You know, since someone guessed what I was planning, I decided to go in the OPPOSITE direction! This is why I want reviews!

Woot! Take this twist!

Chapter 10

That night, Edward laid back in his own bed and pondered Winry's situation. He didn't know why he was so entranced by her and her background, maybe it was because he still had feelings for Winry, his Winry, back in Armistis. He hated seeing her in such pain and he needed to know what was wrong before he could go about helping her. It wasn't any of his business, but he just couldn't help himself.

Night time came and went, ushering in a new day with new possibilities. Namely, the girls, he had to give mama-san an answer today lest she need to find someone else. Making his way to the kitchen he saw Alphonse at the table, nursing his lack of sleep with a rather large cup of black coffee. "I don't know how you do it." He shook his head as he sat at the table across from his roommate.

"What are you talking about? Staying up all night is fun." He said, right before a long drawn out yawn.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Those dark circles under your eyes beg to differ. What were you doing all night anyway? From what I remember, you just started this project a couple of months ago."

He sighed, pinching the corners of his eyes between two fingers. "Yeah, but I had to submit the monthly budget today, and it is my own fault for procrastinating this long." Al rubbed his forehead. "It has to be in tomorrow, I just wanted it done today. It's so hard this month."

"Hard? How so?" He knew that Alphonse was good with numbers, so it didn't make sense.

"This budget...I don't know." He held up a sheet with the final tallies on it. "We're so short, even after factoring you out. As rude as it may sound, it's kind of a good thing you left when you did."

"No offense taken. In fact, I've got a little extra saved, so if you need anything..." He offered.

Al held up a hand. "We're good till next month, so I'll keep your offer mind. If that's ok." He smiled hopefully.

Ed gave him a nod. "No problem, I've got nothing to do with the money right off hand."

"Ed, you're a lifesaver." He said, sipping his coffee once again.

After running some errands in town, he made his way to Halle Der Spielzeuge to see Mama-san. The crowd that night was quite large, but it was no wonder, it was a Saturday evening, all the undesirables were out. Making his way to the back of the brothel and the vacant hall that adorned the 'employees only' zone, he came up to Mama's door. He knocked. "Come in." Her voice could be heard from the other side.

"You wanted to talk to me this morning?" He poked his head in, the rest of his body followed directly behind.

"Long time no see, and yes, I did." Mama-san peered up over her paperwork, it would seem that she and the rocket company were on the same schedule when it came to budgeting.

"I've been kept busy." He smiled.

"I heard. I also heard you turned down Francine." She snickered to herself.

Ed blushed in embarrassment. "Shh-He was a little to...a man, for me."

Mama-san laughed out loud. "To each his own. But down to business. Are you going to initiate my new girls for me?" Folding her hands together Mama leaned forward eyes shut. "Tell me yes."

Edward nodded. "Yeah. I didn't see much of a down side. I'll do it." He had turned the idea over again in his head and he really didn't see a down side, he actually saw an 'up' to it. These girls would begin working and earning money, something a lot of women in this time and place didn't get a chance to do. Things were very different from back home, so if he didn't adjust, he would more than likely go crazy. He was far from calling himself noble, but he did like giving the sense of independence to people.

"Wonderful. Think you can manage two of them tonight? They showed up early." Mama flipped a few papers over. "Here." She passed him two resumes with one photo attached to each. The first girl was eighteen, short brown hair and brown eyes and the second was blond with brown eyes, which was a rarity and was twenty-two.

"Alright." He shrugged, having second thoughts, he thought they would all be around his age, not older.

"The rest of them can be in whatever order if you want, if you don't care, I'll just organize them in the way I want." She tapped the stack of the remaining twelve girls resumes on the table and caught Ed's attention. "So."

"How are you going to organize them?" He asked, out of sheer curiosity. "Age?"

"Bust size." Fanning herself with the papers she smirked.

Edward couldn't help but chuckle. "Essentially, it keeps getting better that way." He held out a hand palm up.

"Why Edward-" Mama stood up. "I never would have guessed you were the type. Then again, you are with Ilsa often. Is that something real, or just for fun?" Ilsa, out of all the girls, had the largest bust in ratio to the size of her body, there was Josefine, but she was rather large to begin with.

Nodding, he stood up to meet his mother's double, taking the papers from her hands. "It's just for fun, but that's alright, it's good when things aren't complicated." Papers in hand, he flipped through them; the girls were really pretty. "I'm only seeing 10's."

"For a good looking employee like you? Only the finest." She smiled.

After a short conversation about where and when he would be meeting the new girls, he headed off to get himself something to eat. He would meet with the first girl around nine-thirty, rest, and then the second at midnight. He was nervous. Being with Winry, he was drunk, the same with Ilsa the first time, these girls, he had to be in the right state of mind, totally sober. How would conversation go? Would they want to cuddle afterwards? Would it feel awkward to the point he couldn't preform? His mind raced.

