A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend, who yesterday morning lost her battle with cancer. She was an amazing person and didn't deserve to die at 19. But even though she is gone. She will never be forgotten.

Roy just stared in disbelief. The assassin had just broken Serena's neck as though she was paper.

A strangled sob sounded from where Ed was lying as he lay there eyes wide staring at Serena's body on the floor, her eyes were closed and she looked almost peaceful.

"Mission complete, I don't know what the boss was talking about, she went down pretty easy" the assassin sneered turning to his fellow comrades.

"Let's just kill the rest and get out of here" said the blonde

"What about her?" Bedlam nodded towards Mona, the girl Serena had knocked out earlier

"Scapegoat" the other replied pulling out her gun and aiming at Roy's head.

This was it he thought. All this plans, everything he had ever worked for, was for nothing, he was going to die, what about Riza would they kill her too? And Ed and Al? Everyone else?

There was an urge to close his eyes, but he held on to his pride, if he was going down he was going to look death in the face.

"Adios Cornel"

Splash

Both assassins turned round to see a desk had been split in two, a glass knocked over and Edward with both his hands pressed to the floor, a slight glow from a transmutation circle remaining.

Both assassins laughed "What exactly did you want to achieve from that?" asked Bedlam his voice hard but till smirking, but the smirk disappeared when Edward started chuckling.

"Your boss obviously didn't enlighten you on the Serena's alchemy skills" a glow caught everyone's attention, turning again they saw a light glow around Serena's neck, the tattoo spread over the left side from her shoulder to her ear. And her eyes snap open.

"Ha we beat her before we can do it again, she's not going to be able to save you" but Ed carried on smiling.

"Serena" her body stayed perfectly still but her eyes moved to look at him "Get them" after those two words her eyes seemed to change. They were no longer the sweet doe like grey eyes everyone had fallen in love with, they narrowed and darkened. She was an assassin, an assassin so dangerous they chained her rather than ranked her, she was unpredictable, lethal and above all…she was angry.

The attackers took a few steps back as Serena started to sit up and then stand, Bedlam was the first too shake out of it.

"Venus don't just stand there get her!" the blonde quickly ran at Serena pinning her arms behind her back; Bedlam pulled out a knife.

"I always knew you were a freak but this really takes a biscuit." He said lifting the knife and aiming for Serena's heart. "But Envy told us, how to kill you if nothing else worked!" Roy and Ed's eyes widened as the knife was brought down. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, the knife was moving, Serena stayed perfectly still until the last possible moment and then she ducked, sliding her body through Venus' legs so that she was lying on the ground. This whole process couldn't have taken more than 2 seconds.

The knife entered Venus' body causing her to scream; she then fell as Serena knocked her legs from under her. Bedlam was in shock which made him easy prey, Serena kicked him in the stomach, winding him and then as he fell to his knees she kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold.

After a while she turned back to Roy and Ed kneeling down next to them, her eyes had regained their innocence and she looked timidly at them.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, Roy laughed shakily

"No, you're not in trouble. You did well. Technically you didn't kill them, and the one who is injured wasn't injured at your hand so I don't think anyone will have anything to say about that" Serena smiled, she was glad; the reason she didn't fight when they first captured her was because she was unsure whether Roy would be angry if she hurt them.

Then Serena remembered the blackness, and she touched the new tattoo on the side of her neck. What had happened too her?

A few hours later everyone was conscious and recovering, listening to the story of how Serena saved them, of course Ed made it seem far more grand than it really had been and he didn't miss out the bit where he woke Serena, although he did miss out the part when it had seemed as though the young girl was dead.

Then suddenly Hohenheim came bursting into the room, everyone looked surprised apart from Ed and Serena who merely glared at him.

But he ignored them, he told Roy that he had heard of the assassins attack and came to make sure everyone was alright. And then his eyes fell on Serena and her new markings.

"Serena, what is this?" she covered her neck with her hand.

"Nothing" Roy had to smile at that, for a moment there she sounded like a normal teenager, but that moment ended as Hohenheim became more worried.

"How many of these marks do you have?" Serena was about to fight when she saw the panic in his eyes.

"5" she said and saw his face pale "what, what's wrong?"

Hohenheim put his hands on her shoulders and sighed

"There's something I need to tell you" he turned to Ed and Al "All of you".

They all sat and stared at him and he sighed again

"15 years ago I met a woman on my travels, she was kind and she welcomed me into her home, she had a child, only small of around 2. I was there for a year researching in the village where she lived, but one day the girl went missing, we found her the next day in a pond. She had fallen in and drowned".

Serena's throat felt dry, why did this story feel like a memory, and why was she finding it hard to breathe?

"The woman, knowing I was an alchemist, begged me to bring her daughter back to life. At first I refused, but then she threatened to do it herself if I did not help. I knew the risks of this and so..." he took a deep breath and then let it out "I helped her. I performed the forbidden alchemy. I used the woman's life to trade for her daughters. However I knew of the risks. It is impossible to perform such alchemy and not create a homunculus; however I had managed to create a being with 7 human lives to spare that she could do with as she pleased. Once these were used up she would become a homunculus. The 8th homunculus".

Everyone stared at him open mouthed, he couldn't be talking about….?

"The little girl was you Serena; the markings on your body show your lives that you have used up. The mark on your spine where you fell from a roof top and broke you back, the mark on your chest from where you were shot. You wrists from when you saved Ed, Your neck from when Bedlam snapped it. And on your stomach from when, moments ago you saved the life of that assassin".

Everyone turned to look at Venus, the assassin who had been stabbed and who would have died, no one had noticed Serena heal her.

"I couldn't let her die" Serena whispered in response.

"You only have two lives left Serena before you become a homunculus" Serena's face was flooded with fear; this was when Ed piped in.

"But they are named after the 7 deadly sins, how can there be an 8th?"

"This is where I also tried to save the reminder of her soul, you have heard the story of Pandora's Box, and how she opened it and let out the sins"

Everyone nodded

"Well I created Serena to be the 8th that came out of that box" everyone looked confused but Alphonse understood, he looked around and whispered the answer.

"Hope".

A/N Here is the next chapter, the next one will be in a while becuase as i said at the beginning my friend died yesterday and so I'm in no frame of mind to write at the moment. I hope you are enjoying my story and will wait for my next chapter when i return. yours karin x