Chap. 1: Pay Up!

Amber grumbled.

She was so damn hungry, but she had no money. She'd just made it to one of the eastern border towns, next to the desert- having just crossed the treacherous terrain.

And she just had to come upon a prosperous town too! Even if she had money, it'd be a pricy meal.

Gerrrrrmmmmm~….

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up, would you?" she muttered as she leaned against the small pony she was riding on. Her stomach had been getting loader and loader, and it was making her wonder if people could hear the beast.

Sighing, she dismounted. She horse. It was by no means a prize pony. It was short and stubby, had long, straggly fur, hair in tangles. Sand crusted all over, making its chestnut coat look more like a… well… sandy brown.

But, if she could get it cleaned, she might just be able to sell it and get some money to start her out.

Looking at the horse again, she sighed in dismay. "This is going to take some work."

Grabbing the lead rain, she walked through the crowd to an in-wall fountain. She unsettled the horse; putting the stuff in eyesight- she did not trust anyone. Once the horse was completely bare but for the rains, she took the bucket that was under the fountain and filled it with water.

She splashed it over the pony's back, and it seemed to like the cool water hitting it after days in the desert. Some of the sand washed away and fell to the ground, but a lot of it just caught on to other clumps and stayed. She had to comb her fingers through the shaggy fur to loosen them, and then splash more water on the horse.

Over and over, she continued this. She spent a painstaking long time on the stocky legs, making sure they were nice and clean. Even more time on the horses' hair, which was a bit harder, as the hair was almost the same color of the sand, a cream brown.

But finally, her work was rewarded with a clean, burning chestnut gleam, and the hair was a bit straighter.

It looked presentable enough. To the point they could get an accurate inspection.

"Alright, you're ready. Let's go." She said, grabbing the lead rains. She picked up her small packs that were on the saddle, and slung them over her back. She then put the saddle on the pony.

This was the part she hated.

"Oh come on! It's a great horse! Perfect for carrying things!" she fumed at a farmer.

Talking to people.

"Sorry, but I have no need of a horse. And I don't have the resources or time to care for another horse." The man's sentence sounded fine enough, but his voice told his anger.

"He's probably more able bodied than any of the ones you have! Look at those muscles! Plus, look at how small this thing is, it wouldn't be a problem of taking up space-"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' SO SHORT THEY COULDN'T EVEN BEAT AN AMEBA IN COMBAT?!"

Ed and Al had been walking through the prosperous town of Ekval. It was small, but a great tourists spot.

They'd been walking by a girl that was yelling at a man. She suddenly gestured in Ed's direction.

"He's probably more able bodied than any of the ones you have! Look at those muscles!"

Ed grinned. He didn't know why he was suddenly being pulled into this, but hey, the girl-

"Plus, look at how small this thing is, it wouldn't be a problem of taking up space-"

JUST CALLED HIM SMALL!

Amber blinked and looked up to see a golden haired boy trying to run at her, the only thing keeping him in place while he tried running, was a man in a suit of armor.

She looked around to find that the pony had sprinted off, having been frightened by the boy.

Gapping in surprised rage, she watched it escape, and knew she'd never be able to get it.

"No!" she yelled in frustration. Her eye twitching, she turned a kunai throwing gaze at the boy.

"You! You scared my horse off!" she said, stomping up to the guy, getting right in his face.

The man in the armor spoke, and Amber found it odd how his voice sounded so… young.

"Sorry! Brother thought you called him short, and…well… he…."

"I'M NOT SHORT!"

"He doesn't take well to being called…. That." The man said, sounding apologetic and emmbarresed.

Her eye still twitching, she straightened.

"Hummm…. Now you owe me… runt."

"Tick! GET OVER HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!"

"Brother!" the man said, exasperation in his voice.

"You'll pay me for the horse you lost me. I was trying to sell it. I want my pay."

"Yeah, sure." The man said, and pulled out a wallet from his brother's coat.

"Hey! Al, give that back!"

"No brother. We owe her." The man fished in the wallet and looked up at her, holding out some bills, "Will this be sufficient?"

Amber took the money and counted. Pursing her lips, she nodded. "It's good. You pay honest. I like that." She managed a smirk- a bit devilish in its own way- at the taller of the two.

"Hehe… yeah, we're really sorry about the horse."

"It's fine. You paid at least." She said dismissively. She decided she liked them. Sure, the runt hadn't exactly been kind yet, but something about him told her he could be. Plus, he had a fiery temper, much like her own. It was funny. And it'd be fun to rile him up.

"So, what's your names?"

"I'm Alphonse Elric. This is my big brother Edward, but we call him Ed."

Amber grinned. "A shortened name for a short guy. Haha…."

"Tick…. GAH! LET ME AT HER!"

"Hahaha… Actually, we both have our names like that. I'm called Al for most."

Amber nodded. "And my names Amber Ameira." She held out her hand to shake hands with Ed.

