"Life's like an hourglass glued to the table…" -Anna Nalick

.:Life's Hourglass:.

[Chapter 1: Rutilus the Red Town

Awake.

Rain.

"…Ed…ED!"

"Wh-what?" A muffled sounding Ed said from under the covers.

Alphonse stood up and clanked towards Edward.

He shook Ed frantically. "I was zoning out and I think she left."

"…" Ed was silent for a bit, he plopped his head back down into his pillow again, "She's fine, Al."

Al was silent for a moment.

"I'm going." He turned towards the door of the small hotel cabin.

"I don't see why." Ed groaned.

Al opened the door and stepped out.

Alive, walking, awake.

Hard, red, stinging, rain.

Among the dark, clanking footsteps and rain could be heard. "This town…" Al thought, "Is…just not right, I can tell why Sakura wants to leave soon…"

Al surveyed the scene. He could only see black, except for a few street lamps that lit a few spots of the stone walkways.

This town, in which its name was Rutilus (Latin for red) fit it perfectly. Covered in strange piping and iron buildings all rusting, all red. The river, once natural, was now changed by man. The river damned into channels, and those channels into more channels, all collecting rust. Even the water here flowed red. Red. Red.

The iron buildings were filled with old Alchemists and old Scientists. Dumping whatever they could into this river, making it toxic. The rain here, when it fell…

Would burn your skin if you touched it.

Would smell of death and alchemy.

You would not want to be caught in it.

"Sakura!" Al yelled, "Sakura!" He had to find her; this rain could really hurt her.

Among this town, he was the only one safe going out in this rain.

"Sakura, where are you?!"

Alphonse and his Brother had known Sakura for about two years now; they had met her when Ed had entered the State Alchemist exam.

She was a well kept secret.

She was the Colonel Roy Mustang's younger sister.

Breathing, panting, stumbling, falling, dieing?

Hard, red, smelly, burning, frightening, rain…

In the distance, under the sheltering light of a street lamp, lay a huddled black mass.

"Sakura!" Al quickly ran over as fast as he could.

He flipped Sakura over, her face that of a sleeping child. She wasn't conscious.

Al didn't know what to do, so he quickly, scooped her up in his arms. He tried his best to shelter her as he ran back to the hotel cabin.

They had come to this town for one reason, the Philosopher's stone. It was here, it would work. This town would bring Al's body back.

Sakura's crimson eyes flicked open.

"…A-Al?" Her hands reached out into the blackness of night and stumbled around blindly.

"…A-Al?!" She said raising her voice a little.

A light flicked on as a voice said, "What is it?"

Alphonse stood in the door way of the bathroom; Ed was in the bathroom washing his face.

"W-…What happened?" Sakura held her head, as if holding back a headache.

"You went sleep-walking." Al said gently.

"I slept…walked?" She answered back slowly, "R-Really?"

Ed turned off the facet, "You gave me quite a scare when Al came bursting in with you in his arms." Ed chuckled.

Al looked embarrassed, even though it was hard to tell with the body that he had.

"…I…uh…I feel dizzy…" Sakura sat back down into her pillow.

Al paused, "You got exposed to that crazy rain."

"We can finally walk outside again though," Ed said blankly, "The two day rain streak has stopped." Ed dried his face.

Al looked over at his brother, Ed looked back and then at Sakura.

"We're going to investigate the abandoned factory on the west side," Ed started, "We got some good leads to there. It's pretty far away…can you handle being alone?"

Ed said snickering at the fact the she had slept-walked.

"I…think…" Sakura said turning her head slightly towards the window. She felt horrible.

"Are you sure?" Al said walking towards Sakura and placing a friendly hand on her head.

She smiled softly, "Hmm…it's tempting to keep you two here." Sakura said and laughed.

Edward came walking over at that moment. Examining Sakura, he pointed at her bare arms.

"You see what it did there?" Edward said coolly, "It started to burn you, you're lucky Al got there when he did."

Sakura blushed, "I-I know!"

Al looked at Ed, Sakura pouted a bit.

"I appreciate Al! Alphonse is very important to me!" Sakura blushed a bit more at this. She rubbed her arms.

Edward laughed.

"Yeah yeah!" He said waving his hand as he walking towards the front door, "We know, we know!" Ed chuckled again, only making Sakura's face hotter and redder.

"E-Ed! Stop saying mean things!" Al turned to the direction of Ed and moved his hands a bit in front of him.

Edward just laughed some more and opened the door a bit, he put on his iconic crimson jacket and said, "Come'on Al, lets go."

