Author Note: Watching the anime, I couldn't help but think how interesting it would be to write a fanfiction based off of Catherine. She has barely any screen time and isn't even an option for a character on here. I hope you enjoy the story. I'm certain that I will enjoy writing it. I do want to throw romance in later chapters, so if you have any suggestions feel free to make them known. I haven't decided who to pair her up with just yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

The Glistening Alchemist

Prologue

It was shaping up to be an especially lovely day at the Armstrong estate. The sky was cloudless and a pleasant breeze offered welcome relief from the often near-suffocating heat of midsummer. It was the kind of day that made you feel like nothing could go wrong; it was the kind of day that made me, Catherine Elle Armstrong, desire a stroll through the city.

With no destination in particular, after bidding my family farewell, I began my journey through Central City, humming a melody I often play on my piano. Walking through the crowds, I received many passing glances and questionable expressions from the male civilians, making me uncomfortable. I shifted my eyes away shyly and brought my right hand towards my bottom lip while my left arm hugged my stomach nervously.

"Don't be shy, Catherine. It's unappealing of a lady," Mother would always tell me. A soft sigh escaped my lips in remembrance. Mother was right. "Why else would I not have a single friend? Am I truly that unappealing to approach?"

I paused my stride in front of the window of a store, glancing at my reflection. "I know I'm not ugly, but…" I stand fairly short with long, straight blonde hair that curls slightly at the end where it stops at the end of my back. A strand frames both sides of my face, ending in an inward wave shortly below the length of my shoulders. There is a free curl gracing the top of my head like the rest of my family, the Armstrong trademark. My large emerald eyes stared back at me, a confused expression in them. I have long lashes surrounding them. Frowning, "My face does appear pudgy, though."

"Maybe I should exercise more," I mumbled.

Today, I was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless dark pink dress over it, reaching down to my lower shins. There is a soft pink ribbon tied around my waist, with the bow hanging low behind my back.

"Excuse me, Miss. Are you alright?" a rough male voice interrupted my judgmental thoughts.

"Oh. Um. I'm sorry. Did I bother you?" I spoke uncomfortably, shifting my eyes to meet his before quickly looking down at my simple white dress shoes that provided an extra inch to my short stature.

My face heated up as I felt him studying me. "No, not at all. You just seemed lost."

"Oh, I see." A squeal to the left instantly grasped my attention away from the stranger. Averting my gaze to a young blonde girl in a white sundress and sunhat, the owner, I assumed, I watched as the girl danced around a truck in glee. "I don't understand."

"Maybe she hasn't seen a refrigerated truck before." The man shrugged.

I found my feet moving towards the scene in curiosity. Being homeschooled, I didn't get out much. "Fascinating."

"I would love to take it apart," I heard the girl speak so delightedly.

"I'm afraid that would make it a bit hard to drive," a new voice spoke out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this your truck?" she asked. I studied the new brunette woman silently. She stood tall with long, curly hair, dressed in a light green dress. Only a few feet away now, I stopped and brought my eyes to the vehicle.

"Sure is. I, uh, use it to make deliveries," the woman spoke softly while opening the door, cool, visible air escaping from the inside.

The intrigued girl bent over slightly, resting her hands on her upper legs while peering inside. I stepped slightly closer, glancing over her shoulder. Feeling the older woman watching me, I met her stare and blushed, embarrassed. The woman simply smiled softly in return. "It really is amazing!" The blonde girl straightened back up and smiled at the owner.

"Would you both like to take a look inside?" she asked. An excited smile graced both of our faces in response.

"Really? Can I?" the girl asked. "Thank you!" She hopped in without hesitance. I placed both hands on the floorboard, glancing in. It was empty and very cool. Bringing one knee in at a time, I followed the other blonde. Once inside, we both jumped as the door slammed shut behind us. The girl quickly placed her hands on the doors, trying to push them open. "She locked us in!" she concluded.

I frowned. The vehicle started moving and we locked eyes. "Is this part of the tour?"

"Uh-uh. I don't think so." She shook her head, bringing her chin to her knees as she hugged her legs.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. I should introduce myself." I sat across from her, attempting to get comfortable on my knees as I rested my butt on the back of my ankles. "My name is Catherine Elle Armstrong," I spoke with a blush.