Looking at it with distain, he held out his hand and shook it. Amber blinked down at the hand in surprise. Looking up at the boy, there was a knowing look in her eyes, although it was mixed with sympathy.

"You have automail…?" she said, making it sound more like a statement more than question.

He blinked and took his hand back. "Yeah… How'd you know…?"

"One leans the signs when they live with it constantly." She said, smirking sadly, looking up at him. She realized the color of his eyes then as well. Almost like hers, only a bit more on the gold side, where as her's had a red tint in the gold.

Her stomach chose then to make its demands known again. She flushed slightly in embarrassment, as both boys looked in surprise at her.

"Heh… Crossing the desert from Xing ain't no fun trip." She said, smiling a bit.

"If you want, we could treat you to dinner?" Al offered.

"No, you've already paid a fair amount for the horse. Equivalence."

Ed blinked. "So you're an Alchemist too, huh?"

"Yup. I've also studied Alkahestry. Really, anyone that's an Alchemist in Xing is also an Alkahest."

"Still, we want to treat you to dinner. How about it be to make up for bother's behavior earlier." Al said.

"Hey…" Ed muttered, sounding offended.

Amber smiled. "I guess that could work for Equivalence."

Ed and Al blinked at the girl. She tore into the food like a ravenous animal.

"Geez… and I thought you ate bad, Ed…." Al said.

"…Yeah….." Ed said.

Finally, she'd finished her meal- three rice bowls, with pork, a slab of steak, and three salads.

"Ahhh…." She said, and sat back in contempt. "Much better…."

"What about your milk- ah!"

Amber had sent Al a kunai throwing glare. "Why should I drink the secretions of a cow? Have you seen where it comes from? Those…. Squishy and wrinkly, dangly bits…" She shuddered.

Al sat back in astonishment. Ed leaned forward with a glean in his eye.

"Someone finally gets it!" he said.

Amber looked at him. "You think the same thing?!"

"Yes! It's like drinking throw up!"

"I know!"

Al shook his head. Who would have thought….?

Deciding he should change the subject before they started a campaign to band milk, he said, "So, Amber, what brings you here? All the way from Xing?"

Amber looked back up at Al, shrugged. "Oh, I wanted to become part of the military. A State Alchemist."

"You too, huh?" Ed said, eyeing her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… Why, you thinking on becoming one as well?"

Ed grinned. "Nope. Already am." He pulled his watch out.

"No way! That's so cool…" she said, looking at it.

He put the watch away and nodded. "So, why would you want to be one though?"

She shied away at this. "Ah… personal reasons…. Some I can't tell you."

"Some…? But that means there is still some you can…" Al said, but not in a pushing, prying way.

Amber nodded her head, "Yeah… Heh… I'm kinda wanting to find my dad. I don't know his name, or where he is. All I know is that he's a State Alchemist."

Ed an Al nodded. Now that she said that, they couldn't help but notice how she looked… familiar somehow.

As they were walking through the inn they had gotten rooms at- Amber had gotten one as well- Ed and Al continued to look at her and try and find what was so familiar about her.

Raven black hair; lean face; slightly pointed nose; devilish smirk… If it weren't for the amber colored eyes, and her obvious femininity, she'd look almost exactly like…..

"No way!" both Ed and Al shouted as they looked at her, and then at each other.

"What? What is it?" Amber said surprised, having been lost in thoughts of how her first encounter with her father might go.

"Ah…. Well… it's just that…" Ed mumbled.

"Well, we think…." Al said.

"We might know him…" Ed finally said.

Amber blinked at them. "Really?!"

"Ah… yeah… we kinda work under him…" Ed said.

"So you can lead me right to him!"

"Yeah… I guess…" Ed said.

"Thank god! I thought I'd have to look everywhere to find him." Amber said, and couldn't help but hug Ed. Ed blushed, both because of the suddenness of it, and because he felt that she had a full arm of auto mail.

"Ah… I guess we could head out whenever you want… Al and I are done here…"

Amber coughed a bit, and pulled back, biting her lips. After a second, she smiled. "Thanks so much."

She then bounded to her room happily.

"One strange girl…" Ed muttered as he walked into the room next to her's, Al following.

"Got that right…." Al said, chuckling as he remembered the milk.

Taking off his trench coat and black coat, he hung them on the coat rack. Al was about to walk over to the couch when he paused and looked at the long red coat.

"Hey Ed, is your arm port bleeding?" he asked.

Ed raised an eyebrow and looked at the bear skin around the port. "No… why?"

Al picked the coat off the rack. Walking over, he pointed to a still wet bit of blood, some of it having soaked into the coat. It was about fist size.

"Where'd this come from?" Al asked.

Ed took the coat. It was on the side his arm port was. He looked again at the border of skin and metal, pulling back the strap of his muscle shirt to see better. There was nothing but scare tissue, skin and metal.

"I'm all good…." He said. He looked at the blood and thought back, trying to think of when it could have gotten there. He knew it had to have been recent, as it was still being absorbed by the fabric of the coat.

