Of Bullets and Mercury
Summary: When Winry decideds to follow her own lead on the Maes Hughes case, she gets caught by Envy and brought to Dante. But the seven sins are feeling not too generous towards their master and Envy starts to realize there's more to life than taking orders.
Leonahari does not own FMA, though I would like to receive Envy as a birthday gift wrapped up in a pretty green bow…
Chapter 1: What Was Left Unspoken
Ironic. That was the story of her life so far. The day Winry received news of her parents' death the sun had been shinning through the windows of the Rockbell household like cheerful rays of hope. She would never forget the pain she suffered that day when she held the tear sodden letter tightly in her palm and realized that her mother's arms would never hold her again. Nor would her father's shinning smile ever greet her when she returned home from a day at the Elrics. Ironic as the two boys in question, Edward and Alphonse, rushed into the kitchen with gleeful smiles over their alchemic accomplishments.
Winry remembers watching the dust float through the sunlight and the Elric brothers storming excitedly into the house. She remembers both of those things so clearly. What she couldn't recall were the exact words in the letter and amount of time it took her to get over them.
It was then that Winry realized that life had to go on after that tragic moment. In some small way, Winry learnt the same lesson the Elric brothers learnt, and she didn't even have to spend a month on a deserted island to understand it.
She never told them though. Never said what was left unspoken, because in the back of her mind she knew she had not yet healed completely. The world may have moved on the same, but Winry had changed forever.
415 years earlier….
He had been told by the doctor his son was dying. When the doctor told Hohenheim Elric that the cause was mercury poisoning, a pit of guilt swelled in his stomach.
William had been in his laboratory again. When Hohenheim caught him down there flipping through manuals and alchemy books, he knocked over a phial containing mercury.
The doctor said William was incurable, but Hohenheim was going to try.
When William died, Hohenheim brought his body down into his laboratory and attempted to perform a human transmutation. The result was a mangled bloody mess. Hohenheim could not look at the thing he had created. His son was dead in his mind. A part of him had expected the result to be like that, but he had had to try. The thing was breathing, but he knew it would die soon. There was no hope for it to survive.
When Hohenheim turned his back on Envy, he failed to realize it had been the mistake of his life.
Present….
"Where are you going?" Winry snapped, placing a hand on her hip. Sciezka stood behind her looking out at the two escaping alchemists, one a short blonde and the other a large suit of armor.
"Don't worry about us, Winry," Edward yelled as he rushed out the door.
"We're going to the library. Be back soon!" Al added after his brother.
Winry sighed and let her hand fall to her side. Sciezka looked exhausted from all the reading. She pushed her glasses a bit further up her nose. "They sure ran off in a hurry. What do you think they needed to find out?"
"Beats me," Winry replied, "Is the library even open at a time like this?"
Both pairs of eyes turned to a clock on the wall in Sciezka's book-crowded living room.
"Good question."
The four of them had been going through military file after military file in search of something that would led them to the same conclusion that got Maes Hughes killed months before. Sciezka and Winry had been on their own investigation before Ed and Al were told of the unfortunate news. Winry, however, didn't want Edward getting himself wrapped up in all that was going on at military headquarters concerning Maes. She knew he and Al still pursued the philosopher stone and as long as they did she believed that they already had too much to deal with. So, she decided to take things into her own hands.
Winry and Sceizka had already been investigating the strange reappearance of the officer named Julia Douglas, and even after Sceizka's crazed theory of her being an alien Winry had an idea of her own. It was something she hadn't shared with anyone, not even Edward. But she could not deny seeing the face of Trisha Elric when that monster had attacked them in the crawlspace. She would never have admitted it, but she remembered exactly what Edward had told her that day when she received the news her parents had died.
Homunculus.
Winry remembered Edwards explanation word for word, and she was certain that was the answer. The only question now was whether Edward knew?
"Sceizka, I'm going to follow Ed and Al to the library," Winry announced, eyes narrowing down at the title of an old alchemy book. Truth was she wanted to read about the topic in question in private. Homunculi are the result of a taboo after all, and she didn't want to jump to any quick conclusions.
"What?" Sceizka shuddered, "With everything that's been happening lately, you're going to leave me? And it's dark out there, you can't go wandering around! What if the…." She leaned in closer, eyes wide with fear and anxiety, "aliens get you?"
