winry asked him.
"Yeah..probably. I don't really care." He replied. Winry shook her head shamefully. "I wonder why nobody's here." Ed commented. Winry nodded. He looked at the underling's desks. They all looked recently used and a name plate on the front desk said "Mustang". "Where is everyone?" Ed asked himself. He looked at the paper on Mustang's desk. The title was: Edward Elric case. Below it described something like Ed was missing. "There's a case on me?" Ed asked. Winry came over and looked at the document.
"Yeah...They're searching for you...It said that you were spotted waving to some people in Liore and a note on the ground said you were back." Winry told him. Ed blushed.
"Heh heh..I wrote that out of excitement for being back." He laughed nervously. Winry shook her head, smiling. She put the paper back on Mustang's desk.
"Do you think we should wait for them to get back?" Winry asked. Ed thought for a second.
"Yeah, why not? We have nothing else to do, and plus. I always wanted to search through this office." Ed said maliciously. Winry lifted one eyebrow and sat at Fury's desk. She watched Ed rummage through all the drawers. "Ah ha! More stuff on me!" Ed said as he pulled out a giant file. He started looking through it. His face became sadder and sadder.
"What is it?" Winry asked.
"These all say I'm either missing or dead. They've been looking for me since I left too." Ed said sadly. "When I was lying in bed once, I thought about how many people would miss me. All I could think of was you, Al, and Pinako. But this makes it seem like everyone I knew misses me more than ever." Ed put the file back depressingly. Then smiled. "Boy, will they be surprised when they see me here!" Ed laughed. "Mustang's jaw will shatter when it hits the floor!" He laughed harder. Winry smiled at Ed's childish behavior.
"You're still you!' She laughed.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" He yelled. Winry laughed harder.
"Hey! Who's in there?" Someone outside the room yelled. Winry and Ed ducked behind one of the desks. The door opened. Then closed again a few second later. Ed and Winry sighed with relief. They hung out in Mustang's office for hours. Then Ed finally got up, bored of waiting. He looked around.
"We should break something." He suggested. Winry looked at him, confused.
"What? Why?" She asked.
"'Cause I'm bored." He said. He grabbed the coat rack and broke it on his knee.
"Ed!" She yelled at him. Ed dropped the broken pole on the ground. Then transmuted it back to normal.
"I can fix anything I break, Winry. It's alright." Ed told her. Winry sighed. Then grinned maliciously.
"Alright. Lets do this." She said diabolically. Ed laughed. They started smashing everything. A guard burst through the door suddenly. Everything was smashed to hell.
"What did you do!" He yelled. Ed looked at him obviously confused.
"What does it look like? We smashed everything to hell." Ed said bluntly.
"W-Why?" The guard asked. Ed looked around.
"'Cause I was bored." He said. The guard grabbed his head angrily then yelled. The guard ran out the door. Ed heard him start talking to someone. He started to fix everything and listened to their conversation at the same time. Winry just sat at Fury's desk listening to their conversation as well.
"Sir! There's some boy in you're office! He's smashed everything to hell!" The guard yelled.
"WHAT? WHY?" The man yelled. It sounded like Mustang. Ed finished fixing everything. Ed sat in Mustang's chair then and waited for them to enter.
"Well, I asked that to. He said he was bored!" The guard explained nervously.
"WHAT?" The man yelled. He entered his office then. It was Mustang. He looked around, surprised. "I though you said they destroyed my office?" Mustang asked. The guard was stunned. He just passed out on the floor. Mustang laughed, but stopped when he saw Ed in his chair.
"Hey, Mustang! Where you been? I got bored waiting for you." Ed told him. Mustang's jaw dropped to the floor. His underlings came in behind him. "Hi, guys!" Winry greeted them. They were all looking at Ed though. Ed wore his same old friendly arrogant grin.
"Ed! You're back!" Fury cheered. He jumped around in a circle with Havoc and Breda. They all cheered happily that they didn't have to go out at night to look for him anymore.
"What an odd fashion of clothes you're wearing, Edward." Hawkeye commented.
"All the rage where I was!" Ed laughed. Mustang walked up the Ed.
"Where were you?" He asked. Ed stopped smiling.
"I was trapped, dead essentially." Ed said seriously. Fury and the others stopped jumping around. Winry listened. Every time Ed told people where he'd been he always added more detail she noticed.
