A.N: okiee this chapter is a little long, but its (one) of the moments you've all been waiting for. Find out what happened in Amestris, along with one of Bunny's darkest secrets! I'm not very fond of this chapter, but I realized I hadn't updated in a while, so I edited this as much as I could to make it as good as possible.
ALSO.I was a little disappointed with how many reviews the last chapter got! Only 3 people reviewed. I want you all to give me a little SOMETHING. Anything. It'll be greatly appreciated. (:
People say some days are better than others. But Edward just didn't care anymore. He wanted out. He wanted Amestris; he wanted his old life back. He wanted her back. It was all child's play, but what more could anyone expect from a man in his mid 20s whose never known a childhood? There were so many things he wanted, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. Edward was usually the kind of person who got up and got things done. But now, after everything he's been through, after all he's seen, anyone would agree it was time for that little angel to come down and do all his dirty work for him. He wanted a break. The world just needed to shut up and stay still for a second.
And on top of all that, Mr. Willis' constant nagging of "Where did you get that odd name from" was really starting to snip away at Edward's last nerve. It was just a coincidence, damn it. It just slipped from his mouth, damn it. Sure, he was mentally traumatized, but he wasn't stupid. He was a child prodigy, for Pete's sake. He had seen his fair share of blood, and the kind oozing from his best friend's beautiful body was no hoax. It was real. Does everyone understand?
It. Was. Real. Winry was dead. And it was his entire fault.
All she wanted to do was say goodbye. She just wanted to wish him well. That's all she's ever wanted to do. But Edward was so caught up in scolding Noah for following him that he completely forgot about the person he should've been paying attention to the most. And what was worst was the fact that Alphonse had to be the first person to see it happen. That poor, young boy who's only wanted nothing more than a tightly bound family, once and for all. Nothing was going as planned for either of them.
Noah didn't get to live in her haven in which nobody discriminated her for her race.
Edward didn't return to Amestris once and for all.
Alphonse didn't get his family back.
And Winry. All she got was a piece of skeletal structure metal stuck through her body. And that was the end. He had no control over his body anymore, and his sight kept wavering annoyingly. He could barely see where he was going, his legs were simply moving aimlessly. But the moment his knees hit the ground with a thud, his eyesight also adjusted in place. How he wished they hadn't.
Before the blonde alchemist lay his best friend, her eyes expanded to the size of her head, while silent whimpers escaped from her mouth. From her eyes spilled lone waterfalls, pooling around her body along with the red sea draining from her body, and her face was drenched with sweat. For a few moments, Edward simply sat there, staring at her body. What should he do?
Should he touch her? No, she's already in enough pain.
Should he say something? Quite frankly, he doubted his possession of a tongue at that moment.
Should he remove the jagged pole? She'd die instantly, either from the pain or the blood loss.
Thoughts whirred and whizzed inside Edward's mind. At first, he thought it was still just the sounds of mechanics, sawing away at glimmering sheet metal, sanded to the final inklings of its strength. Only Truth knew how many times he'd come across those sounds throughout his life. Edward surprisingly found himself longing for the annoyance, anything to keep his mind occupied. But he would hear those noises no more. And in that moment, he realized all the things he had that he'd never learned to cherish. He'd been too occupied with convincing himself that he needed nothing but his brother.
But he had perfectly functional limbs. Fake, but helpful none the less.
He had a perfectly wonderful family. Not biological, but loving none the less.
He had all these strangers helping him. Not all of them were necessarily considered friends, but they had saved both the Elrics none the less.
He had a girl he had been denying his love for because of the sake of his own selfish purposes. She wasn't always the calmest girl around, but she was there for him none the less. She supported him none the less. Even when he turned on her, she had that back of his none the less. She wasn't a bad person. She was perfect. She did things for others, she stood her ground, and she held no grudges. Edward couldn't even blame his ignorance on his young age. He had no excuses, not even for himself. This was a story he hadn't managed to understand a conclusion for. The former alchemist simply wanted to understand what the whole point of this occurrence was. Was it to prove how utterly selfish he was? Was it to help him cherish all the little things he had in life?
At present, he was seated in a cozy cafe in one of the side road off of the main street. Edward began pouring his story out to Harriet in hopes that she could save him. He really didn't care whether or not she believed him. He needed someone to know who he really is, or was. However, Bunny said nothing as he spoke. She simply traced the brim of her coffee mug, the background music of the cafe cancelled out from her ears. After Edward finished speaking, her position didn't change. She remained as is, appearing to have taken an odd interest in the now cold liquid in the mug.
"Harriet," Edward began. She never liked it when people called her by her real name. It meant some sort of trouble. "I don't expect you to believe me, nor do I need you to. I'm just telling you what my life up to this point was. I don't trust you, nor do I claim that I fully understand you. I'm doing this for the benefit of myself, and-"
"You have a tendency of doing that don't you?"
Edward winced, scratching the back of his head. He muttered a silent response in which Harriet had trouble understanding. Finally, after another long pause of silence, the young doctor's fingers seized their glide. Her dark chocolate lips narrowed upward in a smile- no it was a smirk- as she lifted her head to look Edward in the eyes.
"Let's take a walk." And with that, she rose from her seat, and started towards the door. Edward raised an eyebrow. They're in different worlds, but both Paninya and Harriet are alike when it comes to being weird. Shrugging his shoulders, Edward meagrely followed behind her, expecting another long, awkward silence before either of them said anything. But to his surprise, the minute they stepped out, Harriet usual motor-mouth snapped into action.