Winry couldn't help but smile at her friend. Sometimes Sceizka was a little over the top. "Don't get so worked up. Remember, that's just a theory," Winry replied, calmly, pushing Sceizka away from her, "And besides, if anything does attack me in the dark –," She gave a dark little smirk and held up her mechanical tools with an evil glint in her eyes, "Nobodies going to mess with me and walk away in one piece."
Sceizka shivered again but this time it wasn't from the aliens.
As Winry walked down the lonely street near Central's headquarters, her eyes kept darting from one dark ally to the next. She knew she was in no real danger. She was practically in the militaries back yard, and because she was a best friend of one of their most prized alchemists she was confident nobody would mess with her.
However, that didn't seem to enable her to shake the feeling of anxiety she was feeling as she strode slowly through the dark empty street towards the library. A streetlamp over her head flickered and died, making her start. She sighed and continued walking. She could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks at her foolishness.
This is stupid! Get a grip, Winry!
However, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She spun around holding a sharp screwdriver tightly in her fist. She was most definitely being watched, she was sure of it. She felt a little stupid for acting like this in the middle of an empty street, but she just couldn't shake the feeling from her mind. Her muscles tensed up and her eyes seemed to dilate as she scanned her surroundings. She had rooted her feet and she wouldn't move until she was sure nobody was there.
The silver moonlight made Envy's body look paler than usual. It was summer but the breeze was cooler than it had been in days. Not enough to cause the homunculus to shiver, but cold enough make him irritable and impatient. He sat crouched on the roof edge of an old apartment building in Central looking down at the deserted street below. He had been instructed by his master to do something important for her.
At first he had been thrilled with the idea of possibly getting his hands on Edward and teaching him what pain really was, but Dante, his master, had quickly shoved that idea from his mind.
"You will get your chance soon enough, but first I want you to do something for me," she had told him before explaining his mission. It sounded stupid to him. There had been so many chances for him where he could have crushed that bastard's son. Why was he being forced to wait?
Envy hated Dante for that. He was well aware of how she worked. She would find a homunculus, feed them red stones and raise them to have them believe she was the only thing out there for them. If an homunculi tried to be free, like Greed had done, Dante would only send her most loyal pawn out to destroy him. Either that, or the need for nourishment of the red stones would send them crawling back. Once they were back, she would keep them loyal to her by holding what they wanted just out of reach, promising them that one day they would receive it, depending on their performance.
Envy wanted two things. Dante only knew of one. He wanted to kill that bastard Hohenheim or his prodigy son, and secondly he wanted to see Dante on her knees before him begging for mercy. Oh, how he would love dearly to see her bleed and watch her writhe in pain. Envy had suffered for well over four hundred years with her kind of torture and he wondered when the tides of fate would turn the table. He definitely longed for that day.
"H-hello?"
Envy had been so deeply in thought he hadn't noticed the blonde little woman in the center of the street below him. He recognized her immediately as Edwards good friend. His lips curved into a wide toothy sneer, a look that would make a psycho maniac run for his life. Luckily, the girl couldn't see him high above her. She was spinning and gazing about wildly as if she knew Envy was watching her.
This was the chance Envy had been waiting for. His masters orders had been vague on who exactly she wanted him to pick for her. What was her name again? Winry? She would be perfect. She even already had an established connection with Edward that would make Dante's job a lot easier. Envy's sneer widened as he basked momentarily in his own mental applause.
Something made a sound in an ally way nearby and Winry spun to face it. Her hands shook. Her mind was telling her body to move, but she stood rigidly on the spot.
"Is someone there?" she breathed, "Show yourself if you're there!"
Silence answered her and she stood staring into the darkness. Another streetlamp flickered to death and caused her to jump.
"Winry?" called a familiar voice.
Winry breathed a sigh of deep relief as Edward ran out from the ally way. "Ed?" Winry dropped her hands to her sides, her mechanical tools sticking out between her fingers like knives. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at herself.
"You okay?" Ed asked confused, "You seem…odd."
"Oh, Ed, I'm just glad it's you," Winry smirked. She could have hugged him.
"Why? You afraid of the dark or something?" Ed mocked. Winry glared at him, "I'm not! It's just, just…it's nothing, Ed. Don't worry about it."
Then she noticed something. "Hey, wasn't Alphonse with you?"
