Me: Sorry for being gone soo long, but--

Winry: Stuff just kept coming up?

Me: Oh yeah.

Winry: (clapping hands together) Let's get on with this before I find a new boyfriend!

Me: You mean before Ed goes yaoi on you… again?

Winry: Ugh………yes.

Me: Heh heh heh…

Disclaimer: …I've been gone so long, I can't remember if I own it or not. (Looks at agent) Nope, still don't.
Chapter 12: When He Wakes Up

"Why?" screamed Winry, sobbing all out now. Hawkeye backed up into the doorframe and reached out a shaking hand to grab the red phone from its hook. "Colonel," she hissed into the receiver, "get a med team down here quick, we've got an emergency on our hands."

X

Three hours later, Ed still wasn't moving, but the colonel had relocated him into the hospital wing of the base to be examined. No matter how many different tests the doctors did, results still remained inconclusive--he is Ed for all intents and purposes, he's just… a vegetable now.

"Oh, Ed," whispered Winry sadly, grasping his left hand in her own tightly, sitting next to his bed as she had been since he been moved here. "What happened to you? What did you do…?"

"Niisan…" whispered armor Al, standing in the back of the room.

SoulReaper Al snorted, gaining the attention of his metal self. "Good riddance," he huffed. "It's about time he got what was coming to him."

"How can you say that?" cried Winry, turning to the boys. "He's your brother, how can you hate him like this?"

"You don't know what he's done to me!" yelled the older boy angrily, uncrossing his arms and taking a step away from the wall. "You don't know how he's hurt every single one of us!"

"It doesn't matter!" shrieked the girl, beginning to cry once more. "It doesn't… matter…" she whispered, looking back at Ed, pressing his hand to her forehead.

"Winry," started Alison softly.

Winry shook her head. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost either of you."

"I do," said SoulReaper, glancing over at the door. "You'd be strong and keep moving forward."

"How do know?"

The boy frowned; "Because this isn't the first time he's left you like this." With that, he exited the room.

Winry stared after him, and after a moment, she turned back to Ed, squeezing his hand. "Wake up, Ed." she said firmly. "Wake up soon and tell me what's really going on."

X

The next time Alison checked in on her brother, Winry had fallen asleep beside him. She smiled warmly at the two and found a blanket to wrap around Winry's shoulders. "Do you think he'll ever wake up again?" she asked.

The small figure of her child self stirred from the corner, hopping out of a chair. He hobbled over to Alison sleepily, reaching out for her hand. "I hope so," he murmured, rubbing his eye. "I miss Niisan already…"

"Me too…" sighed the girl.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked a heavy voice from the doorway. Both Als turned to look at the speaker; it was SoulReaper. "You have no idea what that bastard's going to put you through. My suggestion is that you stop caring now so it won't hurt later."

Alison drew in a deep breath, let go of the child's hand, and marched right up to other boy. SLAP! "Stop," she commanded shakily, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Stop talking that way about Niisan. He's our brother and we all love him. What could possibly have happened to make you hate him so much?"

"You really want to know?" he asked quietly, rubbing his cheek; Alison nodded and little Al came scuttling over to her, taking another firm grasp on her hand. SoulReaper closed his eyes and turned away slightly. "He abandoned everything. He just left without a word and never came back. We've all been waiting for eight years now; my Winry, where I'm from, she still hasn't lost hope. But I…"

"You don't believe in Niisan anymore?" asked little Al, gazing up at his older self.

"Why should? Like I said, he abandoned everything: his home, his work, his family; me, Winry, the twins; everything!"

"Wait," started Alison slowly. "The…twins…?" she asked, blinking at him. "What twins?"

"Um," Al took a step backwards, looking away and clearing his throat. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned that."

"What twins?" demanded the girl, advancing on him.

"No really," he said, starting to become nervous, "forget I even said anything!"

"Tell me!" she practically screamed.

"What…?" came a quiet voice from inside the room. "Did someone say something?" It was Winry; they had woken her up.

