Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. If I did, the ending to that dumb movie would have never, I repeat, NEVER existed in a million centuries. I also do not own any crossovers that will appear in this and future chapters.

Author's Note:

Whew! (wipes sweat off forehead) I kept my promise! Where I am right now it is 11:33 PM on April 30th, the last day of April!

(crickets)

(Sighs) Yeah, I know. This chapter was a bit too long in coming, and for two reasons: (1) Slight writer's block; (2) Procrastination. I just hope that you guys can forgive me for this.

IMPORTANT:

Okay, I'll be honest with you. There are some parts of this chapter that I am NOT too happy about. Not necessarily in terms of plot, but in terms of grammar and timing and stuff like that. Therefore, expect this chapter to be edited sometime by the end of this week.

I was so surprised at the new reviewers that I had received for the last chapter! They made me feel so encouraged! I hope this chappie isn't too bad...then again, I definitely will edit this. Thank you everyone for your previous reviews:)

ANOTHER IMPORTANT:

I had jsut realized that anonymous people have been prevented from revieing, so...

ATTENTION ALL ANONYMOUS PEOPLES WHO MAY BE READING THIS FIC. YOU CAN NOW REVIEW.

And now, on to the story. :)

Chapter 5: Anger and Distrust

Forgetting her fear, Winry swiftly turned around to glare at the sultan.

He stood there, arms crossed, and with his gaze showing absolute certainty in his words.

Yet again, these two were locked in a battle of the eyes: one pair distrustful, the other resistant, and both angry. They weren't willing to speak to each other if they could help it, and so neither did. In fact, Edward had only heard two words directed at him from his new wife so far.

"What are you doing out of your room?" His tone crept low, dangerous, as he took yet another step in front of her.

Winry said nothing. She knew that he spoke the truth when he said that her days were numbered, but as usual her natural stubbornness refused to acknowledge the inevitable.

The sultan's patience was wearing thin.

"I know that you can at least talk. Now tell me, what made you think that you could leave your room? A locked door is meant to keep things in." Another step, and he fully blocked her view of the exit behind him.

Winry drew herself up stiff and straight, evenly meeting his gaze and attempting to ignore the anger bubbling within her. She didn't know if her words would be able to stunt this irritating, cocky attitude of his, but her silence might.

Whatever worked, she was more than willing to try.

"What, you don't know how to stay put? Looks like the only brides my grand vizier is able to find nowadays are mere defectives."

He was mocking her, and she knew it. She bent her head down as her anger now steamed and flared. Her hand clenched in response to how he was addressing her.

'He's not referring to me as a someone- only as a something.'

And as her fury mounted, the silence remained, and his patience decreased.

Winry's mouth then opened in a slight gasp as her wrist was abruptly tugged upward- by his right hand, judging by the hard feel of chipped metal against her skin- and she was pulled forward. Looking up, she saw that the eyes of the sultan were the color of bitter, yellowish acid, reflecting his own rage.

"This is your last chance," he ground out in a harsh whisper. His voice was now much more threatening than mocking.

'All this for trying to get something to eat?'

"I order you to tell me why you left that room. Was it to get something? To escape? Were you planning to place shame on my reputation?"

Her festering anger- and fear- rendered her mute.

"Or..."

His voice grew dark.

"Was it to meet someone? Like a lover, perhaps?" He turned his head and spared a brief glance around the gardens. "Where is he?" he demanded as his eyes once again rested on her.

The grip on her wrist tightened, but Winry didn't notice. Her mind had reversed to a temporary calm as she stood there, stunned. This man wasn't the famed genius she had heard of, with both respect and curses placed on his name. He...he was an idiot. A complete idiot.

'Does he think that I am naturally faithless? Born with deception? I can't believe this...this-

He is an idiot. A babbling fool!'

"Speak, if you can do that much!" Her wrist throbbed with pain as his metal fingers curled even tighter around it, but by now her breaking point was breached.

Drawing her other hand back as far as possible, Winry smacked the sultan clear across his face.

