Written in Blood
By: K-c

A/N: So, as you all could tell, this is when my story's plot really starts to develop. This is only the beginning of the climax, though, so don't think it's all down hill from here. I'm very happy that you guys liked the last one . . .it took me so long to write something so short! I promise that this one will definitely be longer! Enjoy!

Another note from K-c: YES! MY PROJECTS ARE FINALLY OVER! I'll be updating more frequently now! HUZZAH!

Ch.6: Take Everything
"Ed . . .please . . .stop . . ." I panted out heavily, my legs practically giving out underneath me. My chest was heaving uncontrollably; the very breath I tried to draw was painful and difficult to swallow. I could hear the blood pounding in my head as I tried to keep running up to Ed's lightning fast speed. At first, I didn't think that he had heard me, so I opened my mouth again to speak, but I only croaked hoarsely. Ed shot a glance behind us from over his shoulder and slowly stopped running, coming to a clumsy stop. I ran straight into him and he grabbed my waist before I could fall over. I looked up into his face and saw the fear, worry and exhaustion hidden behind his sweaty exterior. His eyes were glinting in a streetlight beside us and I knew that he was just as afraid as I was.

"Where . . .are we . . .going?" I asked him through breaths, resting my hands on my knees to somehow catch the breath I had lost a long time ago. My legs began to wobble once more and I grabbed a hold of something to sustain my balance and I ended up seizing his jacket sleeve. He was doubled over beside me, his pants coming in short and heavy. I could see the sweat drip down off of his face and onto the gravel ground beneath our sore feet. Without looking at me, he said the next sentence quietly, his breath still constricting his words.

"Anywhere but here."

"But how far do we need to go to get away from them?" I shouted slightly, panic rising in my voice. The thought of running to the next town frightened me a bit . . .it was so far away. Ed suddenly looked up at me, his eyes narrowed in anger and frustration.

"As far as we need to, okay?" he yelled, his breath regained for the time being. We were totally disregarding the fact that we were in the middle of a city at night and that everybody was sleeping except for us. When he had shouted this, I thought I saw a light flicker on in a window above us, but I ignored it and glared slightly back at Edward.

"So we're just gonna run away from this?" I screamed back, my voice volume growing higher and higher with every word I said. This only seemed to piss him off even more and I knew what was going to come next: Another argument.

"Of course we're not! I just wanna get away from them!"

"I wanna get away from them, too, but I also want to stop them before they destroy this whole town!"

"THAT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE!"

"YOU GOT RID OF THEM BEFORE, YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN!"

"I NEVER GOT RID OF THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"I DON'T WANT TO RUN AWAY ANY MORE, LET'S FACE IT!"

He suddenly seized a hold of my shoulders tightly and squeezed them painfully. I gasped out in discomfort, but he did not yield his grip. He glared me straight in the eyes, though he was now completely serious. The way his long bangs fell over those beautiful eyes of his, held my attention and I didn't try to move out of his grasp.

"Do you want to die?"

This little inquiry froze my heart and erased all of my anger in a flash of a second. My lips began to tremble as I tried to find some words to say to get myself out of this horrible situation. The feeling darting between us was more than I could bear . . .it was unnerving how every word he said made me become a babbling fool and made me lose all of my thoughts. I was so scared by his words . . . I could tell in his eyes that he was just as scared as I was. His hands shook slightly as he held me in my place, tightening his grasp on my shoulders to maintain his own grip. Being in a situation like this is hard on both of us . . .I just never stopped to think about how Ed was feeling during this. He always was so unemotional looking, that I couldn't tell if he was afraid or not. Now, seeing him in the eyes in the dim light of night, I could see the fear.

" . . .Are we going to die . . .?" I asked meekly, my voice shaking with each syllable. Ed closed his golden eyes for a moment as if trying to find an answer for himself before saying it aloud, and then looked at me again. The fear shining in his eyes was not as great as before, but it was still staring back at me hauntingly.

"Not it we keep moving, we won't."

"Boo."

