Major Armstrong and some other military officers were present in the hospital. But, Ajax found that Alphonse was behaving a bit differently.
He decided to look for him. He found him sitting in an empty corridor with dim lights.
"What's this? Are you in love or something? And she said no?" Ajax asked jokingly.
Alphonse lifted his head and looked at Ajax. Ajax felt a bit of sadness in the red light-like Alphonse's eyes.
"What happened?" He asked seriously.
"Do you think I am real?" Alphonse asked.
"Well, not any less real than me and this cat. Our body is only a vessel. Our soul is the main component. You too have a soul. The only difference, for now, is that your vessel is made of metal and ours is made of weak mushy flesh. Honestly, I'd rather have a metal strong body." Ajax said.
"What if I am just a creation made to be controlled? What if my memories are fake?" Alphonse asked.
"Well, we are all the creation of a higher being. Memories can be faked, but feelings can't be. This is a fact. If you think your memories are fake, then you just need to meet people in the memories. Making memories is possible but making people is impossible." Ajax said at length.
Alphonse had to agree. This last argument was very convincing.
"Kid, did you have some funny ideas about your brother or something?" Hats asked lazily while drinking milk from a cup.
"I-I don't know. Someone told me that I could be a construct made with alchemy." Alphonse said.
"Who was it?" Ajax asked.
"Barry the butcher," Alphonse replied.
*Phoooo*
Hats threw up the milk and asked. "And you believed him? Who is this Barry the butcher?"
"He was another soul trapped in armor back at the lab. He was made by the researchers at the lab," Alphonse explained.
"He was a criminal that means? He must have been playing with your mind." Ajax suggested. He had long ago realized that Alphonse was a good-natured man/boy and was easy to be manipulated.
Alphonse suddenly realized something. ~Why am I taking the words of a serial murderer so seriously.~
"I guess you are right. Let's go and meet Ed." Alphonse got up with a sigh.
Ajax, despite being small in height, patted Alphonse's metal legs. "Don't worry, you will have your body soon. Let's go."
They went inside the private room and saw a big crowd gathered there. Winry was also there and she was at the moment beating Edward. She was also crying it seemed.
"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME? WHY CAN'T YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF?" she cried as she beat him. She had been with the two since they were small. They were like family now and seeing Alphonse and Edward struggling for their bodies was already tough on her. Now seeing what they had to do in the military was even more worrying. They were just young kids, what military makes kids fight?
"Winry, I am still injured." Edward cried in pain.
"Oh, hey, Edward's girlfriend. How are you?" Ajax asked. It seems he had inherited Alexander's ability to embarrass couples.
The two's faces turned red and they looked at opposite sides.
"Stop fooling around, Ajax. You know who she is." Edward barked at him.
Ajax smiled smugly, "Yeah, I know who she is and that is why I can say, she will be an amazing wife to you. She will give you your daily beating because without it you can't work properly"
*BAM*
Maes Hughes walked in a black suit. "How are you, Ed? Oh, who do we have here? Your girlfriend?"
After another moment of embarrassment, they calmed down. Hughes spoke, "You don't have to worry about your escorts now. You will be free again."
"Escorts?" Winry asked as she realized that Edward was again in trouble.
"WHAT TROUBLE DID YOU GET YOURSELF INTO?" She asked loudly.
"It's nothing." Edward shrugged it.
*Sigh*
"I don't even know why I bother with you guys. You don't tell me anything. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Winry plainly said and picked up her bag.
"I'm going to go and look for a place to stay tonight," she huffed.
"What?" Hughes voiced.
"Come on, stay at my place. My wife and daughter will be delighted. All right, it's settled then." He dragged Winry with him.
After they were gone, Ajax looked at Edward, "I am younger than you and can still tell you that you did something wrong and she is angry."
"Brother, I think we should have just told her." Alphonse voiced.
"Hey, where are you going, Ajax?" They asked.
"Oh, I have been invited to a birthday party. I must go. There will be cake." Ajax replied and left. It seems that all the kids in Phixheim shared Chomei's love for cakes and ice-cream.
...
Lt. Colonel Hughes's house.
*POP*
*POP*
Confetti was blown and loud cheers of kids came. It was the birthday of the daughter of Hughes, named Elicia. A cute little girl, only 3 years old.
Ajax walked over to her and gave her his gift-wrapped box. The box was even bigger than Ajax. Inside it was a 4 foot tall Barbie Mall model with lots of different moving and working parts. She would not get bored with it for at least a few years. It was made in Phixheim so it was unique to the world.
"Thank you, big brother." Elicia cutely thanked him with a peck on his cheek. He happily patted her head.
"What did you wish for when blowing candles?" Ajax asked.
"I wished that papa would get thrown out of the military so we could spend all the time together." She innocently revealed.
"Hahaha... then I guess I will ask my grandpa to do that," Ajax replied.
Hughes, who knew who Ajax was, came to him, "NO! Please don't, I still need to feed my family."
"Oh, come one, Mr. Hughes, I was just kidding. If anything, you'd be promoted." Ajax announced.
Soon, the party turned normal and the kids went to play. Ajax sat with Winry along with Hughes.
"Why the long face?" Hughes asked her.
"Well, I was just thinking about Ed and Al. They never tell me anything. I just want to help them." She said.
Hughes laid back, "Well, that's what boys are like. They don't like to say things loudly. You've been with them since they were small, so they think you already know everything. They just don't want to worry you because they care about you."
Ajax nodded and added, "Yeah, they do care about you. But you can always beat Ed and make him spew everything."
"Haha, yeah, I guess I can." she chuckled as her mood got better.
That whole evening, Ajax spent his time eating and playing. Unknown to him that a beating was coming soon.
[You can see Alphonse, Winry, and the birthday party on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]
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