"Dead? Then how are you here?" Havoc asked.
"Well, I wasn't really dead. Just dead to you guys. I was on the other side of the gate."
"No way..." Breda said. Ed nodded sadly.
"Anyway!," Ed immediately changed the subject. "I was doing some rummaging and found a giant file focused completely on me." Ed said happily. He threw his legs onto Mustang's desk. "You guys seemed to have missed me a lot!" Ed laughed. Mustang blushed.
"Is that why you came here?" Hawkeye asked. Ed shook his head.
"No actually. I wanted to ask you if I was still getting research funds." Ed asked.
"N-" Hawkeye started.
"Yes, actually." Mustang said. Ed looked at him.
"Really?" Everyone said in unison. Mustang had secretly still been sending research funds to Ed's bank account every week.
"Holy shit...There's gotta be a million dollars in there!" Fury yelled. Ed smiled. He'd already figured it out: $20,800,000 to spend.
"Great! Bye!" He said and started leaving.
"Where are we going, Ed?" Winry asked without getting up. Ed turned to her.
"We're going to Liore to ask Rose if she knows where Al went." Ed replied thoughtfully.
"Don't you think we should stay here and say 'Hi' to all you're friends?" Winry suggested.
"Mm. Might as well." Ed sighed. Winry got up and walked to Ed. Ed counted all the people he would have to see. "Aw, shit. We're not going to make it out of here today." Ed grumbled. Winry laughed.
"Well, isn't it good to have so many friends who miss you?" Winry asked.
"Yeah..." Ed muttered. Ed walked out of the building and stretched. Winry smiled at him, but stopped when she saw a man across the street point a gun at Ed. She jumped onto him as the gun fired. Thankfully neither of them were hit. They laid on the ground. Ed looked at her. "Uh?" he said. Winry blushed and stood up. She helped Ed up, too.
"He was going to shoot you!" Winry told Ed. He looked where she was pointing. No one was there.
"What are you talking about Winry? Nobody's there." Ed commented. Winry sighed.
"Whatever lets just go say 'Hi' to all you're friends." She said. They smiled and headed for Ross' house first.
By the time they'd said "hi" to all of Ed's friends it was almost midnight.
"Jeez. Next time we should just skip all this." Ed said. He spotted one of his favorite hotels. "Come on, Winry. The trains have stopped running. Let's rent a room." He said.
"Okay!" Winry said and they headed for the hotel. Ed checked out two rooms. One for him and one for Winry, of course.
Winry woke up at dawn as she usually did. She stretched and got dressed. Winry walked into the hallway and opened Ed's door silently. She saw him stretching in the middle room. His shirt was off. The sun shone on his long, golden-blond hair. It was undone as he usually had it when he woke up. Winry admired his sexy abs and "cute" butt as she would say. His sleepy eyes glistened golden like a lions. His smile as kind and clever as ever. Ed smiled because he was thinking of all the money he had at his disposal. Winry watched Ed undress the rest. He stopped at his boxers though, unfortunately for Winry. Ed walked into the bathroom the wash up. Winry shut the door then leaned on it. Her breath had been stolen by Ed. Suddenly Winry felt hungry. Not for food...,but for Ed. She smacked herself.
"What am I thinking? Ed wouldn't want me!" She told herself. She headed to the cafeteria for food.
Ed walked out the bathroom naked, how else would he?, then started getting dressed. He combed his hair and tied it back last. He left the room and locked the door behind him. Then headed to the cafeteria. When he walked in he saw Winry and ran right to her, but halfway there he felt something hit his back, hard. He stopped. It was painful, but not all that severe. He stood there.
