Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Fullmetal Alchemist: Revised Version ❯ The Road Towards Hope ( Chapter 8 )

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

Additional Disclaimer: Any lyrics I post with my chapters aren't mine. I borrow them strictly for…uh…advertising purposes.

A/N: -kicks a pebble down the street- Ed and Winry are so canon I might as well get them to profess their love for each other halfway in the story. JK

Time, time, time. XD But in the meantime, FLUFF!

On with the chappies!

Interlude

“The Ishvalans were a race in the East area who worshipped their God of Creation, Ishvala. But due to differences in religious values, there were frequent conflicts between our two countries. And thirteen years ago, when an officer shot an Ishvalan child by accident, the neutralism reached its breaking point and an enormous civil war erupted. Riot brought about riot, and before anyone knew it, the flames of the rebellion spread throughout all of the East area. An operation was ordered by the military brass after seven years of offensive and defensive warfare…

“To deploy the State Alchemists as well in the Annihilation Campaign. The plan was probably to test their utilities in battle. Many practitioners were dispatched as human weapons.”

Mustang propped his elbows on his desk with a frown. “I was one of those practitioners. So it seems that man Scar, a survivor of Ishval, feels justified to take vengeance on every State Alchemist known in Amestris.”

A prolonged silence followed. Ed sat on a nearby desk with Winry beside him. His forehead creased, he regarded the Colonel with a sharp gaze. And huffed loud enough for everyone else in the room to hear.

“That's bullshit.” he grumbled. “There's no such thing as justice in taking vengeance on innocent people. He's only wrapping his hunger for revenge by acting like a `messenger of God' and being all high and mighty about it.”

“But someone who despises alchemy is using that same alchemy to get revenge.” Hughes spoke up from his own seat. “And people who don't care how things get done are the most dangerous ones. And the scariest.”

Mustang sighed quietly to himself and added, “We also can't worry about how things are done. We can't die yet. So the next time we meet, there won't be much time for talk. We'll take him out.”

Everyone in the room, everyone who was a part of his team of subordinates, all silently agreed with their superior. No words were needed to be spoken, no gestures made to show their concurrence with Roy Mustang. Years of working under the Colonel strengthened their loyalty towards him. And he, their winning support.

Ed stared into space with a glare fixated on his features. He had a feeling that last time was definitely not the last time he'd ever see of Scar. And next time, he was going to be prepared.

Movement from across the room caught the others' attention as Hughes made a move to rise. “Anyhow, here ends this boring topic. So,” he turned his attention to Ed and Winry, “what are you two kids going to do now?”

Winry's eyes fell instantly on her right leg. Or whatever remained of it. “Nub” was the closest she could come to calling it right now. She felt like such a china doll. A doll made of porcelain. Extremely fragile. Scar's alchemy broke her leg as if she was glass. The shocking display of Ed's automail arm falling apart in his hand wasn't the most comforting memory either.

“Yeah…” Ed answered, noticing her gaze. “I want to fix Winry, but I can't do that with just one arm.”

At that instant, a bulky and muscled figure posed before them. Pink sparkles aloft.

“Shall I fix you, Miss Winry?” offered the enthusiastic Armstrong.

She sweated, blinking twice before answering with a hasty, “N-no thank you!”

Ed shook his head in disbelief. “I'm the only one who knows how Winry's soul is bound to her body. So first, I have to have my arm fixed.”

“That's right…” Hawkeye realized, a hand to her chin in thought. “Since Edward can't use alchemy…”

And everyone pitched in.

“Just another kid with a rotten tongue.”

“A bratty little midget.”

“Worthless, worthless.”

“…”

Ed couldn't believe it. “WINRY! DON'T TELL ME YOU AGREE WITH WHAT THEY'RE SAYING TOO!”

On any given day when she hadn't just been severed of her leg and wasn't extremely worried about her childhood friend(as in, enough to pick up what small bit of humility he might have in him), she would have backed Ed up.