We spun around sharply as he let go of my shoulders to see Envy standing right behind us with a gun in his hand. He smiled maniacally at us and pointed the gun directly at Ed, and then moved it slowly to me. I didn't have time to react or think, but the next thing I knew, I was being pulled along again at a much faster pace than before. Edward was running at such a fast speed that I couldn't move my legs in time with him and just dragged along behind him. I looked behind me to see Envy setting fire to a house on his left and Lust crushing a building into rubble again. Screams from the occupants within erupted into the air and shattered the semi-calm atmosphere as their bodies got crushed inside of the collapsing structures. From a burning building, I saw a young woman run out carrying a small child in her arms away from the flames, but Envy pointed the gun and shot her to the ground before she could get far. When she hit the ground, the fat one ran up to them and stooped over their bodies, concealing them from my sight. When he moved away, nothing was on the ground anymore except for a large puddle of blood. I stared in awe at this devastation, words not capable of describing the utter terror before my eyes.

Edward suddenly reared off to the right and flew down a narrow alley, stumbling over trash cans and whatnot, desperately trying to run away from our followers. He flung open a random door and barged inside of the house. Just as I was inside, he slammed the door shut with a loud bang. I tried to stop to catch my breath for a moment, but Ed only pulled me forward again, running through the kitchen of the house to a place of hopeful safety. As we ran by, we passed a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a large stomach.

"What the hell are you two doing in—"

Ed stopped running and wheeled around, rummaging in his pocket for his State Alchemist pocket watch and held it up with haste. "Sir, I am a State Alchemist and I'm taking brief refuge in this house—"

"What's going on out there?" a timid and very frightened woman with long red hair asked us fearfully from around a corner. A small boy of no more than five years old with light brown hair and bright green eyes clung onto her leg frightfully, peeking at us from behind his mothers' skirt. Edward looked over at the two of them, his chest still heaving from all of our running and he still held onto his watch.

"Ma'am, you need to get out of here now. You are all in great danger—"

"From who? Who would do something so horrible as destroy our town and kill everyone?" the woman screeched out in horror, stepping around the corner, her little son trailing behind her, his eyes wide in fear. He looked up at his mother with that same expression, but she did not look down at him. I could tell that Edward was trying to keep his patience, but time was running out and they were just wasting it when they could be running to shelter. It wasn't until he stepped away from me and towards the family that I had noticed that he had been holding my hand that entire time. Usually, he pretending to not know of my existence around others . . .especially when he was being "Mr. State Alchemist".

"JUST GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE WHILE YOU CAN!" he hollered at them in frustration an annoyance, pointing towards the nearest door. The family in front of us didn't have any time to react because during the next second, the far wall crumbled to the ground in a wave of stones and brick and there stood Lust, Envy and the other one. The fat one licked his lips hungrily, blood dripping down from his mouth and he held an arm in his hand. I gasped out quickly, but it only got stifled by a quick tug on my arm again as Ed began to dart away from them. He dashed through the house, blindly making his way around in this unfamiliar building and eventually thrust open a door and threw me inside. I landed on the floor painfully, but I didn't bother to yell at him for doing so. He was too busy conducting alchemy to seal the door shut.

From in the house, we could hear the screams of the family and their footsteps running frantically here and there. Then, three gunshots rang out in the small house and were quickly followed by the soft squishing of flesh. I cringed at all of these horrific sounds, and as Edward backed away from the door and towards me, I could see that fear was plastered on his pale face once more. I slowly stood to my feet and grabbed his arm tightly as he made his way to me; his eyes still focused on the door facing us.

There was a long moment of silence that fell all over the place in which I could only hear my heart pound and the panting breaths coming from both of our bodies. Then, quietly, I heard the subtle sounds of footsteps slowly coming towards the door. They stopped right in front of it and I held my baited breath, trying to stifle my sobs of fear rising out of me. I could feel Ed tense up as we remained completely still, not daring to even take a breath. I cursed my own heart for beating, being completely convinced that they could hear it as clearly as I could.

