Chapter 3: The Incident at Laboratory 5

Envy climbed the stairs into a room at the top of the temple where a large protruding balcony overlooked the Eastern edge of Lior. He gave a loud, obnoxious sigh as he got to the top to let his two accomplices know how exhausted he was. It was tough work, persuading low-lives into war – one side against the other. All Lust had to ever do was point her sharp fingers at people and BAM – the job was done. Envy had to actually think about how to do his job. It was tiring! Apparently you burnt more calories using your brain than any physical effort, and Envy was pretty certain if it wasn't for his shape-shifting abilities he would have looked ten pounds lighter than when he first got to Lior.

Lust and Gluttony looked over at him as he made his way towards them. Oh, and lets not even talk calories while Gluttony's around – the fat idiot made Envy sick to his stomach most times.

"Well, Envy, I'd say everything worked out even better than how we'd originally planned," Lust commented as she watched the humans slaughter each other at the foot of the temple. It excited her, Envy was sure of it.

"All because I pushed a little information on them," Envy smirked, "Humans are foolish things. Though, I am fed up with being here – too hot! As soon as I'm done, I'm going to my designated town."

"Yes, you're better off in Central," Lust agreed, "Besides, I heard there are a few things in Central that require your attention."

"Someone's being going around murdering the State Alchemists," Envy snickered.

"It's not funny, Envy," Lust snapped, "Father needs those sacrifices. Without them we will never be able to carry out the plan. At least we managed to get Lior back on track. By the way, how long to you plan on parading around like that? That form is repulsive."

Envy shrugged. He had been forced into the form of Father Leto for the time of his stay in Lior, but apparently it wasn't needed anymore. "I was just playing along, but you're right. I guess I should start looking like someone more attractive - how about sexy?"

He saw Lust grin as he made a show of shifting back into his usual form. When he felt the long green hair brush against his shoulders he knew he was finished. He put a hand on his hip as if to say "Ta-da!", but didn't. Instead, he heard a gasp from behind him.

All three homunculi turned to see one of the priests subordinates frozen on the top stair. He seemed to have been looking for Father Leto, and found –

"M-monster!" Sweat had started to bead on his forehead and his eyes were wide and fearful, glued to Envy, where Father Leto had stood moments before.

Lust frowned, "An intruder. I wonder how much he heard."

Envy gave an exaggerated whine, "He called me a monster. How rude!"

"Can I eat him?" All eyes landed on Gluttony who was already approaching the terrified man.

Envy turned away to avoid seeing how Gluttony treated his food, it always disgusted him. Once the man's screams had died down, he made his way to the balcony next to Lust to further discuss matters regarding Central.

"So, what should we do about that murderer? Did you find anything on him?" Lust asked. Envy leaned his arms over the railing of the balcony and entertained himself by watching one human gut another. A small sneer crept into his face at the sight, "His name is Scar. Apparently, he was in Ishbal at the time of the rebellion. The reason people call him Scar is because he's got a big scar on his face in the shape of an X."

"From Ishbal? So, he targets State Alchemists for revenge…"

"Seems so," Envy suppressed a snicker when he caught the look Lust was giving him and added, a little more seriously, "We'll have to take care of him before he wipes out all of our sacrifices."

"Leave that to Gluttony and I. You just have to make sure to gather any information you can from your station in headquarters, particularly concerning Edward and Alphonse Elric," Lust said and followed Envy's example by leaning on the railing. This particular motion pushed her breasts up and made them look fuller. Envy frowned. One of his pet peeves was Lust. She always seemed to try harder to be sexy around him, and Envy was certain she was trying to show him up. It pissed him off, because he could admit – though never outwardly – that even in his favored form, Lust was still sexier.

"I'll head to Central tomorrow then," Envy scowled, and Lust seemed confused as to what he was upset about, but didn't ask. Knowing him it could be anything.

