(smiles) My reviewers are too good to me... (hands out bags of chocolate dutch mints) Yeah, I do plan on making a Roy/Serena or two in the future, including a couple of Scar/Serena fics along with anything else my crazy mind can cook up. I was planning on making a little side story to this one, where Scar saves Serena from Gluttony. What do you think? Anyways, here's some angst and a little EdSere romance.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story.

Serena tossed in her sleep and flung off the blankets, whimpering faintly as her brand new scars stung viciously. Her eyes cracked open, bright with a feverish light. So much for getting time off from her 'work'. Father really didn't seem to care that they had guests in the house, except he took the time to gag her and shackle her, which he never did before. Serena flinched as she remembered the pain of the whip that cracked across her back, and the knife that pierced her fragile skin.

The transmutation circles he carved on her back were getting stranger and stranger. He still forced her to cry diamonds, but it was now obvious that he was after something else. The new circles always made Serena feel weak and sick, and the afteraffects were terrible. Headaches, dizziness, nausea-- the list went on and on.

Hot tears slid from the corners of her eyes. Serena lifted a bloodstained hand and rubbed them away. She sorely wished that someone would come in here and help her. If only Envy and Lust hadn't gone away... More miserable tears slipped down her face. The homonculi always found a way to cheer her up, whether they meant to or not. But...

She wished Ed would come and hold her.

A sour taste grew in the back of her mouth, and Serena's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She jumped to her feet and ran out the door, making it to the bathroom just in time. When her stomach finished emptying itself, she washed her hands and face and rinsed her mouth out, spitting out the vile taste of vomit and blood. A knock on the bathroom door made her jump.

"Are you okay?" Ed's concerned voice drifted through the door. Serena froze in shock. This wasn't good. Her nightgown was stained with blood, and dripping it on the tiled floor. She grabbed a dark bathrobe and yanked it on, shoving some towels over the bloodstained part of the floor with her foot.

"I'm okay!" Serena's hands shook violently as she tied the bathrobe's belt. Why, why, why did Ed have to have such bad timing? After a quick glance in the mirror to assure herself, she slid out the door.

Ed's golden eyes scrutinized her in the moonlight. "Are you sure you're alright? I heard you being sick in there."

Serena cringed inwardly and prayed that Ed would just drop it, even though she knew it was hopeless. Ed would stick to the subject til the end of time. It also didn't help that the eldest Elric could always tell when she was lying.

"I need some fresh air," she muttered, quickly slipping past him and out onto the balcony. To her chagrin and secret delight, Ed followed her. Serena tried to glare at him, but wound up smiling instead. It faded when she looked curiously at Ed's right arm. It gleamed darkly in the moonlight, with it's own strange beauty. She had more or less figured out how Ed had come into possession of his automail, and how Alphonse had happened to be in that armor. They had more than likely attempted human transmutation. Serena hadn't approached them about it, and neither Elric had showed any inclination of wanting to talk about it.

Ed shifted uncomfortably and came to stand by her, conveniently placing his left side next to her. Serena couldn't help the little frown that worked it's way onto her features. Is he ashamed of his automail? The frown deepened into a scowl. What's to be ashamed of? Her hand reached out and clasped his metal wrist. Ed yanked his arm away, opening his mouth to yell at her, but he never got the chance. Serena pressed two fingers against his lips, not noticing the dark blush that spread over his cheeks.

"Stop it. You keep moving to hide it. I want to see."

This time, when she reached for his arm, Ed didn't pull away. Serena ran her hand gently over the steel, tracing wires and joints, admiring the way the metal warmed and shone against her touch. She didn't notice that Ed was practically beet red in the face.

Clearly, this arm was the work of a master craftsman--or woman, in this case. Serena placed her palm against Ed's metal one, gently twining their fingers together. Ed fingers tightened briefly, then tugged away. The young girl grinned impishly at him.

"See? That wasn't so bad," she insisted. Ed snorted, and muttered something under his breath, the faintest traces of pink still present on his face. Serena kissed his cheek, dark blue eyes warm as they looked into his startled golden orbs.

"Good night, Ed," Serena stated softly, turning and walking out the door. Ed didn't move. It would be a long time before he went in.

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Ed glared in frustration at the stony-faced woman in front of him. Serena gave him a weak smile from the bed behind the woman. Inwardly, she groused about her lost chance to spend time with Ed and Al. She wasn't sick! It was all her stupid Father's fault. The look Serena threw at the wall when she was sure no one was looking would probably have made an army turn tail and run.

"Go on, you two," Serena insisted. "I'll be up tomorrow, no problem. Why don't you go explore the town? They've got a really nice library close by."

Al nodded, quickly dragging his older brother off before Ed could cause a scene. Serena leveled a glare at the stony-faced maid's back until the woman turned around and pinned the younger one with the evil eye. Serena meeped in fear, quickly scooting away and turning to face the wall. The young girl reviewed every swear word she'd ever heard and used them on her father, even making up a few new one's in the process.

Maybe she could talk the maid into letting her out... Serena paused and remembered the evil look the maid had given her.

