Woot woot, I'm still back. After the break I'm thinking about making Saturday-updates. I help clean the church with the rest of my youthgroup til noon on saturdays and don't do much else except catch up on anything that need catching up to. So starting Jan. 4, I'll be updating every Saturday and any other day I can manage to slip a chapter in.
(Age 16)
"Elizabeth?" her father asked quietly, time seeming to slow down as he began taking in her attire. Her hair was pinned to the side with the silver periwinkle pin Jean had given her nearly a year ago. She wore a dark blue, long sleeved, military-issue jacket she kept unfastened. Her silver alchemist's watch was tucked into a pocket, the chain glistening as it hung out over the top. Under it was a well-fitting black tank top, tucked into her dark blue military skirt. The skirt fell just a few inches shy of her knees, knowing the scar on her leg and her automail plainly. She wore her feminine black combat boots, the ones with thin soles.
Hohenheim seemed confused by his daughter's appearance. Before he could comment, however, he watched her face contort in anger. Anger directed at him. She stalked towards him in a fury, punching him repeatedly with her live hand and keeping her metal one on his chest to balance herself, "I hate you!" She cried, tears once more threatening to spill. Memories of his abandonment, their mother's death, the transmutation, the pain, the unknown, flooded her mind. Edward snatched her away from Hohenheim and tried calming her down.
"Why?" He asked slowly, confused at her appearance and her anger, "Why do you hate me?" The tears that had threatened to spill were wiped away harshly, Elizabeth was sick and tired of hardships making her cry. She felt weak. Inadequate.
"You left me! You left me daddy! Edward always disliked you when you were away for long periods of time, but I always waited for you to come home! Always!" She cried angrily. "And then one day, you didn't." She added dejectedly.
Hohenheim's eyes softened as he replied, "I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't realize I'd been gone so long..." He attempted to console her, but even he realized it seemed like a bad excuse. Not that he could explain to her or even Edward why he really had been gone for all these years.
"Yes!" She snapped, "Yes, you are sorry. A sorry excuse for a father."
The twin Elrics changed for bed and were in their old rooms in under an hour, unable to stand being in a position to speak to him. Though Elizabeth had been in Winry's room, she quickly realized no sleep would come without her childhood friend in the same room.
She crept into Edward and Alphonse's room silently and shook Edward awake ever so gently. As he grumbled out an incoherent response she asked quietly, "Can I sleep with you tonight, Edward?"
Grumbling again, this time a vaguely affirmative answer, Edward rolled to the outside edge to allow room for his twin. "Thanks." She muttered, crawling over him to snuggle into bed.
Though Elizabeth had fallen asleep as soon as she laid down next to Edward, he seemed to be unable to go back to the peacefulness that his sister had disturbed.
He heard his father enter the room and hesitate before leaving again. He heard the scrape of chairs and clinks of coffee mugs. But most of all, he heard the voices of Hohenheim and Pinako.
"It's human transmutation, you know." Hohenheim informed Pinako, as if the woman didn't already know. "Why didn't anyone scold them?" He asked.
The sigh of Pinako almost escaped Edward's ear, it was so faint. "In such a situation, the ones scolding them should have been the parent. Which was you." She chastised.
The was a pause, Hohenheim had taken a drink. The clunk of the coffee mug on the table came as he replied, "I wouldn't know how to."
Pinako let out a frustrated groan as she changed the subject swiftly, "Why didn't you ever even call? Trisha was always faithfully waiting for you. If those kids had their father around, the thought of bringing her back would never have crossed their mind! Or at least it would have been easily discouraged!" She took an audible gulp of her coffee, "Such poor things, having to watch their mother die twice!"
Edward quietly crept out of bed, careful not to stir Elizabeth and worry her. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well and things hadn't settled well with Jean. Den caught the movement while the conversing adults did not. He entered the room, making the door creak.
"The thing they made..." Hohenheim began, "You disposed of it after they burned down the house, correct?"
Pinako grunted, "I wish the damn thing had burnt too, but yes. I checked it out and it had been tucked safely down in the basement. I buried it out by the tree beside the house after."
Hohenheim nodded thoughtfully, "Was it really Trisha that they made?"
"I told you before, that thing wasn't even human like, it was so deformed." She rebutted.
Hohenheim shook his head, "No, no. I mean features. The color of the hair, the color of the eyes, the voice, and so on."
The sharp clink of a coffee mug preceded Pinako's equally sharp reply, "What are you talking about? That it wasn't Trisha?" She asked, continuing without waiting for a reply, "You're saying their current bodies are because they created something totally unrelated to what they were attempting to do? That's a terrible thing to say!"
"Edward!" Elizabeth called, shaking him roughly. He had broken out into a cold sweat and was shifting uneasily in his sleep. Though it was much quieter than her own reaction, she still knew the signs of his nightmares he had. "Edward!" She urged, finally succeeding.
