I'm not sure where this came from, but I know I dreamt it up. Literally.
I always seem to have the most inspiration when I'm half-asleep. And when I had this dream, I just had to write it.
It's almost exactly as I dreamt it; I've changed a few small details, only a few, so the story makes sense, but other than that... Everything's the same.
It's set in an alternate universe; like ours, except they have powers. And automail, thankfully.
I really hope you enjoy this. I'm passionate about this story and my full effort is going to go into it.
Obviously, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but if I did, Ed and Winry would always be together, by each other's sides.

I n f l u e n c e

Chapter 1: Fury

Cliché as I am, I'll dedicate each chapter to someone.
This first chapter is for someone who is always a source of hope in my life.
Hi, Kiki!

Winry never had alarming dreams. Or at least, she never thought she did.

It was Edward who always had the reason to mutter restlessly in his sleep. Sometimes he'd dream about the most ridiculous things, complaining about bats stealing his ice cream - a horrifying thought to him, his beloved food being taken away - but then there were the times when he'd wake up sweating, breath coming out in flurried pants and whines still echoing from this mouth.
Those were the times when Winry would hold him, soothing his thoughts with hushed whispers until they both fell back into a dreamless sleep.

He had the most reason to dream such things. When you'd seen all that he had, it didn't take much for imagination to fuel subconscious, causing nightmares to bloom in one's mind. His automail arm and leg were a constant reminder of his past, haunting him wherever he went.
But Winry? She'd lost a lot but not as much as him. Her eyes hadn't seen the things that his had. And for that, she was grateful, even if the fact that she couldn't understand was so frustrating.

That night, everything changed.


Her mind was a haze; she couldn't remember how long it'd taken her to get to sleep, but it hadn't been long. Only a few minutes, if that. She always slept best when she and Ed were cuddled up to each other, arms wrapped around each other in a constant embrace.

Splinters of memories flashed in front of her eyes. Her old dog, Den, finally closing his eyes for the last time. Coming home to find Pinako still, as lifeless as the chair she was slumped in. The terrible, heart-wrenching news that her parents had died of an unknown cause, a mystery never solved. All harsh stabs of pain that made her want to cry, made her want to wake up and cling to Edward for dear life.

She didn't.

Instead there were other images, ones she'd never seen before. They were dark and misty, blurred so she couldn't quite make out what was happening. Whispers making her mind seem heavy, confusing her thoughts because she couldn't, just couldn't catch what they were saying. A mirror hung in front of her, and she saw herself. She was Winry Rockbell, seventeen years old, long blonde hair hanging down to her waist and piercing blue eyes widened, her face as pale as snow; her expression the epitome of the pain in death itself.

The image changed and there was a room, a cold empty room, the wooden floor scuffed with age. More images came and went: two hands close together, one automail and one flesh, clenching and unclenching, strong chains wrapped round the wrists, binding; a blue china mug filled with brown liquid, freezing over and then breaking violently; a scream and a crash, and someone calling her name, over and over and over again...

"Winry! Winry! Winry, wake up!"

She woke up.

Blue eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp and Winry bolted upright, strands of hair stuck to her face and obstructing her view. The blankets from the bed were on the floor and a grip was settled on her arm, golden gaze hovering over her anxiously.

She clung to Ed and let the tears come, ignoring his questions and finally settling into his arms as her silent crying lulled her back into a false sleep.


The next morning, Winry had forgotten the dream; waking up to the blissful sound of her beloved sleeping left her calm and as soon as she'd gotten out of bed, she'd collected the pieces of herself together. What happened during the night was just a nightmare, nothing more.

When Ed had told her that she was trashing around she simply frowned, shaking her head. They didn't say anything more about it after that.

Instead, the day went on as it normally did; Winry made pancakes for breakfast so that Ed wouldn't try to get her back into bed again. The scientist went to work on his science stuff and the mechanic worked on her automail, tuning it to perfection. It was a normal day.

Except, for the couple, it was never just a normal day.

It happened about mid-afternoon. Ed always needed coffee by then and it had become a custom for Winry to bring it to him, the pair of them having a chaste conversation about their day before sharing a kiss and going back to work.

But this time, it was different.

Winry knocked and opened the door, as usual, a steaming mug in her hand as she poked her head in, watching as her partner spun around in his chair to greet her, a gleeful grin on his face.

"I always look forwards to your coffee, you know..." He laughed and Winry rolled her eyes, pausing in the middle of the room to make him pout impatiently for the drink in her hand.

"The longer you wait, the better it'll be!" The blonde giggled as Ed finally gave up and leapt to his feet, beginning to march towards her with his hand outstretched for the blue mug in her hand-

... A crash outside made him stop.