It had been two months since Edward had passed his State Alchemy exam, making him a formal dog of the state. Winry wasn't pleased to say the least, but she feared holding the boys back would make them restless even more than they usually were. She feared the look of emptiness in Edward's eyes. The emptiness had settled there in the depths of his golden iris' just after he had lost his limbs and Al his body. It was only after Roy Mustang's visit that things changed, the boys had new determination, a reason to live on, a goal to strive for. Winry didn't want to take that away, to hold them back, but it often made her wonder what goal she should be gearing towards.

What was her purpose, if she were to look at it from that perspective?

After the boys had left Risenbool, Winry found that the place had gotten very quiet and somewhat lonely. Sure, she had customers in and out of the shop, but Winry was bored. It killed her to know that while she was sitting around, Ed and Al were probably traveling the world, venturing into both its beautiful and dangerous places.

If there was one thing Winry could wish for it would have been to keep them from harms way at all times. So, on that day, when Winry picked up the newspaper from the local market for Granny Pinako she glanced at the front page and almost dropped the things she was holding.

Mystery Assassin Targets State Alchemists – Third Victim Found Dead on Central's Doorstep

Winry ran all the way back to the automail shop and burst through the door. She dropped her things on the table and called, "Granny! You have got to see this!"

The short old woman appeared from behind a workbench holding a greasy towel in her hands and a pipe in her mouth. She took the paper Winry gave her and squinted at the front cover as she read the first article.

Winry waited patiently until Granny Pinako had finished and placed the article on the workbench. She puffed on her pipe thoughtfully and then gave it a tap on the side of her ashtray for good measure. Then, she went back to work bench with a long sigh. Winry had expected something more than just that. She kept in Granny Pinako's shadow the entire time, waiting for her to say more on the subject.

"Winry, I know you're worried about those boys and so am I, but there's really nothing we can do from Risenbool. Besides, you know if you tried to help them they wouldn't let you get involved."

"But what if that murderer targets them next? You read the article! He's managed to kill three State Alchemists already, and one was a Brigadier General! Ed and Al will have no chance against someone like that. I have to warn them!"

Granny Pinako let her tool down a little harder than usual, causing Winry go silent. "If you believe that they don't stand a chance then you're giving up all faith in them, Winry. I worry for them too, but I know those boys. They can overcome any obstacle that gets in their way if need be, plus they have the protection of the Colonel, and he's obviously taking measures to protect his men. It says here that he's been transferred to Central."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Winry frowned. Granny Pinako glanced at her over her shoulder, "I don't know what you mean."

"Isn't it a bad thing that the Colonel has to be transferred at all? Not only does that mean their enemy is really tough, but he himself is an alchemist. What if he's a major target too? Then wouldn't that draw the murderer to Central, where Ed and Al are?"

"Ah, I see," Granny Pinako nodded, "It's possible, but there's no use in arguing it with me, Winry. The only thing you can do from here is have faith that those boys will make it on their own. There's no doubt in my mind that they'd let something like this stop them."

Winry stared deeply into an empty shell of a prosthetic leg Granny seemed to be working on. She was restless. She wanted to be helpful, wanted to warn Ed and Al to get out of Central as soon as possible. She couldn't just sit back and wait, hoping that everything would be okay. She had tried that before, when her parents had left for Ishbal. It hadn't worked. No matter how much she had hoped and prayed they'd come home they still ended up dead.

"I'm sorry, Granny," Winry's voice was dry and quiet. She let her gaze fall to the floor as Granny Pinako turned to look at her, "Why?"

Winry gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at her sides. When she looked up at Granny Pinako her eyes had begun to water. "I'm sorry, I can't do what you ask me to do! I can't still back and wait!"

Granny Pinako didn't reply. She watched Winry make for the door of the shop. "Where are you going?"

"To pack," Winry replied, letting her stubborn streak show briefly, "I'm going to catch the first train to Central tomorrow. If I can't be of any help here, then I may as well go there!"

And with that, she slammed the door as she left, leaving Granny Pinako grinning into her pipe.