The footsteps continued to walk by and down the hallway from where they came. I let the trapped air inside of my lungs out slowly, the fear in my heart still there but dying for the time being. Ed slowly moved away from me, pulling his arm out of my tight grasp and walked over to the door to press his ear against it to make sure that whoever was there was gone. I watched him wearily, the thought of them still being there gripping my throat and constricting it severely.

A loud crashing sound emitted suddenly from nowhere and I screamed out as I saw Ed stumbled backwards, a long black spear-like thing stuck in his left arm. I screamed his name and started to run towards him, but the wall with the door collapsed in a heap and Lust and Envy stood in the midst of it, identical smirks on their faces. Lust's extended finger was sticking into Ed's arm and she pulled it out quickly, causing him to fall to the ground in a slump. He clutched his arm protectively as the blood began to run down it, mixing in with the red colour of his coat. The fabric was torn at the upper part and a large, blood-covered wound was visible. I took another step towards Ed to help him, but I stopped dead in my tracks when Envy held up that gun again and pointed it right at my heart. I froze on the spot and didn't dare to move a muscle.

"The game ends here, Elric," Envy growled lowly, still pointing the gun at my heart, but turning to face Edward on the floor. Ed glared up at him, the pain and fury glinting off of his eyes in the soft, dim light coming from the lamp overhead. My heart tore into pieces while I stared helplessly at him, thoughts and ideas constantly running through my mind on how I could possibly save him from being killed by these horrible monsters. I gulped down some excess spit in my mouth even though my throat felt exceedingly dry. Envy's smirk grew wider as I began to shake uncontrollably and he turned to face me.

"Aw . . .what's the matter, little girl? Are you afraid?" he asked me in a sweet voice that was dripping with poison. He pulled his lips together in a mocking pout and began to laugh horribly in my despair. The courage inside of my body that had walked away from me for this whole time showed up and I took a step towards him, clenching my fists.

"You're not going to get away with this!" I shouted at them, glaring at Lust and Envy with all of my might. When an evil grin came upon Envy's face, I lost all of my courage again and I was just a little pile of nothing once more.

"Oh, but I believe we just did," Envy laughed again and held the gun up higher to point at my forehead.

There was another long pause of silence when none of us moved or made a single sound. Outside, I could hear the running footsteps of the military that had been called to attention by the destruction of their town. Voices shouted in the distance and barked out orders, but none of them were near where we were. They sounded so far away and they would never reach us in time. I wanted to scream out that we were here and that we have them right in our grasp, but the gun that was still pointed to my head was preventing my attempts at all cost. I closed my eyes suddenly, fearing the end.

A loud gunshot rang out in the room, but I didn't feel any pain. There were no screams that followed the booming sound. I opened my eyes in confusion and saw Edward on his feet, holding the gun between his two hands. Envy tensed his finger on the trigger to fire, but Ed conducted alchemy and turned it into a gigantic metal club. He grabbed the weapon and swung it and it collided with the side of Envy's head and he fell to the floor.

I looked around the room and saw that Lust and the other one were already on the floor, knocked cold. I wanted to ask him how the hell he did that so quickly, but I didn't have time to because Ed quickly grabbed my hand. I prepared to run again, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled me towards him and embraced me tightly, running his fingers through my hair gently. I froze as he held me against him and pressed his face into my neck.

"Let's get outta here."

That was when we started to run again. Knowing the fact that the homunculi were going to come to at any given moment hurried my feet along so that I was actually running up to speed with Edward. He led us out of the house and back into the street where it was lonely and empty. I still heard the voices from the military echoing in the night, but they were still so far away. Houses around us were still burning, but no screams issued from within. My heart felt stone cold as I stared at the sight surrounding me. Is everyone dead?

