Chapter 10

"Aren't you a bit too busy with paperwork to have the luxury of taking trips?"

"C'mon, Lieutenant Colonel, isn't this the least bit romantic?" A winked eye and a sly smile spread across the face of a dashing raven-haired man, despite the eye patch he donned.

"Hardly, sir. This excursion could potentially be very serious."

"Hm. Of course. Besides, Dublith is hardly the paradise I'd expect to fancy a woman of your caliber, Hawkeye." Roy Mustang gave the stern looking blonde next to him a coy look before shifting his eye out of the dusty window of the small town car.

"Why do you think she's come here? I thought her only family was her grandmother in Resembool?"

"I'm not completely sure but I have my guesses."

"Are these conclusions that you've developed after interrogating Sheska, sir?"

"More or less," he snorted softly as he reminisced holding the frazzled looking girl up one evening after observing a few secrete meetings she and Winry appeared to be having and the mechanic's immediate request for a holiday afterwards. He glanced back over to the woman next to him. "And I'm expecting a strange past to come flying out at us."

"So it's best to be prepared," she spoke evenly, the tiniest of smiles gracing her lips. Suddenly a look of concern crossed her face. "Sir, you have reason to believe that 'said' past has unfinished business with the Elrics, do you?" Mustang shifted and placed his left arm on the frame of the car window and looked beyond the glass once more. Riza could see the reflection he was trying to hide from her. It was a rare look, which the man had a brilliant knack of hiding, but seeing that most part of her adult life had centered about the man, she instantly knew. He was worried.

"Sir, do you think-"

"Lieutenant Colonel, why do you suppose Ms. Rockbell would take a trip out to a small town such as this one, where she has no family?"

Riza fell silent a moment as she contemplated the Brigadier General's question. Her thoughts swirled about her head and she couldn't help feeling a bit confused by the words.

"Sir, I don't understand…didn't Ms. Rockbell…didn't she come here for awhile shortly after Alphonse Elric regained his body? She stayed to him help recover and continued with him while he resumed his alchemy training once more. He had a teacher who lived here, a Mrs. Izumi Curtis?"

"Correct. Moreover, as I recall, the Elrics' teacher passed away about five years ago. So why would Ms. Rockbell have a need to visit a place she no longer had any visible ties to?" Riza searched for an answer, her mind racing to reach the conclusion she knew Mustang had already drawn.

"Wasn't it discovered that it was near this town that Full Metal had a battle with a homunculus?" As the words left her lips, she saw Mustang smile slightly, his reflection shown in the window. He turned away from it and looked at Riza, her eyes shinning brightly as the conclusion dawned on her, her face now rigid with the truth.

"I'm willing to bet; a date perhaps, that whatever drew Full Metal here years ago to fight that monster is drawing our resident mechanic in as well. I do believe that whatever past she is trying to unearth should very well stay buried."

Riza couldn't help the small sly smile that spread across her face at the Brigadier General's weak attempt at asking her out and in response, removed her gun and checked her ammunition, as they continued to drive down the dusty road.

"It's simple dear. With this stone, all those mortal impossibilities become possible! No longer am I bound by the ignorant laws of this place." The woman walked closer to the young blonde who was still sitting in the high backed floral chair by the window. The storm clouds that were previously gathering when they had begun their conversation had now completely covered the sky, setting it in a thick and threatening black. Thunder rumbled in faster sessions, while lightening began to crack and flash violently. She leaned close, and Winry could smell the overwhelming scent of an indistinguishable perfume. The older woman lifted a hand and stroked the side of her face and Winry tried hard not to recoil from the touch.

"So-so you can open this gate? You can help me see Ed-Edward again?" She stammered and held her breathe, partly for the suspense and the other for fear of inhaling anymore of the woman's intoxicating scent.

The woman straightened her stance, much to Winry's relief, her brown eyes cutting into the face of the youth below her.