Winry boarded the train early that next morning in a haze. She still had sleep in her eyes when the sound of the station bell rang through the air, signaling the train's departure. The compartment she had chosen to board was relatively empty. Not many people rode the train to Central as early as five in the morning, but Winry figured the less people the better. She had planned to sleep the entire ride there and the only way to do that was to gain an empty booth seat all to herself. It wouldn't be too hard if nobody was riding the train. Well, almost nobody.

Besides herself, there were two older women sitting up at the front whispering between each other, and at the very back Winry noticed a young man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. Winry wasn't one to stare, but this man looked more out of place than anyone she had ever seen. His clothes were a style she wasn't familiar with; loose pants, light-looking shoes and a vest. On his hip, tied with a sash was a curved sword, sheathed in an elegant-looking cover of black with gemstones.

Winry was half way down the aisle when the strange man noticed her staring and instead of snapping, he happily jumped up and grabbed her suitcase, "Hiya! Let me help you with that!"

Winry was so surprised she almost dropped her loaded case of tools on top of him, "Oh, thanks – hey, wait!"

Before she knew it, he had grabbed all of her luggage, including her tool case and had stowed them under his own seat. Winry followed him and found herself in the booth seat right across from him, staring at his oddly shaped features. "I don't think I've ever seen you around before, are you from Risenbool?"

"No, I'm from Xing. I just managed to cross the desert and find the trains were running already, so I caught the first one right away. Geez, you don't happen to have any food on you by chance? I'm starving!"

It took Winry a moment to register everything he'd said, "From Xing? Isn't that –,"

"In the far East, across the desert, like I said," the man replied, "By the way, I'm Ling Yao."

"Oh, I'm Winry Rockbell, nice to meet you," Winry blinked as her hand was suddenly shaken furiously. She wondered how he had managed to nab her hand without her even noticing him lean forward. She shook that thought away and decided it wasn't important. She was tired after all.

"So, what brings you to Amestris?"

"Many things," Ling replied, simply, "Most importantly, I've heard the food here is fantastic – which reminds me –,"

"I'm sorry. I don't have anything with me. If you traveled the desert, shouldn't you have packed something?" Winry asked suspiciously, looking around for any signs of luggage. The only thing she could see was her own bags. This didn't seem to deter Ling, however, he continued to grin, saying, "I'm what some call a minimalist."

"Considering your situation, wouldn't it have been the smart thing to do?" Winry deadpanned.

Ling didn't seem to hear her, because if he had he chose to completely ignore her, and instead said, "So, I heard trouble's brewing in Central. I wonder what all the talk's about. Know anything about it?"

Winry found herself starting to get annoyed with this stranger more and more by the second. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked him straight in the eyes, "Hey, you! If you're not going to answer my question, then why should I answer yours?"

Ling leaned back and rise his hands before his body in surrender. In a whiny voice, he replied, "But I didn't have an answer to your question…"

Winry dropped the subject, considering he was probably a little light headed from the desert heat. She glanced out the window to see that Risenbool had faded into the distance considerably. She felt a bit nervous to be venturing out on her own like this, on a spur of the moment, but something felt right about it.

Ling was staring at her. "So, uh…about Central…"

"I don't know anything about what's going on," Winry replied stubbornly.

"What really?" he seemed genuinely surprised. Then, he seemed to deflate, "Well, that's too bad. So, why are you headed to Central so early?"

Winry considered it wouldn't hurt to tell him why she was going to Central in the first place. "I'm going to visit a couple of friends of mine."

She glanced out the window again to see that the train was starting to curve its way around a soft bend towards another station she knew to be East City Station. Across from her, Ling had unfolded a miniature map of Amestris and was studying it intently. Winry found it odd how someone with the inability to hold a two minute conversation could remain focused on anything at all. It seemed she knew nothing of this character sitting across from her, and it made her feel uneasy. Perhaps his lack of seriousness was a ploy to catch her of guard. Whatever it was, Winry had the sense to know when she was being lied to or when someone was avoiding sharing certain information.

