Winry was exiting the general store with a pack of candy she put in her purse and began the long walk back to her dormitory at Central Inn. She heard the sound of her name being called, turned to the right to see Edward waving at her and calling her over. She smiled and started over towards her friend.

"Hey Winry," the state alchemist said "How are you?"

"I'm fine!" She said "I just finished my last automail order for the month and am now taking some time off. It's being sent to Rush Valley so Dominic can inspect it!"

"Good for you!" Ed said with a smile. "You seem to be doing great with Dominic's help now."

"By the way Ed, how is your automail?"

Ed lifted his right arm "It's perfect since you adjusted it before…" Ed started to fidget with his gloves "...Winry?"

"Yes?" Winry replied. She had no idea what he could be trying to say.

"Thank-you." Edward's golden eyes met Winry's blue eyes with a smile. "You've been there for me and my brother ever since what happened back in Resembool. You were always ready and willing to repair my automail whenever it needed it. You and Granny Pinako always let us stay at your house when we would come back."

"Ed…" Winry said in surprise "You don't have to thank me. It was my pleasure helping you and Al. Where is he anyway?"

"He decided to stay back in our room at the military hotel. I said I was going to the library for a while. But, as usual, there was nothing useful."

The large clock in Central began to chime twelve times.

"I should get going." Said Winry glancing at the clock

"The Military hotel is pretty close to Central Inn, do you want to go together?" asked Ed

"Sure. It's going to be a long walk home though."

"Not exactly." Ed pointed to an alleyway "Central Inn is actually through here. The Colonel pointed it out to me on a rainy day. I use it all the time to get to and from the military hotel."

Winry looked into the alley. It was lit by streetlights and looked vacant. She wanted to get home as soon as possible too.

"Okay Ed." She said finally

The two of them started down the alley Winry looked around and saw the alley was in bad shape. It was made up of abandoned buildings, the ground was uneven and the smell was awful. Chills ran up and down her spine.

"This place looks like it was used ages ago." Winry said, eyes still mesmerized by the condition of the alleyway.

"It is in bad shape, isn't it?" Edward said without looking around "Sorry Win-"

Ed suddenly stopped and looked around. Winry stopped too.

"Ed? What's wrong?" Winry asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Winry, we're not alone here." Said Edward still glancing around.

"What!?" Winry said instantly as the alleyway darkened and she saw Ed turn around.

There were six men dressed in black and wearing ski masks, they were coming from every direction and were closing in on them.

"Give us your money and we let you go safely." Said the big one in the middle.

"Not a chance!" Ed shouted. He clapped his hands, turned his automail hand into his automail blade and dived backwards to deal with the ones behind him. Winry watched in awe as he kicked two to the ground in midair and slashed downwards at the third, knocking him unconscious. She felt herself being pulled back and a knife at her throat.

"ED!" Winry screamed, too scared to move. Ed turned, wide-eyed to see his friend being restrained at knifepoint by one of the men in black. He was about to rush to save her when the big man in the middle began to speak.

"Impressive" He said "I didn't believe my men would go down that easy." His voice stopped Ed where he stood, as though…he knew the owner of the voice.

"To prevent casualties on either side, lets make a deal." He continued "If you stop hurting my men…and take a small beating, we let your friend go."

"And just why the hell should I believe you?" Ed exclaimed

"Because we'll waste your friend if you don't" Said the big man. Ed watched in horror as the knife was brought closer to Winry's throat. The big man smiled through the ski mask as he stared at the expression on Ed's face. "Call it an equivalent exchange if you want. You don't want your friend to die, do you? "

"ED! NO!" Winry screamed in protest almost reading Ed's mind as he turned his blade back into his hand.

"Do what you have to do, but let her go." He said solemnly.

"You have my word she will be let go when we're done." He motioned for a smaller man behind him to come forward. He was also wearing black and a ski mask. He carried two large pieces of paper and dropped them to the ground. Each had a different transmutation circle.

"Alchemy huh?" Ed said as he observed the circles.

"Yes. Something you're very familiar with, as my men and I have learned by now." Said the big man in the ski mask. He turned to the smaller one "Begin."

The smaller one placed his hand the first circle. Ed was being lifted a short distance into the air. Winry, who stared in fear and agony for her friend felt useless. She couldn't do anything.

"Manipulating the air to lift me from the ground." Ed said to the smaller one "Not too bad. But I'm guessing that's not it."

"Correct." The small one said. But before he touched the last circle, the big one spoke.

"Avoid all vital organs and areas."

"Yes sir" He placed his hand on the circle and thousands of knives appeared out of nowhere. Ed glanced around carelessly. The knives blades turned to Ed.

"ED! PLEASE STOP! DON'T DO THIS!" screamed Winry, tears pouring from her eyes.

Ed just stared at Winry and smiled softly, turned to face the big man and shut his eyes. She watched in horror as the knives pierced Ed's body and upon hitting their target, vanished. When the last one vanished, Ed, a bloody wreck fell softly to the ground. But before hitting was kicked hard in the ribs by the big man and was rammed into a wall. He signalled the one restraining Winry to let her go. She ran to her fallen friend. And looked up at the big man.

"A deal is a deal, you're safe. We will not harm you." He said as he signalled to his men to leave and disappeared into the darkness.

Winry looked at Ed. He looked like hell. So many things were going through her mind but only one thought escaped her lips.

"HELP!!" she screamed

END OF FLASHBACK

"That's everything Lieutenant." Said Winry shakily

"Winry it's going to be okay. Ed will be able to get through this" Riza said, putting the notepad and pen away. But she was starting to doubt that herself. Edward looked awful. She could only imagine what Winry was feeling right now

"Brother…" said Al distantly, still staring at Ed.

"All three of us have to be strong right now…For Edward" Riza said as her voice started to crack.

"Oh God." Winry said to herself as the sound of sirens filled the alleyway.