Reconstruction
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or HP
"I assume this means you have successfully created a new Greed?"
"It was a bit too simple in my opinion, I would have preferred it if there was a bit more… pain," Envy grinned widely, stepping into the shadow of an oversized throne.
"Perfect, now all we need is Lust and everything will be ready. I put my faith in you to do this well, make sure this is someone Edward will be emotionally effected by, it is essential that these two new homunculi are personal and difficult for him to fight."
"Oh don't worry," Envy chuckled as he stared up at the overwhelming presence of Father. "I know just the person."
There was no doubt that news spread quickly around Central Headquarters, especially when a certain blond alchemist was involved, but some things were better left unsaid, at least for the time being. As much as Roy wanted to spill everything he heard from Ling to everyone he possibly could, he first needed to ensure that a safe plan was in operation. Of course, Riza had been alerted almost immediately of the news, being as trustworthy as she was, and the two had been restless trying to think up a way to safely get Ed back.
They had been most careful to not let anything get around to Alphonse, and personally made sure that Ling kept his mouth shut (which was not a simple task.) If Al found out anything about what had happened to his brother, chaos would surely erupt. Not that finding Ed was a bad thing, but he would be far too reckless out of desperation, and losing both brothers would be even more tragic than one.
"Sir, don't you think that this is a bit cruel? We could at least say that he's alive, this has been eating away at him for months now," Riza said over Roy's shoulder as he scribbled away at his notes.
"Exactly, a couple more days aren't going to hurt, we have to make sure this is done right, or Fullmetal could end up stuck there forever."
Suddenly, the door flew open in a familiar manner, slamming into the noticeable dent on the wall. Al stormed in, yet still ducked under the archway, and his voice rang out inside his hollow armor.
"I knew you were hiding something! You knew that brother was alive and you couldn't even bother to tell me?! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to pull something that'd end up getting us killed?"
Roy stammered as Riza stayed calm and collected, but Al continued on speaking.
"You have no idea what it's been like this whole time, going through day after day slowly losing a piece of hope until there's nothing left! I was actually beginning to accept that he was dead… that I'd have to live the rest of my life alone like this…"
"Alphonse, we'll get him back. I'm sorry we haven't told you, there's no excuse for our actions, but I hope you'll be able to work with us now and forgive us," Riza spoke up, using her reassuring tone.
"Thanks Lieutenant, it's glad to know that somebody cares," Al sneered in Roy's direction.
"You know I was only trying to protect you Al," Roy said.
Al sighed, "Just tell me next time Colonel, okay? I'm not sure if it occurred to you that I've had first-hand experience with the gate, which would probably help a lot with what you're doing."
Roy's eyes instantly sparked as he looked up from his heaping mound of paperwork. Of course! How could he have been so stupid?! Alphonse had seen the gate just like Ed had; all Roy knew about it was the fact that an alchemist saw it after preforming human transmutation of some sort. If Ling was right about Ed preforming human transmutation on himself, then Al would know exactly how to do that! Roy had seen the horrific scene from that night, but the giant human transmutation circle was too much to comprehend at the time, even for a skilled alchemist like himself. They had the knowledge, now all they needed was a price, that was where the trouble came in. Although Roy had no ideas at the time, it was a start, and with Al to help he was already feeling more confident.
"Okay, we'll tell you everything we know. Don't worry, we'll find Fullmetal even if it takes a magnifying glass," Roy smiled.
Making automail just wasn't the same without him. Every screw, every plating, every small nut and bolt would remind her of him. She had to refrain from throwing her wrenches any time one of her customers badly damaged their arms or legs, 'habits never die' she supposed. Every once in awhile she caught a glimpse of blond hair or red fabric, and her mind instantly jumped to conclusions. She was wrong every time.
Usually she was used to going months without seeing the Elric brothers, but this was different. Somehow, all those other times, she had faith that they would come back, granted a bit banged up, but they would always return with a smile. It was tradition, and that's how it had always been. A sideways wave and vanishing backs, with a golden braid swaying alongside an oversized coat.
Winry had never thought that that image of him would be her last.
After a quiet call from Al, only a month ago, she had never felt more hopeless. She had heard it in his voice, the determination turned to pain and loss, and she had known that this occurance was not like the others. Winry didn't believe it for the longest time though, shrugging it off and thinking that he would come back, because he always did. It wasn't until she completed her latest model of lightweight automail that it hit her.
This time, Edward Elric was dead. He wasn't coming back.
Winry felt guilty as her eyes welled with tears. He had made a promise after all, that the next time he made her cry it would be from tears of joy. No, she would be strong, she had to keep up her end of the promise too. When and if she ever found joy again.