"Oh, um… no," squeaked Alison, forgetting about her interrogation. "Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," she murmured, sitting up slightly. She looked over at Ed and her expression fell. "He's still…"

"Yeah," sighed Alison, walking over to the other girl. "But he'll get better soon; I promise."

Winry smiled weakly at her and turned back to Ed sadly. "What if…what if he doesn't, though?"

"Just forget about it already, would you?" groaned SoulReaper irritably; Alison shot him a nasty glare; Winry just looked away, becoming even more disheartened. The boy sighed and said "What I mean is that of course he's gonna get better, coz there's no way he can't. Certain future implications demand it."

"Thank you," said Winry kindly, smiling warmly at him. "But something gives me the feeling that this may be changing the future."

"Alright," said a voice coming through the door, "it's time to run a few more tests on the patient, so would you all be so kind as… to… leave?" the young doctor stared at the visitors.

Winry quietly began rapping her head on the bed post, silently screaming "why me?"

Say hello to Al #5.

X

After a while, once the doctors (including the new Al) had finished running more inconclusive tests, Colonel Mustang came back to check in on Ed. "Anything new?" was all he asked; Winry, who was once more at the boy's side, shook her head sorrowfully. The Colonel sighed rubbing the back of his head. "That boy…" he muttered irritably. "How long has it been?" he asked after a moment.

"About twelve hours now, sir." answered Hawkeye from behind him.

"Has it really been that long?" asked Winry jadedly, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"Have you gotten any sleep since the incident?" asked the lieutenant worriedly.

Winry nodded slightly. "A little," she whispered, yawning a bit.

"It's getting late," stated the Colonel, looking up at the clock. "You should probably go back to your room and--"

"No!" cried the girl, leaning over Ed. "I won't leave him!"

"Winry," cautioned Hawkeye, "straining yourself like this won't do you any good; besides, Ed wouldn't want you to push yourself."

"Yeah, but…" started the girl quietly; she sighed and looked down at Ed. She smiled at him gently, carefully cupping his cheek in her hand, gazing into his glazed, half-lidded eyes. "I just can't leave him," she tenderly ran her thumb over his cheek bone, "I won't…"

Just then, the dormant boy began to glow, and within seconds, a flash of bright red light identical to the one 12 hours ago filled the room and was closely followed by another deafening boom. When the commotion had subsided, Winry slowly peeled her eyes open and uncovered her ears; her heart skipped a beat. There, spread out on the far walls of the room, were her seven precious chibis.

"My head…" moaned flirty Ed, trying yet failing to stand up. "What just happened?"

"It seems I made an error in my calculations…" muttered Mr. Smarty-Pants.

"So this was your fault?" screamed wrath Ed, beginning to regain his mobility.

"Fault?" chuckled the nearsighted boy, "I'd call it more of a necessary step in the name of a cure."

"I'll show you a necessary step!" shouted the more muscular boy, pouncing at his smarter self. He pinned Greed to the floor, starting to pound his face into oblivion. He was soon joined by the other five Eds were just as pissed at the wannabe scientist.

All the while, Winry was sitting, gawking at the seven brawlers, crying her eyes out. "Ed…" she whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. "You're… you're…" before she knew it, she had bolted to her feet and rushed over to them, catching all seven of them in a collective hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!" she cried.

They all stopped fighting, startled by her appearance. "Winry!" squeaked little Ed happily, hugging her back tightly.

"What's wrong?" asked a few of the others, still confused as to what had just happened to them.

"You," sniffled the girl, still embracing them, "Do you…"

POW!-!-!

Every single Ed fell backwards, a large, painful bump on their head; Winry was breathing hard and grasping her wrench tightly. "Do you know how worried I was?" she screamed, still sobbing happily.

Flirty Ed: Why? Why does it always have to be a wrench?

Me: What else would it be--A giant hammer?

Flirty Ed: No, I was thinking more along the line of pillows.

Me: Pillows?

Flirty Ed: Yep--sexy, lacy, lingerie pillow fighting.

Me: …Just NO.

Please review! And thank you for reading:)