Chapter Twenty Five-Goodbye
Winry and May ran several blocks before stopping. As May tried to catch her breath she turned back, worried about Alphonse. She knew he could handle himself and was very quick on his feet, but the fact he was fighting Edward caused a pit to form in her stomach. There was a definite sobbing behind her and she turned to see Winry crying.
"Winry, it'll be okay." It didn't matter what May said to the automail mechanic though, she just shook her head.
"How can you say that? That thing...that thing isn't Edward. It's not! I don't even see how anyone can get him back. And now Alphonse has to fight his own brother." She felt her knees grow weak and she sank to the cool ground below her. "It's not fair...it's just not fair!" She wrapped her arms around her midsection and started to tremble. As long as she had known the Elrics, their lives never seemed easy. The hardships and burdens they had carried as children were some that most people hadn't experienced in a life time. They could have quit at any point but they persevered through it all and deserved to be happy. To truly be able to salvage what they had left and actually get to enjoy life. The thought of loosing Ed only brought more tears to her eyes and she knew what loosing him would mean to the younger Elric. It would destroy him completely. They needed each other to survive, even though they had been apart for so long.
"Winry..." May's small voice broke her thoughts and she found that she didn't have the strength to turn around. "Winry, it's starting to rain." The blond didn't seem to care as the first several drops soaked into her clothes. Whenever it rained, she would think of Ed and hope his automail wasn't causing him too much pain. She even thought about it when he was gone for so long. Every time it rained. She realized she missed him terribly. She needed him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. For once it wasn't her telling him he could do anything and he could beat any evil. No, this time she was the one doubting him. She thought about Gracia and wondered if she knew how this felt. Before her line of thinking could go any further, she heard a soft noise behind her. She finally turned around to see May also on the ground, also on her knees, crying. Shao Mei sat next to her in the same position. "Please, Winry...you have to get up. You'll get sick and that's bad for the baby. And you have to have faith in Alphonse. I know he'll get Edward back but you have to believe in him. They're both strong but we have to support them." She started to cry more, causing Winry to get up. "I..I want to support Alphonse the way you support Edward. You're the reason he's strong and you're the reason he'll make it through this. So please don't be sad." May brought her face lower, struggling to hold back the tears, letting out short little squeaks in the process.
"May?" Winry managed a feeble smile and offered her hand to help the younger girl up. "Thank you." May brought her face up and wiped her eyes with her long sleeve. Glancing around, they noticed a small cafe close by and hurried over, in order to get out of the rain.
oOoOo
It was silent between the Flame alchemist and Alphonse Elric. Neither one of them said anything as Alphonse continued to stare at the stone in his hand. He wondered if he had the right to use it to get his brother back. He really didn't want to. Now being honest with himself he wasn't all that sure how to even get to the gate. Edward might be stuck there till he could figure it out.
"Hey can we make this fast, really don't like being out here when it's pouring like this." Mustang's rude suggestion brought Al back to reality.
"Oh yeah...right." Al went to follow him when his eye sight went blurry. Bringing his hand up to the side of his head, blackness crept into the corners of his vision and he staggered some. "General..." He blinked before going down. Roy turned and moved as quickly as possible.
"Great, should have known he'd overdue it. He just got out of the hospital for crying out loud." Trying to move Al wasn't as easy as he thought, the kid was pretty heavy. "Guess that's from making up for all those years you couldn't eat, huh." He made it over to a phone booth, propping Al up as best he could. It was hard to dial with the sleeping teen leaning on him. "Yes this is General Roy Mustang, connect me to Lt. Havoc." Jean's voice sounded somewhat sleepy on the other line, almost as though he was in the middle of a yawn when he answered.
"Yes, sir."
"I need a car. Can you come and get me."
"What, did you get drunk or something and can't drive yourself home?" There was an obnoxious quality to the Lieutenant's voice.
"Just come down Main street and get me. I've got Al with me and I don't think he's doing so well."
"Oh, yes sir. Sorry bout that."
"Just hurry, Lieutenant."
oOoOo
On the way back to the hospital, the General caught sight of Winry and May in a cafe. Not going into too much detail with the two young women, they followed him out to the car. As soon as they opened the rear car door, May rushed in when she saw Alphonse asleep in the back.