A sharp knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. Who would come to the shop this late at night? Garfiel was out on a mandatory supplies trip, so Winry was the only one running the store at the time, and she would have known if she set an appointment after hours.
"Hello? Can I help you?" She opened the door and all she could do was freeze, mouth open in shock. The wrench in her hand dropped to the floor, hitting it with a clang, and silence followed.
It was him, it was actually him.
"Long time no see, huh?"
Winry continued to stare, looking into the golden eyes in front of her.
"Ed?"
"Yep, now would you let me in? It's freezing out here!" he grumbled.
"YOU IDIOT!" Winry wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug, and she was finally able to let loose the tears she had been holding in for a month. She hadn't broken the promise after all. "I thought you were dead!" she sobbed into his shoulder, "don't ever pull something like that again!"
"I'm sorry, for that and what I'm about to do now," he grinned, a smile that looked too big for his face. Before Winry could even question what he said, her head snapped back from the force of a punch, and everything turned black.
"Finally awake are we?"
She knew it was too good to be true.
Winry cracked open her eyes, jaw still sore from being punched, and she realized that she had been strapped to a table by her arms and legs.
"What did you do to Edward?! You're not him!" she yelled at the imposter. How had she been so stupid?!
"Oh he's very much alive, don't you worry. However, there's only one way you'll ever be able to see him again, and probably save him from the situation he's in now."
"What do you mean?" Winry asked. As much as she hated playing along, there was nothing she could do while restrained, and if the imposter was really telling the truth it meant that she would be able to see Ed again.
"Let's just say that for these past few months, the pipsqueak's been trapped in an 'alternate dimension' of sorts, and though I was able to escape, he's still there... probably suffering brutal torture as we speak," the imposter smirked.
"Torture?" Winry squeaked.
"Oh yes, the worst kinds imaginable. I'm actually surprised he's survived this long... these past 8 months or so have been brutal hell for your friend, he actually resorted to just whispering names, I heard yours in there even more than his brother's..."
"How dare you! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it! Just don't hurt him anymore, he's had enough as it is!"
"You sure seem to care about him a lot... yes... you'll be perfect for the job..."
"What job?" Winry nearly whispered, her voice strained from so much yelling.
"All I'll need to do is inject you with one thing... it may be painful, but as long as you accept whatever comes I assure you that the pipsqueak will return home alive and you'll be able to seem him again. Consider it an... experiment of sorts." The Ed imposter said.
"Fine, I'll do it, but will you at least tell me who you are first?!" Winry demanded.
As if on cue, red sparks shot up as Envy transformed back into his normal self, a bored expression on his face.
"Happy now? Now let's get this over with, hold still, and remember to accept the affects of what I'm about to do, for your little friend's sake."
Still in shock from seeing Envy's revealed form, Winry nodded and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the prick of a needle in her arm. Instantly, it felt like every bone in her body was shattering and reforming, and she twisted and shook with the power of the transformation. It was the worst and most excruciating pain she could imagine, but she held on with all her might. It was her turn to do the saving this time.
After what seemed like hours of horrible pain filled with screaming, Winry felt herself falling into a void of what looked like red distorted faces. In front of her arose the distinguishable face of a beautiful woman, who's features were constantly changing, though still flawless. Her hair changed style and color and her nose, lips, and jawline shifted in every possible beautiful combination. The only thing that didn't change were her eyes, which remained a deep purple.
"So you're the one that I'm supposed to take over? You're cute I suppose, but still quite young to be a gorgeous lady. With the right makeup and outfits I could definitely make you more beautiful, the only question is if you're willing to accept me. What do you say? The power to hold ultimate Lust, drawing in anyone of your desire with your charming looks and devilish personality!"
Winry shivered with disgust at the idea of being turned into an "object." She liked her clothes because they were comfortable, and who did she need to impress anyways? Ed was all she needed, she had known that from the beginning, but that was the whole reason she was in this mess in the first place.
"I accept," she simply said, staring into the purple eyes of the ever changing woman.
That was all it took, and soon Winry could see the room again, with all her pain gone. Something was different though, she could see everything, but she couldn't move her body at all. It was like she was being controlled by a different person...
"What did you do to me?" she yelled. The voice didn't come out of the body, but Winry knew that whoever was controlling her could hear it.
She saw the body look down, and gasped at the sight of a tattoo right on her chest, in a very suggestive spot to say the least. She noticed that her body looked more mature as well, with more curves and delicate skin.
"How do you feel Lust?" Envy asked.
"Like brand new," she smiled.