"Alright, hold on a sec." Alphonse turned to Sakura again and gave her a pat on the head, "Stay in bed, alright?" She nodded.

"I will, be careful you two."

Ed grunted a bit and Al nodded, they both left the cabin. They were staying in an old, to what the looks of it, was an old cabin like building. It was surprising still working and everything inside was in good condition. It was small though, with a big window that Sakura could see out of when she sat in her bed.

The sun was now shining it.

In any other town the sun would be happy, but in this town even if it was sunny; the town was still dead.

Sakura shivered a bit, she hated this town.

She had been born in a small city called Memore.

Memore was a town with no military office, so many retired military soldiers and scientist's lived there. The largest building was the library, at four stories tall. The large almost city town was surrounded by a gigantic forest and when the Colonel and her sister were young they lived on the outskirts of town in the forest in a two story house with a tire swing in the backyard. Sakura's father was a military hero for many years; he had many connections to the Fuhur King Bradley. Her mother, Elizabella Mustang, was once the assistant to King Bradley. They fell in love, and when Stephen found out that she was pregnant with their first child he quit and moved to Memore where Roy was born.

Many years later Sakura was born. She could still remember all the people who would come to her house and beg her father to come back, but he refused. He taught them basic Alchemy, but mostly they had their own hobbies. Sakura liked to draw, and she was very good at it, and well…Roy liked to…woo girls.
One day the Fuhur came to their house for a visit and gave Roy a box. Inside were his flame gloves and a note that said, "Soon enough you will learn how to use these."
Sakura got a little jealous and begged her Dad to give her his old flame gloves and he did. She wore them everyday, except for when she slept, and promised her Dad to never use they unless she really need to, same for Roy.

Then one night, August 16, it happened…
An armed man had snuck into their house; he had a deep unknown grudge against Sakura's father. He had both Elizabella and Stephen tied up, he hadn't noticed Roy or Sakura. Hidden in the darkness of the hallway Roy ran back to his room and grabbed his gloves.
Sakura pleaded him no but he pushed her aside and held his hand up to the assassin.
Sakura ran in front of her brother and spread out her arms to stop. Roy's eyes were shut tight.

Roy snapped his finger.

Instantly the assassin was burned beyond recognition. He had killed his parents as well, and Sakura, she had just simply caught to flames and fallen to the floor. Quickly he ran to the bathroom and drenched Sakura in water. The house was on fire, Roy remembered something he had read in one of his Father's Alchemy book that he had wrote. Roy drew a gigantic transmutation circle on the floor with four corners. He dragged one body to each corner but found out he was one body sort. He quickly ran outside and saw a black dog walking by. He cornered the dog and dragged him inside still yelping, he was running out of time, Sakura was fading fast. He put the dog on the last corner.
Roy put his hands down.

When Sakura came to, it was like she had woken up from a very long sleep. She saw her brother pasted out and the house in flames, she grabbed Roy and what was left of there belongs and dragged them outside. She walked down the road to town until she collapsed.

They woke up in Central; apparently the Fuhur was going to visit them again, and found them collapsed in the road. Roy told Sakura everything. They both cried for a very long time. When Sakura finally looked in a mirror, she had small black dog ears and a tail. Her eyes went from hazel to crimson, the pigments in the dogs eyes mixed with hers to make the color; she had bigger canine teeth too.

In the end Roy joined the military to keep it all under wraps and Sakura was given special privileges to stay with him if she continued to study Alchemy and help State Alchemist study for the exam.
They never really wondered how or why it worked, but it did because of their Father's book, it truly saved them. Sakura knows something was taken from her but she doesn't speak of it to the brother's, but she told them her story because she felt she could trust them. It's one of the reason's she doesn't grow very tall though.

Sakura was a chimera, she knew that.

She was a rare chimera at that; she aged she grew and still lived.

Sakura slumped down into her sheets, she thought of the Brother's. They have done a lot for her and she knew that.

She was very fond of them. In fact you might say that she 'loved' them. But in a totally brother-sister way or at least with Ed it was.

She picked at the sheets with one her pointer finger and thumb.

Sakura rolled over and pulled the covers over herself and tried to fall asleep.

[Author's Notes

Holy god, it's been a long time since I wrote a fic. This is based off a dream I had once about me and Al and Ed and we went to this strange town and it was scary. I was constantly chased by a dog and I yelled for Alphonse the whole time, I think Ed saved me or something eventually.

So hope this one goes well, and on a last note, I'd like to say that I think I am a good Al fan girl cause I love him even as armor. VV