He then recalled Amber having coughed. He'd assumed it'd been out of embarrassment of her sudden hug, but now that he thought back, he remembered seeing a slight drop of blood on her chin and a bit around the rim of her lips.

Just then, they heard someone coughing. It was continuous and sounded strained. They just managed to stand up when there came a final hitching cough and then a very audible THUMP as someone hit the floor from standing.

His eyes widening at Al, he sprinted out of the door, and was at Amber's with a leap. He tried the nob, but it was locked. Cursing, he transmuted a hole in the door and walked in. Looking around, he saw that there was small spittles of blood with larger bits doting the floor. He cast his gaze around more and saw someone's feet poking out from behind the couch.

He sprang over the coffee table and jumped over the couch.

"Amber!" he yelped, seeing her laying on the floor. She was belly down, her face turned so he could see one eye, which was cracked open slightly. She had blood trailing from her mouth. He would have thought she were dead if it were not for the deep drafts of air she seemed to be forcing in.

"Al, call a doctor!" Ed called to his brother, who was peering in through the hole in the door.

"Right!" Al said and disappeared, his metal body clanking as he ran down the hall to find a phone.

He knelt down and picked her up slightly.

"Hey, Amber, can you hear me…?" he said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"…es…" came her raspy replay.

"Listen. Can you tell me what's wrong? Are you sick?" he asked.

"…o…tomail…eart…" she said, her voice just managing to work out that.

"What…?" Ed asked, having not understood.

She shook her head just enough to let him know she could say no more. Her voice had failed her, and she could not speak.

Instead, she pointed to his automail arm and then at his heart.

Ed shook his head, not understanding what it meant, though he thought he had a vague idea. But he didn't have time to figure it out. Just then, a man ducked in under the door, Al following after he unlocked the door and pushed the door open.

The man went over to her and Ed.

"What happened?" the man asked, flashing a light in her eyes.

"We heard her coughing and then heard her fall. I rushed over here and found her laying here." Ed said quickly as he carefully got up to allow the man some room.

"Has she said anything?"

Ed nodded. "I asked if she could hear me. She said yes… I asked her if she was sick, but… I didn't really catch what she said…"

"Thank you. We'll need to bring her to the hospital to keep her stable. It's a good thing you got help when you did."

Ed nodded. He and Al lingered and the man looked at them. "You can go back to your rooms. I'll have someone contact you to tell her she's fine…"

The boys looked uncertain, but relented. There wasn't much that they could do anyway.

Turning they went into the hall.

Al went for their room, but Ed continued walking past. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to make a call…" he called back, but didn't wait for a reply.

Walking down the hall, he found the phone booths. Picking up one, he gave it change and dialed the number.

"Hello…?~ This is Garfile speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hey, Mr. Garfile, it's me Edward Elric."

"Oh! Mr. Elric. I assume you wish to speak to Winry…"

"Yeah, if she's there…"

"Just wait one moment…."

He heard the click of the phone being set down and the static silence. Then he heard hurried footsteps and the phone being picked up. Before he could say anything, Winry said, "Edward, if I find out that you have broken or even dented to the smallest degree my automail, I'm going to kill you when I come to fix it!"

Ed held the phone away from his ear, wincing. Bring it back he said, "Hey, come on. Not so load, huh?"

"What is it Ed? What broke this time?" Winry said.

"…Nothing…." Ed said, "It's just that… I have a question…"

Winry could hear the undertone of worry. "What is it, Ed?" she said, much calmer now.

"I… meant a friend over here at the east. She's from Xing, and just crossed the desert…. And, well… She just coughed up a lot of blood…"

Ed heard a sound that signified that Winry had gripped the phone tighter. "Okay…?"

"And well… when I asked if she was sick… she said no… and something else… I didn't really get what it was, but when I asked for her to repeat, she couldn't speak. Instead… she pointed to my automail arm, and then at my heart…. I think…. Winry, is it possible to have that kind of automail?"

Winry gaped. "I… I think so… It seems possible… It just seems like such a dangerous prosier, especially if it's dealing with a organ like the heart."

"But.. what could possibly cause such a thing…? I mean… how was it she ended up with one?"

"I don't know, Ed." Winry said, her voice lined with worry. "Is she… okay?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. She's being taken to the hospital now-", he looked down the hall to see people carrying her out on a stretcher. "Thanks Winry…" he said before hanging up.

AN: Hey guys! I've been working on this off and on for a while, always meaning to upload it and see what ya think, but I always got side tracked. I only have 4 chapters so far, but am hopefully going to have more soon. So, R&R to let me know how you feel about it!

Please keep the flames to a minimum too. If I've misspelled something, then its because I didn't see it, because I went over this thing five times- you have no idea how boring reading something five time in a row can be!- and so I should have gotten everything except maybe names. Just know that even if I do have errors, I might not fix them for a while, but it is still good to inform me so that I know they're there.

Alright, well, go and read the next chap. if you like the story. Hope to see some reviews soon!

Bye!