"Oh yes. The power to open the gate has always been with you. Every human, every being, I believe, owns this power. I feel this energy is particularly strong within you because you are in love…" Dante turned away from Winry's reacting eyes, her fingers entwining around the necklace from which the Philosopher's Stone hung. The old woman's face was smug, a look that barely hid the excitement of her fortune. A hand drifted down and touched a spot on her abdomen and she took a moment and closed her eyes. Finally, after all this time! I can leave this rotting body and into a more youthful, beautiful one. Then, will you return to me, my beloved? She understood. The look she knew was on the face of the young girl, all to well. She understood the yearning and longing to be with the one for whom one's heart desired and she cursed herself still for banishing her love across the gate years ago for his betrayal to her and his not bothering to find a way to return. Hohenheim.

A moment of silence floated between the two. In the distance, Winry could hear the faint ticking of a clock. Thunder rumbled loudly once again and the sky's captive broke free, releasing heavy rain onto the earth below. Winry turned her head at the new sound, watching the splatter of rain onto the glass pane of the window.

"Are you familiar with 'equivalent exchange, dear?" Dante had turned again, returning to her position in front of Winry's chair. The old woman's sudden appearance startled her and Winry tried hard to collect her thoughts.

"Huh—oh, yea. Ed and Al used to say that all the time. They said it was some natural law in alchemy or something. But I thought with the Philosopher's Stone, that didn't apply-" Winry was suddenly cut off as rough hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her from her chair. "H-hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" She twisted in vain to face her attacker and could barely get a glimpse at the figure that held her so firmly in place. She could hear Mason yell from afar and his rush of footsteps as he barged into the room.

"What are you doing to her? What is that? Put her down!"

"Mason!"

"Winry!" Mason began to charge Winry's captor but Dante rose a hand to the chair behind her while her other hand gripped the stone. A burst of blue light shot forth as a long sharp spear emerged from the arm of it, and pointing her arm in the man's direction, fingers outstretched, the spear flew swiftly through the air in his direction. Winry screamed out, her voice an echo resounding through the large room.

"Mason watch out!" The man's eyes grew larger as he suddenly stopped in his movements and slowly looked down. The spear had pierced his left side, blood quickly dampening his shirt and spilling onto the floor. He dropped down onto his knees with a hard thud and collapsed onto the shiny wood amidst his own blood. Winry could not control her screams and she tried once more to wrench free and rush to Mason's side. Streams of hot tears rushed down her cheeks as she watched more blood collect from her fallen companion beneath his body, ignoring the woman in front of her.

"Sloth, please, loosen your grip on the poor girl, I want her in excellent condition you know." Winry could hear a small grunt behind her as the thick muscular arms relaxed a little around her body. Danté smiled; a gesture that looked out of place in the current situation. She walked closer, grabbed one of Winry's hands, and cut her index finger with a small paring knife she had removed from the drawer at the small table. Winry cried out in pain and tried to pry her hand free, but Dante's grip was too strong.

"What are you d-doing to me…?"

"You want to open the gate, don't you dear?" The woman's face seemed to contort menacingly as she took her free hand, which was holding the knife, and split open Winry's shirt, exposing her chest. She watched the young girl's breath heave in and out of her body forcibly, quivering from the fear Dante knew was present. "The time is now. I will open this gate and you will see your beloved Edward soon." She directed Winry's bleeding finger onto her own chest, drawing intricate circles and symbols onto the girl's shaking frame. "One over the heart…one over the mind…another over the belly…" she spoke as if to no one in particular as Winry continued to cry in pain and shock, unable to move away from the mysterious thing that she had heard the old woman simply call 'Sloth'. Winry shifted her eye's downward and glimpsed at what Dante had drawn on her body. I've seen these…these are…transmutation…circles… After the last one, Dante dropped the girl's hand, lifted the stoned necklace from around her, and held it up. Lightening began to flash across the sky, preceding the angry thunder that followed.