His head flew sideways and his long curtain of hair covered his eyes, but Winry didn't miss the look of utter shock that was prominent in them as his golden-hued irises dilated and quivered. Nor did she miss out on the feeling of supreme satisfaction that grew within her abdomen.

The sultan moved a step or two backwards from the sheer force of her slap- she had the strength of an ox, Paninya often reminded her- and stood still where he stopped. The gardens, the birds, even the air- all seemed to hold their breath as he gingerly, tenderly, lifted his flesh hand to the large red spot growing on his cheek.

Winry's private celebration ceased as she realized that with the sultan in such an inattentive state, her chance to escape was now open. Maneuvering a little around his unmoving form, she hurried for a taste of freedom that was at least temporary.

'How am I going to get myself out of this?!'

Only once did she steal a glance backwards at him. He stood there like a traumatized child for a few seconds longer, his hand to his cheek...and then brought it and the other hand together in a clap so sudden that she blinked. Focusing her attention forward again with a slight twinge of unease, she dismissed it as nothing.

But from the corner of her eyes she saw the flash of a strange blue light...

And her legs stopped moving.

Everything was so blurry, and yet she felt so warm, and...cozy. Blinking away the slight nausea, she found herself awake.

She sat up cautiously after remembering that her bed usually wasn't this comfy...and then her mind pieced together the rest of what had happened last night, and she felt both sadness and joy. She tried to forget the sadness for the moment.

"Isn't this cool, Win? You actually get to live for another day! This has never happened-" Paninya paused as she glanced around the room.

"...Winry?"

"Oh man, what a nightmare."

"You said it."

The two executioners strolled out of the execution hall with grim looks on their faces. Both of them stared blankly ahead as they walked, and neither spoke.

"...You would think that I would be used to this by now," one of them remarked while forcing out a dry laugh, and the other looked at him in concern.

"It is a difficult thing to get over," he said quietly. "It's never pleasant to see another person die."

"I know that already, but it's the fact that he makes so many of us attend that gets me, dammit!" His hands shook slightly as he fumbled in his pocket.

"I mean, there are what?" he continued. "Thirty of us? And how many victims being executed? One." He looked over at his companion. "And some of us aren't even soldiers. I can't believe he's even had someone like you take part." His left hand pulled out a slim brown cigar. "I mean, what does a repairman have to do with this? It makes no sense!"

"Oh, here's one." he suddenly muttered. He stuck the blunt end of his cigar into one of the many scented candles placed around the palace corridors. Taking a short puff, he kept on with his rant while the other waited and listened.

"It's like...it's like he's trying to intimidate every one of his victims before they die. Like he's saying that he has control over their deaths. Those poor women," he added ruefully, before he balled up his fist. "You know, he's the reason why there aren't too many pretty girls around for me to try and get acquainted with!"

"Calm down, calm down, Captain Havoc. Sheesh." the other man said with a sheepish look plastered on to his face, his hands raised.

Just before Havoc could reply, one of the doors in the hallway opened as a servant went about performing his duties, and both quieted their opinions. His friend resumed walking as a small, innocent smile touched his features.

"You know, it doesn't look like those desert cranes will be flying beyond the horizon today," he commented as more servants began to appear.

That comment certainly wasn't expected. "...Huh?"

He turned, and his smile grew a bit wider, if even a little secretive. "No. Today they've been seen flying around those nearby oases, you know?"

Havoc's face remained puzzled for a few seconds, but then lit up with realization. "Oh..."

He smiled a small smile as well.

"I see, Fuery."

He could see her struggling as he stalked over to her.

He didn't care, though. Right now it was all he could do to keep from simply killing her on the spot. The heavy clomp of his slow, deliberate steps emphasized his brimming rage.

'Why don't you kill her?'

That's right: why shouldn't he? She was just another wife; they were all the same. All of them had a face that was at least nice to look at, and all of them were afraid of him. This one was no different.

Except for that defiance of hers.

He was only a bit surprised at this before, but now he felt it place a heavier impact on him. In all of the wives he had taken, she was the one with the most obstinacy. Sure, they all resisted capture or being sold into marriage with him, but none even had the thought of doing what this one did just now.

