"I have to admit, I've wondered what the automail capitol would be like." Big Sister said to me one afternoon as we walked down a street in Rush Valley.
All around us the sun gleamed off metal as shops displayed their wears. Other venders' stalls lined the street selling everything from food to jewelry to automail maintenance kits. Shoppers pushed their way around us and kids ran underfoot. "Why?" I asked her while watching some kids duck into an alley, "It seems like just another town to me."
She shrugged. "I don't know. I'd never seen automail before I met you. I thought the whole idea of having metal limbs very fascinating. Maybe even, when I was younger, I thought there was something magical about it." I didn't think there was anything magical about missing limbs. But maybe getting new automail ones make it special. I looked at my automail arm. I spread the fingers then made a fist. I repeated the action only with my left. I tried to decide if there was anything weird about the automail. There didn't seem to be. Maybe it was because I'm a homunculus so both my arms are weird.
Sister saw what I was doing and laughed. "I admit the whole magical thing is because I didn't really know anything about automail. You know how when you're a kid sometimes your imagination runs away with you and you turn ordinary into extraordinary?" I only sort of understood what she was talking about but it didn't matter because she continued without waiting for me to respond. "Still, I like this town; it has a nice feel to it. At least your automail blends it here."
It was sort of true. In other town where people aren't so used to seeing metal limbs I would get funny looks. I didn't get those here but I was getting a different kind of attention. My automail wasn't supposed to clunk and somehow all of the automail sellers noticed. They kept bothering me, offering me 'good deals' on a tune-up or repairs. "I guess," I replied shooting a look at an eager man who looked ready to approach.
"I…" she started to reply.
I didn't hear the rest of what sister said because she was drown out by a loud female voice which called out "Wrath!" I froze in place, I recognized that voice. Winry Rockbelle marched up the street to me and grabbed my arm. "What have you done?" she cried out, "What have you done to my beautiful automail!" Winry's voiced sounded funny to me, it sounded higher than her normal voice. It almost sounded like she was in pain. She bent my right arm wincing when she heard a noise that had become so familiar I didn't even notice it anymore. "Come on," Winry said. I think she was trying not to sound angry. "We're going to go get some maintenance." She took me by the left hand and led me back down the street. I looked for sister but she was nowhere to be seen.
Winry took me to a small automail shop located in an alley. Inside the shop was cluttered, not at all like some of the larger shops out by the main street. I liked it though it was a more cozy feeling. Still, for some reason I couldn't relax. Winry sat me down in a chair and I jumped up the second someone came in the room.
The man who'd entered was a stern looking man with white hair. I didn't like the way he looked at me. I felt like he could see through me.
"This is one of Granny's clients," Winry told him, not even looking up from my arm. "I'm going to give him a tune-up."
"Hrph," was all the man said. He picked up some tools that were lying around and left. I was glad he left. I didn't like the way he studied me and he kind of reminded me of another man I want to forget.
Winry didn't examine my automail for long. "I'm going to have to open these limbs up and completely clean them." she told me. Her voice sounded strange again almost like she was going to cry or scream or something. She continued by telling me that it would be least painful if she detached the limbs until she was done. Two clicks later I was missing an arm and a leg. Winry found something she called a spare leg. She told me, I couldn't move it like my automail but it would support my weight and with a little practice I could walk with it on.
Winry disappeared into the work room leaving me alone. I tried to stand on the spare and toppled over instead. Trying to climb my way back to my feet with only one working arm and only one leg I could control was nearly impossible. I had almost made it when I put weight on the spare and fell over again. My second attempt to stand wasn't much better than the first. I made in to my feet, but when I tried to take a step I lost my balance again.
As I was fighting my way to my feet once more I had a crazy idea. I was wondering where Sister had went, I then I realized it: somehow seeing Winry again maybe and having her fix my automail had made me lose Sister. An equivalent exchange, I'd traded Sister for Winry without even realizing it. It was possible to get Sister back but it wouldn't be easy. If I could manage to move with the spare and if I could somehow find Sister I could get her back. There was something wrong with my trade somewhere, it didn't seem equal but I knew the final conclusion was right. If I could I find Sister soon I would get her back, but if I didn't I would lose her.
This made me much more determined to learn to walk with the spare, but it didn't make it any easier. While I struggled with it a girl came in the shop. She had an automail arm too. "Whatcha doing?" she asked. At this point I'd fallen over again and was lying on the floor.
"Walking," I told her. She watched me crawl on the floor and use a wall to right myself.
"Need some help?" She asked me.
"I can mange" I did want to risk messing up the exchange, by not paying the full price because I got help.
"Of course you can," she replied. She propped herself down on the counter. I heard a metal noise coming from her legs and figured she must have an automail leg too. She watched me fall over again then exclaimed "Oh" and jumped off the counter. She grabbed a piece of polished wood. "Here," she said holding it out to me, "Use this cane to help you balance."
I made my way up to a standing position once more and took the cane from her. It worked, just when I would lose my balance on the spare I could use the cane to keep from falling over. My walk was pretty unsteady and it wasn't easy but using the cane I managed to finally make my way out of the shop.
Luckily I didn't have to go far. I'd only made it out halfway down the alley when I heard a voice call, "Wrath!" On one side of the alley was a huge pile of crates and debris. Sister was standing behind some of the crates. It didn't occur to me until later that she had been hiding back there. She climbed onto one of the boxes now and sat down. I hobbled my way over to her.
I thought sister would say something; she was always the talkative one. But she was quiet just kind of staring at me. This was the first time she'd seen me without the automail so I wasn't that surprised when she looked at my lack of right arm. It wasn't the only place she looked though. She stared in my eyes also.
A lot of times silence is okay with me, but not this one. It was making me uncomfortable. I started explaining stuff to her, just to stop the silence. "That was Winry, she um," how could I explain Winry to her, "She made my automail. She likes to take care of it. Doesn't like it when it's not running right. I didn't know she'd be here, she's from um, Resembool."
"Resembool," Sister repeated slowly and quietly. She knew it was one of the places I was avoiding. "Winry must be pretty close if she personally made your automail." I knew Sister well enough now that sometimes I could detect what was in her voice when it didn't sound normal. I could tell she sounded sad for some reason.
"She didn't make it for me, she made it for, for someone else, but he can't use it anymore and I can so she gave it to me." I hastily explained again.
"Oh," was all Sister said looking down.
"I have to wait for her to fix my automail then we can leave. I want, I want to leave this town." When I said it, I knew it was true. I didn't want to stay in Rush Valley, not if Winry was there. It was too dangerous. Being around Winry made me remember stuff. And she might, she might tell that lady where I am.
Sister smiled at me, a real smile with no crying eyes. "Alright," she told me. "If they finish your automail by nighttime wait till they go asleep then come outside. I'll be waiting for you." She ruffled my hair. "You'd better go back now and make sure you thank this Winry for repairing your automail."
Sister jumped off the crate then headed out of the alley. I turned and made my awkward way back to the shop.