"Ah..." He muttered. He felt it him again and again. He fell onto the ground. Winry saw Ed. She gasped as she noticed a gunman nearby. She ran to Ed. His back was red and he was starting to drip a thick crimson liquid. Ed was on his hands and knees. "Damn." Ed mumbled. Winry helped him up. But he was shot again. Winry gasped as Ed fell onto her. He got up though and smiled nervously. "Sorry, Winry." He said. Ed acted as if this wasn't happening. Ed stood and helped Winry up this time. He flinched forward as he did and Winry heard another gun shot. Ed was in noticeable pain now. The liquid dripped slightly from Ed lips. He tasted copper as well. Winry was terrified. She helped Ed stand. Another shot was fired, but It didn't hit Ed. It hit Winry's left shoulder. She screamed. It was painful, it truly was. It hurt Ed though more than it did Winry though. Ed turned towards the gunman as if he hadn't ever even been shot. Though he had five bullets in his back. Ed clapped his hands and slammed his palms into the floor. The gunman went flying. Ed helped Winry up and he hurried her to the hospital. Ed couldn't stand to see his friends hurt. Especially not the one he loved. His lips were parted slightly as he carried Winry to the hospital and blood dripped from them. He'd insisted even though she had one bullet in her shoulder and him five in his back. Winry didn't want to be carried, but Ed had forced her. Ed pushed through the front door of the hospital and set Winry in a chair. She sat their,stunned, holding her shoulder. How can Ed stand this much pain? How was he able to carry me all the way here when I have only one bullet in my shoulder and he has five in his back? Winry thought. The receptionist nodded at Ed. He ran back to Winry and held out his hand. "Come on. Their going to take that bullet out." He told her gladly. He smiled at her, but Winry just stared.
"Ed?" Winry asked. Ed stopped and looked at her thoughtfully.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Why are you worrying about me more than yourself?" She asked. Ed smiled.
"I know my chances of living...not yours, even though their good, I still worry." Ed said. Winry smiled.
"Thanks, Ed." She said. They started following a nurse that had called them. They took Winry into a room and allowed Ed to follow. They stood their waiting for the doctor to come in. Winry looked at Ed. His eyes were closed and he was leaning against the wall. "Ed?" Winry asked. She touched his arm. He jumped, but looked at her.
"Yeah?" He asked. It was starting to get difficult for him to breath.
"Are you alright?" She said. To Ed her voice sounded deep and distended. Suddenly Ed felt the his face hit the floor and Winry scream, then he passed out from blood loss.
Ed woke up in a hospital bed. Winry was sitting in a chair beside the bed watching him sleep. He looked at her face. Her blond bangs flowing gently by her face and the rest in a bun on her head. She didn't notice he was awake.
"Hey, Winry...How's you're shoulder?" Ed asked her. His voice was slightly scratched.
"Ed! You're awake!" She said loudly.
"Yeah. I don't think I would be talking to you if I wasn't." He added. Winry laughed.
"How's you're back?" She asked. Ed sat up.
"Fine. How's you shoulder I said."
"Perfect!"
"Except for the hole."
"Heh heh. Yeah..." She laughed nervously. Ed got up.
"We should get going." He said.
"I think you should lay down." Winry said and grabbed his shoulder. Ed sighed and got back into bed. "Hey, Ed."
"Yeah?" He said.
"Do you mind if I go shopping for you?" Winry asked. Ed looked at her blankly.
"No...?"
"Yay! I'll be back in a few hours!" She squealed then left quickly. Ed stared at the door.
"A few hours?"
Al finally found a phone outside a bar in a small town north of Liore. He dialed Colonel Mustang's office number.
"Hello, This is Central Head Quarters." A woman answered.
"Hello, can you please connect me to Colonel Mustang?" Al asked.
"What's you're code?" She asked.
"My name is Alphonse Elric." Al told her.
"Oh! Al! How nice to hear from you! I'll connect you right away!"
"Thanks Lora!" Al smiled. He waited for about a minute. Then he heard a click.
"Alphonse?" Mustang asked.
"Hi, Colonel Mustang. Have you heard anything about Ed yet?"
"Actually, I have some great news."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Ed actually came by. He was in my office waiting for me the other day! Al, he's back! You're brothers back. We knew he was always alive!" Al literally dropped the phone, but quickly picked it back up.
"Thanks Mustang! Do you know where he is?"
"I think he said he was heading to Liore to ask Rose where you went."
"Great! Thanks!" Al said and hung up. He ran to the train station to by a ticket for Liore.
Just then the phone rang in Mustang's office again.
"Hello?" Mustang said.
"Sir, one of you're underlings, Edward Elric was hospitalized this morning."
"What? Why?"
"We have confirmed that he was shot five times in the back and a young girl with him was shot once in her left shoulder."
"What?" Mustang yelled and hung up.
"What was that?" Hawkeye asked.
"Ed's been hospitalized." He replied.
"Already?" Fury asked. They all watched Mustang rush out of his office and Hawkeye follow him. They headed to the hospital.