"Every alchemist is taught that in order to obtain anything, something of equal value would be lost. What are you willing to exchange to see Edward Elric again?" She held the stone close to Winry's body and a brilliant blue light jutted forth and radiated throughout the house. She could feel the surge of power flowing through her body, a feeling that she would later fail to find the words and meaning to. Her body rose into the air, no longer bound by the mysterious creature, but floating instead. She couldn't hold onto a single thought as she fought for some clarity as to what was happening to her, but she couldn't concentrate. Suddenly she felt a force, a strong pushing sensation as if she was being torn apart. In a panic, she tried to move her hands and cling to something, but she no longer felt the security of her own skin and flesh as a brilliant flash of white light washed over her…

It was huge and it stood alone in an expansive white space. A large brown and gold structure with symbols set in places that seemed beyond normal knowledge. She stood before it, feeling every bit the insect as it loomed over her tiny frame.

"H-hello." Her voice seemed to get lost in the strange room. Is this…the gate? She turned about in place and looked behind her. The white just went on forever, in her eyes, she could see no end. The sound of a heavy lock echoed around her and she quickly spun around. The large doors creaked open slowly; and Winry could not help but to peer into the ever-widening crack. Her eyes met with pitch darkness, a swirling black that made her feel blind just by looking into it. Suddenly, a few pair of oddly round eyes and gleaming white teeth looked back at her from the other side.

Winry took a few steps backwards, glancing over her shoulders, unsure, where she could go…

Several pair of dark hands thrust out from the opened doors and begins to wrap around her body like invading shadows. "Ugh! Hey! No! Stop!" She felt its tightening grip as she could feel herself lurching forward. She yearned to scream aloud but the black hands had made their way to her face, covering her mouth and nose. As she disappeared into the all-encompassing darkness, sinister laugher filled her ears, even as the loud boom of the gate drew closed.

"Ah! Edward! We're going to get wet!" light-hearted laughter filled his ears as the pair stood outside a restaurant and looked towards a small awning just across the street.

"You're not worried about a little water, are ya?" He stepped away from her and out into the storm, pausing to stand a moment out on the street in the downpour. He extended his hand to the nervous smiling blonde, who was still standing beneath the small overhang of the diner. She shook her head wildly at the young man in front of her, feeling smitten by his image in the rain. However, it wasn't long before she took his hand and leapt from the sidewalk and into the pour, joining his laughter as they dashed the rest of the way, stopping to collect themselves finally when they reached the shelter across the road.

"Ed, you're crazy!" she jested and grabbed his arm, her breathing finally under control after their moment of excitement.

"What? You don't trust me? Besides, you look good in the rain." He blushed immediately after the words left his lips and he turned his head slightly away from her smiling eyes, pretending to be interested in a moth flying dizzily around a buzzing street lamp. Her silence was making him nervous and he almost jumped up when he felt her hand slid down his left arm and slip her finger into his. He turned his head to face her, but she was looking out onto the street, appearing not to acknowledge the gesture. They both blushed and watched the rainfall in silence, holding hands, letting the cool breeze relax them both.

Thunder hummed in the distance and the rain continued its descent at a steady pace. Ed's brow furrowed slightly, searching for something to say to her but her voice hit his ears first.

"I've really had a great time tonight, Edward." Ed's face flushed a brighter red as he took in her words.

"…so have I…" He looked over to face her when suddenly he felt her hand tighten in his. "Julia…? What's wrong?" He turned her gently to search her face and he became confuse by what he saw. Her eyes had widened and she suddenly looked frightened. "Julia. Julia!" He searched her face for any sign that she had returned from her daze when her eyes began to blink rapidly and focus on his face. He watched the woman in front of him strangely and without thinking, he raised one hand away from her shoulders to wipe a few wet strands of her hair that had stuck to her forehead behind her ears. Suddenly, she raised a hand of her own and placed it over the top of his, keeping them both on the side of her face.

They stood there, watching each other a moment; his water stricken face full of concern, droplets clinging to his nose and top lip.

"Julia…?"

"E-Ed…?"

He smiled back at her and let out a sigh, his gold eyes gleaming in the dim lighting. "You scared me there for a moment. C'mon, we should get out of the rain…"

"Ed….it's really you…I've really found you."