Today wasn't any given day, and he(almost literally) deflated.

“I guess I have no choice.” he sighed exasperatedly. “I'll have to go to my mechanic.”

Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter 8: The Road Towards Hope

Life's like the road that you travel on

When there's one day here and the next day gone

Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door

Where blues won't haunt you anymore

Where the brave are free and lovers soar

Come ride with me to the distant shore

We won't hesitate

To break down the garden gate

There's not much time left today

Life is a highway

I wanna ride it all night long

If you're going my way

I wanna drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns

It's in my blood and it's all around

I love you now like I loved you then

This is the road and these are the hands

From Mozambique to those Memphis nights

The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

Knock me down get back up again

You're in my blood

I'm not a lonely man

There's no load I can't hold

Road so rough this I know

I'll be there when the light comes in

Just tell 'em we're survivors

Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah

There was a distance between you and I

A misunderstanding once

But now we look in the eye

There ain't no load that I can't hold

Road so rough this I know

I'll be there when the light comes in

Just tell 'em we're survivors

-Rascal Flatts, Life is a Highway

A tearful Armstrong stood before the shorter, irked alchemist. And without warning, wrapped him in a bear hug. And trust me when I say that there's no better way to label that hug as metaphorically speaking. In fact, Ed was taking it hard. Very hard.

“I've heard of you, Edward Elric!” the Major cried, tears streaming. “Your pure love that made you try to bring back your mother! And your mighty love that made you prepared to throw away your own life for the one you cherish most, carving the very essence of her nature within a body created only by you! I AM MOST MOVED!”

He advanced on Ed again, arms spread out for another bone-crushing hug. And was stopped by a foot to his face.

“Don't come near me…!”

Winry stood on the side. Apparently she heard Armstrong's pronounced(pronounced) suggestion of their relationship following up with the words “cherish most”.

Why, it hadn't even advanced beyond sibling-best friend so why should she be disturbed by the bold implication? No, she wasn't disturbed. No. Not at all.

…Okay. Wait. “Cherish most”? Was she supposed to feel this flattered?

The next few minutes were spent on Ed being lectured about allowing adults as escorts for them both. Something Winry had no objections to. But Armstrong's offer to take them, amounting more compared to everyone else's, was probably what was stopping him.

“Come on, Ed. They're right. We need to be escorted.”

He rubbed the port connecting his automail arm to his body with unease. “So I'm fine with somebody other than the Major!”

Nobody raised their hands, to Ed's aggravation.

“It's decided!” Armstrong proclaimed, a gleam in his eyes as he clapped Ed's head with his large hand.

“DON'T DECIDE THINGS FOR ME!” he hollered, fist up.

The Major leaned down to Ed's level, eyes sparkling. “Children should listen to what adults say.”

“Don't treat me like a kid!” Ed fumed, apoplectic. “Argh! Winry, you say something too!”

She shrugged. “I don't have any problems with this, Ed.”

“YES YOU DO!”

“Why are you yelling at me?” Winry was annoyed now, clearly not in the mood to argue with just a leg to keep her standing. “Ed, I want to be fixed. You think I like being like this?”

“Just say you don't want the Major to be our escort!” he insisted.

“If I say that, we'll never get to leave…” she pointed out bluntly.

“I don't care!” he pulled her to the side by her right arm, and hissed. “I can make a run for it. I'll carry you to the train. I'll make a diversion then take `em off our trail…!”

“Ed…!” she stared at him in disbelief.

Just then, a shadow hovered over them. Take two for the floating pink sparkles effect.

“Having a lovers' quarrel?” he implied with a proud smile, eyeing the way Ed held Winry's arm in his grasp.

Ed, flustered to the point he was ready to explode, exploded. He didn't know why, but something about what the Major said set him off like nuts.

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LISTENING IN ON THIS?”

Armstrong pulled back with an understanding nod of his head. “Ah, I see. Forgive me for invading the young lovers' privacy.”