"Al's waiting for me," Ed replied, "Winry, we found something that I think you might be interested in. I was on my way back to get you and bring you there."
"Really, Ed?" Winry smiled, "You really wanted to show me something?"
"Yeah."
Winry almost hugged him. Finally, after so many years of trying to convince those two, they were confiding in her. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe after she showed an interest in the case on Maes Hughes Edward and Alphonse decided that she was useful after all and could help them with a few things. Well it was about time!
"Okay, Ed, what did you need to show me?" Winry said. Ed turned on his heel and she followed him down the street in the opposite direction of where she had been headed.
"By the way, Winry, what were you doing out here?" Ed asked.
"I was headed to the library," Winry said, and then she remembered her reason for wanting to go. She hesitated. Would it be wise to share her idea with Edward? Well, he did know a lot about alchemy. It could save her a lot of research time, but she didn't want Ed just running off and taking her theory too seriously. Knowing Ed, he always jumped to conclusions. "Ed, if I ask you a question you have to promise me you won't blow it out of proportion."
Ed shot her a sideways glance. "Sure, Winry. What do you want to ask me?"
Winry dropped her eyes to the ground. How was she going to word this one? "What do you know about homunculus?"
Edward tripped in step, but recovered from it faster than Winry had ever seen him move before. She was a little taken aback, but Ed only grinned at her and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oops," he laughed, "Stupid rock."
Then, his expression grew serious. "Why do you want to know about that?" he asked.
"Oh, just curious," Winry lied. She knew she was a terrible liar, but she didn't want Edward to know the truth.
"I don't want to talk about that right now in the open," Ed said after a moment of silence, "I'll tell you later in private, okay?"
Winry nodded. It was better than nothing. At least she had a promise of an explanation.
They reached an old church on the edge of Central. It looked like it hadn't been used in a while. The stained windows were all smashed. The lime between the bricks was rotting away. Parts of the wall had crumbled into a heaping mass of stone and dirt. Why Edward wanted to bring Winry here, she had no idea.
They entered and the inside looked just as bad as the outside did. It smelt too of rotted wood and mildew. The pews were smashed and splintering, but the center isle was clear. Winry noted footsteps leading to and from the podium, where a small hole or doorway had been opened. She shivered as they neared it and Edward climbed through it and motioned for Winry to follow him.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Winry asked him. Stupid question, she thought. If it was safe, Edward wouldn't be interested so much in it.
She followed Edward down a long dark staircase until they reached a stone platform. When she stepped out into the large open space it looked as if she was standing on the edge of some forgotten city. She gaped in wonder at the sight before her. A whole city the size of Central, deserted and crumbling, underground. In the center stood a massive building, she assumed to be a mansion or city hall of some sort.
Edward pointed at it. "Al's there," he said.
"Ed, what happened here?"
"We don't know yet, but that's what we're trying to find out. We think the answer will lead us closer to the stone," he replied. He left her standing there staring out at the terrifying sight before her like he'd seen it a thousand times.
"Edward," Winry whispered, hugging her arms around her waist. She wasn't cold but she felt chill in this place. Ed stopped walking away from her. He had been heading down another staircase when he turned to face her with a confused expression. "I don't like this place. Are you sure this is a good idea, coming here?"
Edward's eyes softened and he walked back towards her and held out his hand to her. "Come on, Winry," he said, comfortingly.
Finally, able to tear her gaze away from the terrifying sight, Winry turned and took the hand Edward had offered. She felt a little more secure now, but she found it odd that Ed was even letting her hold his hand. What an odd thing for him to do, she thought, but she didn't mind it. She looked over at him and thought she saw him smirk, but a second later the expression was gone and she figured she might have imagined it.
Edward pushed the tall double-door entrance open to let them into the mansion. They entered into a well lit foyer that extended into a dual staircase upon which a young woman stood with her arms crossed. She had short brown hair and sharp eyes. Winry blinked in confusion. Someone actually lived here?
"Why hello," said the woman descending the staircase, uncrossing her arms and holding them open as if she planned to hug them, "Graciously, I welcome you."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Winry muttered in confusion. She turned to Edward, who was grinning widely. He dropped her hand.
"You must be lost," the woman replied with a grin, "Is there someone you're looking for?"