"East City connects to three different districts of Amestris, by the look of it Risenbool and the stations further east and then into Central," Ling commented more to himself than anyone else, and then he laughed, "Your county looks like one giant circle or basin with Central as the drain!"

"You're awfully comfortable to be cracking jokes about another country while you're visiting that country," Winry said, though she did admit the arrangement of the country was probably due to its involvement in alchemy. She did manage to grin, and realized then that she was being a lot harsher than usual. She figured because she was worried about how Ed and Al would react to her being in Central and she was taking her nervousness out on Ling.

"Trying to break the ice…" Ling was saying.

"I'm sorry," Winry suddenly said and bowed slightly, "It's just that I'm worried about those friends of mine. They don't know that I'm coming to Central, so I'm a little anxious about what they'll say when I get there."

Ling didn't offer any condolences. He just nodded, "I see."

When the train pulled into East City Station, Winry and Ling stayed in their spots, looking out the window at the small crowd that had formed around the train. After a few moments, Winry turned to Ling, "You know, the train will be stopped for a couple of minutes if you wanted to go and grab something to eat. I can hold your spot."

However, Ling's expression made Winry wonder if he'd even heard her. His face was suddenly rigid and his eyes were cold. He stared out the window at the crowd with a stern look. His hands, which had been lazily fiddling with the sash on his belt, were clasped tightly, one on the hilt of his sword and the other at his side. It was as if he were expecting someone to jump through the window at him.

"Ling, is everything okay?" Winry asked timidly.

Ling glanced at her and then back out the window, "Are you tell me you can't feel that?"

Winry furrowed her brow. "Feel what?"

Just as she asked, the doors opened up and people started to board the train. Their near empty compartment suddenly occupied five more people, all of which spread themselves out around the booth seats. Winry watched Ling's eyes follow a specific individual into the compartment. He was a young man with messy black hair and dark eyes. He was well dressed and carried only a briefcase with him, which he placed at his feet when he sat down. He sat directly across the aisle from Winry and Ling, who were both shamelessly staring at him.

Winry had no idea why Ling happened to be staring at that man as if he were going to attack him. From what she could see the man looked quite ordinary if not a little handsome.

Just before the train blew its whistle, Winry was certain she heard Ling mutter under his breath, "What are you?"

How the hell did he manage to get on the same train as Winry fucking Rockbell? Envy couldn't believe his luck. As soon as he had stepped into the train compartment and saw the blond head poking over the booth he had half a mind to get up and leave. But Father needed him in Central immediately, and the next train wouldn't be arriving again for five hours. He would have to endure.

It really wouldn't have been so bad if the person she was with hadn't have kept staring at him like a moron. At first Envy had panicked, thinking that perhaps his disguise had shifted slightly by accident when he first noticed Winry, but he had double and triple checked and he was certain that nothing was out of order. No, there must be another reason why he kept staring, and Envy didn't like it one bit.

After about ten minutes into the ride, Envy, fed up with the constant uneasy feeling of being watched, finally turned to the little idiot and said, in a husky voice not his own, "If you have a question to ask, just ask it, otherwise, would you mind not staring at me?"

This caused Winry to blush crimson and look away out the opposite window, after muttering a soft and awkward, "Sorry."

However, the twit with the sword hadn't even flinched and Envy became frustrated, "You plan on ogling me the entire ride?"

"What are you?"

The question made Envy freeze in mid-thought. He did a quick mental check of his disguise and noted he hadn't shifted at all. How did this boy even have a suspicion that he was anything but human like how he looked? What did this mean? Did he know Envy wasn't human? And if so, how?

Envy decided to play cat and mouse a little while longer to tease out the information. He forced his face into a scowl and acted insulted, "Excuse me, but what the hell are you implying?"

Winry had turned back to the conversation now, curious as ever and a little nervous. The boy had crossed his arms, leaving one hand to dangle over the hilt of his sword cautiously. His body was still tense and Envy noticed sweat had started to drip lightly down the sides of his face. It seemed to take him forever to reply, but when he did his voice was forced and held a hint of disbelief, "Your body…you look human, but you're not human. There are so many…souls inside you…what are you?"