Winry walked into Ed's room with three shopping bags. She saw Ed asleep. She cocked her head slightly.
"Aw." She said and set the bags down by Ed's bed. "He'll need new clothes since his only outfit was covered with blood." She laughed. She started pulling the clothes out and folding them next to Ed. The first thing she pulled out was a navy blue button up shirt with a collar. She set it beside him. She pulled out tan khaki pants, a thin black wool shirt, platform shoes, several pairs of boxers, black leather pants, a black sleeveless, and a leather long sleeve shirt. "These will look great on him." Winry whispered. She put them in neat piles at the end of Ed's bed. Winry walked over to the I.V's. She pulled Ed's arm out from under the covers. He'd taken the I.V out on accident. Winry sighed. She picked up the needle and gently put it back in Ed's arm. She looked at Ed's beautiful, flawless face. Winry brushed the hair out of Edward's eyes. "You really are beautiful..." Winry whispered. "I missed that...but now you're home again...My auto-man." She said. Winry walked over to the empty bags by Ed's bed. She grabbed the receipt out of one of them. "Oops. Sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to spend so much...Wow...$1263.67..." She muttered. Winry crumbled in up and through it in one of the bags. She then crumpled the bags up and left the room the throw them away. "Oh! I forgot to get something for you to put all you clothes in, Ed. I'll go buy that right now!" Winry told the sleeping Edward. Mustang walked in a moment after Winry left. Hawkeye followed him. Ed had a dot of dried blood on the edge of his mouth. Hawkeye looked at the clothing at the end of Ed's bed.
"What are these doing here?" She said. Hawkeye picked up a pair of boxers.
"Are you sure you want to be touching those?" Mustang asked. Hawkeye pointed out the tag that was still attached. "Oh." Mustang said.
"Looks like that girl he had with him went shopping for him." Mustang laughed.
"Hush, Colonel. He's asleep. Anyway, the clothes he was wearing weren't much Ed's style." Hawkeye added.
"Mm. Yeah. These are much closer...Lots of black and dark colors." Mustang said as he picked up the black leather pants. "There's something missing."
"Yeah, his red coat with the serpent's cross." Hawkeye said "Al wears in now."
Ed woke up then. Though he pretended he was asleep. He wanted to hear more about Al.
"Al really looks up to Ed. Huh?" Mustang asked.
"Yeah. Was Al excited when you talked to him?"
"What do you think? I though he was about to explode.""Wow." Hawkeye said as she lifted up the navy blue button up shirt. "This is nice. That girl has good taste. I bet she based this on what Ed used to where."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he used to where pants like this." Mustang said as he examined the leather pants. Hawkeye held the platform shoes up. They laughed.
"She still thinks he's short." Mustang laughed. Ed tried to control himself. He'd been working on that lately. Mustang glanced at Ed. He didn't seem to have moved, but Mustang was sure he had. Hawkeye glanced out the window. Her eyes widened. She grabbed Mustang and brought him to the floor. They heard a gunshot. Ed's eyes shot open as the bullet hit his thigh.
"Damn!" He yelled. Hawkeye and Mustang looked up to see Ed holding his right thigh. Ed through himself onto the floor. Another shot went through the window, shattering it. The bullet hit Ed's left arm. "Ah! What the hell!" Ed yelled again. He scurried under the bed. Another shot fired. It hit Ed's left foot. "Missed." He laughed. He came out the other side. Hawkeye pulled Mustang over to where Ed was. Ed flipped the bed on it's side so that it acted as a shield. All the clothes came tumbling down next the Ed. He picked up the navy blue shirt. "Hm, not bad, Winry." He said, impressed.
"I have to get the Colonel out of here, I'll be right back, Ed." Hawkeye told him even though Mustang was fine. He just had a small bump on his head. Ed got one knee. He heard someone step through the window as Hawkeye left. They walked over the door and shut it. Ed held his thigh as the man stepped toward him. He wore a masked face. Ed looked up at him, terrified. His killer stood in front of him, pointing a gun at his face. Ed remembered something then. He smiled maniacally. He clapped his hands and slapped the floor with his palms. The man stepped back suddenly as a dome formed around him. Ed stood and ran towards the window, but another bullet hit his right ankle. Ed tripped and fell into the glass sticking up from the window frame. The glass pierced about 6 inches into Ed's stomach and some broken pieces on the floor stuck to Ed's knee. He stood though, spit out some blood and kept going. "Dammit! I'm not dying today!" Ed said as he clapped his hands and hit the ground.