"Alphonse!" She hugged him tightly. "What happened to him, is he going to be okay?"
"I'll tell you more when we get to the hospital." Roy had placed his fingers in his ears as May's tone was somewhat high pitched with concern. He just hoped she would keep it down for the rest of the ride. When they did arrive at their destination, things became even more chaotic. May didn't want to let go of Al which made it difficult to get him inside. Finally they convinced her it was in his best interest and she released him. Once a doctor got a look at him, they brought him into the same room Riza was staying in. Since Alphonse was still asleep the only person Winry could ask about what happened was Mustang. And since he kept to himself out in the hall as though he was avoiding Riza, that was where Winry found him.
"General, if it's okay do you think you can tell me what happened and where Ed is?" Roy dropped his head tiredly and rubbed the back of his neck, realizing all the fatigue from the day was starting to get to him too. Maybe he should get a room here as well. Her question was not one that would be easily answered though and he now considered the possibility of entering the forbidden hospital room and potentially facing the wrath for his actions earlier. But then Winry deserved answers and he wasn't about to leave her out here alone without knowing anything.
oOoOo
Everything ached. It was like a nagging pain that wouldn't go away or be ignored. The blond wearily opened his eyes only to find the vast white around him. It was enough to hurt his eyes and he blinked several times before getting used to it. He was laying flat on his back when he realized he was being watched.
"Oh, it's you again," an all too familiar voice said to him. "You know you're not allowed here, right." Ed remained where he was as the Keeper of the gate leaned over him from above.
"Yeah? Darn and I was thinking of building a summer home here. Guess you'll just have to send me back." He let out a weak cough.
"Not you, everything always has to be about you doesn't it? I was talking to the other one." Without warning, the Keeper reached down and yanked something black out of Ed's body. He didn't even feel anything different when he did it. "Foolish little homunculus. We have a place for ones like you." With that he walked away, leaving Ed alone again. It was peacefully silent now that he was the only soul occupying his body. He let out a sigh, still not willing to move.
"So I'm stuck here now, great." Although he was relieved that he was rid of Pride and much more easily then he expected, he was still not where he needed to be. And without alchemy, he really was stuck until Alphonse came and got him. Of course he wasn't even sure if Al knew how to get here. He had spent so much time learning Alkehestry that his alchemy might be rusty. "Nah, he knew enough to send me here, so he'll get me back." Of course then the alarming question was would Al dare use the philosopher stone Pride left behind as payment. Edward hoped that wasn't what Al was planning. Closing his eyes again, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep. He wasn't sure how long he had been out but by the time he woke up again, he really didn't feel any better. "Guess I should get up." He unenthusiastically made it to his feet but not without his muscles protesting along the way. Walking around he realized that there wasn't much to this place. Tilting his head to the side, his neck cracked loudly. "I have a bad feeling I'm going to be bored here."
"Tell me you're not going to whine the whole time you're here," He heard the Gatekeeper say from behind him. Placing his hands on his hips he let out a huff.
"If I'm so annoying, why not just send me back."
"No problem, just gotta give something up. You know how this all works." Ed turned around with a hint of irony in his tone.
"Can I give Pride up, you already took him so I should get something in return, right?"
"Should have known you'd try something like that. It has to be something of yours."
"Yeah, I had eternal life, that should count."
"It doesn't work that way. Yah know you were more compliant the first time." Edward rolled his eyes. "I've gotten a little smarter since then."
"And yet here you are. By the way, do you mind covering up or something? At least your brother had some shame." Ed arched an eyebrow before glancing down to see he was completely naked. He let out a high pitched noise before turning his body mostly away and bringing his hands down in a feeble attempt at modesty.
"You could have said something sooner!" The keeper shook his head and stood up from where he was sitting.
"How does someone not realize something like that."
"And it's not like you have anything around here that would be helpful."
