Sorry about the delay, guys. I was working at a really awful place but now I have a brand new wonderful job. More importantly, I now have time to write. Hopefully I will be spitting this out faster. One thousand apologies. Please please please take the time to send a review my way. They really help me with my writing process. If I get enough feedback going for this, I might start a tumblr for it which will include illustrations for each chapter, (including Welcome to Hell). If any of you guys would be interested in that, let me know!

Welcome to Serenity: Chapter Two

Introductions

"Please! Someone help me! My brother is dying, please!" Edward was at a loss. He sat on the dusty ground in the middle of the street, cradling the body of Alphonse as his life ebbed away. No one seemed to care, some people even had the nerve to simply step over them as they continued to wherever the hell they were going.

Suddenly, there was a man at his side. He looked much cleaner than the other people in this city, wearing a button-down shirt and a vest. "I'm a doctor. What happened to him?"

"Some thugs jumped us in an ally and they shot my brother. Please, help him!" He had to trust this man. He had no choice.

A tall, burly man stood behind the doctor and scowled. "C'mon Simon, we don't got time for no kids. We got a job t'do."

"Jayne," the doctor said, examining the bullet wound with careful hands. "This boy has lost a lot of blood. If I do not help him, he will probably die. Now pick him up and carry him to the ship."

"But-"

"No buts. Pick him up."

"No!" Ed clutched his brother tighter. "I'll carry him. He's my brother-"

"Jayne will carry him so that we can move faster." The doctor named Simon explained. "I understand the need to protect your younger sibling. I would die for my sister without a second thought. But right now we need to get back to my medical hold as quickly as possible. That means Jayne carries your brother, all right?"

Edward found himself nodding numbly and allowing the scowling man to lift Al's body from his arms. The need to snatch Alphonse back raced through him. He couldn't trust anybody, especially not with his brother's life. But he was out of options.

The walk was a haze as the alchemist stumbled after the man who carried Al. A gentle hand from the doctor occasionally steered his way. Simon was telling him something, but he couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears. The roads opened up into a long strip of gravel. Large metal contraptions—Ed could not think of another word to describe them—lined the strip. They certainly didn't look like any ships Ed had ever seen. There wasn't even any water nearby. He decided to just go with it for Al's sake as they came up to a particular "ship" and a hatch was opened. They strode through what appeared to be a cargo hold, and across a hallway and into a small medical lab. Al was deposited on the examination table before Ed and the other man were ushered out of the room. "I need room to work," had been the doctors reply to Ed's protests.

As soon as the door closed behind them, two large hands shoved Edward up against a wall and held him there. "So here's the deal, kid. The good doctor might be a nice soul and all, but I certainly ain't. And I ain't takin no chances on a planet like this. So how do you reckon yer gonna pay for the doctors good services here?"

"I have money." Ed lied. He knew the type of man he was dealing with well. Their loyalties followed whichever way the money flowed. If worse came to worse he could always wait until Al was okay and then make some gold. It would last long enough for them to get away before turning back into junk. "As soon as I know my brother is okay I can get it for you."

"Jayne would please release that poor boy?" The newcomer was an older, dark-skinned man. Behind him stood a young woman in a floral shirt and green overalls. Despite her brown hair and rounded face, she reminded Ed strongly of Winry. "For goodness sakes, that is no way to treat a guest."

Jayne released Edward from the wall. "Ain't no guest, Shepard. He's paying for Simon's doctorin' skills." Then he turned to Ed with a glare. "Whether or not yer brother in there makes it."

Ed's snarl of protest was cut off by the older gentleman. "What happened?"

Glancing at the window that showed the doctor working over his brother, Ed sighed. "My brother and I are kind of new here. We got lost and wound up in an alleyway. Some men tried to rob us and we fought back. Then one of the bastards shot my brother. I was trying to get help when your doctor ran into us. And now we're here."

"Oh my!" The young woman exclaimed, rushing forward to hug him. Ed grimaced, but allowed the contact. "Don't you worry. First day I met Simon I got shot in the gut and he fixed me right up! Best doctor in the outer rim." She reassured. "If anybody can do it, it's doctor Tam."

She smelled like grease and metal. "Hi! I'm Kaylee, Serenity's mechanic. This is Shepard Book. He's kind of our ship's preacher 'cept none of us really do the whole church thing but him. The big grump there is Jayne, and you met Simon already."

"I'm Ed. Edward Elric. My brother is Alphonse." He hoped that was enough of an introduction for the motley assortment of people in front of him. "Where exactly are we?"

Somehow he ended up sitting on a couch in between Kaylee and the Shepard as he received an explanation. "This here is Serenity: she's a Firefly class cargo ship. Best one flying!" the mechanic exclaimed with pride.

"Flying?" She couldn't be serious.

"Yeah! What kind of ship can't fly?" she giggled. "A broken one that's what."

"I think he meant where are we, geographically speaking." The Shepard put in. Ed gave him a sideways glance. He'd almost rather trust a homunculus than a man of religion.

"Ooh. In that case, we're parked in the Western Shipyard. Sturges' territory."

It seemed like the more he learned the less anything made sense. "Sturges?"

"Gosh you are new here! Didn't nobody tell you bout the triad?"

"Um. No?"

