Chapter Text
"Miss? Is there anything you need?"
You shook your head, realizing you had spaced out. "No, I'm all right. Just looking for someone." You smiled and brushed back your hair.
"Well then, if you need anything, feel free to ask me or any of the other staff."
You acknowledged his words with another smile and a nod before resuming your previous stream of thought.
You'd heard the Elric brothers had been 'around' multiple times, but each time, someone would say they had just left. According to the locals- not just of Central, but each place you'd looked for them, even Resembool- they travelled constantly, but that did you no good in actually finding them, and even when you'd braved asking the military for help, Edward's commanding officer had simply told you that he was not available, and you hadn't left your name. If you did, there was the chance that he wouldn't contact you back. There wasn't a chance you would just run into them in a place as big as Central, let alone Amestris as a whole, if they were even there. At this point you were considering waiting on the steps of Central Headquarters.
You shuddered when the image of the military building came to mind. You'd never liked the army very much, and now you were hard-pressed to find one of the hundreds- no, it was thousands- of members.
Sighing, you walked out of the shop, scanning the crowd; at the very least you might be able to find some military personnel outside of the local police. Of course, there were none. It was just a normal crowd of shoppers. Discouraged, you strained your eyes and that was when you saw it. Just a quick glimpse of a Flamel against red fabric. You could swear you'd seen it, but they had disappeared into the crowd. Still, if you hurried, you could catch them.
Your mind was racing. It was an alchemist; they could be able to give you some information.
That was, of course, if they weren't there for the same reason as you, but if that was so, they probably could still help you.
You ran down the street, blurting out "Excuse me!" and "Sorry!" with each of the many people you bumped or full-on ran into, until again you could see it. Yes, it was a flamel; perfect.
Barely thinking, you grabbed the person's - the alchemist's - shoulder, spinning him around. You froze in your tracks, shocked, before smiling as you saw his features: Golden eyes, matching hair in a loose braid, and a cocky smile that was quickly replaced by a confused look.
Startled, he spoke bluntly. "What do you want?"
Still smiling, you barely heard his question, you barely heard when the armoured one- apparently his companion, you hadn't noticed him when you were focused on the flamel- gently, humbly reprimanded him. Your decision to chase was even better than you had thought. You’d found him. Your prey.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
He barely got the question out before you grabbed him, wrapping your arms around your neck and almost knocking him to the ground as you held him close against you. He, bewildered, struggled to breathe.
"I missed you so much, Edward!"
He pushed you away, gasping. "What the hell-?"
Recovering, he looked up barely in time to see your arm pulling back, ready to deliver a swift whack upside his head. He swung his right arm forward, catching your wrist in his palm and holding tight.
You weren't the strongest, but you had learned some self-defense and how to break grips. This, however, was unusual. Rarely was one grabbed by the fist that no amount of twisting would loosen. So maybe one of the other common ways to make him let go would work...?
You raised your right arm in the air, bringing it down into his inner elbow. Upon impact, a sharp pain shot through your arm.
"Ow! What'd you do? No way..."
At least you hadn't been able to hit him hard enough to inflict serious damage upon yourself. Using the same hand, free although in pain, you pulled up his sleeve. It hitched and tore on a joint, but you were distracted by the glint of steel. You'd expected it, but you'd hoped you were wrong. His arm was prosthetic- well made, but not real.
"No way! What'd you do?" This time, the question was asked sincerely, not out of annoyance and pain.
"Why should I tell you? Who the hell are you?" He had released your hand, although he was still watching you closely, cautiously.
"Who are you?" you challenged, raising an eyebrow with disdain.
"Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Usually I try not to lead with my military ties, but I'll have you know I could haul you in right now for attacking me." All that, with a goddamn smirk.
"Aren't you all high and mighty?"
"What is wrong with you?" he fumed.
"Your arm looks well made... Pinako Rockbell?"
"Not just her, but what's it to you?" With a clap of his hands and a flash of blue, he repaired his sleeve where you had torn it away.
"Not much, really. I'm hardly an expert on automail. By the way, I think I have a better answer for the question I asked you."
The pair of them stared at you, clearly annoyed but nevertheless curious. They had probably forgotten your question by then.