He lightly prodded his left cheek with a finger, and then quickly pulled back as the tender flesh protested. Never before had he been slapped with such vigor.

Indeed, why should he let her live? Perhaps...he was a bit curious about her?

Hmph. Not at all. The only reason he was keeping her alive was because of that stupid story.

All this morning, his innermost thoughts had been straying towards the little tale his wife had told- to his resentment, of course. Even though he had managed to keep focused on his duty at hand, he knew that in the back of his mind, he was still wondering about it.

In reality, a child's tale should not have even a tenth of this effect on him.

But this one did.

Maybe it was because of the conflicts in the story. Being first in line to inherit the throne while growing up, Edward was not unaccustomed to danger. There were those who were not content with his family's rule, as there always were during any sultan's reign, and several means were conducted in an effort to eradicate the entire royal line. Edward remembered when once, at a time when he was five, a taste tester of his food had died from the intake of ground glass.

That was probably why he was interested in that story so far. He wanted to know how those kids dealt with such danger. Did they deal with it like he did? Or were there possibly other ways to deal with peril, other than the ones he had ordained?

All of these thoughts ran through his mind as he stood in front of his wife, watching her on her hands and knees as she continued to try and wrestle her feet from where the earth enclosed them.

'Even if...'

He bent and crouched down to her level behind her.

'Even if I let her live...'

His metal hand shot out and yanked a fistful of her hair. She gave a small gasp of pain as she looked back at him, albeit a bit nervously. His rich-colored bangs fell over his eyes, and he gritted his teeth.

'Even if I let her live, who does she think she is?!'

"Would you mind telling me," he ground out as calmly as he could, his boiling point rising even as he spoke, "just what the HELL that was for?!"

Was that a growl he heard from her?

"What are you talking about?!" she shouted, and he was taken aback for a quick second. This woman was daring to shout back at him?

He yanked her hair harder. "So my wife does know how to speak after all. Does she know why she slapped me too?"

"Let me go!" she declared as she lifted both of her hands and tried to pry his grip loose. With her feet stuck straight in the ground, she had to lean her whole body into him as he kept his hold on her hair.

He yanked her head so that she was facing him upside down. "Not until you tell me what I want to know," he growled in a menacing tone. His breath flew into her wide eyes, making them flutter as she stared back at him, silent.

She then regained her composure. "Fine then. You want to know what I was doing out of that room?" Her voice rose with each word. "I was trying to get something to eat!"

Edward froze. The wind whistled and whispered around them while he tried to get a grasp of what she had just said.

"...What?"

Was she serious?

Her look was one of indignation. "I was looking for the kitchen so that I could get some food!"

Some birds twittered and squawked from a nearby tree.

"...What for?"

"What do you think?! Ever heard of the saying 'Eat to live'?"

He jerked her head closer and leaned down further so that his nose touched her forehead. His hair, long and golden, fell past his shoulders and framed around her face. Her voice seemed to have died from the level of their proximity, and their eyes bore into each others' with not the softness of affection, but the hard feeling of mistrust.

"Then what is the use of eating," he hissed out, his breath a light breeze ruffling strands of her hair, "when you are going to die soon anyways?"

She uttered not a word.

He let go of her hair, and she in turn fell backwards from the sudden absence of pressure. She sat up, wincing.

Not paying any attention to her discomfort, Edward started rolling up his sleeves. As he got to the right one, he hesitated for a slight moment, but then rolled it up to reveal an entire arm of automail, which was chipped in several places.

'It doesn't matter anyway', he thought. He slid his eyes over to his wife.

To his surprise, she wasn't afraid. Instead she seemed...puzzled?

He grunted and brought his hands together in a single clap, the pose making him look like one in prayer. A blue light erupted as he placed them near her feet.

His wife breathed in sharply, and as he glanced at her he saw that she was watching the reaction take place, her eyes almost mesmerized. Soon the blue light then faded, and her ankles lay free.