"Winry. Winry Rockbell." Winry sniffled, whether it was because of the cold air or panic getting to her.

I placed both hands on Winry's shoulders. "Winry Rockbell, we're going to be alright." I gleamed into her big, blue eyes.

"Catherine?"

"Yes?"

"You're sparkling," Winry observed. A jolt brought us back to reality.

"I think we stopped." She nodded in response.

We heard the door being unlocked before opening, a creepy giggle greeting us from the other side. Winry and I exchanged frightened glances before looking forward, knowing the woman was waiting on the other side. "Ma'am?" Winry mumbled.

Biting my lower lip, I crawled towards the exit, trying to spot the woman. Before I had time to react, the door flew open and a rag made its way to my mouth. The scent burnt my nostrils;I felt myself growing dizzy and numb. I was certain that I could hear screaming far in the distance, but all I found was darkness.

My body shook from the cold surroundings. My wrists were also uncomfortable. Fluttering my eyes open, I saw Winry directly in front of me, her back facing me. I tried to call out to her, but found my voice muffled by a soft cloth tied around my mouth, hushing any effort. My eyes wandered to the cement floor that my feet seemed to be dangling above. Looking back at Winry, I noticed her feet were barely touching the ground. Panicked, I looked up, seeing that her wrists were chained up. All around us was nothing but meat, dead and cut up pigs, also hanging.

The chains started dragging us forward, making each of us whimper. A man in a green dress halted Winry from moving any more forward by grabbing her shoulder once she was beside him.

"That dress." I blinked, confused.

"Let her go!" a young, masculine voice called out. I tried to glance at the owner, but couldn't see past Winry and the man.

The kidnapper leaned towards Winry's face, still staring forward with his back to me. "Since she enjoys taking things apart, I thought I'd do the same to her."

My eyes widened in realization. "This is the serial killer Amue and Strongine were speaking of the other day."

"If you watch us carefully, you might just get to see what makes her tick."

"You sick- Why are you doing this?" the voice returned.

The man stood straight up, towering over Winry. "Why? Huh." She shook her wrists violently. "What a strange little question that is." He turned and smiled down at Winry, freezing her movements immediately. Afterwards, he adverted his gaze towards me, making me flinch in response. With a smirk, he turned his back on us, continuing the conversation. "I suppose it's because I enjoy it. The first person I killed was my wife." The man wandered over to a butcher knife. "She was nagging me about something and then without meaning to, I chopped her to pieces." My body myself trembling in response to this news. "But when I saw how finely I could slice her, I wanted more. More people to cut up, to reduce to their most basic building blocks. And, I wanted everyone to see." He walked over to me, grabbing my pudgy cheeks, turning my head back and forth, left and right. I shut my eyes as a hot tear traveled down one of my cheeks, dampening the cloth around my mouth.

"How could a person murder someone for such a ridiculous reason?" His hand left my face as he jerked back around. Relief instantly washed over me, but I wasn't at ease yet.

"Because they can." He stalked away, towards the voice he was arguing with. "Given the slightest provocation, anybody can do it."

"Stay back!"

"Men have morals, but send them to war and they have no problem slaying each other in the most brutal fashions. Why do you think that is?"

"I have no idea."

I heard what sounded like flesh being cut and saw Winry throw the direction of her face to our right, looking away from where the man was in an argument. Tears fell from her face. "Because, deep inside, we all want to kill. Most just need the go-ahead from their society like the state alchemists I saw in a village, slaughtering helpless people. Splat. Big fountains of blood."

"That's not true," the voice spoke, "No!" There was a bright flash beyond Winry and I could hear the kidnapper gasp.

"You little!" There was a scream and the noise of an object being smashed, a chair maybe. Oh, how I wished that I could see what was going on. Many more cries were heard as a battle seemed to be taking place. Then, from the left, a short golden haired boy ran towards Winry and tried to rub a metal pole against her chains frantically.

I looked back up at the chains keeping me attached to a hook. With frightened tears in my eyes, I ripped them away in a jolt with my Armstrong strength. I landed on my knees in response and ripped the cloth from my face. Why I didn't do that sooner? I'm not certain. Fear does odd things to us.

The kidnapper attacked the boy from behind and he fled, still being pursued by the serial killer.

