A/N: Greetings fellow fan fiction people! :D Let me just say, wow. This is totally amazing! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! X3 I know I say that every chapter and it must be getting old, but I can't help it! This is the first time I've had something I put on the internet get noticed! ^_^ So really, I mean it, Thank you all so much.
This weeks chapter is a tad short compared to the last few. I hope you still enjoy it though :3
But enough with talking! On with the story!


SHATTER!

"Argh! Not again!" Mary Calvados groaned over the milk bottle she'd just dropped. Reluctantly, the girl wiped up the wreckage, muttering all the while.

"You know, all the time you're here and none of us have any clue you're an Alchemist, then suddenly after last week you're using it all the time." Dolcetto commented as he watched the girl draw yet another eye makeup transmutation circle, this time around the shards of the jug.

"Not an Alchemist." She mumbled, adding the last few lines "And that's 'cus I try not to use it much."

"Why? Seems bloody convenient, if you ask me." Martel said.

"Yeah, at first but once I start it's hard to stop. I never learned to harness the tectonic energy very well, so it makes me really tired. When I get tired, my hands shake, when my hand shake, I break things and when I break things…" She placed her hands on the edge of the circle and the bottle reformed.

"A vicious cycle." Roa stated, sagely.

"Don't I know it." She replied with a weak laugh, looking slightly paler than before. Greed glanced up at the teen. He hadn't gotten a chance to question the girl more on why she seemed reluctant to talk about who had taught her alchemy yet and even though she was talking about the practice casually now, she still seemed to be holding something back.
"The only way I can figure to stop the chain is to just leave some stuff broken but everything I've dropped so far belonged to Greed, so…"

"You break it, you buy it, half-pint." The man in question looked back down at his magazine.

"Yeah, yeah. That was the rule even before I met you, why do you think I carry this around?" Mary said, waving the little, round makeup container. "I only got as good as I am at Alchemy 'cus I've had to fix stuff a lot."

"So basically…" Greed drawled as he looked back up. "You're an Alchemist because you're a klutz."

"Well there are nicer ways of putting it!" She snapped. "But…...Yeah, pretty much…" She admitted, nostalgically remembering a lamp in her family home that had been reconstructed so many times, barely any of the original thing was actually left.

Conversation had stopped for a while and everyone was surprised when it was Roa of all people, who started a new one.

"You said your grandfather was a State Alchemist, right? What was his title?"
Everyone stared, reeling slightly from the stoic man's sudden curiosity. But Roa just gazed right back, looking patient but expectant. Mary stared longer than the others though. Greed caught the same look in her eye as when he'd asked who taught her alchemy. The girl bit her lip before she turned back to the stew she was making and heaved a sigh.

"My grandpa…" She said slowly. "Was Calvin Calvados, the Reconstruction Alchemist." There was a long term of silence behind the young woman's back. Mary drew it out as long as she could, knowing what would come next. As she expected, when she finally turned back to them, the entire group was looking at her wide eyed (Except for Roa, who seemed to have already known.)

"You serious?" Greed said, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Yeah…"

"But wasn't he like, really powerful?" Martel asked.

"Why aren't you in the military then? Don't they start recruiting the relatives of talented alchemists when the hit elementary school?" Dolcetto added. He tried to hide the question in the form of a joke because, as much as he liked and wanted to trust Mary, the fact that her family was so tangled up with the military put him on edge.
If Mary caught onto his undertone thought, she ignored it.

"Please, they've been dogging me and my siblings since we were born." She said with a rueful smile. "You could fill a book with all the letters the recruitment office has sent to my house. But grandpa was actually kinda a fluke, no one else in the family is really good at alchemy or interested in it, besides…" Her tone saddened "I don't think my he'd want any of us to work for the government, not now anyway…" She said quietly, then went back to chopping ingredients for the stew. KLAT KLAT KLAT

"But, why's that?" Bido asked cautiously. Even he could tell something was bothering the girl now, but he couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Calvin Calvados was against the military involvement in Ishval and the civil war." Roa spoke again .