Al walked into Liore and headed straight for Rose's house. He finally got there an hour later. Al knocked on her front door. Rose opened it.
"Al?" Rose asked.
"Is Ed here?" Al asked. Rose looked surprised.
"No, of course not." She said. Al's face fell.
"Mustang said that Ed came by his office."
"What? Really?" Rose screamed happily. Al smiled, but then he remembered.
"So he's not here?"
"No, but I got a call from Winry asking where you were."
"Yeah?"
"You should stay and wait for them."
"I'm going to go to Central instead and see if I can find them." Al started to turn.
"Alright. Good luck."
"Thanks." Al started walking back to the train station. He caught a train for Central.
Ed limped into a alley. Who the hell is hunting me? Ed thought urgently. He leaned against one of the walls. He fell onto the ground. A person's silhouette stood at the end of the alley. Ed, still terrified, clapped his hands and hit the ground. A wall formed at the end of the alley, in front of the silhouette. But the person just jumped over it. Ed's eyes widened. The person aimed the gun at Ed. Why is this happening? I just got home! Why is this happening? Ed stood strong in front of the stranger. An idea came to Ed then. He swung his right hand into the barrel of the gun and crushed in easily. He smiled triumphantly. This person was also masked Ed noticed. They grabbed Ed's hair and forced his head down. The guy swung his knee up and it hit Edward's chest like a sledgehammer. Ed felt something break. Blood spurt out of Ed's mouth as he gasped. The guy swung his knee up again, this time it slammed into his stomach. "Ah.." Ed said as blood dripped heavily from his mouth. The masked man let Ed fall onto the ground.
"You'll be dead soon. You're lungs should be filling with blood from the ribs I broke, if they pierced you're lungs. You will basically drown." The person explained. Ed tried to speak, but he couldn't. The man left Ed to die alone.
Hawkeye ran into Ed's room. She saw the giant dome with a hole at the top. She broke it with her foot. A masked man was sitting inside it. Hawkeye kicked the gun out of his hands then lifted him up with one hand by the collar.
"Where did Ed go?" She asked him angrily. He shrugged his shoulders. Hawkeye pulled handcuffs out her back pocket and cuffed him. She followed a blood trail to the window where several large shards of glass dripped with blood and small pieces of flesh. Hawkeye gasped and followed to trail even further, out into the street.
I have to sit up...If I sit up...my lungs won't be able to fill..with blood...SIT UP! Ed yelled in his head, but he couldn't move. He could almost feel the blood flooding into his lungs. I'm going to die at 18 years old...Alone...murdered...by a man in a mask...Ed thought. Ed had a strong taste of copper in his mouth. "I'm sorry..Alphonse...I never got to say goodbye.." Ed said as he passed out.
Hawkeye finally followed the trail down an alley. She saw a figure laying at the end of it. She ran up to it. It was Ed. Some blood had drained out of his mouth. His left arm and right leg covered with blood. She gasped and picked him up quickly. She ran to the hospital immediately.
Winry entered the hospital with a large box. It held a large brown leather suitcase. It was highly durable and easy to carry. She walked into Ed's room. She dropped the box, though. Tubes were in Ed's mouth and a heart monitor was hooked up to him. It beeped rather un- evenly. Dried blood was on Ed's cheeks and neck. Gauze was wrapped around his left arm and right thigh and ankle. Ed's face cringed every other minute. Hawkeye was there with Mustang. They were watching him...well not really sleep...more like have a nightmare half awake. Ed's eyes opened finally. He realized something was in his throat. He choked momentarily then took the thing out himself. It was covered with blood at the end. Ed sat up quickly. He still thought if he laid down his lungs would fill with blood. Ed's face was dripping with sweat and his eyes still looked horrified.
"Hey Winry..." Ed said. His eyes now full of relief.
"Ed! What happened!" Winry screamed. Ed smiled sheepishly.
"Well, while you were out these two came in and started looking through the clothes you bought me-"
"You were awake for that? How embarrassing..." Mustang said.
"Anyway...Then some guy shot my thigh and it went all to hell from there..." Ed continued. He glanced at Winry.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah...sorry."