Winry could have blushed bright red. If it had been anyone else, it wouldn't be severely, deeply, daftly obvious on her face about what she thought of their assumptions of her and Ed together. But the Major was just so…so…

…honest.

Ed meanwhile, was trying his best not to lose his head, when he was already on the verge to. Instead, he pinched his nose between two fingers and let out the heaviest sigh to gather as much calm as he could muster.

It wasn't like he had a choice anyway. Now that he thought about it, taking Winry and making a run for it was no way for him to escape, even with a diversion tactic. Armstrong's recent fight with Scar told him something: he wasn't as stupid as he held himself in public. He had a brain. And he alchemized rocks, with a touch of his artistic side. Therefore, he liked rocks. And art. And showing off.

And on top of that, he was a hundred and ten percent motivated when it came to taking responsibility for something he felt honored to do. That made it worse.

So what else could Ed do to avoid chaos from ensuing, except…

“…Fine. The Major can be our escort.” he mumbled quietly, completely settled down.

The large man looked so happy to hear those words that he advanced on Ed again, arms wide. “Such a decent and honorable young man well-deserved by a fine young lady!”

“WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY AND GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Edward Elric,” Armstrong continued to speak, his words muffled by the boot to his face, “bring what you and Miss Winry need quickly. Did you bring a handkerchief?”

“I told you not to treat me like a kid!”

There's never a moment of peace when the two are at HQ.

-sss-

Moments later, they were in Ed and Winry's dorm packing their things. Ed sat on his bed, suitcase at his feet grumbling to himself about nosey muscled men butting in on his business. The Major had told them he was going to come pick them up after he went to fetch “something of great necessity for their journey”. Ed could hardly wait.

“Winry? Aren't you done yet?” he complained from his side.

Her blonde head poked through the open door, frowning with a slight pout. “Ed, I wish you'd relax. Besides, we can't leave without Major Armstrong so we have to wait.”

“Well I can't wait any longer!”

How grateful was she to be influenced by Aunt Trisha's calm and patient conduct?

“Can you not be a baby about this, Ed?” she chided.

The alchemist shot her a sideways glance before opening his big mouth again to say, “This might be a chance for us to hit the road before he comes back.”

“IS THAT SO?”

The pair jumped simultaneously at Armstrong's element-of-surprise. He was at the entrance, literally sparkling as always. And all that they could see of the tall broad figure, waist up, was everything else except his head.

“I would not have thought you so insightful, Edward Elric!” he boomed excitedly from the top of the doorway. “Perhaps we should have a test of subterfuge before we leave? Surely at this time of crisis, it is important to put more discretion in our movements?”

Said Elric grumbled some more before getting up from the floor where he fell after getting startled by Armstrong. “Forget it. Let's just go. What took you so long, Major?”

“I am glad you asked.” The Major walked into their room(ducking beneath the doorway) carrying what looked like a long wooden crate.

“What's that?” Ed asked, arching an eyebrow. Winry had gone back into her room to resume packing, narrowly missing seeing their escort's cargo.

“This, Edward Elric, is what we need for our trip.” Armstrong answered proudly, crouching on the floor so that he wouldn't hit his head on the ceiling.

He shrugged a little. “Okay, but what's it for exactly?”

“It's for Miss Winry.”

Ed gave Armstrong a look of genuine confusion. “Huh? What would Winry wanna do with a box?”

“What box?” she emerged from her room, suitcase in tow and hopping to keep her balance.

“I believe this is just her size.” the man mused with a finger to his protruding chin. “It will save money and make our travel fees cheaper this way.”

A prolonged silence. Winry blinked, not getting it. But Ed stared at the Major like he'd just grown a second head.

“…Say…what…?”

He wasn't suggesting what Ed assumed he was suggesting, was he…? Because if it was…

It was Armstrong's turn to be a little confused now, but he explained. “I am saying that Miss Winry will fit nicely in there, and it is easier since this way, no one would think to stare at her and—“

That did it.

“Are you saying you want to put Winry's body…in there?” he grinded his teeth. “Like a corpse?”

