Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Fullmetal Alchemist: Revised Version ❯ The Right Hand of Destruction ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: FMA? T'ain't mine to begin with. Otherwise, it would have been like THIS.

 

A/N: Are we ready for more angst, peeps? XD;

 

Oh. On a thought, I'm wondering if any of you find Winry's personality just pretty much off, thus ruining the EdWin relationship. I'm sorry. :(

 

I'm hoping to give her more depth on why she's unlike the Winry we're so familiarized with. So here goes: one of the main reasons why she isn't so much like our resident automail junkie would simply be because she wasn't raised by Pinako Rockbell, someone I've recognized as the influence of it all, and not just for the love of automail. Maybe Winry might have taken to it, if she'd inherited Rockbell genes. It runs in the family afterall. Nevertheless, she came from a line of doctors(in anime, manga, and this revision itself). If she wasn't going to be an alchemist, then she'd put some practice on medicine rather than alchemy. On the other hand… XD

 

-cough- Anyway, I'm picking up only on what makes Winry Winry. And it's not the mechanic, no, that's just what makes her stand out as Winry Rockbell. If she wouldn't be a mechanic, I'd like to see her more as a nurse. Kudos to TheCoolFreaks for inspiring me with that image on her! Thus, what I'm trying to say is, Winry's personality as an honest, straightforward, kind and caring girl is what I'm utilizing, give her and Ed some chances on being more supportive of each other. You know, bring out her more, uh, nurturing side?

 

And recently, I've taken to making it seem that she's more influenced by Trisha Elric, giving her that kind of…er…sensitive touch to her traits. Which, I'm guessing, you're all ready to throw bombs at me for. -crouches behind the giant couch fort-

 

And I'm done. XD; Fear not. I'll try and keep her as OC as possible(with her inner personality, that is).

 

Enjoy this one.

 

Interlude

 

Ed groused and shifted sleepily in his bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. He felt like he'd only been asleep for a good five minutes. He could almost feel that sunshine on his face. Un-pleasant.

 

Dammit…before and during sunrise, it's still nighttime…not morning.

 

And then he heard it: rapping at their door. And the first thing he wanted to yell was, “WAKING UP THE MAJOR AT DAWN SPELLS YOUR DOOM, PRIVATE!”

 

Oh. If only he wasn't still so drowsy.

 

“Mr. Elric?” called an officer from outside. “The Colonel wants to see you.”

 

Ed's audible grunt confirmed that. But as soon as the officer rounded the corner, the grunt was followed by a profane curse that reached the other occupant's wall near his bedroom.

 

Why does that bastard wanna ruin my life? It's like he was sent to make me as miserable as plankton with fixed-

 

…Why was he complaining about this? He wasn't even insulted about his height. Not yet.

 

To top it off, his blanket was missing. Not that it was cold. It was autumn, but the temperature dropped below 20 degrees only on occasion. That probably didn't stop him from sleeping in his boxers, though.

 

He raised his head, and opening his eyes towards the window, realized it was still raining. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about sun in his face. Today wasn't a day for feeling light on the feet. Not after yesterday…

 

“…Ed, don't curse so loudly in the morning.” Winry entered his room with a tired expression, fixing blue eyes on his supine form. “People are still asleep, you know.”

 

He blinked groggily at her before replying with a frown. “…You don't sleep.”

 

She blinked at those words, but her face stayed even. “I mean our neighbors. I know you hate getting morning calls, but maybe the Colonel has something important to tell us.”

 

He sat up and planted his feet on the floor with a huff. “That guy's just abusing his authority.”

 

Without looking at Winry's reaction, he trotted over to his closet and rummaged for some clothes. He was too busy looking for his jacket to realize that she was still at the doorway, staring at his bare back.

 

“…Ed?”

 

He turned fully to her, and was surprised to see her suddenly looking very forlorn. Clasping her hands together, she bowed her head.

 

“Nina…” Winry whispered, her voice quivering. “What's going to happen to her…?”

 

This brought back a fresh wave of disconcertion for Ed, and he scowled at her. “…Think she'll be taken away?”

 

Winry snapped her head up, alarmed. “…!”

 

Ed whipped away from her and turned back to the open closet to lean on it with both hands.

 

No other words were exchanged between them after that.

 

Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter 6: The Right Hand of Destruction

 

“Hey, Colonel Mustang. Give me a sec here.”