"Tell me all the niceties.""I don't think you really want to kn-"
"Of course I do!" Winry yelled at him. Ed sighed and told her everything that had happened. Frankly, Hawkeye was surprised he remembered it all. Winry was sitting next to Ed now. She tired to change the subject.
"Where are the clothes I bought you?" She asked Ed.
"Uh..." Ed looked at Hawkeye. She nodded and opened a large box that contained all the clothing.
"Oh." Winry mumbled. "I got you this great new suitcase." She showed Ed the box.
"Thanks, Winry..." Ed said. He smiled at her. Mustang and Hawkeye left then. Mustang had to be getting back to the office. "You know, Winry. It scared me when you got shot."
Winry blushed and looked at Ed. "I thought you would bleed to death if I didn't get you to a hospital. I thought you were gonna die. I thought you were suffering. I was scared for you. I'm sorry that I couldn't shield you from that bullet." Ed told her.
"Ed..." Winry said.
"Winry..I would take a bullet for you any day...I missed you...That's why I came home...I couldn't live another day without seeing you're smiling face...I'm sorry I was late." He said. Ed got out of bed slowly and walked over to a nearby sink. He washed his face.
"Ed...You don't have to take a bullet for me...You don't have to do anything..except live."
Ed walked over to Winry.
"Oh really?" He asked. Winry nodded and smiled. "Winry..."
"Yeah?" She asked as she looked up. Ed pulled her chin to his and pressed his lips gently onto hers. He let go of her chin and just kissed her lovingly. He broke it.
"If I die without saying goodbye. I want you to consider that the goodbye." Ed told her. Winry blushed immensely. She stood. Ed and her finally at the same height. Ed kissed her again. She leaned backward onto the bed, Ed on top of her. Winry moaned quietly. Mustang walked in to tell Ed one more thing. He stopped before he said anything. He just watched Ed and Winry make out and Ed on top of Winry. Hawkeye came to see what he was looking at. She had the same reaction. A few minutes after intense make out watching Havoc appeared to fetch Mustang and Hawkeye. He saw and started watching the two make out as well. Ed's lips were gentle and loving...just like his heart. His hair fell softly onto Winry's face. Winry's kiss was soft and shy, but strong. Ed thought about having sex with Winry, but that seemed like a step to far. Winry wanted him though, she felt like she needed him. She pulled Ed closer. Ed broke it. He kissed Winry's forehead gently. Hawkeye grabbed the two men and pulled them away. "You should go eat. You haven't eaten since yesterday." Ed whispered to her. Winry thought it was the sexiest thing. Ed stood and brought Winry with him. "I'll see you later, Winry." He told her. She nodded absent-mindedly. Ed led her to the door. She turned to Ed. He gave her one more goodbye kiss. "Bye Winry.." He said. She smiled and left. Her face was completely pink. Ed walked into his room. He put his hands on his hips and let his head fall while he sighed. "To close." He mumbled. Ed walked over to his bed and laid down. He fell asleep a moment later.
Mustang entered his office with Hawkeye and Havoc behind him. Mustang and Havoc's mouths were agape while Hawkeye led Mustang over to his desk calmly.
"What's wrong?" Asked Breda. Havoc turned to him and grinned.
"We walked in on Ed and his girl making out." Havoc held his fingers close together. "They were this close to having sex, those rascals."
"That was some intense stuff." Mustang added. Breda and Fury laughed.
"You've got to be kidding!" Fury yelled. Havoc shook his head happily.
Al walked into Central Station in the morning a few days after Ed's incident. He waved to everyone he knew, which was a large amount of people. Al knocked on Mustang's door.
"Come in." Mustang yelled through the door. Al opened it and smiled at them. They smiled at him back. "Hello, Alphonse." Mustang greeted him.
"Hello, Colonel Mustang." Al said gladly.
"What's up?" Fury asked.
"I came to see if brother was still here!" Al said excitedly. Mustang's men ducked their heads. "Is he?" Al asked.
"Yeah, but.." Mustang started.
"But what?"
"He's in the hospital. He's seriously hurt." Hawkeye interrupted. Al's face fell.
"Really...?" He asked. Then he realized his brother really was there. "I can't wait to see him!" Al yelled. He ran down the hall and out the front doors happily and excitedly. He ran straight to the hospital.