It wasn't exactly a very loud crash but, as the pair looked out the office window, they could see what had happened. A young child had fallen off her bike, tears streaming down her cheeks whilst she clung to her mother, who was gazing at the old man in front of them with wide, taken back eyes; the man himself was yelling, waving his stick around threateningly in the air, shouting furiously about how stupid brats should be kept off the streets by their idiotic mothers, especially when it was a mistake to give birth to them in the first place.

Winry scowled, her fingers tightening around the handle of the cup in her hand. "It's that old man from across the road again..."

Beside her, Ed growled in agreement. The scene was over soon and the vicious old man had carried on his way, leaving the mother and child to hurry to their house, terrified expressions on both of their faces.

No-one knew the old man's name but they knew what he did. He targeted vunerable people, bullied and provoked them; and if they ever struck back, he called the police. Of course, everyone would believe an innocent old man over a younger thug, wouldn't they?
But it was what he had said to Edward which made Winry so mad.

"Killed your own mother, didn't you? Wanted the money! Bet you've killed your brother too, and that girl of yours is next, she's next to go!"

Seeing the pain in Ed's eyes that day had bitten her heart; he'd turned away, walked up the path with his fists clenched and left the old man by the fence. Even though Winry had comforted him, told him to ignore the insults, that stupid man wasn't worth it; that night Ed had one of the worst nightmares he had ever had, and she knew what had caused it.

"I bet he knocked that kid off her bike on purpose, I've seen him before- he makes me so mad!" Winry shook her head frustratedly, feeling the anger well up in her chest. It built up and up until she finally ended up screaming, releasing it all in one final strike:

"HE DESERVES TO DIE AFTER ALL HE'S DONE!"

The mug in her hand grew cold and then exploded, sending frozen shards of coffee and china throughout the room, impaling in the wall through the force expelled; Ed stood, silent, moving forwards to catch the quivering girl as she fell, a small sob echoing from her lips.

"D...Did I..." Her unfinished murmur was muffled, burying her face in the white fabric of his shirt, but Ed still made sense of it, shaking his head in response.

"No... No, you never hurt me."

In the following silence, his gaze noticed the commotion outside; a small crowd hanging around the road, shocked gasps seeping through the walls of the house.

What Ed realised made him flinch.

He turned away, knowing that he would soon hear ambulance sirens, that the news would spread soon enough that the old man across the road, the one that everyone hated, had collapsed on the roadside, just as a car drove towards him and-

He was dead.


The rest of the day was spent silently. They didn't do anything, just lay there on the bed they slept in, occassionally giving each other gentle affection, nothing more.

Ed remembered the first time they'd discovered their powers, when they were nine years old. Her younger puppy Den had lost his leg, due to a freak accident. Only Ed and Winry knew the truth.

Winry had done it. She was the freak accident.

She'd shrieked after her dog had ruined one of her best dolls, torn one of her favourite dresses and trashed her room, all the while getting her into trouble. The unfairness made her want to scream, to shout out the building fury in her chest, and she'd done it all. In one strike.

"YOU DESERVE TO LOSE A LEG AFTER YOU'VE DONE ALL OF THIS, YOU DUMB DOG!"

She hadn't meant it. The anger came and went as soon as she'd said it. But what had happened next, she never forgot.

Ed was beside her as it happened, furious with the animal for making Winry get upset, his anger burning next to hers. The room had filled with red and then Den's leg had vanished, torn away into thin air and making the poor animal yelp with pain, collapsing.

Winry had never forgiven herself for it, no matter what Ed had said to her. They had both felt the power inside them, realising itself when Winry had screamed, becoming raw energy into the air. It had come true.

"It's a curse..." She had mumbled, tears streaking her cheeks whilst her hand lay clasped with his. A curse.

After that, many things happened. So many things. Whenever they were angry at someone, it would happen. The anger would release as a kind of magic, almost, cursing whoever they'd deemed to do so. But Ed and Winry weren't the sort of people who revelled in power through darkness. They learnt to control themselves, so desperately, so quietly, that it had brought them closer together than ever. Together, they were one, calming the other and soothing the fury. Control.

But fury is like fire and like ice; it burns when it grows too much, and when someone gets too close, it destroys them. Winry's anger had been growing for a long time, until it was uncontrollable.

It was that night when their gazes had joined, Winry's blue eyes full of so much pain and so much regret, that she came to terms with what she'd done. She'd spoke with so much pain and suffering that Ed had taken her into his arms, the pair of them rocking back and forth throughout the night with the horror washing through them in waves.
What she said echoed through their minds, constantly clouding their thoughts. A question that they'd asked so, so many times.

"Why should we have the power to influence people's lives?"


AN: Just over 2000 words. I think I'm going to make each chapter this long. I'm not one for really long rambling chapters. I get to the point!
Actually, none of this chapter was in my dream, from what I can remember. I just made this up to start the story off.
I hope it's alright, and makes sense and what-not. I love people who review.
Wondering how Ed lost his arm and his leg in this story? Find out in the next chapter of Influence!