Winry took a moment to register what she had said. Someone she was looking for? But Edward had said Al was here and they were doing research. She assumed it had been an abandoned building when she saw it and now she was being questioned like she had stepped into the wrong classroom. Like the ghost city outside the buildings walls did not exist. She turned to Edward for an answer.
But it wasn't him.
Instead, a man, at least she thought it was a man, stood beside her with long forest green hair that was separated into masses of long spikes down to his waist. His eyes were sharp violet. The grin he wore was wide with amusement.
Winry jumped away from him in shock and gave a yelp in surprise and fear. The woman chuckled quietly, but the thing that had been Edward only smirked wider. "What's the matter?" he said through pointed teeth, "I'm not that bad looking, am I?"
"W-who are you? What a-are you?" Winry blurted, "What have you done with Edward!?"
"That's too many questions," the thing said, "you better keep your trap shut or I'll close it for you."
The thing approached her slowly.
"Envy," the woman said, sharply, "You will not harm her. Remember why I asked you to bring her? She is too precious to mare."
Winry shivered as the thing named Envy bared its teeth at the woman. It's eyes flashed maliciously in the brilliant warm light of the foyer. "But you said –," it shouted, angrily.
"I said your time will come, but now is not the time," the woman replied. Envy frowned as its fists shook violently on the side of its body. Winry took another timid step away from him. He was the shape-shifter. One of the homunculi Edward had been talking about in the hospital when Hughes was still on the case. Winry remembered now. But what could she do? She couldn't possibly outrun this monster.
"Winry Rockbell," said the woman turning to her, "don't be afraid, my dear. You are quite safe here."
"Who are you? What have you done with Edward? What do you want with me?" Winry cried.
"See, too many questions. That pipsqueak is probably still at the library where I left him," Envy sneered. Winry shuddered and took another step back.
The woman looked between Envy and Winry and smirked. A dark glint was present in her eyes. "We're not going to hurt you. Envy will see to it that you're taken care of during your stay here," she said.
Envy spun around and rounded on the woman now. "Why me!? You said I could beat that bastard's son and his tin can brother?"
"I didn't say 'beat', Envy. I said follow," the woman corrected him calmly, even though a furious homunculi was glaring at her from only a few feet away. "You do want to kill them don't you?"
Winry drew in a sharp breath.
"Of course I do!" Envy shouted, angrily, "But when?"
"After you've done what you've been instructed to do," the woman replied, sternly, "Now, go and take this poor thing up to one of the guest suites."
Envy seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Winry realized he was walking towards her. She turned and tried to run for the door, but he was much too fast. A strong hand had wrapped itself around her upper arm and dragged her back. "Come on. You're only going to make this worse for yourself," Envy snarled.
"Oh, and Envy," the woman added. Envy looked back with a deep frown, his eyes narrowed on her in hatred, "remember if I find one bruise on her you will be the one to answer to me."
Envy bared his teeth. He pulled a screaming Winry toward the staircase. She flung her arms wildly to see if she could catch his jaw or nose with her fist, but he was too strong and fast for her. He caught both her wrists in one hand and trapped them behind her back.
"Envy is not one given to tolerance, my dear. It is in your best interest to behave," the woman commented. Winry stifled a whine. She noticed the monster, Envy, was holding her wrists firmly, but not hurting her. She assumed it could be worse, but what did they want with her anyways?
Envy shoved her toward another door and she went without a word. The mansion lived up to its name. By the time they had reached a suite on an upper floor, Winry had lost count of how many doors they had passed by and how many staircases they had climbed. The suite she had been unceremoniously thrown into was large enough to accommodate a small family. There was a four poster bed, a full en suite and a large bay window overlooking the eerie ghost city with the cavern like sky up above. Winry sat up on the floor and sighed. If she had been in any other situation she may have actually enjoyed herself.
The door closed and Winry spun around to find the violet eyed homunculi glaring at her from beneath heavy locks of green hair. She was confused over one too many things, but the main question racking her brain was why she had been dragged here in the first place and where Edward and Alphonse really were.
"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her voice calm. She watched as the pale face relaxed into what might have been a studious expression.
Then a corner of Envy's mouth turned up and he shrugged carelessly, "How should I know? I was just told capture and bring you here."
"What about Ed and Al? You haven't hurt them have you?" Winry cried.