"That's right." Mary replied in a hollow voice but didn't look at any of them. "He'd already retired by then but he still had a lot of influence." KLAT KLAT KLAT Her food chopping speed increased. "A lot of people weren't brave enough to say actually it, but they supported him. Then, the night before order number three hundred and six was issued" The girls usually warm voice changed to unforgivingly harsh. "He mysteriouslydies in his sleep." She spat

KLAT KLAT KLAT KLAT KLAT KLAT KLAT…

No one was exactly sure what to do. They'd seen Mary angry before but this was an entirely new level, one that Greed didn't think the optimistic teenager should have even been able to reach.

'She's…furious…' He thought blankly, still stunned from the girl's reaction. 'She's been holding that back this whole time?'. If Greed hadn't been so distracted, he probably would have glared at Roa for so mercilessly opening an old wound, though the ox chimera was plenty remorseful already.

KLAT KLAT KLAT KLA-"Ah! Shhh-!" Mary suddenly cried and the knife clattered out of her hand, making everyone jump. She was trying to stop the blood coming from her fingers when Greed suddenly appeared by her side.

"Sheesh, be more careful half-pint." He tsked, grabbing the wrist of the offended hand. The slip up had cost the girl a fair amount of skin off her first knuckles. "I know you think I'm some kind of demon but I don't actually drink virgin's blood."

"Yeah, whatever." She mumbled and pulled out of Greed's grip. "Where do we keep th-" Mary stopped short and her eye's went wide.
"…Wait, ho-how-how…do you know that-that I'm-?" Her tone gained anger as her face went red.

"Well, that response for starters." He stated matter-of-factly. "Then there's-HEY!" Greed shouted when Mary threw the nearest thing, the cutting board, and clipped his shoulder.

"How? How could you?!" She screeched, her whole complexion a brilliant shade of scarlet. "I-I've never said…so how…could you…w-when?" Mary sputtered with a dropping voice. She stared down at her feet, trembling slightly. For a moment, Greed was worried he'd gone too far and made the girl cry, then she grabbed the bottle of cooking sherry.

"Say goodbye to that pure white fur!" the homunculus didn't have a clue what she was talking about till she lunged for his vest.

"Wah-! Oh no you don't!" He roared, having dashed to the other side of the room in less than a second. "You mess up my vest and you don't get paid for a month! A month, ya hear me!?" He threatened. Greed thought for sure that would stop her, considering all she'd done for money in the past. To his horror, however, she just shouted,

"Worth it!" and sprinted after him.

Mary gave chase for several minutes. Fortunately, (For her own sake more than Greed's, he was dead serious about not paying her.) she never managed to catch him.

"Fine! huh, huh. You win this round!" She gasped, slamming the sherry down on the coffee table, then allowed Roa to treat her hand.

"Excuse me but I always win, brat." Greed snapped as he fixed his hair and sat back in his recliner. He gave his henchmen a dark look communicating the message 'Gee, thanks for stopping her!' clearly. The others tried to hide any trace of amusement, but watching Mary chase Greed around had been hilarious.
"Besides, it's not like it's much of a victory."

"What do you mean…?" She said darkly.

"Well…"

"Um…"

"It was pretty obvious."

Nod, nod.

The sherry came back out in full force, this time on Dolcetto, Bido, Martel and Roa. Greed started to understand why the others had just sat back and watched as he stifled a snicker. The attacks only ceased when Mary accidentally spilled sherry on her own wounded fingers.

'So, half-pint's got a bone to pick with the government huh?' Greed thought as he pulled the writhing girl to her feet, scolding her all the while for wasting food. 'That could come in handy someday.'