 

A middle-aged man with flat, horn-rimmed glasses knelt on the floor for a closer inspection. “I came to pick up the living Mr. Tucker, but…”

 

He jabbed his thumb at the mangled body covered by a sheet with an irked expression. “Are you telling me to go back and put a corpse on trial? For crying out loud, we didn't come down here for an autopsy.”

 

“Yes I know, we've made a mistake. “ the Colonel slapped his forehead in agitation. “Just take a look in any case, Lt. Colonel Hughes.”

 

On the floor, the remains of the two residents of Tucker Manor where obscured from public view, thankfully. It was the dirtiest display of murder they'd ever seen, and the other two victims, two guards situated outside the mansion, were no better off.

 

“So here we have the sort of guy that would experiment on his own daughter.” Hughes lifted the sheet carefully. “Probably had the wrath of Heaven sent down on him.”

 

In one move, the sheet was raised enough for them to see, and Hughes cringed with disgust. “Ew…just as I thought. So, the military police outside died the same way?”

 

“Yeah.” Roy nodded, arms crossed. “It's as if they were ripped apart from the inside.”

 

With a grunt, Hughes pushed himself up and wiped his hands on his handkerchief.

 

“What do you think, Major Armstrong?” he asked the broad-shouldered giant towering behind him, who nodded.

 

“Yes, there's no doubt about it. It's him.”

 

-sss-

 

Back at headquarters, the two teenagers stood outside the Colonel's office, but neither made a move to enter. Ed looked disgruntled, Winry mirroring his mood.

 

And to their surprise, the door swung open, and the First Lt. stepped out to greet them.

 

“Oh, Edward. Winry.” she acknowledged. “What are you two…?”

 

“I thought the Colonel wanted to see me.” Ed answered flatly.

 

Hawkeye regarded them for a while before saying, “Oh. The Colonel isn't here.”

 

This brought back Ed's foul mood as he griped, “Then what the hell did he call me out for?”

 

“…So he was going to tell you.”

 

Winry stared. “Tell us, what?”

 

The Lt. was silent. And Ed found it disturbing.

 

“Miss Riza.” Winry began, voice filled with anxiety. “About Nina…and Mr. Tucker. What's going to happen to them?”

 

Silence.

 

“Miss Riza, please tell us!” the younger girl pleaded.

 

Ed stared directly at their superior wordlessly, a frown working its way onto his face.

 

Hawkeye hesitated at first, but after ending a debate with herself, she answered, “In addition to having his license revoked, it was planned for Mr. Tucker to be put on trial at Central. However…”

 

She turned on her heel and retreated to the hallway. “The two of them died.”

 

Both teenagers froze. And Ed's heart nearly stopped.

 

“Officially, they were killed.” Riza finished, walking away from them.

 

Winry stood rooted to the spot not knowing what to do first, before she grabbed her head and shook it vigorously with a whimper. Ed was the only one to make a move as he lunged after the First Lieutenant's departing figure.

 

“Lieutenant!” he yelled furiously, feet hammering noisily on the floor. “Who was it? Who killed them?”

 

“I don't know.” she answered, keeping her pace. “I'm heading off to the crime scene now.”

 

“Take me too!”

 

“No.” was the curt reply.

 

“WHY NOT?” Ed was beginning to lose his temper, regardless of courtesy.

 

At this point, Riza turned to look over her shoulder at the boy, and fixed him a stern but concerned look. “It's better if you didn't see.”

 

Ed winced on the inside as she left. And he cursed under his breath. He didn't know what was going on, but this…this is…

 

Then his head snapped back up. “Winry!”

 

But looking back down the hallway where he'd left her standing, she was gone.

 

-sss-

 

“Scar?”

 

“We don't know who he is so we call him that. An elusive murderer of whom we have no knowledge of identity, weapons, or objectives.” answered Armstrong. “The only information we have on him is that he seems to have a large scar on his forehead.”

 

“Starting from this year, he took out five State Alchemists in Central, and ten throughout the nation.” Hughes added.

 

“Yes, that rumor has spread here as well.” Roy pondered.

 

Hughes pushed his glasses up. “Don't tell anyone this, but just five days ago, old man Grand was also killed.”

 

This almost scared the Colonel out of his pants. “Brigadier General Grand, the Iron-blooded Alchemist?”