Envy's expression soured. "I wish. You know, you really do ask too many questions."
There was a moment of silence, where Envy and Winry simply stared at each other. Winry glared, Envy stared. Then: "Ed told me about you," Winry said, darkly. Her voice trembled just slightly and it didn't go unnoticed. Envy smirked in amusement at his ability to purge terror into those he had never even met before.
"Really? I'm touched," Envy mocked, "Glad to know I'm thought of. Oh, by the way, if he said anything rotten about me, I'll have to remember it for when I'm finally able to kill him with my own hands."
"Kill him!?" Winry cried, "What did he ever do to you?"
Envy's eyes suddenly glazed over with pure fury. His face contorted with anger. "Everything!" he hissed, darkly, "He deserves to burn in hell! I hate him! I hate him for carrying that bastards blood in his veins!"
Winry crawled as far as she could away from Envy until her back was against the wall and she felt as trapped as she'd ever been. Envy was glowering at her from the other side of the room as if the answer to her question should have been obvious. However, underneath the terror she felt she also held a small amount of curiosity. Maybe she did ask too many questions, but she couldn't help herself.
"I don't understand," she said, "Who are you talking about?"
Envy rounded on her and growled, "Hohenheim." He spoke the name with such animosity that it sounded evil in itself. Then, with a shock, Winry realized, "Ed's father?"
Bad question.
Envy threw his body forward into a powerful punch that just missed her head by an inch and drove a car-sized hole into the wall. Winry had shut her eyes in fear, thinking that he had been aiming for her. When she opened them she realized Envy still held his fist in the wall. He was shaking with fury, his eyes were mad and wide. The sight made Winry shiver. She knew that woman had ordered him not to harm her, but people were driven insane when emotion came into play. He may disobey the rules just to vent his anger on her once.
Envy pulled his fist out of the wall and stormed away. With that motion, the topic closed itself. Winry knew better than to bring it up again. Without a word to her, Envy left, slamming and locking the door behind him. Winry sighed in relief as the angry dark cloud lifted with his leave.
What did she ever do to deserve this and when will it all be over?
"What was that noise? I told you not to lay a hand on her!" Dante snapped as Envy casually entered the dinning room. There before Dante stood Wrath and Sloth watching him curiously. Wrath was clinging to Sloth as always, and Sloth simply played the role by stroking his hair. It made Envy sick.
The long walk through the many long hallways had already calmed Envy down. He would have hated for the other homunculus to see him all wound up like he had been.
He smirked carelessly. "I didn't touch her," he said smugly, "I only scared her a little. She won't be trying to pick a fight with me anytime soon."
"I'm glad you established your rein of control over something then," Dante replied sarcastically, which made Envy even more irritated, "but your attitude towards me earlier was not impressive. Try to learn some respect. Hohenheim brought you into this world, but I have the tools to take you out of it just as easily."
Envy could have killed her, would have killed her, but he knew she was right. She did have the tools, as she put it, and her red stones were too delicious to pass up in exchange for freedom. However, he wasn't one for apologies either. "So, what do you want me to do now?" he said, changing the subject.
Dante was used to his avoidance tactic. He'd done the same thing for four hundred years.
"I told you," she said, "the girl is in your care now."
Envy scowled, "But I want –,"
"I know what you want, Envy, but first you need to do a few things for me," Dante said.
Envy turned immediately to Wrath, "Go and get some food and bring it to the human," he ordered.
"Why don't you just give her some stones?" Wrath complained, evidently not wanting to be parted from his 'mother' just yet.
"Humans don't eat red stones, you twat," Envy replied frowning, "Master keeps food in the kitchen. You've eaten it before. How can you not remember?"
Wrath gave a little whine before letting go of Sloth. He kept a good leg-length distance from Envy as he passed on his way to the kitchen. Envy just glowered at him until he disappeared.
"Make sure you feed her well, Envy. I need her to fit all my dresses," Dante said, darkly. Then, she turned to the other homunculi, "Sloth, go and contact Lust. I need her and Gluttony to keep an eye on Edward Elric and his brother. Now that their dear friend has gone missing I doubt they won't suspect we are behind it. I need to make sure they don't find this place. Not yet."
Leonahari: Hope you like it so far. This is going to be my first major story WITHOUT O/Cs. Please review! Next chapter soon.