Envy simply stared at the boy, wondering what emotion he should fake to cover up his genuine surprise to make him seem less guilty. The questions of how ran through his head again as he continued to stare. Father would be interested to hear of this: a human who can sense his true being. If there were more of them they would have to make sure they got rid of them as soon as possible, or things would get tricky.

For lack of a better plan, Envy asked, "What's your name?"

The boy seemed to hesitate, but seemed to decide it was harmless because he said, "Ling Yao."

At five-thirty in the morning most people wouldn't have caught the obvious connection that linked Ling Yao to Xing. Unfortunately for Ling, Envy wasn't most people. The sin immediately picked up on the accent in his name and linked it to the strange ability to sense him, deducing he was from the Eastern Country. Homunculus hadn't been to the Eastern Country in centuries, Envy thought. Would it be possible that the humans there had somehow evolved to be able to sense remnants of the place beyond the gates of truth, lost souls? It was a far-fetched idea, but after meeting Ling Envy was certain more humans in Xing would have the same ability. Envy did not believe that Ling's ability to sense him and his lineage in Xing were merely a coincidence. No, Father would most likely want to investigate that country after their plan with Amestris had been completed.

"Ling Yao…" Envy repeated in his fake voice, he put a hand to his chin, posing as if in deep thought, "You're not from around here, are you?"

Ling paled and Envy figured he had realized that he had willingly given a possible enemy a link to his home country. Envy resisted the temptation to sneer. Instead, he continued, "I apologize in advance, Ling, but I think you're inexplicably rude. Are you at all familiar with Western Alchemy?"

Having lived on the Eastern boarder of Xing himself for a few decades when he was first created, Envy knew many things about both countries – especially their potency in the different types of Alchemy. He almost smirked when he saw Ling shift uncomfortably, but he didn't fail to notice the look of curiosity plaguing his eyes. "Are…are you an alchemist? What does alchemy have to do with what I'm sensing from you?"

"Everything," Envy replied, simply…truthfully, he realized. It was more of a confession than anything, and Envy mentally slapped himself. Yet, being skilled in the art of persuasion and being prone to making mistakes from time to time, Envy realized he could salvage the situation. He would just have to be very careful about it.

Thankfully, Winry decided to pipe up just as Ling went to say something and distracted both of them from the conversation, "Ed and Al are alchemists. I wonder if you would be able to tell by just being near them."

Fortunately for Envy, Ling seemed momentarily distracted by this and turned to her, "Ed and Al? Are they your friends from Central?"

Winry nodded, "Yeah, Ed recently became a State Alchemist so they've been living in Central."

"State Alchemist, eh?" Ling said, and then seemed to pass the buck to Envy, "Are you a State Alchemist?"

"No, I'm not."

Ling stared at him for a while before finally turning back to Winry. Envy knew that if they hadn't been on a train with other people; if Ling hadn't been associated with Winry, who was associated to a very important sacrifice; and if Envy hadn't been keen on keeping discrete for Father he would have not hesitated to pluck his eyes from his head there and then.

Ling leaned towards Winry and asked, "Would you mind introducing me to your State Alchemist friend? I have lots I'd like to ask him."

Winry blinked, "Uh, sure. I don't think he'd mind at all. He's always boasting about his alchemy anyways."

"Great! And before that, we eat!" Ling declared loudly so that everyone in that compartment was staring at him with the exception of Envy, who was content to stay out of any conversations with the idiot for the remainder of the ride. Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be in his favor this morning because he heard a soft, "Uh, excuse me?"

It was the gearhead again.

Envy didn't even want to know what she wanted now. She was standing next to his booth seat with her hands clasped behind her back. She looked like she was about to bow to him and to his horror she gave a little nod of her head and said, "I apologize for our rudeness earlier. Why don't you join us for the rest of the ride? We can play cards or something."