 

“You probably find it hard to believe, but this means there's a guy that dangerous lurking around the city.” Hughes continued darkly. “I'm telling you this for your own good. Just increase the number of escorts around you. I'm asking you to do this as a friend. If he's going after well-known people, that would just leave you and Tucker, wouldn't it? Just be careful.”

 

Roy grimaced. “This isn't good. Officer.” he turned to the closest man. “Confirm if the Fullmetal Alchemist and his friend are still at the dorm. Immediately!”

 

“Colonel!”

 

He turned to his subordinate, the First Lieutenant.

 

“I met them at HQ. And they took the main road from there.”

 

Roy cursed. “At a time like this! Bring out the cars! All those who can, head to the vicinity of the main road!”

 

-sss-

 

Winry sat beneath the city's clock, her head tucked in her arms as she hugged her knees. It was raining. But she could care less about getting wet. Even if the paint on her clayed body got washed away, she wouldn't care. She just wished for the ache inside her to go away, and almost hoped that the rain could wash away her sadness. It was too unbearable, to think about staying inside, knowing that Nina and her father were…gone. And what's worse, she couldn't cry about it. The irony of being a doll was that she couldn't express her sadness the way humans do. And it hurt her. What she'd promised herself when she and Ed embarked on their journey and left their hometown was to stay strong. And concentrate only on getting their bodies back. Now, she was just lost. Lost in the memories of a little girl and her dog. And her father, whom she believed cherished his daughter.

 

How can the world be so cruel? she asked herself vaguely.

 

It wasn't fair. Life was cruel to even a small child like Nina. She never deserved to die. She was so young, and so important to her family, her friends…

 

Winry shut her eyes in pain. She wasn't going to forget this for a long time. It was like losing her parents all over again. Years with the Elrics had dulled that soreness in her heart, but she missed them all the same. Now, looking back, it was as if…she'd lost them again. And she couldn't do anything about both problems.

 

Nothing…that Ed and I…could do about…

 

Then, she remembered.

 

Last night…

 

The previous night had been of some significance to her. She remembered when she caught him after he yelled in his sleep, how she came close and…touched his cheek…and…how he stared…

 

Winry suddenly felt overwhelmed with embarrassment as she sat there with her head buried in her arms, and she would've been blushing beet red by then.

 

She didn't know exactly what was bothering Ed that time, but Winry could easily relate his feelings to that of his mother, Trisha. So maybe he was also comparing losing Nina to losing his mother. Maybe.

 

Somehow, it scared her to be reminded of how he looked; weak, fearful, ready to curl up on himself and…die…

 

“Ed…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Winry lifted her head from her arms with a start to see him looming over her, and in an instant, his red coat fell over her head as he sat down next to her, looking detached and morose. He took up the same position she was in and bowed his head. She watched him with a mixture of wonder and curiosity, hands curled around his coat as it fell from her head onto her shoulders. She found it peculiar to feel that way at the moment. Probably because she'd just been picturing him from last night in her head, only to see him as of whom he was now: stout and distant from other people other than her. It was a peculiar image.

 

And then he spoke, quietly. “I spent most of the night thinking about what we believed alchemy is.” he turned his head slightly in her direction. “Do you remember?”

 

Winry watched him silently, before nodding and answering with the same quiet tone. “Alchemy is the knowledge, analysis, and recreation of the laws and the currents that exist within substances.”

 

“The world turns through these laws. Death is also part of those currents. Embrace the currents.” he looked away. “That's what master told us constantly that it got annoying for me. I thought I understood it. But because I didn't understand…Mother was…”

 

A gentle sigh escaped his lips as the raindrops fell on his golden head. She watched him earnestly.

 

“And now,” he continued, “I'm starting to think whether we could have done something about something we can't do anything about.”

 

Winry blinked, realizing that he'd been thinking of the same thing.

 

“I'm an idiot. I haven't improved a bit since before.” Ed sulked, glaring at the brick streets of Central, before bowing his head again to say, “I suppose you came out here for the same reason as me.”

 

She gave a small start. “Wh-what do you mean…?”

 

“Coming outside, hoping that the rain could wash off some of this sadness…”

 

Her eyes softened, and she nodded slowly. “…Yes…”

 

“But for me, every drop's just making me depressed.” he began to brood.

 

A momentary pause fell between them. Winry, somehow encouraged to bare what was really on her mind to him, spoke quietly. “Since I don't have a body, I can't feel this rain. It…hurts. Ed, I really want to get my body back. I want to be human again.”