Edward paused for a moment, staring around him as well and then turned to his left and took off into the woods behind somebody's house. We reached the edge of the woods and he paused for a moment, staring up at the trees, but then plunged straight into the thick blanket of darkness of trees. The soft mud squished underneath my feet as we ran steadily, avoiding trees and other obstacles in our path. Ed's hand gripped mine tightly and I felt so secure being in the same presence as him. The cold air blew against my face and I immediately started to regret not putting on a jacket or something a little less revealing as my tank top and skirt. I was still barefoot because Edward hadn't given me anytime at all to put on some shoes when he was in his trance and dragged me out of the inn. By now, my feet had already started to bleed from being cut on the ground and rocks that I was constantly tripping over. They hurt like hell, but I was too afraid to stop and worry over them. The homunculi could've waken up by now . . .

My foot caught a large rock and I was suddenly sent flying forwards and straight into the mud. The wet mud clung onto my face and the whole front half of my body as I lay face-first in the sticky mess. Edward continued to run, but spun around and ran over to me immediately. A horrible pain sprung up from my leg and I screamed out loudly, forgetting for the moment that we were trying to hide from somebody. My right leg felt like it had split in half! The searing pain throbbed up and down my lower half and I continued to scream bloody murder while it did. Ed dropped to his knees beside me and held his hands above me in panic, not sure of what to do.

"Winry! Are you all right?" he asked me frantically, his voice growing high in shear panic and alarm. I sucked in some air through my teeth in pain and frustration and glared up at him.

"LIKE HELL I AM!" I screamed at him, the pain making me furious at everything at the moment. Ed looked taken back by my remark and I half expected for him to argue back with me, but he merely rolled me onto my back as carefully as he could. I cried out again at the movement of my leg and began to pant heavily from the torture running through my body.

"We really need to hurry—"

"HOW CAN I HURRY IF I CAN'T EVEN MOVE?"

"Just calm down, I'll carry you—"

"CARRY ME? YOU'RE TOO SHORT!"

Ed glared at me horribly, his golden eyes glinting in the faraway light from town. I knew I had struck a nerve, but my mind was so consumed by the pain that I didn't have time to worry over what I had said to him. I waited for him to throw himself into a tantrum, but he didn't to my surprise. He closed his eyes for a second as if letting off some steam and then opened them once more.

"I'll carry you."

That was the last thing I heard from him for the longest time. He didn't snap back at me like I was expecting him to, but he kept a calm and cool head, ignoring my insults. He scooped me up quickly, but still being careful, and hoisted me onto his back. He held onto my legs for support and I clung onto his neck. There was a slight discomfort from his hand holding onto my broken and throbbing leg, but I got used to the pain after a while and shut up. He walked quickly, but not quick enough to drop me behind.

Has Edward really matured?

I smiled slightly at the ridiculous thought of little Edward, who complained and threw hissy fits everytime somebody called him young or short, being a mature adult. Sure, he and I were 17 years old, but I still couldn't see that large of a change to him. Part of me, I had to admit, didn't want to lose the Edward I've come to know and love. Being the immature brat he always was made me fall for him even more and I didn't want to believe that that part of him was gone forever. My childhood friend is finally becoming an adult . . .but will he leave me behind? Will he never argue with me out of spite like we used to? I don't want to lose him like this . . . not just yet . . .

"Winry . . .?" he whispered suddenly, tearing me from my thoughts. I loved the way he whispered my name so gently, like a breeze through my hair. I bent down further towards him and buried my face in his long, golden hair that was still down on his shoulders and sighed.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry . . ." he finished softly, his voice full of remorse. I glanced up from his hair in confusion.

"Why?"

"I almost killed you . . .and now . . ." he paused, his voice breaking off suddenly. I waited in silence for him to continue. When he said the next part, his voice was clogged with sorrow and anger. "And now we're being chased by the things I never wanted you to see in your life!" he shouted quickly, the fury quite noticeable in his voice. I bent down and pressed my face in his neck again. My heart was frozen by his words—like always. This is why he never wanted to take me along with him to places . . .he didn't want to take the risk of meeting up with the homunculi and getting me hurt. He was only trying to protect me . . .and my stupid stubbornness—it brought me here and this is what happened! Why couldn't I have just let him go?

"This is all my fault . . ." I whispered suddenly, feeling the tears rise in my eyes as I said this. Edward stopped walking and stood completely still.

