Chapter 34

A Chapter by Keevan

So Lucy ends up hating Winry. Who knew? (I did!)

Three words were floating around and around in my mind as I made my way down the hall and back to my room:

What. The. Hell.

Also, why did I care so much about the way that she looked at Edward? She seemed so...eager to work on his AutoMail. She would probably have to take his shirt off to do so....

"Shut up, you sick minded perv," I mumbled to myself, pushing that last thought out of my mind. I made my way to a bathroom that was conveniently nearby and went in, closing and locking the door behind me.

I flicked on the light and looked at myself in the mirror.

I was frickin' scary looking. My hair was in clumps, and there were purple rings below my eyes, probably because I was up all night. I yawned, just then realizing how tired I was. But, the closer I looked into the mirror, the more I realized my hair looked....darker.

"I'm seeing things," I mumbled as I closed my eyes and shook my head. I turned on the faucet and got my non-broken hand wet. Then I used that hand to wash my face.

I turned off the faucet and stared at myself in the mirror again, three more words drifting in my mind, then escaping my mouth: "I hate you."

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I slept twenty four hours. It was probably about ten o' clock by the time I went back to my room after seeing Edward and Alphonse, and I fell asleep immediately when my head hit the pillow. I woke up once to see it was dark outside, and then fell asleep again. The next time I was awake, it was morning, and someone was knocking on the door.

"It's open," I called, sitting up and yawning. I noticed my broken hand was throbbing, and figured I'd have one of the infirmary workers look at it later.

The door opened, and the colonel walked in.

"Have a good sleep?" he asked, closing the door. I nodded, rubbing my eyes. He smirked and then sighed.

"Do you really not want to be an assassin anymore?" he asked. I froze, about a million voices and reasons buzzing around in my skull. I couldn't tell which the majority was, YES! QUIT! or NO! YOU LOVE TO KILL!

I shook my head and fought out my answer: "No more killing for me. That last assassination was too brutal."

"I see," he said. "Well, I guess I'll just send you on more assignments with Fullmetal and his brother. No killing included."

"Great," I said, despite the screaming in my head. It started to hurt a lot, and that stupid Voice came back: We'll come up with a new way for you to get human lives for my stone.

Sorry, no you won't, I thought back. I'm not going back.

"Will you be doing your alchemy?" he asked. I thought it over, and decided that I would. I needed at least another way to defend myself if bullets won't work.

"Yeah," I said. "I need the practice, considering how long it's been."

"Then you can keep your pocketwatch," he said. He threw it at me, along with my red sweatshirt that I lent to Edward, and said, "Take care of it."

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I slept a few more hours, got another x-ray on my hand, and slept a little more. Later, took a shower, got dressed, and went to visit Edward and Alphonse again.

I hesitantly opened the door, the thought that Winry might still be there flashing in my brain.

But I went in, and felt a little relieved when I saw she wasn't there. Edward was walking around the room and rolling his arm around, saying, "Yep, feels great. She did a good job on it, Al."

"She always does," Alphonse said, still against the wall. "Her AutoMail designs are flawless." It occured to me then that Edward and Alphonse didn't know I was in the room. There was a big curtain thing to separate the room, and it was pulled halfway across the room. I was about to make myself known when Alphonse said, "I don't think Lucy likes Winry very much." I went and hid behind the curtain to hear more, curoius of what Edward's response would be.

"She just has to get to know Winry, then I'm sure they'll be friends," Edward said simply.

"Brother, I don't think Lucy's one who wants friends," Alphonse said seriously. "I mean, does she even count us as friends?"

"I'm sure she does, considering all she went through to take us back here alive yesterday," Edward said, sounding sure of himself. "But, you're right on what you said. About her not looking for friends. But I think we should arrange a day for Winry and Lucy to hang out. Who knows? Maybe Lucy'll expand her world a bit beyond the military."

"Didn't the colonel say she used to be in school?" Alphonse asked. Oh, God, not this again.

"Hm, he did, but he never told us why she quit," Edward said. I heard something, and guessed that Edward sat back down on his bed. "Maybe we should get Lucy back in school?"

"I think we'd have to consult Lucy on that matter, Brother," Alphonse said. Damn straight!

I quietly walked back to the door, opened and closed it, and then said, "Hey, you awake, Edward?"

As if I wasn't even there.

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"My AutoMail's good as new, so it's now time to repair Al," Edward said, pulling a box out from under his bed. In it were Alphonse's loose pieces of metal. Edward assorted them on the floor by Alphonse, and said, "Watch this." He clapped his hands and placed them on Alphonse's armor. A big blue glow filled the room, and I covered my eyes, realizing that Edward was using alchemy to put Alphonse back together.

When the blue glow was gone, I uncovered my eyes and saw Alphonse, standing up, good as new.

"There you go, Al," Edward said. "Lookin' good!"

"Thanks, Brother!" Alphonse said, swinging his arms around and marching in place, trying out his feet.

"That's...amazing," I said. I honestly had never seen anything like it. I put my hand in my sweatshirt pockets and felt my pocketwatch.

"By the way, Edward," I said. "I'm going back into alchemy. Do you think...later, um, you could give me a few pointers?"

"Heh, sure," he said. "I'd like to see your alchemy."

"I didn't know you were an alchemist," Alphonse said.

"I kind of...abandoned alchemy, but it doesn't matter anymore," I said. "I need to use it now, because I quit being an assassin. So, I guess I'm back as the Stealth Alchemist."

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