"You are my brother. My dear little brother who didn't tell me that he was joining the military, let alone that he became a State Alchemist at a record young age for the century. Who never tried to contact me, despite how goddamn much I miss you. Who apparently also didn't tell me that he lost an arm? What'd you do, write me out of your life? You burned the house down after Trisha died... did I mention you didn't even tell me when your mother, the woman who took me in, was dead?" Tears gleamed in your eyes, above your disbelieving, almost sarcastic smile. It was getting dark; you were glad to know less people were there to see. The armoured one shifted as though he wanted to comfort you.
"You? Is it really..."
Edward's emotions were mixed. He reached toward you, as though to pet your shoulder, but hesitated as a more dominant part of his mind took over.
"W- wait, what about you? You left us as soon as you could, I was barely five! You said you wanted to go! If you were there-"
"What if I was there?" you replied icily. "Trisha would still be alive? She was ill, Edward, and she'd been long pining away for Hohenheim." The words began to slip out more easily as everything that had nagged at you over the years surged to the front of your mind. "I'm not even her daughter, what could I do for her? When a friend of your father offered to take me in and teach me, I was glad that I'd be leaving her with less to deal with! What was I supposed to do? Stay? Keep taking money and food from an mom who was ill and her little kids? Or do you feel one-upped because I'm not even related to Hohenheim and never showed much skill yet I got to be the one who received training? It was only because I'm older than you! I'm competent and I got to learn plenty of theory, but you were able to be a state alchemist without that, so why would you be jealous? I mean, maybe that's 'cause Hohenheim's your-"
"Mention his name again and you'll regret it!"
"Brother!" yelped the armoured one, a surprisingly young voice.
"Brother? Wait, Al, is that you? You're huge! I mean, you’re standing next to Edward, but you must be almost seven feet! I dunno, I guess I'm not that tall either...." You grinned your apology to Edward, he was gnashing his teeth. He always had been sensitive about his height. Of course, it was obvious why. He was five foot nothing- no, those boots added height. He was four nine, maybe four ten, but then, he'd always been short. You'd even teased him about it in your letters.
You frowned at the thought of your letters. You had wondered for a long time if they had burned with the house. Had your brothers even saved them that long? You'd started with regular letters, when you left, writing once a week. By the time you were twelve, it was once a month and by fifteen you sent only one letter a year, other than the cards for your brother's birthdays, and Trisha's too. She had no connection to you before she took you in, but once your parents were collateral damage, neither did anyone else. Her neighbour had brought you home and bravely plead your case. It was ironic that the same war, years later, killed the doctors who saved you, orphaning their daughter, Winry.
You still remembered some of the things you'd said in your letters, even shallow ramblings about the neighbourhood strays. When you got a little older, you spoke of your mentor's patients, the weather and what you were learning. You always called Trisha by her name and she always understood: as much as she loved you, she was not your mother; you had known yours. Ed and Alphonse wrote you too, but Trisha signed a "love you" and a sweet note in her handwriting, so pretty and neat. When it disappeared, you still addressed her in the letters, so her sons could read them to her. Soon after, the responses got shorter, just affirming that your brothers were fine, not to worry. You had rarely had the money to go back and visit, but those early letters, even just for the short time you wrote regularly, had cemented your relationship with your adoptive brothers. Then finally, the already few letters ceased. Those that you sent were returned with notes saying that there was no one at that address, so you gave up. You didn't try to visit, or even leave your mentor until adulthood, at which point you had gone to Resembool, your old home, and learned of your brothers' fate.
Somehow, you didn't even want to ask.
"Sister?" Al asked uncertainly.
You shook your head. "Sorry, I was just thinking."
"That's a rare and dangerous occurrence."
"Shut up!" you scolded, whacking Edward upside the head with a quick flick of your wrist. "It's been ten years, and you're still a brat. So Al, are you just tall and skinny or can you actually fill out that armour? It must be heavy." By now the crowd had dispersed, the darkness was causing some strain on your eyes. You stood in the dim yellow glow of a streetlamp.
"Um, well, actually..."
"Keep quiet, Al!" Ed snapped.
