The Virtue Chronicles
Rating: M
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Disclaimer: I have no ownership rights to FMA. I'm just an obsessed fan, who wanted to write a story involving some of the characters from the anime/manga.

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen episodes 1-34, I suggest you do so before reading this fanfiction, because some parts may confuse you, and ultimately, ruin crucial plot twists, from the anime. I'm not to sure on the manga though, but just remember that you've been warned!

Special thanks to: Hiromu Arakawa, Square-Enix, Bones, Funimation, and Viz, for bringing FMA to life, and also for posting my fanfiction.

Summary: Roy assigns Edward on a mission to find the motive behind a chain of homicide's that have recently taken place in Central. As Edward digs deeper into the case, he finds himself caught up in a vicious clash between the Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues.

The spacious canals of the sewer, along with its dark and dank atmosphere, made a nearby scurrying rat feel at ease. It stopped abruptly, sniffing at the ground, feeling around with its whiskers. Then it arched up, on its hind quarters, locking onto to a faint, distant odor. Pressing on, it continued to hurry forward, letting a squeak of excitement every now and then.

The rat found a rusted pipe, jutting out from the grimy brick wall, and proceeded to climb up it. When the rat reached the end of the tube, it began hopping from sewage pipe, to sewage pipe, high above the river of pale-green sludge below it. Soon, the towering slope of the pipes began to decline, and the rat planted its paws onto the solid concrete sidewalk again.

The rodents' sense of smell was kicking into overdrive, and almost at once, it knew what the stench was: Raw Meat.

The rat bolted forward, bumping its nose against the split-open skull of a fallen soldier. The scent of the guard was familiar to the rat, but its short memory span wouldn't allow it remember exactly who it was. The lack of food and nutrition made the vermin ravenous, ready to eat just about anything, even this human carcass. It began to nibble some the sewer guards poured out brains, savoring the tart and stringy meat, and licking up the saucy juices.

A swift jerk on the rats' tail brought it squealing upside down, and face to face with a beady-eyed, stout man. One of the man's thick fingers poked the rat repeatedly, with a twisted smile on his face. The rat fought back, biting the taunting finger, only to make the obese man snicker with glee.

"Don't play with your food, Gluttony," instructed a smooth, sensual voice, from a buxom, dark-clad woman, with her back resting against the chilling sewer wall. The few torches that were lit in the sewer played shadows across her pale skin.

"Sorry, Lust," giggled Gluttony.

With the rat still wiggling in his other hand, Gluttony picked up the remains of the guards body, and in the blink of an eye, devoured the remnants and rodent, bringing about an echoing munching and slurping noise, through out the doom-shaped passage.

Lust flicked her midnight-colored curls to the side and sighed heavily.

She was growing impatient. "Envy should have met up with us thirty minutes ago. What could be taking him so long?"

Gluttony licked his fingers for the fourth time, when Envy dropped graciously from the over-head pipelines. He knelt down, easing the blow on his feet, and then stood up, with a demonic look in his violet eyes.

"I had my hands tied up for awhile," Envy cursed.

Taking no response of Envy's excuse, Lust inspected her fingernails. "What kind of thrilling news do you have this time?" The monotone way Lust spoke hinted her already noticeable boredom.

"We Sins are no longer alone."

Gluttony stopped licking his fingers, and both he and Lust looked over to Envy, giving him their undivided attention.

"What are you talking about, Envy?"

Envy's face grew stern, and livid. "One is already awake, and it won't be long before the other's follow suit."

"You know what this means, don't you?" Lust said, one corner of her lips going up in a smirk.

"Yes," Envy said curtly. "But that means we can't focus on putting down that pip-squeak stray dog, Full Metal."

"Calm down," Lust said, strutting away from the wall. "They will probably be hunting him down the same way we did. All we need to do is wait till one of them meets up with Edward and his younger brother, and then we confront them. It will be like killing two birds with one stone."

"You do have a point there, Lust. I'll try to be patient," Envy shrugged and set himself in an akimbo stance.

Lust chuckled at Envy's behavior, and crossed her arms.

"Oh, Lust! Can I eat them, please?" Gluttony pleaded with anticipation. His stomach growled, almost trying to speak for him.

"We'll let you have one or two, Gluttony, since there are seven of them."

"And only six of us," grumbled Envy.

"It'd be best if we told Pride and the others about this. They probably want a piece of the action as well."

The small group of homunculus strode deeper into the eerie abyss of the sewers, smiling as they let their minds speculate on the carnage of war to come.

Preview for Chapter 2 - Justice is Served:
"Tell me Edward," Roy began, "Is there anything else you see in common with these victims?"

Edward paused, looking back down at the profiles and reports in his hands, reading them again, thoroughly. An instant later Edward gasped, gripping the papers roughly, in disgusted astonishment.

"Brother, what is it?"

"All of the victims," trembled Edward. "They've all been proven innocent of hideous crimes that should have put them on death row, without a second glance!"

"This isn't a case of homicide," admitted Edward with distaste. "It's nothing more then overdue justice."

After notes-
This is my first fanfiction, so I apologize if there are any grammar errors and/or typos. The only way I'll get better is by listening to your comments, so if it isn't too much to ask, please leave a short review. I'll try to post Chapter 2 as soon as I can. Thank you for reading.

With openness and respect, Heza Ulric