"Tha...That was alchemy, wasn't it?" she asked weakly.

He didn't answer as he stood up. This one was smart. Most people that see an alchemic reaction would refer to it as 'magic'.

Edward reached over and grabbed her wrist to jolt her into a standing position. He then proceeded to drag her towards the door leading to the inner palace.

She struggled, but in vain. "Where are you taking me?" she demanded as she pushed against his arm.

"To where you were supposed to be in the first place," he tersely answered.

Servants hurried out of the way as he marched her through the hallways, fear and apprehension written all over their faces. She was quite sure that her face didn't look too positive either.

Winry tilted her head a little to catch a glimpse of the sultan's expression, and saw that his face was a heavy storm cloud ready to burst.

He suddenly stopped at the door to her- no, their room, and she almost ran into him from behind. He flicked his eyes backwards for a brief second before bending over to pick up something small from the floor.

"...So this is how you got out..." he quietly remarked. She stiffened.

'Why did I drop that?!'

Without warning he pulled open the door and threw her inside, and with an oof! she hit the carpet- hard. Looking up, she saw Paninya sitting on the bed, her eyes blinking at her.

"I don't want to see you out of this room ever again...or else." The sultan slammed the door with such force that the hinges rattled. Winry heard the ominous sound of a clap, which was accompanied by a tint of blue that could be seen underneath the door. After a moment, the uneven sound of his footsteps clunked away.

She slowly got up and reached for the handle. Turning the knob once, she found that it was just as she had expected- locked.

"What...What happened, Winry?"

She turned and saw Paninya gazing at her with eyes full of questioning, and gave a weak laugh.

"You probably won't believe this..."

"WHAT? Winry, how could you?"

She clutched her hands to the sides of her head. Why, oh why did Winry do these things?

Her friend gave her a frustrated look. "I was hungry," she said in a clipped tone.

This set Paninya off on a tandem.

"Hungry?! You know how that sultan is, Winry! The littlest thing could wound his pride! You could have been thrown in a dungeon, or beaten, or executed, or-"

Winry sighed. "Okay, Paninya, I get it."

This is how it always was between them. Even though they were both considered headstrong, Paninya never let Winry forget that she herself was the less compulsive of the two.

She wasn't completely satisfied with her answer, but decided to let it go anyway. At least Winry's actions showed that she hadn't given up on life for the time being.

Unlike her.

When he opened the door to his room, the first thing that he saw was his wife's hard, blue eyes, intense with what he presumed was utter dislike for him. Ignoring her, he made his way over to his side of the bed and turned on his side.

For a long while, all was still.

Even though they probably didn't know that he was listening...

He really didn't like his patience tested.

Just when he was going to insert something akin to a rude comment or grim threat, his wife cleared her throat, breaking the silence.

"So...uh...you forgot a lot about this story, didn't you?" A monotonous chuckle worked its way out of her thraot.

"Yeah..."

"Well then!...I'll just hurry up and tell you the rest right now."

He heard her take a deep breath, then begin.

"Okay, when Sora woke up, the first face that he saw- or thought he saw- was..."

"...Kairi?"

Kairi frowned and her cheery voice turned rough.

"Get it right! It's Yuffie!"

'Who the heck is that?'

Sitting up and opening his eyelids fuller, he found that, true enough, the young and strangely-dressed girl standing by his bedside was certainly not Kairi. She was both too tall and too old to be her.

The girl- er, Yuffie- turned to someone standing near the room he was in. "Jeez, Squall, how hard did you hit this kid? He's supposed to be just knocked out, not delirious!"

The one she was addressing stepped into Sora's line of view. "It's Leon!" the man shouted.

"Hey, you're the one that knocked me out!" Sora yelled as he pointed a shaking finger at the man. "Just what did I do?!"

"Sorry, kid, but that was for your own good," Leon said gruffly as he walked up to where Sora was sitting. "Those Heartless are searching for that Keyblade you're carrying around. We have to hide the presence of your heart to keep them from finding you."

"Uh, I don't really understand what you're saying. You're not making much sense..."