Okay, maybe not.

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Ed scowled murderously at the stack of books in front of him. For once, he didn't feel like reading, even though Al seemed happy enough to do just that. Al, noticing his brother's behaviour, sighed and put down the book he was perusing.

"Brother, you need to stop sulking. Serena probably just ate something that didn't agree with her last night." Ed's hand froze as it reached for a book.

"She didn't eat anything last night Al." The younger Elric paused, recalling how Serena had only picked at her food. Ed pushed on relentlessly.

"And what about the relationship between her and her parents? I didn't hear Serena say one thing to either of them, she didn't even look at them if she could help it," Ed insisted. Al groaned as his brother continued to rattle on. Why was Ed always so inclined to think the worst of everything?

"--and last night, when she came out of the bathroom, she looked afraid for some weird reason. It was like she was scared of being caught throwing up." Ed stopped as something niggled at him in the back of his memory. When Serena had gotten close to him, he had smelled blood. And come to think of it, there had been a little spot of blood on his automail when he had woken up in the morning. Ed had assumed that she had just cut herself on a sharp bit of his automail and dismissed it. When Ed relayed this information to Al, the giant suit of armor began to worry too.

"Excuse me," said a soft voice behind them. The Elrics jumped nervously and turned to see a young woman with short blue hair and kind blue eyes. "Are you staying at the Tsukino residence?" At the nods she received, she continued. "Could you give this to Serena and tell her it's from Lita?" The blue haired woman held out a a package. "Serena is usually haunting the library at this time. Where is she?"

"She's...not well," Alphonse said lamely.

"Miss..Amy, right?" Ed said, spotting the librarian's name card. "Do you know what Serena's dad does?"

Amy gazed at him thoughtfully, then answered. "He is a jeweler and an alchemist. No one really knows what he does with his alchemy, he's very secretive about it." Here Amy paused, a little frown on her lips. "You said Serena was ill?"

"Yes..." Al said quietly.

"That's odd," Amy murmered. Ed pounced on that bit of information.

"What's odd?" Amy fixed him with a peculiar stare.

"I work part time as a doctor, and Serena is one of my patients. She is a strong, healthy girl, even though she's a little malnourished. The last checkup I gave her was extremely strange though. She kept coughing up blood, and I couldn't find the reason why. When I asked her to remove her shirt, her father practically went berserk and forbade it. In the end he marched Serena out, and I haven't seen them in my office since. Is something the matter?"

"No, ma'am," said Al, quickly covering for his shell-shocked brother.

"Amy, do you know where the books on alchemy are?" Ed asked, standing up abruptly.

"Yes, they're in the back--" The librarian never finished her sentence. The brothers were already out of their chairs and racing to the back, leaving a bemused young woman.

"What exactly are we looking for, Brother?" Al asked some time later. Ed flipped through another book, then tossed it aside before answering.

"I'm not exactly sure, Al," Ed said heavily. "Some sort of alchemy that needs to be engraved on the human flesh? But what would he gain from it...?"

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Come on, Fullmetal, Lust thought in barely veiled irritation. It's not that hard, boy, put it together!

Of course, it was good fortune that Fullmetal had realized something was wrong so quickly. She had expected it to be at least another day before the boys noticed anything. Lust did not pray, but she was severely close to it now. They had found out exactly how Ken Tsukino planned to extract a Philosopher's Stone from his daughter's body.

Envy, in the guise of a maid, had pawed through Tsukino's research notes and had come up with several horrifying facts. He would extract the soul from Serena's body and imprison it in a crystal made of his own daughter's blood. The younger the subject, the better the stone. But without her soul, Serena would simply become a shell. Her body would continue to function, but she would have no spark, no life. And when the stone's power was used up, the soul would simply fade from existance. It would not move on to wherever souls went after their body's death.

This would not happen. Neither Envy nor Lust would allow it, even if they had to drag Fullmetal, kicking and screaming. But Lust could only wait, and urge the boys to hurry. She had left Envy to watch over Serena, so she was confident Tsukino would not try anything.

Lust smiled chillingly, lengthening her claws slightly. Once Serena was safe, there was nothing that could stop her from tearing Tsukino apart. Of course, she would definitely let Fullmetal beat him up first. Being whaled on by an angry, talented young alchemist with a metal arm and leg was bound to hurt quite a bit.

The boys were still talking. Suddenly the Fullmetal pipsqueak jumped up, hit himself on the head with his palm and ran out the door, shouting angrily. Judging from his reaction, he had more or less figured it out. The younger one called out to him, clanking as he ran to keep up.

And the games begin.

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Okay, things are starting to get serious.

FMA cast: THAT'S THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY!

Well, maybe it is... Sorry if I sucked at the romance, and if this was too short. Anyway, please read and review!... OH! Before I forget, here's a clip from the next chapter.

"Envy, what am I going to do?" Serena whispered tearfully. "Father's thrown out Ed and Al, and now I can't even leave the house!"

The homonculus wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, pressing her face against his chest as she trembled.

"Envy...When will I ever get out of this place?"