Envy found it rather amusing that the girl was apologizing for the Xing airhead across from him. If it hadn't have been for the Xing idiot's sixth sense Envy might have taken up the offer of a game of cards, but just the thought of being discovered was enough for Envy to decline. He would endure boredom before torture, and Father would surely torture him if he fucked up the plan. "No can do, I'd rather spend the remainder of the ride in peace," he scowled, and looked back out the window.

He felt Winry's eyes on the back of his head for a few moments, before she finally gave up and went back to her seat. Envy sighed in relief and resisted the temptation to put his feet up on the opposite bench. It would look rather odd for a well-dressed man to do that. Getting irritable, Envy stared blankly over the landscape. Four more hours and he would be in Central and could finally return to Father to give his report on Lior. Then, he could go back to Central Headquarters and start doing the job he was assigned to in the first place.

How tiring…

"What do you mean Ed and Al are not here?" Winry felt her entire body sag under the weight of her luggage bags. Ling had been so helpful on the train, but as soon as they pulled into the station, Winry didn't know who was the most eager to leave: the dark-haired gentleman next to them or Ling Yao. Both had picked up and made a mad bolt for the compartment door, and Ling seemed to have completely forgotten about her promise to introduce him to Ed and Al. The other thing that got her was she was certain just as Ling exited the train that someone had jumped off of the roof of it to follow him...how strange...

Now, Winry found herself staring into the face of an officer at Central Headquarters. He was young, probably in his late teens, had shoulder-length blonde hair and brown eyes. He stood next to another officer, a woman with short black hair and dark blue eyes. Both of them looked as worried as Winry, and all of them seemed in a hurry. "Do you know where they went?" Winry asked.

The woman officer nodded, "Yes, we're on our way there now. I urge you to wait here until we return. It's too dangerous for you to come with us."

"But –,"

"I'm sorry, I can't talk. We're in a hurry," said the woman as she excused herself from the conversation, "Sergeant Brosh!"

"Yes, ma'am!" called the male officer as he ran past Winry on his way to the door. Winry watched them disappear, and before she knew what she was doing, she had dropped all of her luggage and followed after them.

"I urge you to wait her until we return. It's too dangerous…" the female officers words rang through Winry's head as she ran after the two of them, keeping a good distance away so they wouldn't notice her following them. This had been the reason she had come to Central, she reminded herself, not to wait by until Ed and Al returned, but to help and support them. That was the reason she was here! She couldn't just sit at headquarters and wait otherwise she may as well pack her belongings and go back to Risenbool.

"Just destroy us already, boy!" called out Number 48 from his dismantled helmet.

Edward gave a sigh and grabbed at the wound in his side, "Spare me from having to murder someone."

"You consider us human?" asked the pieces of armor.

Edward closed his eyes, prepared to give a well-reasoned answer, "If I didn't accept you two as human, it would mean I'm doing the same to my brother, Alphonse. So, I'll spare you. I don't want to kill you."

Number 48 gave a loud, harsh laugh, making Edward blink in surprise. His brother, the upper portion of the suit, lying in shards near Edward's feet, asked, "Brother, are you okay?"

"After all this time," Number 48 replied, "When we were human we killed, slaughtered and we enjoyed it. We were monsters! And now, now that we are scraps of metal we are finally being considered human – it's hilarious… and interesting. Fine, as a parting gift, boy, I will tell you who created the philosopher stone and ordered us to guard this place –,"

The helmet on which Number 48's soul was attached was suddenly struck by long, black blades. It shot into the air and retracted back to the send where a beautiful, shapely woman stood. She had long, black hair that fell in waves down her back and her eyes were a deep crimson. Her lips were luscious and red and when she spoke her voice was low and seductive even in regular speech, "That was close…we can't have you talking about those things, 48."

Edward and 48's brother gasped in surprise at this sudden intrusion. Another odd stranger appeared behind the woman with a smirk on his face. He had dark green hair and violet eyes like a cat, "Huh?" he said, playfully in a voice that lingered between sexes, "What's the Fullmetal runt doing here?"