'I said I could make it tomorrow after I go shopping but, nooo! He need's it tonight!' Mary complained silently. It was several days later; Greed had wanted the fried rice dish she'd made on her first night and would absolutely, positively not take 'no' for an answer. She'd never heard him talk so much at once, he threw out every nagging, pestering comment he had (then eventually resorted to curses and threats of no pay) till Mary caved just to get him to be quiet. 'I swear, he's some kind of five year old…either that or a cat…five year old cat?' She mused as she walked back to the Devil's Nest from the market.

'Shouldn't I be there by now?' The girl thought after a few more minutes, she couldn't see anything she recognized. Keeping in mind the "Rules of wandering around the shady parts of town" that Dolcetto and Martel had practically burnt into her brain, she didn't stop or let on that she was lost. Mary continued foreword with an air of purpose, while internally, she tried to figure out where the hell she was.

'What happened? I've never gotten lost during the day before, how did I-The pink car!' She slapped her forehead.
Since the very first time she walked to the bar, there had always been an impossibly pink car for sale that she used to mark corner she needed to turn on.

'Damn, it must've finally sold.' She cursed. 'How the hell do I get back from here? Ah, Roa was right, I really should carry a map.' The girl thought remorsefully as she turned and headed back the way she came, trying to remember what the street layout was.

0*0*0

'You have to be freaking kidding me!' Mary mentally screamed as she spotted the same greasy cigarette shop she'd passed ten minutes ago. Off in the distance, she heard a bell chime. 'Shit, it's six thirty already?! Greed's gonna be pissed.' She thought forlornly 'Though it's his fault I'm out here in the first place.'
While back tracking once again, Mary made the decision to try one more street, then call the bar for directions if it didn't work out.

'And pray it's Bido or Roa that answers…' The teen sweated nervously. If any of the other three picked up, they would probably spend a good half hour chewing her out before telling her which road to take back. 'I guess it just means they care…' She sighed. 'Though I really wish they wouldn't treat me like I was five all the time.'

"Oh for crying out-Gaahh!" She exclaimed aloud as she met with a dead end.

'Guess I should just get it over with then.' Mary reluctantly turned around to begin the search for a payphone but stopped with a squeak. At the outlet of the short, narrow ally, stood a ragged looking man. His head was down and he looked deep in thought. Mary would have just ignored him and been on her way but the person was completely blocking the only exit.

"Um…are you alright mister?" She asked cautiously, not really having any other options.

"No…I'm not…" He muttered quietly and took a few steps toward her. Mary matched his pace backwards while reaching for her pocket knife.

"If you need to call someone for help, I saw a payphone down the block." She stated calmly, not wanting to overreact and attack him if she didn't need to.

"You're that little tramp that works in the Devil's Nest, aren't you?" He spat as he got closer.

"Huh?" In her confusion, the girl's guard dropped slightly.

THUD!

Mary fell back against the alley wall when the man kicked her in the chest. The world went white for a few seconds, whether from the kick or hitting her head on the bricks she didn't know, as the girl slid to the ground. She was in total daze but instinct took over when she felt her attacker gab her around the collar. The teenager flipped out her knife and plunged it into the man's hand.
It was at an awkward angle and she couldn't gain much momentum, but it had the desired effect.

"Arrgh! You little bitch!" He screamed, recoiling. Mary pushed herself up, thinking she could make an escape but before she could even take a proper step, the man's other hand closed around her neck.

"Eee huuh, eee huh, you know what your boss did to me?" He gasped, dragging Mary up the wall. The girl could feel the rough stone abrading her back. "He stole my girl, I really liked my girl…" She clawed at his hand but Mary could already feel herself becoming weaker. "So I thought to myself, I should take something he likes. Equivalent exchange and all that shit, am I right?" He laughed hysterically, grip tightening.
The young woman fought to stay awake. She knew if she passed out, she was done for. But her vision started to cloud and her appendages began going numb. Tears formed in her eyes as she feebly tugged at his hand one more time.