He jerked up with a gasp, breathing hard and clenching the sheets tightly. "Are you okay, Ed? I'm here if you want to tell me about your nightmares," she assured him. He shook his head, still groggy but not wanting to tell her anything of his Truth nightmare.
"Edward! Elizabeth!" Pinako called from downstairs, "Your father has already left!" Elizabeth sighed as she crawled to the window beside the bed. She pulled back the curtain and, sure enough, their father was walking out. Again.
Pinko let out a 'hm' as the twins entered her working area. "Winry has certainly trained herself well." She commented, smiling at the handy work of Edward's arm.
He looked surprised at the mention of her, "She called?" He asked, slightly hopeful.
"No, I can tell by the the automail she makes for you two. Your arm is getting quite remarkable and Elizabeth's automail got here yesterday morning." She turned to face the girl and added, "We need to install it today, don't let me forget."
Edward examined his arm, "Even though it looks unchanged, it's improved, eh?" He muttered to himself, thinking fondly of his automail mechanic.
Pinako set up a table for Elizabeth and gave her a small hand towel. She grabbed it up and sighed. "I really hate this part." She groaned before placing the towel in her mouth to bite on. Edward cringed as Elizabeth gritted her teeth against the fabric. It didn't last long, however, as Pinako skillfully removed the arm and leg without a hitch.
Though removing the automail was uncomfortable, reattaching it was down right painful. Elizabeth took the towel out of her mouth with the only hand she had at the moment and waited until Pinako went to fetch the new models. "And this part is hell." She complained quietly to her brother.
Pinako returned moments later with the limb and gave the girl a look, "Back in your mouth, Elizabeth." The girl quickly place the towel back in her mouth, knowing how bad it hurt to bite on her lip when nerves were reattached. Unfortunately, Winry was not here to aide Pinako in reattaching the nerves. While normally, the two would tag team and put both her arm and leg on at the same time to avoid pain, Pinako had to do one after the other now.
"On three, okay?" Pinako said, half paying attention to the girl. She positioned the leg against the stump that had the joining end. "One." Pinako said, snapping the metal in place and connecting the nerves with a deft hand. Without even acknowledging the cry of pain the girl released, she moved to her arm, where Edward was holding her shoulders in place for Pinako's ease. Repeating the process, without the faux count, she attached Elizabeth's new arm as well.
Removing the towel and blinking once or twice to adjust to the new feeling, Elizabeth smiled and said, "That wasn't so bad." She stood up and moved her renewed limbs a bit before deciding, "I think a nice hot bath will do me good. I'll see you guys in an hour or so."
"Granny..." Edward mumbled, "I need your help with something." Pinako halted what she was doing-picking up pits of metal and stray screws- and her eyes shot to Edward. She took in his determined, fearful expression and understood. He had overheard her and Hohenheim's conversation. She nodded solemnly.
"Over here is where I buried that." Pinako said, adding a disgusted emphasis on the word which referred to their failure. Edward stopped in his tracks, carrying a shovel and feeling something similar to a panic attack wash over him. What if it wasn't his mother? What if it was? Pinako noticed his distress and told him, "Why don't you stop this?"
"No." He refused, "The joints of my arm and leg are aching. The weather is about to change so let's get this over with quickly." And so they began. Pinako cut the grass to make it easier for Edward to dig up the body. After twenty minutes of working, the rain started coming down.
"This is bad." Pinako said, halting when she felt the rain, "The rain has already come, even with us hurrying." Edward had hunched over, his stomach lurching from the nasty weather and nastier thoughts. "Ed!" She called, coming to his side, "Don't do unreasonable things!"
"My stomach," He groaned out, starting to sit back up as he regained some stability, "It feels like it's being twisted off."
Pinako stood beside him, "It's only natural, you've suffered the greatest trauma!" She shook her head at him, "Enough, let's stop. You're completely broken down, mentally." She urged him, trying to convince him to come to his senses and stop.
He gripped his abdomen, "I can't go ahead without making sure." He gripped the shovel, using it as a way to pull himself to his feet, "Alchemists are those who pursue the truth." He stopped to take a breath, already on his feet but still crouched and using the shovel for support. "Letting things be settled by only seeing the good points of a situation is not okay."
He finally forced himself to stand as he muttered, "Running away." He wiped his mouth off with his sleeve, "I won't allow that!"
He continued digging, despite Pinako's arguments and calls for reason. Several times he fell over or had to retreat when his stomach lurched violently. But each time he recovered and returned with a renewed vigor and determination. Finally, after a seemingly endless time, he hit something that wasn't rock or metal. He hit bone.
Pulling up a lock of hair he crouched beside the bucket Pinako had brought. It was now filled with fresh rain water. He dipped the hair into the water, rinsing it off and examining it. "Granny..." He called slowly, "My mother's hair was chestnut brown, wasn't it." He clutched the lock angrily and faced the old woman, "This is Black."
As promised3