"What a troublesome child," the woman cooed, "How did you find out about this place?"

Edward could only stare in shock at what he was witnessing. The woman's fingers had acted like daggers…but that was impossible! Suddenly, Number 48 gave a cry and the blades holding him spread and split the blood seal in two parts. The helmet fell to the ground with a loud clang, soulless.

"Brother? Brother!?"

The green-haired stranger had grabbed Number 48's samurai sword off the floor and struck a downwards blow, directly onto the blood seal of the armor. Number 48's brother gave a few grunts of discomfort as his seal was stabbed continuously, over and over again until the soul once attached to the armor was released. The entire time, the cruel stranger with green-hair was cursing, "You're so annoying, dumbass! You guys were about to kill a precious sacrifice! Don't you understand!? What were you planning to do if you had fucked up the plan? Huh?"

"Envy, he's dead already," the woman said with a hint of annoyance at her companion. The one named Envy shrugged and swung the blade up and over so that the sword rested across his shoulders, "Oh, how boring! They always die too quickly."

Both Envy and the shapely woman approached him, and Edward tried his best to stand, despite his bodies protests. If they wanted a fight, he'd give it to them, but he didn't know how long he would last. "Who the hell are you two?" he found himself yelling, "What plan!? What do you mean by sacrifice?"

Envy leaned towards him so that his face was inches from his own. A wide, toothy grin was on his face and his eyes were a little too pleased, "Oh, look at him, Lust. This runt is all wound up!"

This comment sparked a flame of anger in Edward, "Stop calling me runt!"

However, his anger seemed to please Envy even more and Envy's face lit up as he said, almost in a sing-song voice, "A mini runt's a runt, wouldn't you agree?"

Before he knew it, Edward had kicked out at the stranger, but Envy was too quick and managed to avoid his attack. It did get him to back off a couple of steps, and the pleased expression had been replaced with a look of genuine surprise and disappointment.

"I don't like fighting," he said, matter-of-factly, "It hurts if you get injured."

Edward clapped his hands together, too heated up to stop now, "Don't start what you can't finish! I'll beat you to a –,"

His automail arm fell to his side, unresponsive. Edward froze on the spot, dread filling him, eyes widening. He heard Envy ask, "What happened?" and Lust's telltale statement, "I think it broke."

Edward panicked and Envy's face lit up again.

"Lucky me!" Envy smirked. He practically bounced over to Edward with glee, and Edward tensed up, waiting for the blow that would surely send him sprawling. It didn't come, and he felt a light touch on the top of his head, like Envy decide to pat him instead. Edward looked up at Envy, who was still grinning from ear to ear. Edward was so confused.

Then, the wind was knocked out of him as Envy kneed him hard in the gut. It was so sudden that Edward saw stars and then heard Envy say, "You're lucky your arm broke, or you would have suffered worse injuries than that."

After that, Edward passed out cold.

Winry had followed the two officers to the warehouse district of Central. As soon as she turned a corner from behind one warehouse she heard a dreadful sound of an explosion. The ground beneath her feet had started to shake with the tremors of it. Ahead she saw the two officers enter the grounds of the crumbling building, and Winry caught another breath and went after them.

No sooner had she reached the grounds did she hear two loud gun shots. They echoed through her eardrum and caused her to stop dead in her tracks when she realized what she was doing was incredibly stupid. The building was collapsing around her. Stones and pieces of brick were coming down and she held her arms up around her head and searched for a safe place to go.

That's when she saw Alphonse and the two officers arguing about something in the far corner of the gated yard, someone dressed in bone armor was standing next to them as well. Winry took a deep breath and ran towards them. She vaguely registered Alphonse yelling her name in surprise. She knew he'd be upset at her for following, but at least now she knew he was alright, but where was Edward?

"What are you doing?" cried Sergeant Brosh, "Didn't we tell you to stay put?"

