Last time we returned to The Bureau. The time/space distortions that Violet was monitoring were getting larger and there were more of them. If whatever is causing the distortions isn't stopped, the world will be destroyed. Meanwhile Max, tired of Steve's constant pestering over Dracula, told him that he's taking him, Julie and Tyler to Memphis to see the grave of Dracula. On with the show!

Chapter 9: Winry

Within six hours of the attack on Meridian, another group of demons were rampaging throughout the streets of the city. This time around there were only four: three of the creatures had a distinct resemblance to crabs, only these were ten feet tall and had two sets of claws. The fourth demon was a different matter; this one was more humanoid, except it had several octopus tentacles for arms and stood over thirty feet tall.

Caleb and the Royal Guard were able to handle the crab demons without too much trouble thanks to Martin's invention. The giant demon was again a different matter. Even with Ed and Al assisting them, Will and her fellow Guardians still had their hands full. They finally manage to slay the demon, but not without a lot of hurt. Hay Lin received several broken ribs when the demon grabbed her with one of its octopus tentacles and tried to crush her. Taranee managed to burn the tentacle off of Hay Lin, but then had her leg broken when another tentacle slammed her to the ground. Another tentacle dislocated Irma's arm.

Ed was trapped underneath some rubble from when the demon kicked a building to death. It was the combined efforts of Will and Cornelia that immobilized the demon. Al used his armored strength to snap the neck of the creature, which then dissolved into a puddle of slime. "I'm not cleaning that up!" complained Irma.

Al then ran to the pile of debris to dig out Ed. "Brother!" exclaimed Al, "Please be alright!" Al finally found Ed, his metal arm pinned beneath a large chunk of stone masonry. "I'm fine, Al," said Ed as his metal brother freed him from the debris. Ed tried to move his metal arm, but it wouldn't bend at the elbow, three of his fingers wouldn't move at all. "Great," sighed Ed, "Where's Winry when you need her?"

"Who's Winry?" asked Will later at the palace. Taranee and Hay Lin were being treated for their broken bones, while Irma had her shoulder fixed. "Winry Rockbell," said Ed, "She's the mechanic who helped outfit me with my Auto-Mail." "I assume that your arm and leg are examples of Auto-Mail," said Caleb.

"You got that right," said Ed, "Where I come from there are a lot of people who lost one or more limbs due to war and violence." How did you lose your limbs?" asked Cornelia, "If you don't mind my asking."

"The same way I lost my body," said Al, "We tried to use Alchemy to do an impossible task, something that is forbidden by the rules of Alchemy. For that, my brother lost his left leg, while my body was taken away from me. Ed then sacrificed his right arm to keep my soul from drifting into the void. What we did was the mistake we made, that is what we're trying to make up for."

Meanwhile Martin was helping Irma reset her shoulder. "Your arm has been knocked out of its socket in your shoulder," said Martin as he held her arm, "I'm going to push it back into place." "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Taranee, who then winced from the pain in her broken leg.

"I've taken several first aid classes," said Martin, "Along with CPR and a lot of other basic medical classes." He looked Irma in the eye, "This is going to hurt, but it'll hut even more if it isn't done." "I trust you," said Irma as she braced for the pain. With one quick movement, Martin slipped Irma's arm back into its shoulder socket. Irma gasped from the pain, but then smiled at Martin. "That didn't hut as much as I thought it would," she said. "Being a Guardian has its merits," said Hay Lin, "My ribs are already healing."

Later that night found Will and Cornelia in Elyon's study discussing the day's events. "Reports have come in from all over the kingdom," said Elyon, "At least 30 demons of various sizes and shapes were seen just after that earthquake felt earlier today. I think it's safe to assume that the earthquakes and the demons are related."

"Why do I have the nasty feeling that that bitch Pai-Mey Matoya is behind this?" asked Will. "Well who or whatever is behind the demons," said Cornelia, "We stopped the ones that attacked the city without too much damage, that is if you don't count Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin getting hurt." "They're on the mend the last I heard," said Elyon, "On another subject, I've received this message from Vathek," she then read a note from Vathek:

My Queen,

Forgive me for not being able to complete your request, but duty calls. Several demons have attacked the outlying villages, and I fear that the army will be too late in arriving to resolve the situation, I must do what I can until help arrives.

On a more positive note, I've received assistance from an unexpected source. I encountered a swordsman by the name of Guts today. When the demons began their attack, Guts slew one of them with just a single swing of his sword. The Black Swordsman, as Guts is known to his enemies, has agreed to assist in the destruction of the demons. When the outlying villages have been secured, and all the demons destroyed, I'll introduce Your Majesty to this most interesting warrior.

Again, my apologies for not being able to complete your request, I'll be sure to get some rest once the present crisis is resolved. Your ever-obedient servant,

Vathek

"The Black Swordsman," said Will, "There's a name of a person I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley." "I'd be afraid to be in a dark alley with anyone named Guts," said Cornelia.