Ed sat up in his bed. He sighed. It's time to leave. He thought. I've had enough pity thrown onto me by doctors and nurses. Plus I'm almost completely healed. Winry walked in. She smiled at Ed and him at her.
"Hey, Winry!" He greeted her. She ran over to him. They hugged happily. "Hey, I'm heading out to find Al. Wanna come?" He asked. Winry nodded excitedly.
"Let's go!" She said. Ed smiled. He picked up the suitcase Winry had bought for him and picked out the navy blue button up and khaki pants. He pulled out the platform shoes as well. Ed changed in the bathroom nearby. Winry waited on Ed's bed for him. He came in with his hair back. He smiled at Winry.
"How are they?" She asked.
"They're great!" He said. Winry was glad. Ed offered his hand to her. She accepted it and they left the room. Ed stopped at the receptionist desk to discharge himself. Once he did Ed and Winry headed for the hotel Winry had been staying at. They checked out there then headed to Central Station. Ed held onto Winry's hand sweetly. He considered them boyfriend and girlfriend now. No doubt about it. We're definitely dating. He thought happily. Finally... Ed and Winry walked in the front door. Ed stopped at the waiting area.
"You wait here. I'll be right back, Winry." Ed told her. She nodded and sat with Ed's suitcase in a nearby chair. Ed opened the doors to Mustang's office.
"Ed! Welcome!" Fury said as he thought about him and Winry. "How was last night?"
Ed looked at him curiously. "Fine..Why?"
"We heard about you and Winry. Was it fun?" Breda asked him. Ed blushed. Winry and him had ended up in a room alone together, but nothing happened more than you've already seen.
"Oh..." He said. They all laughed except Hawkeye and Mustang.
"You shouldn't be out of the hospital, Ed." Hawkeye scolded him.
"Yeah I know, but I got bored and I figured I would be fine." He said disobediently.
"Anyway, what brings you here, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked.
"I came to tell you I'm off for Liore. To find Al." Ed reported. Mustang and Hawkeye looked at each other curiously.
"Al went to look for you at the hospital." Hawkeye told him. Ed groanded and left. He grabbed Winry and they headed back to the hospital.
"What do you mean he's not here?" Al yelled at the receptionist.
"He checked out this morning, sir!" She told him. Al turned and ran out the door. He ran to Central Station. He figured Ed would be there.
Ed left with Winry and they headed for the hospital.
"I really hope he's still there." Ed told Winry.
"Yeah." She said.
"He just left! Ah!" Al yelled. He grabbed his head and groaned.
"Yeah, he was headed to the hospital to look for you." Mustang told him. Al rolled his eyes and headed back to the hospital.
"What the hell? We just missed him?" Ed yelled. "Ah!". He walked brusquely out the front doors with his new suitcase. Winry followed. He bumped into somebody though. Ed and the person fell backwards.
"Sorry!" They said in unison. They looked at each other. They stared and stared then...
"Brother!" They yelled at each to other. Al and Ed ran into each other and hugged.
"I can't believe you're back!" Al yelled ecstatically.
"I'm so glad to see you, Al!" Ed yelled. They separated. Al and Ed were crying with tears of joy. Mustang and Hawkeye had decided to follow Al this time to ensure he was reunited with his brother, but they just saw the two hugging and crying.
"I missed you so much, Ed!" Al sobbed. It was like when they were little when Ed had been invited to a sleepover for the weekend for the first time and he was gone for a few days. "Same here, Al!" They hugged again. Al saw Ed's arm.
"You didn't get you're arm back, brother?" Al asked. Ed shook his head, but he didn't care he was back with his brother now. "And you grew!"
"Ha ha! You did to, Al! That's what happens when you don't see someone for awhile!"
"Where did you go, brother?" Al asked.
"When I brought you back, I was sent to the other side of the gate."
"Really? What was it like there?"
"It was pretty much the same in the sense that the people are and theres similar developments, I guess, but they don't use alchemy there, in fact you can't. It's impossible...kind of. They're were a lot more machines like things that can bring you up into space called rockets too."
"No way! That's impossible!"
"Not there."
"I can't believe it! How did you get back?"
"I...don't know...I haven't figured that out yet.."
"Oh well. You don't need to know unless you end up going back there and I won't let that happen!" Al told him. They grinned at each other happily. Nothing was ever going to take them away from each other again. Not even "the truth".