A crash and some rumblings were heard.

Leon cursed under his breath. "Crap! They've sniffed it out...go on ahead, Yuffie!" he ordered while drawing out a funny sword. Yuffie protested, but complied.

Sora scrambled out of bed as the two hurried outside. "H-hey, wait up!" he called out as he summoned his Keyblade.

The three of them ran through the front doors of the building and halted at the scene in front of them- a small horde of Heartless. Leon surveyed the situation with a level of professionalism.

"Hmmm...there's a lot of them. And their behavior is organized...which means that someone or something must be ordering them around..."

He turned to Yuffie. "C'mon, let's take them. Don't bother with this small fry." He stuck his thunb out at Sora.

"What? But-"

"HELP!"

Sora looked up.

"Fight, Goofy, fight!"

On a roof almost directly above him were a big duck and big...dog-like thingy...fighting a group of heartless. For a moment, all Sora could do was stare at the strangeness of it all.

'You don't see that everyday...'

"I'm trying to! There's just too many, ahyuck!" the dog-creature shouted back as Heartless hammered on the shield he held- and then he started to teeter. "Oh no, I'm falling!"

"You idiot!" the duck bellowed as he grabbed onto his friend to keep him steady. Unfortunately, his attempt to do so failed and they both ended up going over.

"Huh?" was the only word that escaped Sora's mouth before the two animals landed on top of his head, effectively making him see stars. He lay there, wondering why he of all people had to be their safety pillow. Struggling against the two deadweight bodies on top of his back, Sora opened his mouth to utter a weak protest.

"The Key!"

Craning his head upwards, Sora saw that they had their eyes fastened on his Keyblade- and for some strange reason, they were fastened there joyfully.

Before he could ask just what exactly was going on, a deep, earthshaking rumble sounded throughout the street. Out of nowhere, sturdy walls sprang up and enclosed the area.

"What's happening here?!" he exclaimed, and a bright flash blinded everyone's eyes as if in answer.

Opening them once more, Sora saw various limbs and what-nots assemble to form the largest Heartless had ever seen.

As the duck's jaw dropped in panic, Sora huffed and gripped his Keyblade tighter. "Not again!"

The Heartless looked around slowly, taking in his surroundings- and then his eyes rested on the Keyblade. They then relocated their focus to settle on Sora, who felt his entire body sweat from this realization.

However faint his body was, however, did not seem to affect his heart. Though it held fear, if anything it willed- no, commanded him to take action, to stay strong, to never give in.

To defeat the Heartless standing right in front of him.

Even so, he still felt frozen as its gigantic fist sailed straight towards whatever of him it could pummel- which was every single part of him. It came as a surprise when it was suddenly deflected by the dog-creature's shield.

As Sora looked at him questioningly, the duck came up behind him. "Let's fight this thing together, okay! We've got your back!"

Nodding once, he uncaged his feet from their imaginary prison and dashed at the Heartless, Keyblade raised.

He only wondered for but a moment about the slight tingling he sensed deep within himself. As he brought the Keyblade down on the Heartless's arm, a sort of power seemed to overtake him, drown him, and exhilarate him all at the same time. He did not know whether to feel choked or invigorated, but it did not matter as he struck the enemy, the Keyblade giving out a high ring as it shattered the arm almost effortlessly.

While he was happy that one of the tremendous appendages were rid of, the Heartless did not seem to be taking it well. With a bow of its head, it sent a blazing beam of harmful energy at Sora, seriously injuring him. The boy squinted and doubled over in pain, but then was amazed to find that he no longer had any.

Standing up, he caught sight of the remnants of sparkling, green leaves. His attention went to the duck, who had a curious type of staff outstretched in his direction.

"That was a Cure spell just now, kid. Didn't I say that we were going to look out for each other?"

Sora smiled. "Thanks!" he yelled in gratitude before he once more charged at the Heartless.