"If I had only let you go . . .none of this would have happened! It's all my fault! I never do anything right!" I screamed out, the tears pouring out of my eyes like waterfalls. They landed in his silky hair and ran down his shoulder gently. I squeezed my eyes shut in anguish and sobbed hysterically on his shoulder. He slowly and gently let me down on the ground as I still continued to cry incessantly.

"Don't say that . . .it's not your—"

"YES IT IS! DON'T DENY IT! You know that it's my fault just as well as I do!" I shrieked back at him, the tears still running out of my eyes and landing on the soft dirt underneath me. The tears mixed in with the mud still caked on my face and turned them a dirty brown colour. When I opened my eyes, Edward was kneeling right in front of me, staring me straight in the face. My heart began to pound, but my body was so masked by my sorrow that I didn't even have time to realize that the one boy I loved dearly was with me . . .and was actually caring for me. I was too caught up in my self-pity that I couldn't think about him . . .

"No, Winry. I don't know . . .all I know is that I'm happy you're all right and that we're together now . . ." He whispered gently to me, placing a warm hand on my mud-covered cheek soothingly. I sniffled slightly and blinked away a few stray tears that clung onto my eyelashes. I wanted to open my mouth to argue about how I'm not okay and that I'm in horrible pain, but our faces were so close to each other that I didn't even want to move my lips. My vision was blurry from my tears, but I could see those beautiful gold eyes of his glowing radiantly in the darkness and seemed to conduct their own light. I could almost hear his own heartbeat pounding steadily inside of his chest and mine beat in sync with his in the silence of the night.

What's going on? Why is he acting so mature suddenly? This is the man that I've been lusting after for the past four years, liked for ten years, and knew for three more . . .and when he starts to return my feelings . . .I'm scared. I can't even move my arms to inch away! What's wrong with me? I love him . . .I know I do . . .but why do I feel so empty and alone? I'm not alone . . .he's with me . . .but this just doesn't feel like him . . .The Edward I've known . . .the Edward I've loved . . .is different now . . .

"I . . ." I began uncertainly, unsure of exactly what I was going to say. My lips barely moved, but I could still feel the heat from his face lying all over mine. His warm breath played over my cheeks and I started to feel very drowsy. He seemed to creep closer to me if that was possible, his warm hand still resting gently on my cheek and the other one inched around my waist. I sat completely still, the muscles in my body not responding at all to what was going on. His hand from my cheek moved from its' place and he rested a comforting finger on my lips delicately. My body shivered all over from his touch and I felt that strange urging inside of me start to beg to be released once again. I half closed my eyes in preparation for the inevitable and waited patiently, my legs itching like crazy.

Ed slowly moved his hand from my waist to my neck and he accidentally brushed it against my bare thigh. Another long shiver ran up and down my spine and I started to get antsy. I took in a sharp intake of breath and placed my hands on his shoulders involuntarily. I twirled my fingers around in his long hair, letting the silky texture of it soothe my thoughts and needs. Ed took this action as a welcoming gesture, and moved in towards me even more so that our lips were actually brushing against one another. I wanted him so badly, but I couldn't do anything to the effect of it. I wanted him and needed him. I couldn't take the suspenseful moment . . .I just needed him. Suddenly, he moved away.

"Win' . . .this isn't right."

It felt like my heart had stopped as he said these words. I let my hands drop from his shoulders, releasing his beautiful hair in the process. I gaped at him, my throat automatically constricting to the point where I could hardly breathe. The pounding pain in my leg seemed to have numbed away for the second and I was alone once more. As I looked him in the eyes, I saw that his golden irises weren't glowing like they were before, but they seemed to have dulled out, like a candle losing its' wick. He shifted his gaze from me to the ground beside us nervously, trying to cover up his blush. I was speechless.

"I just don't want to hurt you . . ." he whispered calmly, his eyes still focused on the ground. I could barely see his face in the dim and meager light from town, but I could see the sorrow of a million apologies wiped across his complexion. I knew exactly what he meant by his words . . .He didn't want to love me like he wants to because when he goes away again, it'll only hurt me more . . .He doesn't want to put me through more misery. As I thought on this, my eyes began to brim with tears and my chest heaved. The tears spilled out again and all over my front, still covered in dark mud.