 

She scooted closer to him, and without thinking, rested her head on his bare left shoulder. He tensed at the movement, but made no move to edge away from her. Tightening her hold on his coat over her shoulders, Winry found solace quickly at their closeness, hoping to share a bit of the warmth that she couldn't reach out for.

 

“I want to go back.” she whispered, not knowing whether she'd referred to their dorm or to her normal state.

 

Ed looked away, embarrassed by their position. “Yeah…”

 

“Mr. Edward!”

 

The pair looked up to see an officer running towards them in the rain.

 

“Mr. Edward Elric!” he called out and he reached them panting slightly. “Thank goodness you're alright! We've been looking for you!”

 

Ed rose to his feet, Winry following suit.

 

“What happened?” he asked.

 

“You are to return to the base at once. The truth is that there's been a serial killer in this…”

 

Winry paused, suddenly anxious. “A serial killer…?”

 

Ed opened his mouth to say something. And froze; a shadow fell over them from behind the officer.

 

“Edward Elric.” came a gruff voice.

 

He eyed the tall dark-skinned man looming over them, dark glasses obscuring his eyes as his hidden gaze fell on Ed. And his soldier sense began to buzz at the base of his neck.

 

“The Fullmetal Alchemist!” came the sudden exclamation.

 

And in that instant, Ed knew the danger he was in.

 

“Ed…!” he heard Winry say worriedly from behind him.

 

The officer, alarmed by the man, removed his gun from the holster at his hip. “The man with the scar on his…!”

 

“STOP!” Ed yelled, a second too late.

 

In one move, the man planted his hand against the officer's face. And to both Ed and Winry's shock, initiated only what they knew as an alchemical reaction. The officer fell to the ground, face bleeding and in agony. He made his way wordlessly towards the pair in purposeful strides. Ed didn't even have time to register the blood dripping from his hand. Nothing was registering.

 

For the first time, Ed felt fear on the battlefield.

 

I'm going to die! he realized.

 

At that instant, the clock overhead struck nine, and the “ding-dong” of the bells sounded like a requiem for him.

 

“Ed!” Winry's panic-stricken voice shook him out of his stupor. “We have to get out of here!”

 

He felt a tug on his automail arm, and he turned to see Winry trying to pull him away frantically. And all the while, his soldier sense never stopped buzzing.

 

Moving only on pure instinct, he grabbed Winry's arm. “WINRY! RUN AWAY!”

 

They dashed away into the street, ignoring every onlooker they passed. Winry still held Ed's coat, now folded in her other arm with Ed holding the other. Neither dared to look back to check whether the man was following them.

 

“Shit…what the hell was that?” Ed griped, his haughtiness returning. “Making enemies of people is something I do a lot…but that doesn't warrant killing me!”

 

It was bothering Winry too. Nothing Ed did was remotely or even close to harmful. Bearing grudges against him was fine; damaging people's reputations(particularly the ones gone bad) was his trademark. But why did that man want to kill him so badly?

 

They turned into an alley, hoping to lose the man. Then Winry had an idea.

 

“Ed, wait!” she pulled herself to a halt along with Ed. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she whipped out a stick of chalk and dropped to the ground. He almost wanted to ask her what she was up to, but her idea came to him too as he watched her draw the circle.

 

“Brilliant!” he exclaimed as Winry formed a stone wall, barricading the way from which they came. “Now he can't follow us!”

 

No sooner had he said that though, when a small fissure burned its way through the wall, and an explosion occurred. Breaking Winry's entire wall down.

 

“SHIT!” Ed cursed.

 

The dark-skinned man stepped over the debris, advancing still.

 

“DEEEEEEHHHH!” Ed yelled out, he and Winry resuming the chase.

 

Unfazed, the man placed his right hand on the wall of the nearest building, and started a reaction that seemed to cause the structure to deteriorate. The cracks that formed loped after the pair. Ed looked up just in time to see the thin clefts run ahead of them, and he backtracked as he screeched to a halt.

 

“WINRY!” he grabbed her arm and pulled her back as the wall gave way and crumbled, rubble over rubble. Ed coughed a few times in the dust clouds that formed, but Winry squinted in the dust to see their way blocked by the wreckage.

 

“No…” she whispered in dismay.

 

Ed looked up too, and saw what she meant.

