Thank you so much for the review! It has motivated me to write up the next chapter!
There was a frosty silence as the four travelers walked down the Yellow Brick Road. Winry and Al were both content in trusting the reformed Sin Lust, but Ed still wasn't convinced. He kept his right hand in his pocket, clutching the knife, waiting to see if Lust made any sudden moves. But she had no intention of harming anyone. It was with relief, that they finally saw Central City in the distance. They stopped for a moment on top of a hill and gazed at it in wonder. It was a magnificent city, the likes of which this Ed and Al had never seen before. Winry had of course seen it many times while visiting her Ed and Al and Lust knew it all too well. Many times Dante had sent the Sins on a rampage in the city, attempting to overthrow the Fuhrer. All the attacks had failed due to the Fuhrer's mastery of Alchemy. But first and foremost on everyone's mind was what the Fuhrer could do for them. For Lust, her Life. For Ed, the meaning of his strange dreams. For Al, a way to undo Etnad's curse. And for Winry, a way to return home at last. Winry grabbed Ed's hand, who grabbed Al's hand, who grabbed Lust's hand. Winry turned to the others and said, "Let's go!"
And they ran down the hill, hand in hand, towards the wonderful city. In her mansion in the West, Dante sneered at them, her hands running all the faster over her crystal ball.
"You fools won't be smiling after this! Deadliest is the subtle poison. Sprout, my poppies, sprout and release the intoxicating scent you're known for!"
Halfway to the city, which they now saw was surrounded by a gate, the land in front of them seemed to blur and shift. Each traveler closed his or her eyes and reopened them. A field of poppies had suddenly appeared! They paid them no mind and kept running. Unfortunately, halfway through the field, Winry and Ed started feeling sluggish and dizzy. They slowed to a walk and Winry fell to her knees. Ed tried to help her up, but ended up falling over as well.
"Ed! Winry! What's wrong?" Al said, crouching down to them.
"So…tired…" Winry muttered, falling on her side, her eyes closing shut.
Ed had already fallen asleep.
"Ed! Winry!" Al shook them slightly, trying to wake them up. "What's wrong with them?"
"Dante." Lust said. "She's used Alchemy to create these flowers. I've seen her use this trick before. These are poppies."
"Poppies?" Al said. "What're those?"
"Flowers that carry an intoxicating scent. It'll put even the fiercest creature to sleep. We are not affected because you have no true body, and I am not truly alive."
"But what are we going to do?"
"There's not much we can do." Lust said. "I'll fly up and see what I can see."
Lust's wings flapped once, hard, and she was in the air. Al tried to stand Ed up, but he just slumped from his arms. He lifted Winry up and shook her slightly again, but to no avail. Even Den was dead asleep, not even twitching in a dream. Just when Al was about to lose it, a voice said, "What's wrong?"
Al looked up and saw a strange figure wearing a hooded cloak.
"Hey, why aren't you affected by the poppies?"
The stranger didn't reply, but bent down over Ed and clapped her hands. A small blue light erupted up and down the length of Ed's body. His eyes shut tight for a second, then slowly opened. She then repeated the process on Winry. As Winry opened her eyes, the stranger's swam into focus in her eyes, but only for a moment. As Winry and Ed sat up, the mysterious woman had disappeared.
"What happened?" Ed asked, stifling a yawn. "Why do I feel so tired?"
As Al explained what happened, and Lust returned to the ground seeing Ed and Winy awake, Winry gazed into the distance. She had seen Izumi's face staring down at her. But that didn't make sense. She didn't know Alchemy, had seemed offended that she was associated with it, even in a mistake. Before Winry had time to contemplate this further, Ed put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You okay?"
She nodded and smiled at him. "Let's go!"
The four travelers quickly left the poppies behind and approached the gate into Central City. The gate stretched so far up, it completely concealed the city. There was a small round hole covered with a tiny door. Winry knocked on it and it opened revealing Havoc staring back at them.
"Yeah?" He said, without concern.
"Uh…we're here to see the Fuhrer." Winry said.
Havoc sighed and said, "Nobody gets to see the Fuhrer. Not with Dante's Sins flying around."
He was about to close the door when Lust stopped him.
"Excuse me, but I think it's important that the Fuhrer sees this girl."
"And why is that lady?"
"Look at what she's wearing."
Havoc's eyes traveled down Winry's ugly checked dress and stockings down to the Blood Red Slippers. His eyes widened as he saw them and he disappeared from the window. They heard the unmistakable whir of a phone being dialed and Havoc's voice muttering something. He reappeared a short time later and said, "Alright you can get in."
They all stood back as they expected the gigantic gate to swing open. But all that happened was a small door opened in the bottom right side of the door. Havoc stepped out and said, "Why are you standing so far away?"
They all quickly ran forward and entered Central City.
In the West, Dante kicked her crystal ball across the room, nearly hitting Wrath who was sitting nearby. She clapped her hands and grabbed her broom, jumping out the window and flying towards Central.
"Those shoes are mine! And I will take them back!"
A thick black smoke started issuing from the back of her broom. She would send a message for all of Central City to see!
Ending Note: Done and done! I hope you enjoy it! Review!