"So you just jumped off the ship to here with no clue?"

"And what about your parents?" Book interjected. "Why would they bring you to such a dangerous place?"

Edward was saved from answering that question when something barreled into him, knocking all of the breath from his lungs. He panicked for a moment until he realized the stuff going up his nose and into his mouth was hair. "River!" a new voice—feminine—called out. "Don't tackle people!" Trying to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs gripping tightly to him proved impossible until aided by the people on either side of him. A face appeared. Large dark eyes framed by stringy brown hair stared at him. Her gaze was very intense, but not in a menacing way. They stared at each other for a few more moments before the girl was pulled fully off of him.

"The hell is wrong with that girl now?" Jayne snorted, leaning against the wall in a corner of the room. "Ain't you supposed t'be watchin' her Inara?" The woman he was glaring daggers at gave Jayne a frosty glare of her own. She was beautiful, more so than anyone Ed had ever met, with long, dark, wavy hair. Her silken red dress and posture spoke of a sophistication the alchemist had only ever heard of.

"I was keeping her company while you and Simon were out," the woman replied. Her voice lacked the harshness or accent present in the rest of the crew's. "But she told me her friends were here, and I assumed she meant the rest of the crew had returned. Clearly that is not the case." Her gaze turned serenely to Edward. "Hello. I am Inara. I hope River did not startle you. Her enthusiasm for strangers is rare."

"Um hi," he managed. "Edward Elric."

"Where is your brother?" The strange girl asked.

"How the hell do you-"

"She's bein' looney again." Jayne snarled.

"Sometimes River just knows things," Kaylee tried to explain. "We've just learned to kind of roll with it. She don't mean no harm or nothin, promise."

The girl unnerved Ed, but he couldn't explain why. And how did she know about Al? She knew too much behind that blank stare. It was the look of a survivor, of what Ed could only guess. "My brother is with your brother." Ed decided to tell her, knowing somehow she and the doctor were siblings. "He's hurt and Simon is fixing him up for me."

"Was it the bad man?" She whispered. "The one who came through before you?"

Ed didn't even know how to begin answering that one. Was she referring to someone she knew, or the homunculus? It was preposterous that she would even know about homunculi, and yet she had known that he had a brother and had recently arrived.

"Well the guy who shot your brother certainly wasn't nice." Kaylee saved him from answering. "Poor Ed here and his brother were attacked by some of the Reds." She explained to Inara.

"That's terrible." The woman sighed. "I wish there was something to be done about those brutes."

"Speaking of which, you ain't lying about just bein mugged were ya? Last thing we need is to be on that psycho-bitch Kalashnikov's radar. You sure she don't got no beef with you, shorty?"

Edward turned his fiery gaze on the man called Jayne. "First, I'm gonna let the height comment slide just this once because you saved my brother's life. Secondly, I have no idea who this Kalashnikov lady is. Just got here, remember?"

He had so many questions, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was seem more suspicious. As soon as Al was better they would be out of these people's lives and hunting down the homunculus. The sooner they got the job done the sooner they would be out of this bizarre place.

Time ticked away as Kaylee babbled to him about the "ship". The moment she started spouting technical jargon he sat there pretending to listen, wrapped up in his worries for Alphonse. At some point the preacher, or whatever they had called him, put a mug of tea in his hands. They could tell he wasn't really listening, but no one had the heart to end his charade. Jayne disappeared after a while, but the others sat with Ed as he waited on news of his brother.

Ed had no idea how much time had passed while he waited. Eventually Kaylee had given up and simply sat with him. Finally Simon entered the room, looking tired. "He's stable. The bullet didn't hit any vital areas. I managed to repair the tissue, but he has lost a lot of blood. With some rest I think he will be just fine."

Nearly sobbing in relief, Ed jumped up, insisting on seeing his sibling. "Can I-"

"He needs to sleep." Simon sighed, understanding Ed's impatience. "He should sleep for a few more hours before you go in to see him."

Pushing down the dread of waiting that long, Ed gave an exhausted nod. "At least he's okay."

Right on cue, Jayne reappeared. "Well now sounds like the perfect time to discuss your payment for our fee-lan-thro-pic actions."

"Jayne, do you even know what philanthropic means?" Simon scoffed.

"Course I do. Means we done somethin nice an' now he gots to pay us fer it. So where's our money, kid?"

"Now hold on just a minute-" began Shepard Book.

"I never said he needed to pay me for helping-"

"You want to take money from a child?" Inara gasped.

"I ain't no discriminatory fella. I take money from everybody. And he owes us fer getting into gang business. What if Kalashikov finds out we're here cause of these two? If I'm gonna die I wanna go out with as much money as I can manage."

"Oh please. This has nothing to do with the Reds. You just want to swindle this poor boy for doing something that any decent person would do without prompting." Inara stood.

"And what would a whore know about decency, huh Inara?" Jayne barked back.

"How dare you-"

Her cry was cut off by a door slamming open and a voice yelling, "What the hell is going on here? Now quit yelling at each other and tell me who this kid is and why he's on my ship." The man Ed saw standing in the doorway was undoubtedly the captain. There was the air of a leader about him, like the one that surrounded Colonel Mustang.

The room fell silent for a moment before River let out a piercing shriek and then collapsed onto the floor.