What the hell? Did that overbearing giant think for one second that he could pass Winry off as a dead person?

Two pairs of eyes looked at the alchemist. He was growling, deep in his throat. And he looked like he was going to pop a vessel or two, or worse than that. And Winry knew, with an unsuppressed shiver, where this was going: to an ugly, sad little place where all of Ed's adversaries went and suffered to his maniacal glee.

Speaking for herself, Winry didn't like the idea of spending the entire train ride in a wooden crate that was supposed to be her makeshift sarcophagus. Aw, crap. She didn't even like the idea of playing dead. And now that Ed looked like he was on the brink of a rampage, maybe voicing her opinion would be the best thing to do.

“U-um, Major?” she stammered. “I-I don't think I'm comfortable with the idea of being in there, and pretending to be…dead.”

The man was taken aback by her words. And seconds after to their surprise, he laughed.

“Miss Winry, I'm afraid your notions are not what you believe are true!” he explained in-between chortles. “You are not to be treated as a dead body.”

Ed stopped being teed off long enough to stare at the Major, still confused. “Then why did you…?”

“She will have to pretend she's a broken mannequin.”

Cricket chirp.

“THAT'S EVEN WORSE!” Ed roared, completely losing it.

-sss-

Ed never stopped seething throughout the entire train ride. With Armstrong sitting next to him and forbidding him from moving too much, and with Winry somewhere on the train in a stupid wooden box pretending to be a broken inanimate doll, he was having the worst day ever, and Scar's assault started it. Even that bastard Colonel had the balls to tell him not to die within his district indirectly through Lt. Colonel Hughes.

Well, at least they were finally on their way home.

Home…

He heard the Major clear his throat beside him and said, “This will be the first time I will meet an automail mechanic.”

Ed sighed, the changing scenery calming his nerves. “There's two of them, actually. To be more accurate, they're sort of surgeons, prosthetic harnessers and automail tuners. The grandkid's an old friend, so they'll make it cheap and do a good job.”

The Major nodded his head in understanding. “I see. So what sort of place is this Resembool?”

“It's an amazing village.” Ed answered, shrugging. “Not a lot of things there. Because of the civil war, stuff just doesn't happen there anymore. If the army had done a better job, there might have been more stuff going on down there.”

“…I don't like the sound of that.” muttered the Major darkly.

Ed gave him a look. “Want me to go on? Anyway, it's a really quiet place. Not a lot of excitement, but it has a lot of things that cities are missing. Resembool, our hometown.”

And he sighed again, leaning out the window with a slight smile. He didn't want to admit it, but a part of him had wanted to see Resembool again. It made him wonder how everyone was doing, and if they were still alright. As quiet as it was, there was never a dull moment in the country.

Which brought something else to mind.

“That reminds me.” Ed looked to Armstrong with sternness. “You did put Winry on this train, didn't you?”

“Hohoho.” Armstrong chirruped, sparkling. “Indeed she is here.”

-sss-

“Baa!”

“Baa!”

Winry, arms and leg strapped to the inside of the closed crate to secure her, blinked. Her blue eyes were wide, wondering where on earth the Major put her exactly inside the train. He'd promised her that she would be someplace lively. And judging from the bleating coming from outside her crate though, it was indeed a lively crowd.

Don't tell me…! Those can't be sheep I'm hearing! Eek!

-sss-

“I thought it would be lonely to be by herself.” Armstrong put in simply.

Ed felt like losing his spleen listening to this. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK WINRY WAS?”

To add up to his aggravation, the Major chuckled. “Why are you not happy? It is large, cheap but lively. Do those not qualify as proper accommodations for a young lady?”

The short alchemist never felt like spazzing out to the point he'd burst his entire life. “STOP SCREWING AROUND! JUST WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD, YOU…YOU…!”

Ed was shaking from head to toe with fury, caught between releasing a colorful string of words that he'd been longing to get off his chest since they'd left Central and trying not to put his rank in jeopardy by verbally assaulting a fellow official. Meanwhile, Armstrong looked a little hurt and tried again.