"Just stop whining." The keeper walked over to him, receiving the oddest look from the tall blond. Sticking his finger out, the strange being poked Ed's shoulder. Glancing down again he was fully clothed in a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt. (-_-*) "Better?" With a dumb look on his face, Ed nodded back.
oOoOo
Winry remained quiet for a long time, staring at the floor in front of her. Mustang had told her everything he knew about the situation and really didn't have anything else to add. Even though he wasn't the best at comforting a friend's wife in times like this, he still stayed seated next to her, leaning forward on his knees. He half expected her to start crying and if she did, he didn't know how he would handle it but she never did.
"So we really don't know if he's even okay, do we?" Roy sighed back, confirming her suspicions.
"Al's the only one who knows how to fix this."
"Then we just have to wait?" He nodded quietly back and she sighed deeply.
"That's all I ever seem to do." Havoc stepped out of the hospital room with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"General, Lt. Hawkeye needs to see you," His statement cause Roy to visibly tense up which caused him to grin wickedly. "Yeah, I think you're in trouble." Mustang glared at him as he rose to his feet.
"You know this is a hospital, you can't smoke in here." As he walked
past Havoc, he yanked the cigarette from his mouth and tossed in the trash can.
"Aw come on, it wasn't even lit."
"You need to quit." Havoc slumped his shoulders as he headed for the exit. As Roy entered the room, he relaxed some when he noticed May was still in the room. 'Great, Hawkeye can't kill me if there's a witness.'
"Excuse me May, but can we have a minute, please?" May hesitated for a second before nodded and leaving the room.
'Well that's just great.' He mentally slouched as he walked over to her side of the room. His eyes wondered to the other bed in the room. "So Al's still out. Guess he pushed himself too much today."
"It's good that you helped him otherwise who knows what would have happened." A faint smile crossed her face. Finally she turned and immediately caused Roy to straighten up and even lean back some from the bed. "So about earlier." The blood drained from Mustang's face making him appear even paler then normal. She glanced up at him with a serious look on her face. "Why don't you sit down?"
"I prefer to die standing, if that's okay." Her gaze widened and she actually laughed at him.
"Do you really think I'd kill you over something like this?"
"They did take away your gun when you checked in earlier, right?" She had never seen him so uneasy about something and it made her smile more.
"Who said I need a weapon anyway?" He grinned in return that revealed he was actually nervous just being around her. Finally she let out a sigh and shook her head. "Do you think this will ruin our professional relationship?" Furrowing his brow in confusion he opened his mouth to respond but took a minute to find his voice.
"Wait, so you're okay with what happened? With us?" As much as she tried to keep a straight face, she really was enjoying this too much. But she wasn't known for being cruel so she decided not to tease him anymore.
"Mmm, 'us'. That sounds kind of nice." Roy slumped into a more relaxed position, staring at her in shock.
"R..really?" He wanted to hug her but she stopped him before he got too far.
"Sir, right now it's not appropriate. When we're in the office or doing official work, you have to act professional."
"I can do that." He almost seemed insulted that she thought he couldn't control himself when they were working. She gave him a look and arched a brow.
"You have a hard enough time keeping your social life and work separate when you're dating someone who doesn't work with you."
"I'm not that bad." Now that the air was cleared between them, he grabbed the nearby chair and took a seat.
oOoOo
"Grrr, oww." He'd fallen over again but was still determined to get this down. Edward never did well having to sit still and this place only offered so many options to entertain yourself. He wondered how Al's body handled it for so many years. Once he was balanced on his head and hands again, he lifted his legs up.
"What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Other then hurting yourself," the Gatekeeper inquired, tilting his head down at the former alchemist.
"I'm bored." The Keeper just shook his head and walked away. Ed knew this was only going to be interesting for so long before he was tired of it. He started to wonder if there was anything he could do to get out here without alchemy. Despite how much he was trying to look on the bright side of things, he knew he didn't have anything to exchange. He had grown fond of having his real arm back. He wasn't about to give that up along with whatever else would be required. He was also starting to wonder what was taking Al so long to come get him. He wasn't sure how long he'd been here but when he had to get Al back on the Promise Day, he'd like to think he didn't waste a lot of time. As he let out a sigh and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on balancing, his arms started to wobble and he fell over again. "Oww."