"Hey . . .don't cry . . ." he whispered over to me, now looking up and seeing my tears. For all of the years I have known Edward, he has always been a sucker for girls crying and this was no different than before. His golden eyes began to fill up with seas of concern and compassion as he gazed over at me. I couldn't stop crying. I felt like all of the oceans in this world didn't equal to the amount of tears I needed to shed. Everything was so horrible . . .Edward and I are more distant and awkward around each other, we're being hunted down by monsters, my leg is broken and I still want him, but he won't take me!

"I won't let them hurt you."

I looked up from my lap to see Edward wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on top of mine. I buried my face into his chest and sobbed out the last few tears softly, holding onto him as if my life depended on it.

"But . . .what's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked him quietly through my tears; my face still smothered in his jacket collar. There was a long pause of silence as I listened to the sound of his breath and felt his chest rise up and down steadily.

"Nobody knows . . .but whatever happens, happens . . ." he answered sternly, his business-like tone appearing again. His seriousness startled me, but he was completely right. Whatever happens, happens . . .we'll just play it by ear and hope for the best . . .

I pulled my face out of his chest and released his slowly. Edward followed suit and sat there, staring at me. I gave a weak smile and brushed off a long strand of hair from his shoulder.

"Turn around."

Ed took my order nicely and turned around like he was told. I smiled again and reached back into my pocket for another hair-tie (I kept a whole stash of them!) and began to play around with his hair. I entwined my fingers with the silky locks and parted it into three parts, preparing for braiding. I slowly and meticulously braided it carefully, making sure to not miss any strands that might poke out. Judging by the way his shoulders slumped slightly halfway through this process, he was starting to doze. When I had finished, I leaned over to look at his face and saw that his eyes were indeed closed. My heart warmed at the sight of the sleeping beauty and the thought of being chased and hiding in the woods with a broken leg vanished immediately from my mind for the moment as I stared at him.

I somehow snuggled my body into the grasp of his arms and he automatically pulled me towards him in his sleep. I rested my head against his shoulder and stared up at his gorgeous face with content. Feeling the heat radiate from his body calmed my nerves and soothed the pain in my leg for the time being. The worries of what was coming in the morning didn't seem to matter anymore and I smiled happily, closing my eyes for much needed sleep. I thought I heard him whisper something to me gently in the quiet of the night, but I didn't get the chance to understand what it was that he had said because I was soon lulled off to sleep.


Ed's POV:

"It'll only be for a little while . . ."

I grudgingly opened my eyes from sleep, expecting the blinding light from dawn, but I was only greeted with darkness. The night's not over yet . . .I have more hours to sleep . . . I opened my eyes wider and looked down, expecting to see Winry resting on my chest, but she wasn't there. I tried to put my arms down to crawl around to look for her, but I couldn't move them from above my head. My vision was still blurry, but the image of cement floor became clearer and clearer as the seconds ticked by. The loud rattling of chains brought me to my senses and I snapped awake.

Where the hell am I? I looked around the room I was in and noticed that I was in some sort of cell with bars all around me. As I glanced above me, I saw that my wrists were bound in chains above my head on the wall. The room I was in was dark and dank, no windows in it at all and not a soul around. My heart began to pound as panic rose up inside of my body at the thought of being bound in this prison-like place. I opened my mouth to scream something, but something large was lodged down my throat, preventing my shouts to be heard. I choked on this and began to cough violently, but only made my head pound from lack of oxygen. I kept looking around frantically for any site of Winry, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you sleep well?" a quiet voice sounded from over in the corner of the room. I directed my attention to where I heard the voice and saw the dark silhouette of Lust standing in the corner, leaning up against the wall casually. Anger boiled up inside of me and I started to shout something again, but it only threw me into another coughing fit by my gag. She merely smirked at me and twirled around a ring of keys tauntingly.

"Long time no see . . ."


K-c