 

“…This is a joke, right…?” he muttered, held dumbstruck by the occurrence.

 

The rain continued to pour on their heads.

 

With a snarl, he rounded on the man behind them. “What the hell are you? Why are you going after us?”

 

“If there are creators, then there are also destroyers.” was the simple answer he received.

 

“Destroyers…?” Winry echoed, confused and nervous.

 

Ed grimaced, knowing he wasn't going to get anything else from the man. Leaving him only with time to choose a weapon suitable for the fight.

 

“So you're telling us we have no choice…” he growled.

 

He clapped his hands together and grabbed a pipe. With just a yank, the pipe transmuted and became a sharp dagger. “Winry, make a shield.”

 

Seeing that all possible means of escape had been severely cut off, Winry knew she had no choice but to follow Ed. She obeyed and drew another circle on the ground, using the pipes as well to make a big, round, sturdy shield for them both. She laid his folded coat to the side away from the fight.

 

The man regarded them and set his lips in a thin line. “You've got guts. The both of you.”

 

And the fight began.

 

Ed was the first to lunge, Winry following after him shield in front. But they earned a surprise when the man darted between them.

 

“You're too slow!” he stated.

 

And without warning, he made a swipe at Winry, who reacted instantly to the attack and raised the shield in front of her. A hole gaped at the center of the shield where the man struck.

 

“Useless.” he said. “It's a pity for a female to become an alchemist too.”

 

He dodged a swing made by Ed with his dagger, and dashed for Winry.

 

“No mercy shall be granted on anyone working for the military, let alone a young lady like you.”

 

“Winry!” Ed hollered, charging towards his opponent with a snarl.

 

Winry couldn't find the time to draw another circle, and she was forced to drop her shield when the man knocked it away with just his hand. As a last resort, Winry raised her leg and tried to kick the side of his neck. But it didn't go far; he caught it.

 

And to their horror, he began the alchemical reaction.

 

“You'll never walk again.”

 

Winry opened her mouth in a silent scream as her entire right leg fell apart and she tumbled to the ground in a heap.

 

“WINRY! YOU SON OF A BITCH!” That was the last straw. Ed's grip on the dagger tightened till his knuckles were white.

 

The man, meanwhile, was staring with astonishment at the damage done to her. Where bloody entrails of bone and sinew should have been, chunks of plaster and soft clay lay on the ground beside the “wounded” girl. What was even more interesting to see was the core of the leg on which the smooth, white plaster was molded on: metal.

 

This is…

 

But he didn't have anymore time to observe; a furious Ed was lunging for him. Returning his focus on the fight, he parried Ed's attack and caught the arm with the dagger.

 

“I said you're too slow!” the man told him. And he leered at the boy and the arm in his grasp, and was able to fully identify. “Automail…I see. And the girl…she's not even human.”

 

“Ed!” Winry called out from behind their enemy.

 

He growled under his breath. “It's unforgivable what you did to her…!”

 

Behind the dark glasses, his opponent's eyes flashed. “Unforgivable, you say…? You're a strange pair…”

 

“Haven't I wasted enough time thanks to you?” Ed snapped. “I'm not nice enough to play by your schedule!”

 

He pushed away from the man's slackened grip and transmuted the plate on his arm into a blade.

 

Meanwhile, Winry had pushed herself up to lean against the wall with much effort. Shaking visibly at the remains of her leg, she turned her head to Ed's direction and caught sight of the man before him. And fear gripped her.

 

“Ed, don't…” she moaned. “Run away…”

 

“You idiot!” he yelled back to her. “You think I can just leave you behind and run away?”

 

The man straightened up. “So. By putting both of your hands together, you form a ring and use the cycled energy to transmute?”

 

Silent defiance was his answer. And Ed charged, arm out.

 

At the same time, the man raised his right arm. “Then…”

 

Swiftly, he moved forward as Ed did, and in a flash, Ed's arm was once again in his grip.

 

Winry gave a start from her position on the ground. “…!”

 

“The first thing to do,” the man affirmed, “is to have this annoying arm…destroyed.”

 

It all lasted in a heartbeat, and Ed's automail arm fell apart completely, to his deepest shock.

 

End of Chapter 6

 

A/N: O.O Woooww. It looks like I left a cliffhanger. But hey! Reviews might clear that up, if you please.

 

XD; Pretty please? With sugar and an Ed-plushie on top?