I ran around Winry to face her. Her eyes widened in shock. I stood on the tips of my toes, and snapped her chains. There was a loud scream on the other side of the room and I found myself staring off, trying to pinpoint it as she removed the cloth. "Edward!" she screeched, making me jump in response.

Winry took off in the direction of all the noise with me right behind her. She jumped on the murderer's back, arms trying to grab his.

"Leave him alone!" she cried.

In the man's shock, Edward kicked the knife out of his reach. Edward was about to stab him when another hand grabbed him by the shoulder, screaming, "Don't!" I pulled Winry away the dangerous man and found her crying in my arms. Tears were making their way down my face as well. Edward jolted backwards, stabbing a large man in a suit of armor, leaving the killer on the floor, confused. "It'll take more than that to kill me, Brother." Edward continued staring at the man as military soldiers ran in, guns ready.

The serial killer raised his arms in surrender, a grin plastered on his face. Winry buried her face in my arms while I watched a soldier point his gun directly at the head of hers and my kidnapper. "Don't move!"

"Al?" I heard a whisper and glanced back at the boy and man in armor, "I-"

"Brother, are you hurt?"

"I thought he was gonna kill me. I honestly thought I was gonna die. I was so scared." Winry pulled herself away from me and stared at Edward. "So scared." He began crying as he lowered his head.

The soldiers escorted the man out of the building and Winry crawled over to where the two were sitting on the ground. She took a seat next to Edward and rested her hand on his back, tears still visible in her eyes. They must have been friends. I wanted to comfort them, but not wanting to impose, decided to stand up, dust myself off, and leave the building.

"The military is everywhere," I mumbled to myself.

"Miss!" a deep voice called out. I glanced to my side to see a man with shaggy black hair and deep, dark eyes staring at me.

Hearing metal footsteps, I turned back to the door where the large man in armor, his brother Edward, and Winry were exiting. Edward seated himself on the steps of the doorway, Al joining him. Winry spotted and quickly approached me. "Catherine? Are you alright?" I felt my cheeks heat up, embarrassed. I didn't expect her to speak to me again after we escaped the building.

"Yes, I believe so." A military woman with short blonde hair came up behind us, placing a hand on each of our shoulders. The dark haired man stood next to me as well. All of our eyes traveled back to Edward and Al, watching them talk with one another.

I found myself studying the man in armor in curiosity as Edward covered his face with his hands.

"Catherine?" a familiar voice pulled me back to reality.

I turned my head to see my older brother. "Alex," I spoke, sorrow filling my voice.

He looked just as grim. "Are you alright, Sister?"

"Yes."

"Let's go home." I nodded, but before I could step towards him, a hand caught my arm. I turned to face Winry, concern in her expression.

"Take care, okay?" she requested. I smiled.

"And you do the same, Winry." I bowed slightly, getting ready to turn away, but was caught in a hug. I stiffened instantly, but soon returned the gesture.

"It seems Catherine has discovered a friend! How touching!" I turned my head to see Alex, crying while flexing his now shirtless body. Turning back to Winry with a blush, I nodded.

"Under such odd circumstances, I believe so," I agreed.

"Young lady, you are always welcome at the Armstrong estate!" Alex continued flexing in numerous poses.

"Do all of you sparkle?" Winry asked softly.

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head, confused. She lower hers in a sigh, making me giggle. "It was nice to meet you, Winry. Hopefully, our next encounter won't be under such extreme conditions."

She nodded with a smile and turned her face back towards Edward and Al.

"Goodbye, Winry." I smiled with a small wave.

"See ya." She smiled softly.

Alex had many questions and spoke of what he would have done if he had been there, talking about his strength and alchemy. "Alex?"

"Yes, Catherine?"

"I want to be an alchemist like you. Then, maybe-" I bit my lip. "I want to be state alchemist like you. I want to be able to take care of myself," I mumbled, stopping in my tracks.

Alex rested both of his hands on my shoulders and I looked up into his blue eyes. "If anyone can take care of themselves, an Armstrong can," he said softly. "Allow me to teach you the alchemy that has run down the Armstrong family for generations!" He ripped his shirt off and flexed his strength.

I gasped, excitedly. "Thank you!" I gleamed. "I'm going to be the first female state alchemist and make my family proud!" I blushed, holding both sides of my face happily.