All three of them- the boy, the duck, and the dog-creature- assailed their foe with countless blows of both the magical and physical sort. Sora darted to and fro, slamming his Keyblade into whatever piece of Heartless he could reach, the dog-creature followed both him and the duck around deflecting attacks coming their way, and the duck performed impressive spells to damage the adversary or heal his comrades.

Finally, with one last splintering hit from Sora's Keyblade, the Heartless crashed to the ground and disintegrated.

"That's the end of you, you freak!" the duck applauded.

Sora panted, his hands resting on his knees. He was suddenly lifted and squeezed into a bone-crushing hug by the dog-creature.

"Arrgh! Put me down! Put me down!" He squirmed and struggled to get out of his grasp.

Chuckling, the dog-creature set him back on the ground. "Sorry about that. It's just that I'm glad we finally found ya! Donald and I have been looking for you everywhere since we got here!"

That last sentence alone was enough to get Sora confused.

"...What? You've been looking for me?"

"So have we," Leon said as he stepped out of the shadows. He scrutinized Sora with a bit more respect held in his eyes. "You did good just now, kid."

"W-wait!" Sora waved his hands frantically. "Don't change the subject here! Just what exactly is goingon?"

"Those Heartless were seeking the bearer of the Keyblade," the man answered with a grim edge to his tone. "In other words...you."

He stood there, stunned.

"...Why?"

"The Heartless fear the Keyblade, which is the most powerful weapon against their entire kind," Leon informed.

"Therefore, they all rush to the holder of the Keyblade and try to destroy him since the power of the Keyblade comes from the power of the holder's heart," Yuffie interrupted. Leon sent her a glare before giving a slight nod in confirmation.

"So do you wanna come with us?"

Sora looked at the duck for jumping in with that question. He had a toothy smile on his face, and though his actions before had shown some sincerity, there was just something about this guy's expression that was a bit too...cheesy.

"You'll be able to travel to different worlds on our ship, too!"

'I don't know...' Would leaving this place really be the best thing to do? After all, what if Kairi or Riku showed up here too?

"You some friends missing, right kid?" Leon suddenly asked. Sora snapped out of his thoughts to stare at him in disbelief.

"How did you know?!"

"Everyone that comes to this place has to search for someone that they were acquainted with at their homes. But here's the thing- your friends probably ended up on other worlds too."

He lowered his head in thought.

"...Really?"

"Of course!" The duck inserted brightly. The dog-creature mumbled something, and the duck pulled him down by his collar to hiss in his ear. Sora wondered at this suspicious behavior, but thought no more of it.

"Okay, then! I'll join you!"

The duck's smile widened. "That's great! I'm Donald, by the way."

"And I'm Goofy," the dog-creature said.

"And I'm Sora!" he exclaimed as they put their hands together.

"Let's go!"

00000000

"We're here, Sora!"

"Already?" It had only seemed like minutes since they had entered the strange gummi ship, the ship that was able to sail the otherwise impassable ocean between the worlds.

Chip and Dale, the two small chipmunks responsible for keeping the ship in order, leaped up and down. "Yep, there it is! There it is!"

Sora ran over to the side of the deck, and, sure enough, there was a rather colorful-looking world in view. "Wow..."

"Okay, let's bring us in nice and easy," Donald muttered as he turned the steering wheel.

"Ahyuck! Donald, look out!"

"Huh?!"

The ship caught on the edge of the landing shore near the stern with an impact so great that it jarred Sora off of the deck and onto land.

"Don't worry, Sora! I'll get ya!" Goofy cried as he leaped off of the boat.

"Gofy, you idiot!" Donald quacked. He gave the wheel to the two chipmunks. "Make sure this thing lands safe, you guys!" He then jumped off the boat himself.

And collided into a pile consisting of a star-struck Sora and Goofy. "OW!"

The three of them sat up, nursing the lumps on their heads.

'How come we always manage to get into dog piles like this?!'

Then from further inland came a roar that thundered in the air and quaked the ground.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

Winry paused as sunlight struck the corner of her eyes, and faced the window.

Once more, it was dawn.

A/N: I don't have much time to be on here, which is why this note is kind of rushed. Anyways, don't forget to review. ;)