"Well, really! If you aren't going to let him tell me-"
"No!" Edward yelled, but it was too late. You'd swung open the chest plate of Alphonse's armour to see... nothing. No one was in the armour you had just been talking too.
"..."
"Are you all right? Sister?" Al's voice asked.
"Am I all right?"
"Dammit. The one person to see this and it's her." Ed looked worried too, although in a different way than Al.
"Am I all right? What did you do? Did you... no, it couldn't be true... where is his... did you- did you do a human transmutation?" You whispered the last part, your eyes wide, your whole body trembling.
Edward didn't answer, but Alphonse looked down, mumbling "I'm sorry" and sounding so genuinely remorseful that you could cry.
"Why the hell would you do this, Edward? What would you possibly trade Alphonse for?"
Edward was beyond furious, sweating and glaring. His argumentative side was gone, his voice was cold. "I wouldn't trade Al for anything."
"Then what were you doing? You even had all of Hohenheim's books, plus your simple common sense!" Your voice lowered as your anger subsided a little, giving in to anxiety. "I read something about it- things I wasn't supposed to read- regarding this, but I never thought it would work and I'd never have tried it! What were you trying to do?!"
"What do you think?!" Ed snarled, Al cringing behind him.
"Trisha?" You paused and took a deep breath. "She was a wonderful woman and mother. I don't know if she could survive a second time knowing she had left you once. I'm sorry, Edward."
He looked stricken, but even more so when you asked your next question, scared but intensely curious.
"Did it work?"
He shook his head, a simple, sad answer.
"What happened? They mentioned something... some kind of monster in the doctor's books. Something hard to kill?"
"It's called a homunculus!" Again Edward's wave of patience had broken.
"The books said there could be a way to kill them, but that even knowing it, they were almost superhuman... or super soldiers. I thought they were just a superstition no one cared about though...monsters."
Despite his frustration, Edward suddenly looked interested. “An actual method to kill them? Can you remember what they said?”
"Do you mean you did make one?"
"No. What we made was... it died. But we aren't the only ones who have tried. Can we please go inside if you don't know?"
"Wait, just let me think." You desperately tried to remember. It had been years since you’d read the books and you’d tried to repress what they had said out of guilt. Besides, the texts were all so complicated you had needed to rely on the notes and summaries written on the pages, notes your mentor had written for himself to understand, and even with those it was hard to make out the meanings. You struggled to remember something written clearly. The book covers and titles were beginning to return to you. But what had they said? You could even remember the diagrams, but the text was lost on you.
Your head snapped up as you remembered a quote, one you had read and more than once, trying to work out what such a fantastic-seeming quote was doing in a scientific text.
“‘They cannot tolerate contact with the substance that is the body they were made to replicate. Contact with hair, bone, flesh or blood will weaken a homunculus significantly.’ But you can’t know that’s true, can you? And in any case, it’s gruesome, isn’t it, having to use... use her flesh to kill it?”
“Well homunculi exist, so I’d wager that some of these other myths contain a grain of truth.” Contemplating this, Edward’s brow furrowed.
“Well, in exchange for my information, you’re going to let me stay with you, right? I can see that you need someone to take care of you. You’re only sixteen, after all.”
“No thanks. I’m good,” Ed answered quickly.
“Brother!”
“Yeah Brother, why not? If I were at home maybe you wouldn’t have done something so stupid.”
Edward looked at you, obviously both annoyed and hurt.
“…Well, I’m coming.”
“Fine.” Edward gave in surprisingly quickly. “C’mon, it’s late. Let’s go to the hotel.”
You grinned. He was stuck with you.
“Well,” Ed muttered. “Maybe she’s calmed down, figured out enough to help. It has been years since we’ve seen her.”
“What’s that Ed?”
“Nothing. This is our hotel.”
You had stopped in front of a rather dingy hotel. Not roach-infested bad, but definitely not four stars either. “What’s the military paying you?”
“Shut up. It’s the best they’ll let me charge to them.”
“Only because you keep charging everything to Central H/Q and getting caught!” Al teased, surprising you. He was usually a pretty contrite kid.
“Sure Al. How much of my pay have you charged for donations to cat shelters this month? Maybe I wouldn't need to ask the military for so much.”