Suddenly, the pressure on her neck was gone. Mary heard some scuffling as she slipped down the wall and slumped into a pile at the bottom. For a minute she just laid there gulping down precious oxygen, too weak to move.
Eventually, she came to and saw her attacker a few feet to her left, pinned to the wall with Greed crushing his throat. His sunglasses had fallen off in the struggle, allowing the girl to see his eyes blazing with violet fire and a face full of fury.

Mary stared at the lethal figure in shock. Was that the immature womanizer she worked for? He looked like some kind of wild animal. How could that be the same man, that nagged her and irritated her to death with inappropriate comments and childish pranks? She could practically see murderousness radiating from him.

"Gr-greed?" She weakly chocked.

"You trying to steal from me or something?" He said in a low but deadly voice, either ignoring or unable to hear her.
"You want to take what's mine, do you!?" Greed roared those last words and his vice like grip tighten.

Her head was spinning. She didn't know what was happening. Nothing made sense. But out of the haze Mary could discern one thing; Greed's tensed form, the abject terror on the other man's paling face, if she didn't do something, someone was going to die.

"Greed…" She gasped again, still he ignored her. "Greed!" Mary said louder and tried to push herself to her feet. She managed one shaky step before falling hardonto her knees.
"Greed, he's had enough…" The girl pleaded, gabbing his pant leg. He didn't even twitch.

Small snapping noises started emanating from the trapped man's neck.

"Greed stop! You're gonna kill him!" Mary screamed. The sound finally broke through to the bar owner. The rest of his body held still, but he flicked his eyes down to the girl. He watched as she gasped and pulled her hand away, like she'd just touched something burning. The fear her eyes brought him out of his rage, slightly.
"Greed…don't…." She whispered, as if afraid that just too much noise would make him snap.

Greed stared for a moment, he didn't let go but his hand didn't tighten at all either.

He wanted nothing more than to snap the neck of the low life in his clutches but his analytical brain was processing the after effects.

'There's no way this girl stay with you if you kill someone in front of her like this.' It explained to him.

Greed gave a deep scowl but released the man, who then proceeded to crumple to the ground. He wasn't worth losing a possession over.

Mary let out a breath she didn't remember holding but tensed again almost immediately when Greed leaned over and grabbed the barely conscious man by the front of his shirt.

"You're gonna stay right here, got it?" He whispered harshly into the man's ear. "The cops'll be here in a few minutes and you're gonna tell 'em everything you did." He continued to hiss. "You understand!?" Greed barked, giving the limp person a rough shake. He wheezed and coughed but eventually nodded.

The homunculus made a final noise of disgust and dropped him.

"C'mon kid." He said, turning to Mary. "Let's get outta here." He reached for the girls arm only to have her flinch and pull away. Greed choked a little when he saw her expression.

He realized that letting the man live had been a waste, from the look in the teen's eyes, he'd already lost her.


A/N: How was it? I hope Greed's reactions were in character. They were pretty extreme but he does think of Mary as weak and fragile, so I figured he would get really angry if he saw someone trying to hurt one of his people that's easily breakable. (Poor Mary, you're really not all that weak, you're just not an indestructible homunculus or un-killable Chimera ^^;)

So, yeah, kind of a cliffhanger...Sorry, I know I'm the devil. It just wouldn't have worked if I ended it in any other spot!

I hope this chapter was good! Don't know why, but I'm feeling a little insecure about it :P ah well, what matters now is what you all thought of it. I really hope you had a good time reading! Thank you all so much for coming back week after week! It's totally amazing!

Per usual, reviews are not mandatory, but they are rather awesome to get ^_^

P.S. For those of you in the US, you all know that this Thursday is thanksgiving! A bunch of my family is coming over and I'll be kinda busy this week, so I just wanted to warn you that next weeks chapter might not be out till next Wednesday or so (I know, cliffhanger and then a late update. I might have eaten a puppy.) Sorry, please bear with me ^^; Happy Thanksgiving all!