The Bloody Alchemist

Is This Equivalent Exchange?

        The trio already had to go back to Rush Valley for Cecelia's new arm and considering her metal wrist was now crunched, they really had to go. But Ed's arm was also destroyed in the fight with Greed, so in a desperate attempt to keep Winry's anger to a minimum, Ed and Al greeted the girl at Garfiel's shop in chipper tones.

"Hello there Winry!" Ed cheered catching the girls attention. "You look like you're in a very generous mood today!"

"Hi Ed and Al, oh Cecelia your arm is all done!" She replied joyously.

The three forced laughs and Winry asked why they were acting so suspiciously. Ed and Cecelia help up their injured automail arms. Winry's cheery smile remained but the other three shrunk in fear. The next thing Cecelia knew Edward was bleeding on the ground next to a wrench and Winry was escorting her to a chair to try on her new arm.

"It looks proportional," Cecelia said looking at the automail. Winry had put beautiful embellishments on the metal as her last arm had.

"We'll have to reconnect it to your nerves though," Winry said as she prepared for the long process.

Mr. Garfiel helped Winry by pinning Cecelia down, they had offered her some anesthetics, but the girl turned down the highly recommended offer. She bit down on the sleeve of her leather jacket and Winry counted down from three then started to connect the nerves to the metal. Cecelia muffled her cries by biting down on her sleeve harder, but her screams were still clearly heard throughout the street, maybe even all of Rush Valley. Garfiel struggled to keep Cecelia still as Winry continued to connect the nerves one by one, but eventually, the grueling process met its end.

Cecelia panted as the pain subsided. Winry offered her some water which she gladly took.

"How does it feel?"

Cecelia shrugged then stood up. She rolled her shoulder and felt a wave of pain flood through her left side. "Sore for sure." She stretched her arm, "But it's definitively smoother than my old one."

"Do you like the embellishments I put on the arm?" Cecelia nodded, "I saw them on the old one and thought I'd give it a try.

Cecelia couldn't help but smile as she looked over the thin arm. Winry had made the arm slick and feminine, a drastic change from the old clunky metal that had weighed on her for years. "I love it Winry," Cecelia threw her arms around her new mechanic, "Thank you so much!"

Winry hugged the emotional girl back, "You're totally welcome, Cecelia."

Winry called Ed into the room and Cecelia showed off her new arm. "Isn't it amazing! Winry did a great job."

"It looks really good on you," Alphonse complemented.

Edward agreed, "Winry's the best mechanic in Amestris."

Winry giggled then forced Edward down to do a quick patch job on the automail. The group chatted while Winry worked, but Cecelia was still dazzled by the beautiful arm. The metal was etched with frilly decorations that swirled across the sleek and pristine metal Winry had used. Cecelia was in love. The fingers moved organically with no hesitation or delay and when she'd thrust her arm it swiftly cut through the air. Cecelia threw punches at invisible attackers as she waited for Ed to be done. Her hits were not hindered by the new and lighter arm, a possibility which would have been a little disappointing. Once Winry had finished the trio of alchemists took off to explore the city, though Ed was anything but happy to be walking through this town.

"This place is so boring," Ed complained while sipping a drink. "The only things here are automail shops!"

"You think so?" Al asked chipperly.