"Oh, Cornelia," said Elyon, "From what I've seen from Irma and Martin, it looks like I'll be winning our bet any day now." "Dream on," said Cornelia, "Irma's only being nice to Martin because of how bad she felt after rejecting him. She'll snap out of it soon enough."

The next morning found Will checking on Taranee and Hay Lin. Hay Lin's ribs was almost healed, while Taranee was walking as if her leg never broke. Irma had full use of her arm again.

Meanwhile Martin had repaired Ed's Auto-Mail arm as best he could. "I'm amazed with your prosthetic arm," said Martin, "When fully repaired, it operates as a normal arm would without microcircuits and other advanced technologies. On my world the prosthetic limbs we have aren't nearly as functional as yours."

"Well on my world," said Ed, "They're a lot of Auto-Mail manufactures, but most of them make products that wouldn't last two minutes in a fight," he nodded towards his arm, "This is Rockbell Auto-Mail, the best by far."

Martin then finished working on Ed's arm, "I've done what I could, but it may not be enough." Ed tried to move his arm, it would only bend at the elbow about two thirds of the way it should, and two of his fingers still wouldn't move.

"Can you fight?" asked Elyon who was watching the whole time. Ed then clapped his hands together; he then used Alchemy to summon another spear out of the stone floor. "If I can use Alchemy," said Ed, "Then I can fight."

Just then one of the palace guards entered the room, "My Queen, someone has come through the Krell gateway." "What?" asked both Martin and Elyon. "It's true," said the guardsman, "The gate activated just as it did before and someone came through, a girl this time. She is currently waiting in the front hall. I believe she said that she knows someone named Edward Elric."

"I think I know who it is," said Ed, "I'm sure she's alright." Elyon hesitated for a second before saying, "Send her in." The guard saluted and exited the room. About three minutes later the guard returned with a girl of about Ed's age, carrying a large black bag. She had long light blond hair and blue eyes. Elyon thought the girl looked a bit like Cornelia.

"We've checked the bag," said the guardsman to Elyon, "Nothing but several tools." "Winry!" exclaimed Ed, "What are you doing here?" "I woke up this morning with the feeling that you needed me, Ed," said Winry as she glared at Ed's damaged arm, "It seems I was right." Before anyone could stop her, Winry reached into her bag, pulled out a large wrench and threw it at Ed. The wrench impacted Ed on the forehead.

"What was that for!" exclaimed Ed as he clutched his bruised forehead. "That," said Winry, "Was for mangling my grandmother's best Auto-Mail." "It's not like I had a choice in the matter," said Ed, "Al and I were fighting demons."

"There are demons as here as well?" asked Winry as she and Ed sat down at a nearby table. "They started attacking yesterday," said Ed as Winry began to work on his arm, "What do you mean 'here as well'?"

"Several demons attacked Central yesterday," said Winry, "Just after this minor earthquake hit the city. Just who tried to repair your arm? Whoever it was didn't do a good job."

"I believe introductions are in order, Ed," said Elyon, "If you don't mine." "Oh," said Ed, "Your Majesty, this is Winry Rockbell. Winry, this is Queen Elyon." "Please to meet you," said Winry.

"Now what's this about demons in Central?" asked Ed while Winry continued to repair his arm. "Well they were real demons," said Winry, "Real butt-ugly monsters. They killed a lot of innocent people and soldiers before Corneal Mustang and Major Armstrong stopped them." "I'm sure they did," said Ed, "I can just imagine Roy Mustang bragging on how he defeated the monsters, while Major Armstrong does his usual thing."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what they're talking about?" asked Cornelia. "You're not," said Will, "But if the demons are attacking Ed's world as well, then we're up a certain creek without a paddle."

Winry meanwhile had finished repairing Ed's arm. "Just like new," he said as he moved his arm about, "You're the best, Winry." "I know," said Winry in a smug tone. There's defiantly a resemblance between her and Cornelia thought Elyon.

Later on Ed and Al had introduced Winry to the others. Winry then told the others about the crisis on her world. "Now I'm convinced," said Will, "Pai-Mey is behind this somehow." "So what's to be done about the demons on both worlds?" asked Hay Lin.

"The demons here aren't that much of a problem," said Martin, "My invention is ready for mass production. I can have an energy device for every guard and soldier on the planet by this time tomorrow, assuming Elyon can use her magic to help speed up the mass production."

"I'd be more than happy to," said Elyon. "That takes care of that," said Ed, "As for the demons on my world, Will, would you and your friends like to see where Al, Winry and I come from?"

"I'd like that very much," said Will as Taranee and the other Guardians nodded in agreement, "But I'd like to bring a few other friends along. I just need to go get Matt." "Then that's that," said Will, "As soon as Martin's invention is ready for deployment and the boys are here, we'll go stop the demons on Ed's world."

The end of chapter 9. Next chapter, as Will and the other Guardians prepare to travel to Ed and Al's world, they come face to face with Guts, The Black Swordsman. Please review and I'll see you next time!