Life around Hogwarts would almost be considered normal, if it wasn't for the immense amount of homework and studying to do. Ed couldn't help but think it was stupid that even though they were supposed to be studying like crazy for their N.E.W.T exams, (really dumb name) the teachers still piled on loads of homework. Who did they think he was?
Exams and homework were the least of Ed's troubles, though. They were halfway through May now, which meant that the date of the prophecy was nearing closer and closer. It really wasn't hard to understand the ultimate meaning of it, but the lack of anything exciting happening in the school made the whole thing very confusing. Having a weight on your head with no idea of what to do was stressful, and all he could do was wait. Luckily, if the whole "two worlds bending as one" thing was true, Ed would be able to return to Amestris. The only problem was the fact that he was supposed to use a "great power that no one else holds," whatever that was. At first he thought it meant his alchemy, but there were tons of other alchemists that could probably do the same things he could. He was drawing a blank, so all he could do was shuffle around and blend in with everyone else, while casually reading the entire library on top of that.
Hermione was trying her best to help too, but with no knowledge of the gate or alchemy it was hard for her to understand the circumstances of Ed's problem.
They had been reading in the common room, like usual, when an interesting thought struck her.
"Hey Ed, have you ever actually tried magic before?"
"What?" he looked up from his book, shocked at Hermione's intense thinking face.
"Well I was just thinking, if you can use power for your alchemy don't you think that you could harness that power to use magic too?"
"I guess I never really thought about it... none of that magic crap ever appealed to me so I just kinda stuck to alchemy. Do you think I would actually be able to use it?" Ed wondered.
"It wouldn't hurt to try," Hermione shrugged. "Here, you can borrow my wand. Just say Lumos and see what happens."
Edward took her wand in his left hand and held it in front of him, observing it as he felt it warm his hand. "Lumos."
The tip of the wand glowed and then fizzled out, causing Ed to look up in shock.
"I did it! Well I did something..."
"Try again, but this time really try to feel what you're doing. Do whatever you do when you do alchemy, maybe even clap your hands or something if that helps."
Not thinking that he could look any more stupid at this point, Ed focused on concentrating the gases and particles of light in the air, and clapped his right hand to the one holding the wand. "Lumos."
At once, blue sparks shot out from around his hands, and the tip of the wand glowed so brightly that it filled the room with a blinding white light, making it look like the gate. Just as fast as that had happened, all the light disappeared and the room was suddenly pitch black. Hermione relit the lights on the walls and stared at the shocked face of Ed. He had just combined alchemy and magic, creating an effect that was double what one could do alone.
"I think we figured out what that power is," Ed laughed as he stared at Hermione's wand. It had cracked slightly at the tip from the power, but she could care less.
"Do you know what this means?! We have to start training immediately! I can get Harry to teach you all of the defensive spells, and if you mix that with alchemy I bet you could do some ridiculous attacks! Wow... a power like that could probably even stand up to Voldemort himself... maybe that's what the prophecy meant. Do you think it mixes with Harry's? Maybe you two will have to work together to defeat him or something, you wearing him down and Harry delivering the final blow. As dangerous as it sounds, it might actually work. I mean, a wizard plus a wizard/alchemist against just one guy? It might just work..." Hermione said in almost one breath.
"Woah woah woah slow down there! Don't you think we should figure out how to control this first? As awesome and badass as it sounds to go barging in and blow up the place, I should probably figure out how to result the casualties to just the one. Don't worry, I'll start reading up on all the spells I need now so I know the theories when it's time to learn them."
Hermione nodded. "You're right, but this would be a lot easier if Harry was actually around more. He's been at Dumbledore's office almost every night now, and when he's not doing that he seems to be off in his own little world."
"What's he doing in there anyways? He never talks about it, and I almost guarantee they're not just sitting around talking about the latest wizard hat styles. I still don't really trust the old bastard..." Ed grumbled.
"He's trustworthy Ed, and whatever they're doing it probably has to do with defeating Voldemort. With what you've just learned about yourself maybe you should talk to him, he could probably help you."
"Eh, I'll do that later. Right now, I have about six years worth of magic to catch up on," Ed groaned. With that, he grabbed the nearest spellbook and immersed himself into it, preparing for what was to come.
A/N: HELLO! I am back from that semi-hiatus, and I intend to stay! (I'm really sorry about being gone that long, it won't happen again now that school is practically over) I found it really interesting to write Lust!Winry, and I'm really excited for what's to come in this story! I hope whoever has been here since the beginning is still around, and if you are, thank you very much! Also, thank you to everyone new that stopped by to read, favorite, follow, and review! All of you mean so much to me and I'm so grateful that you're taking the time to read this. I don't know about you, but I can't wait for the next chapter! Yay! ;)
why does every chapter I write end up having some sort of angst in it... yikes