"Forget about that now! Hurry up and get out of here!" shouted the female officer.

Alphonse ran towards Winry and leaned over her, protecting her from the flying debris, "We can't do that, brother's still inside!" he yelled back. Winry felt her blood run cold. Edward was still inside? The female officer seemed to repeat her thoughts, because she gasped, "Are you serious?!"

Behind them, the man in bone armor made a run for it and Sergeant Brosh took off after him in a panick.

"I have to go inside and get him!" Al was saying, but Winry shook her head furiously.

"No, Al!" she and the female officer shouted in union, "You'll get caught in it too!"

"But –," Alphonse was just about to tear away from them when a loud explosive blast shattered the stone wall next to them. Winry, Alphonse and the two officers stood staring in shock as they waited for the dust to clear. Winry could just make out the shape of someone walking towards them and when the dust finally cleared, her breath caught in her throat. Her heart seemed to jump up in surprise for two reasons. The man she saw walking towards them was the same man from her memory, the green-haired stranger, the one she had been puzzling over all these years. The second reason was because she noticed he had Edward Elric thrown over his shoulder.

If the green-haired man recognized her, Winry didn't know because he showed no sign of ever knowing her. He continued to walk casually through the dust and flying debris as if nothing had happened, a wide, toothy grin was on his face.

"Howdy!" he said, a little too cheerfully for the situation, "I've got a package for you!"

"Brother!" Alphonse stepped forward, but the stranger had gently placed Edward on the grass at his feet. Then, he stood back up, put his hands on his hips and smiled, saying, "His wounds aren't fatal or anything, but he lost a lot of blood, so get him to a hospital quick, okay? Oh yeah, and make sure you guys keep an eye on him so he doesn't do anything too reckless. He's an important guy, after all!"

Winry, Alphonse and the female officer stared up at him, gaping. Then, the female officer thought to ask what Winry had always wanted to know, "And who are you?"

"Second Lieutenant Ross!" called the other officer from the edge of the yard. He was running towards them, "You have to hurry!"

"Sergeant, lend me a hand!" Lieutenant Ross ordered, lifting Edward off the ground, then, as an afterthought she turned to where the stranger had been, "You better get out of here too – huh? He's gone."

Winry found herself scanning the yard from one end to the other in disappointment. Once more this odd man had evaded her, leaving only a vague memory behind. She felt Alphonse grab her arm and lead her through the mess of the yard just as a large boulder narrowly missed falling on them. They made a break for the exit of the gated yard and Winry felt the breath she had been holding escape. She looked back at the mess and found only dust and darkness.

"Winry, what are you doing here?" Alphonse's question brought her back to reality and Winry's eyes fell on Edward, who was unconscious and covered in blood. She had failed to help them. She felt like she had just been a burden. This feeling of disappointment set in on her heart and she resisted the urge to cry. She wouldn't cry. She had promised herself she wouldn't let Edward or Alphonse see her cry, not after what had happened to them both. She wasn't the one who should cry, she thought. If they didn't cry, then she had no reason to.

"I…I wanted to surprise you," was all she could say for the moment before her throat closed up and made speaking impossible.

Leonahari: Okay, that chapter was longer than usual, but I wanted to get the slower parts out of the way and set the foundation for the rest of the main story. I'm aware it's a little slow right now, but after this chapter things should pick up. I really hope I kept Envy in character in this one, I reread this a thousand times to make sure. Also, I've never written Ling before, so that little part with him was experimental, though it does relate to the story later on. Please let me know if I need to change something about his character in particular because I'm worried that he was OOC since I don't really know his character all that well -please review!

Also, an announcement: I have written a separate plot out for another Envy/Winry that came to me a while ago that I failed to write out before this one. It is totally up to you guys if you want me to write it. Please see the summary of it in my profile if your curious and shoot me a personal message or something. The only reason I'm asking is because it's a bit of a different idea (like waaaay out there idea) than my usual stuff, so I'm hesitating.