"Calm down." Ilsa laid her hand on his shoulder, sensing his inherent discomfort.

"I'm trying." He sighed and paced in front of the door, the door that had his first girl behind it.

"Want me to warm you up?" She made a fist with her right hand and made a slapping motion into her opposite hand.

He hesitated. "...no. I can do this." He locked eyes with her. "...No I can't." He finally admitted.

She rubbed his shoulders, knowing full well rubbing the right side did nothing, she did it for effect. "Just calm down, it's just sex."

Her words rang in his head and he began to reevaluate his situation. He was in a strange place, with strange people who behaved strangely. Quickly, his mind shot back to the rocket factory and his reason for leaving in the first place. He had none. There was no reason for him wanting to take the job, Mama-san actually gave him the option of working for her or not. That was it, he couldn't refuse the face of his own mother. He felt so stupid. Ed had given up on doing things he enjoyed for a sinful life of alcohol and women. Truly not feeling like himself, he put a hand on the door knob and turned it.

"Let me know how she is." Ilsa winked at him as she took a few steps back.

"Sure." He said, now knowing why he was doing any of this. Was it for the money? Edward was confused, and so, for the time being, he decided to see where this flow of fate was pulling him. Aside from the life of debauchery, a life of uncertainty, a life of sin. He entered the room.

Later on, ten thirty to be precise, he found himself at the bar, a cup of brandy in one hand and a rather large plate of pasta in front of him, filled with noodles, chicken and various forms of vegetables, all coated in a cream based sauce. Mama apparently heard he and 'girl number one' had a good time and thought Edward may have needed a boost of energy, so she got a nearby fancy restaurant to rush in some food for him, to keep up his stamina. Not even being able to finish all the food, he took his brandy and made his way to a couch to relax. He had done it, he had stopped caring about his future and started focusing on his present, a few brief thoughts on his past.

Finishing the cup of alcohol off, he glanced around. "..." It was then he realized that he was comparing his life today, to a life spent in another world. Life was different. Very different.

"Edward." A female voice sounded behind him. He looked straight up only to have a pair of lips press down on his own. "You did good." Ilsa said, circling the couch she sat next to him. "Apparently she said that was just what she needed to get her virginity out of the way so she could start working with Mama."

Ed smiled. "I suppose...it's just...I feel odd doing this." He glanced to her.

Ilsa shrugged. "Before I left Switzerland...I had already bedded over ten men on my own before I heard about this place. So it felt as natural as a handshake. You've just got to let it go. No one here is gonna' judge you." She cuddled up close, her legs pulled up on the cushion. "You're giving these girls confidence to go all the way. That's a big step for some."

He shrugged. "I suppose...still." He looked to the clock.

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine." She leaned in and gave him a kiss, softly.

"Thanks." He rattled his glass with a few barren pieces of ice within. "How about one more?" Two drinks was maximum that mama would allow him to calm his nerves.

"Sure." She took the glass and rose only to make her way to the bar.

Edward smiled as he watched her converse with the bartender, she actually leaned over the bar to watch what he was doing. Her bottom stuck out from beneath her skirt; she had a red silk and lace teddy beneath her clothing that was obviously not trying to be hidden very well. Returning with liquor in hand, she sat back down in her spot. "Here you go."

Finally, after all was said and done, Ed headed home. A damaged sense of pride loomed over him, so he took the long way around, so long in fact that he passed right by Winry's house. He knew that she could be home, this was her week off. Making his way to her house he knocked on the front door. There was no answer.

Peering from window to window, he saw that there were no lights on. She may have been gone out for the evening, but that would mean that Aria was here watching after the little one. Slinking around the back of the house, he saw a single light on. Feeling around blindly in the dark, he searched for a rock; finding a large one, he lost his footing and stumbled. Shortly after he came across a smaller one which he tossed at the window; minding where the rock fell so he could throw it once again if need be.

The petite red head appeared in the window and he gave a broad wave to which she motioned him to go to the front door. Waiting one second upon arriving in front entrance, he watched Aria open the front door. "What are you doing here?"

Ed shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to Winry."

Aria allowed him to enter the room. "She's gone out...and...Winry actually asked me not to let you in..."

He was taken aback. "And here I thought she and I were friends." He said with a sarcastic tone. "The more I think about it, the more it makes me realize that Winry's trying to hide something."

The young girl raised an eyebrow. "Wow, and you figured that out all on your own?"

Sensing the sarcasm he rolled his eyes. "I mean, she's hiding something big...why would she go to so many lengths to cover it up?"

Shrugging, she responded. "Don't know, don't care."

Ed looked at the expression on her face. "So...does this mean you're not going to let me look around?" He said with a skeptical expression.

"If I said no, you'd just be able to get past me anyway. I realize I'm small." Folding her arms, she glared off in another direction.

"I wouldn't do that." He said, making eye contact with her. There were a few moments of silence.