"Wha-?" A look of confusion flashed across his eyes. "Julia, what are you talking about?"

"No Ed…" A pair of blue eyes more familiar than before stared back at him and Ed pulled his hand away from the woman's damp face, a cold feeling of horror washing over him.

"Winry?"

His voice came out breathless and broken as his mind tried its best to wrap around the truth that stood shivering in front of him. The entire moment seemed unreal. It can't be…how did she…how would she be able to cross over the gate? He lunged out and gripped her shoulders tightly, eyes flashing, tears welling in the corners.

"Tell me you didn't open the gate. Tell me I'm just imagining you here saying my name. Tell me you didn't do what I think you did!" A guilty and sullen look set into the woman's face as she turned her head away from the accusatory eyes. Anger and fear began to fill his veins and he forced her to face him. "Look at me! Tell me you aren't Winry!" He begin to shake, his body betraying his most repressed emotions as he shook her slightly, she still refusing to look at him directly.

"What was I supposed to do, Ed?" Thunder boomed in the background, almost swallowing the faint volume of her voice. "You left me…no goodbyes…no letter…nothing. It was as if I didn't matter to you-"

"Of course you mattered." He said between clenched teeth.

"Then why, Ed?!" She raised her eyes at that moment, tears falling down her already damp face, her voice rising sharply. A nearby couple huddling beneath an umbrella gave them a sideward glance before continuing down the paved walk. Edward felt his world stop and his head feel light. It was true. The woman standing before him really was his childhood friend…and the only other woman capable of capturing his heart.

"Idiot."

Her eyes widened, as she searched his face for understanding. "What…?"

"Idiot!" His hand rose quickly as if possessed, and he slapped her face. Hard. She raised her own trembling hand and gingerly touched her cheek, reddened now, by the blow. It was Ed's turn to look shocked as held out his hand as if it was something foreign and his heart broke from his actions.

"Winry, I'm so-"

"I remember when I made a hand for you. Hm, I never knew that it would ever be used to…hurt…m.." She pulled away from him and headed towards the street.

"Winry, wait." He reached after her, but she eluded him. The rain was still pouring as he dashed after her, pleading with her to stop. She heard him call out to her and knew that he was close behind. It was a mistake. Why had she bothered? Why couldn't she just accept the brothers' absence and move on within her life? Why did she seek such dangerous power only to face the man she loved and see this anger in his eyes?

She wasn't sure what made her stop and turn around at that moment. She was barely able to hear Edward's voice calling out to her over the boom of thunder and the faint roar a rapidly approaching motorcar. She saw his eyes as he stood a few feet away, her blue ones connecting to his gold and she understood everything…

He saw the horrific scene, yet he felt rooted to the concrete. Move, damnit, his mind screamed at him as he found his bearings and thrust himself into the middle of the street and to the front of a steaming car, falling down onto his knees beside the crumpled bleeding heap before it. His vision instantly became blurry as a flood of tears rushed his eyes and he felt dizzy.

"Winry….no…shit…" His voice cracked under the strain and grief and without thinking, he clapped his hands together and pressed his palms into her blood that was accumulating on the ground. "No damnit…come back! I can't lose you, too…I can't!" He screamed out into the grey and rain, his tears and mucus mingling with the falling cold liquid, choosing to ignore the gathering crowd and signs of panic among them. He collapsed into the puddle, reaching out and pulling her frame into his lap, her blond hair hanging loosely about her porcelain face. She looked angelic to him as her blood soaked into his slacks and shirt all the while trying to will his body to stop shaking.

"What the hell am I thinking? Alchemy couldn't save my mother and it damn sure can't do a thing for me here. It was hard leaving you, you dummy, you couldn't see that? I had to protect you…I never wanted to see you hurt. I just wanted to put the sins of my past behind me. From the day I met you, I've gone to bed with your image in my mind and I wake up every day with you in my heart…and now you're…DAMNIT!"

The faint cry of sirens wailed, approaching in the near distance, as the rain did little to wash away the pain and blood.