“Edward Elric, I did not mean for you to take it so hard.” he explained a little more gently. “I only wished for Miss Winry's safety, and to protect hers and your secret without committing an offense against your persons. Thus, your life and your life partner's life are safe in my hands, and they will not slip from me unless I perish on this mission for your recovery.”

Ed sat, breath returning and lost for words. He knew the Major could be a pain. And it made him wonder why he tolerated the emotional man in the first place. It was one of these moments that he'd remind himself why. Ed sighed. What could he do with an honest, honorable man like Alex Armstrong?

So he shrugged his shoulders in surrender. “Okay, okay. I get it. You'll protect me and Winry till the very end.”

The Major nodded once firmly. “Yes, quite right. Indeed, I will. Your lives are safe in my hands, Edward Elric.”

“Yeah…”

A silence followed after that, and no one would have thought that Ed was screaming his head off moments before. So the peace that followed was almost unnatural.

But then, unnatural could be so natural.

When there's a relapse.

“…Did you just say my LIFE PARTNER?”

Armstrong turned his head to look down at the Fullmetal Alchemist boiling all over again, and now it was just getting silly.

“Pardon?” he blinked, genuinely puzzled.

Ed actually hopped up and down on his seat. “You called Winry my life partner! What the hell did you mean by `life partner'? Can you just not stick an image of us like that in your head for once?”

Everyone in the train car was looking at them now. So odd to look at: a little boy and a giant. Whoa. Has anyone seen a movie like that before?

The Major gave Ed a strange look. “Why, Edward Elric. You do not think of her that way sometimes?”

“What do you mean sometimes? There's hardly ANYTHING to think of Winry! She's just my childhood friend! I mean…” Ed made a sound of frustration in his throat and scratched his head roughly. Now he didn't know where to begin with this. But if he wanted to clear this with the Major and get closure, he was going to just…let it go.

He dropped his voice and his head into his hand, quieting down and he sighed. “Look. Winry and I...we're inseparable. We hardly ever were as kids. But that doesn't mean we're more than that. We're friends and that's it! She's what's left of my family and I'm all she's got, so it's only right to look out for her like she's my sister and all.” he raised his head to the Major. “What's wrong with getting that close to her? So just because I'm risking my life making her a body, it doesn't mean my feelings for her are…more than that. I just wanted to keep her image...here.”

Armstrong regarded the teenage boy beside him with understanding, before replying, “I see. Your behavior a few hours ago made me assume so much more. Truly it makes one contemplate and assume the strength of your ties with Miss Winry. But if your words mean well with your thoughts, then I will no longer bother you with the topic. You two just seemed so, sentimental back in the eastern part of the city.”

Silence. A sigh from Edward. Silence once more.

Then Ed's eyes popped out of its sockets, realizing what the Major just said. And when he spoke again, he actually squeaked.

“W-w-wait. You...y-y-y-you didn't see anything! NO! You didn't hear anything! Winry was just…she was…!”

And he realized what he'd let spill.

At the back of his head, Ed saw Winry's crying face as plain as day, sobbing to him and begging him not to die for her.

And he reddened.

Oh…my…GOD!

It was too late. Armstrong saw right through him, and he sparkled with unsuppressed glee. And Ed really wanted to kill himself for his self-insecurity.

“Ohh, young love!” the Major mused, feeling the love. “The clarity and the joy of those first few heartstring tugs!”

It was too much for a fifteen-year old boy to handle. This trip was just getting better and better by the minute. And every minute he was spending with Alex Armstrong beside him was eating away at his insides.

He'd better not bring this up with Winry…! Or I'm gonna start alchemizing STUFF!

End of Chapter 8

A/N: And they met Marcoh and got clues to the Philosopher Stone, period. Lemme know if this is getting boring with me cutting parts out, AND if I'm laying it on thick too much. Ta-ta! XD