"We'll have to talk casually, so nobody thinks we're psychos. And don't make a huge deal of what I'm going to say."
Edward snorted. "After all I've seen, I doubt anything you say could possibly make me freak out."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Bunny replied, raising a hand to signal an oncoming car to slow down. The man's scrunched up face could be seen from behind his window. The blasted driver sped up faster, sending a large gust of wind to come and slap the pair straight in the face. Bunny quietly cursed under her breath as they continued on their way across the street, and towards a quiet park nearby. Who the hell is he making that face at.
"I won't say I believe you." Bunny's sudden voice made Edward jump. The chocolate skinned woman snickered quietly as Edward fumed. "But I won't say I think you're pulling my leg either. Maybe about a few months ago, I would've flat out smacked you across the face for thinking me a fool, but..." Harriet trailed off and drew in a deep breath, contemplating whether or not she should really share her story with Edward. The golden eyed boy's eyes shook with anxiety, not a hint of sham. Looks could be deceiving, but Harriet decided to trust him. After the story she's heard from him, the pieces were slowly starting to fit together.
"A few months ago, I came across a girl in the back alley way near my home." She started.
"It was an experience unlike any other! I was throwing my garbage bags out late at night. It was around 12:45 a.m. My husband had already gone to sleep, and I had just remembered that the garbage would be taken the next day. So, as tired as I was, I dragged myself out of the house to pitch a bag of... trash. Worthless...trash.
But as I was just turning to leave, something caught my eye. It was like... lightning- no electricity, yes electricity- was coming out of the ground. And oddly enough, a strange girl emerged from the blue lights, and plopped down, unconscious. In place of the weird lights beneath her was an even weirder pattern. There was a large circle, with a pentagon in the middle. At each point of the pentagon were smaller circles, and unusual lettering around the brim. After inspecting the circle, my attention drew to the girl. She... She had blonde hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a deep aquatic blue, and she was completely naked. On her stomach was a disgusting scar... And some of the odd letters from the pattern. When I sat her up, the pattern disappeared, and... a voice whispered in my ear to take care of her. It sounded just like my own voice, but a little more... raspy. I dunno... I just knew it was my own voice.
I took her in and gave her some clothes. My husband was pretty upset that I brought a stranger in. She woke up after he left. When I tried to talk to her, she couldn't speak. She didn't know where she was or where she came from. When I asked her for her name, all she could reply was... 'Will be'. I kept her to myself for a few nights, but realized it would be best for her to get professional help... So I took her to the institute. At first, she'd scream and thrash about at the mere sight of anyone who came near her. After a while she started harming herself physically with anything she could find. She had constant panic attacks and severe mental breakdowns." At this point, Harriet's solid voice had become cracked and shaky. Edward even found himself fidgeting a little bit anxiously. The blonde haired boy felt a knot twist in his chest upon hearing the psychical and mental damage that had been inflicted upon the possible Winry.
"After a while, a few doctors sent her to the long term wing. It was getting serious. And, since I was her doctor, I was permitted to join her.
Those first few weeks in the long term wing were some of the worst weeks of my life. I compared her to all the other patients, and in comparison, she was a regular girl. It was petrifying. I had to switch out constantly. There was a tight schedule with the doctors that would visit her, but I was scheduled with the most time. After she got a little more used to her lifestyle, we moved her back to the short term wing.
She tends to enjoy painting a lot. She paints things that she's seen in her past, but doesn't remember entirely, or so I think. She always such a distant look in her eyes... It breaks my heart. I started seeing her to be my younger sister, in a way. I really feel extremely protective of her..."
When Harriet finally finished her story, she drew in a deep breath, and exhaled with relief. Her rickety breaths could still be hears faintly. Silence hung in the air with stillness for a few moments before Edward's voice took it's turn.
"That pattern you were talking about... It's called a transmutation circle." He began, stretching his arms out with a grunt. "A transmutation circle is drawn on a spot where a transmutation is necessary. The outermost circle dictates the flow of power. It represents the cycle of the world's energies. The patterns inside the circle are alchemical runes." He explained. "The runes may vary, and each rune corresponds to a different energy. Depending on what energy rune you use on different matter or materials, your outcome of the transmutation will be different."
Harriet's head throbbed with the unusual knowledge the young man had. Edward threw his head back and chuckled at her face to Harriet's surprise. "Stop laughing!" Bunny whined. The pair's laughter rung throughout the park, drawing an odd crowd of attention. Wiping a tear, Edward's smile remained intact.
"Bunny... can I... See this patient?"
Upon this request, Bunny's spine straightened defensively, and a glob of nothing formed in the pit of her throat. Her uneasiness was slowly crawling back to her body, and he fear of deception grew. "I... don't know, Ed..."
"Harriet, it was my fault Winry died." He whispered. "She died without her life even starting. She was so young... So... young. I just want to see if its the real her. If it is, I'll do everything in my power to give her a new life. A perfect one this time. And if she wants nothing to do with me... I'll leave. I'll never bother her, or you again. I just want to see her, and try to fix things. Just once. You're my only hope, Harriet."
Bunny let out a groan. Edward really did have a way with words. The bastard.
"Only on one condition."
"Name it!" The former alchemist squealed eagerly.
"Show me your false limbs."