Aria took a step back and shut the door, Edward still inside. "Just, put everything back when you're done. And..." She cleared her throat in an obvious way, hand outstretched.

She was asking for a bribe. Knowing Aria's family was lopsided when it came to food, he flipped her ten marks. Aria crumpled the bill and stuffed it into the awkward pocket on the side of her dress, the faded green flap lifted and fell back into place as she turned to go up the stairs. "There is a room she keeps locked, but I did notice her go in there every now and again. When she came out the one time that I saw, she looked like she had been crying."

Ed examined the rest of the hall as they made their way up the stairs. He took notice to the hole at the top of the stairs, exposing a beam. "This must be..."

"Yeah." Aria looked up, there was vague evidence of a rope ever being around the beam. "No wonder she doesn't like coming up here...I'd offer to fix it, but I don't know how...or how to ask her even if I did." She kept walking.

"..." Edward looked around, there were still no pictures. "Maybe it's a shrine." Edward shuttered at the thought as Aria presented the door.

"That's kind of weird." She wiggled the handle of the door in question. "Do you have a screwdriver?"

Ed looked at his hands. If he were back home, he would have just clapped and made a temporary door within the main door, but unfortunately, twas not the case. He looked around the frame of the door. "Remember how people made the comment that Winry wasn't that bright?"

Aria nodded as he watched Edward reach to the top of the door frame and emerge with a key that had been wedged in the frame. "Gee, she is dumb."

"Dumb? Hiding something in plain sight, that's clever. I guess everyone has their moments." He placed the key in the door knob and turned it. The room was dark, the windows were so concealed that not even the street lights couldn't penetrate the tomb. "Where's the light?" He fumbled in the dark and found a switch, upon flicking it, the light flashed brightly, but only for a half-second then it went black again. "Dammit."

"I'll go take one from the other room...ooh, the closet has one." Aria disappeared around the corner and emerged with a bulb and a small stool. "I can't reach, even with this." She passed him both items and he placed the stool beneath the outlet.

"Fine." He stepped up and proceeded to replace the light source. He took note to the smell in the room. It smelled old, like it was full of old machines, the smell of metal. Dusty too, it was apparent that she didn't clean frequently; Aria's presence was a lot more noticeable when it was left up to Winry to clean.

"It stinks in here." She glanced around the darkness. "I don't know if I feel right leaving everything the way it is if it's a mess." Covering her nose, the stench was overpowering.

"There we go." He had succeeded in removing the old bulb. "Can you shut the switch off?" She turned the switch to the downward position. "And there we go." He finished tightening the bulb when Aria hit the switch, he was momentarily blinded by the initial light.

"Oh my lord." Aria looked around the room, there was black everywhere, on the walls, the double bed with the canopy and especially on the carpet. "Is it motor oil?"

Edward's mouth dropped open as he looked at the apparent mess. "Aria. Get out." He took the burnt out bulb with him. "Did you touch anything?"

"Just the stool, light bulb and light switch. Why, what is it? Poison?" She became worried.

"It's dried blood." Ed looked at the bulb in his gloved hand. "Go get me a cloth, I need to wipe out the fingerprints."

Aria's face went white. "Ok, b-but blood...are you sure?"

He nodded. "Yes, it looks old." Something crossed his mind and he thought to himself. 'Is her family really in London? Or are they in the ground?'

"Old? How old?" She nervously crossed her fingers.

"I can't tell. There is one thing I have to check though." After replacing the broken bulb because it was different from the working one, and then wiping clean any of Aria's fingerprints, they made their way to the back yard. "I tripped over a rock earlier that felt out of place." He brought a candle to see better in the back yard. "I just had a sickening feeling, I hope I'm wrong." Edward held out the light and illuminate the stone which once tried to trip him. The letters v-a-t-e-r came into view.

"What's that say?" She peered down at the white lettering on the deep gray rock.

"Vater? That means 'father'." He spoke in a grim way. Aria covered her mouth with her hands. "I hate being right. I was doing some thinking, and I speculated that she may have gotten pregnant from her brother, the way she talked about him and the information I received seemed to point that way..."

"Nasty." Aria cringed.

"But, from the looks of it, it might have been her dad. This could be vengeance we're seeing" Ed crossed his arms and pondered.

"I don't think he is." Aria said with doubt, scratching her cheek with her finger. "I mean, her mom and dad were blond, and so was her brother. It couldn't have been any of her immediate family"

"What--why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"The baby has black hair." She said looking down at the rock and it's surroundings. The grass on the plot was grown over, so it obviously happened a while ago, but there was something else out of place that made Aria's blood run cold.

He paused and looked at the offending stone. "This is strange."

"Maybe it was one of these guys." Aria took Ed's hand and moved it in such a way it shed light next to the rock, revealing three more unmarked graves.

Ed's eyes widened. "...Interesting." It was very interesting because one of them looked like it was recently dug out.

HA! Take that!

And it's not as obvious as you think. Heheh...hehe...Happy guessing. :)