“That- that’s different! It’s charity!”
“And it’s not important if I’m hungry?”
It was nice to see the tension lessening, and to see the siblings you remembered. “Boys, boys. As funny as this is, I kinda want to sleep. You have no idea how much effort it was tracking you down.”
Edward looked over, for once seeming to realize the time and energy you had spent trying to find them. Alphonse apologized, leading you inside.
You swayed a little. “I’m so tired…”
“We’re almost there,” said Al. “Our room’s on the ground floor.”
“Hey, are you okay?” Ed now was steadying you, leading you past the desk. “Are you sick?”
“No, I’m fi-”
You woke up unsure of your surroundings. Cracking your knuckles, you looked around, making sense of everything. Your eyes came to rest on Edward, sleeping soundly on a bed parallel to yours. The events of the previous night returned, up to walking past the desk of the hotel. You figured that you must have blacked out. You were surprised, as you’d never done so before; you found it somewhat cool in some strange way that one could be tired enough to just drop like that.
After gathering your thoughts, you again looked around. It was a relatively small hotel room with two twin beds, the one you were on and Edward’s. Alphonse sat on the floor, although he probably couldn’t feel the difference. To no be able to feel the overall comfort of stretching out on a soft bed… yes, that truly was a sad thing.
Quietly, you rose out of your bed, signalling for Alphonse to remain silent. Although confused, your brother obeyed. You crept up to Edward, still in a deep sleep. How deep was it though?
You uncurled his fingers and lifted them by the thumbs, bringing them together in a silent clap. He didn’t stir. Perfect.
“ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWEEEEEELVE!” you yelled, smashing his hands together with each number before adding, “Good morning, Brother."
“What the-? YOU! I’m gonna skin you!” Ed roared, lunging at you and, seeing as you had already fled across the room, falling.
You shrugged and hopped backward from him. Threats and insults were made to be absorbed quietly and responded to when the time came. “I get to use the washroom first!” you chirped, bouncing out the door before your brothers could say anything. You didn't mention the automail leg you'd seen.
When you walked back into the main room, they were arguing.
“Not like that. And a sense of humour? She only likes things if they cause others- especially me- pain!”
“That’s not true!”
“Yeah Edward, be nice!” you said, pouting, as you entered the room.
“That was fast. I thought women took longer getting ready in the morning.”
Apparently he understood the look you gave him, as he immediately corrected.
“You look okay this morning?”
“Better… I guess.”
“You look very nice, Sister,” Al corrected.
“Thank you.”
“Can we go now Al, or do you want to sit around chatting?”
“Whoa, slow down Edward. We’re not going to die if we stay for an extra second," you remarked, raising your eyebrows.
“He who hesitates is lost,” he countered before grabbing his bags and heading toward the lobby. You and Al gathered your belongings quickly and ran to catch up. When you met him just outside the lobby, the running had jogged your brain a little too much and given you somewhat of a headache. Your vision skewed a little when you stopped and you rubbed your forehead as you walked up to the desk.
Looking up, you saw a chandelier- out of use but still used as a decoration and very cool. Huge, too. You could hide in that thing. Hell, if you were there another night you could sleep in it! Very sweet. As you inspected it, you plopped down in a lobby chair.
After paying the bills, charging the military, of course, Edward turned to you. “C’mon, let’s go.
You nodded and hurried to get up, but you were stopped at the front desk.
“Go on, I’ll catch up,” you told Edward. “I’ll find you guys when I’m done.”
Ed shrugged and continued out the door, leaving you to speak to the clerk, who was eyeing the brothers- especially Alphonse- suspiciously.
“Is there something I can do for you? Did he not pay enough?”
“Yes, there is, but certainly not what you’re thinking. I don’t need you, I’m married and you’re so young." As he replied, he looked straight in to your eyes, trying to put across the importance of what he had to say. "Look- you’re still young, you can still do something with your life! You don’t need to do this for cash.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” you replied uneasily.
“You are too young for this, you have so much potential. I can’t believe one would be doing this at your age! How old are you?”
“Twenty-one, sir, but I don’t know where you’re going with this…” At least, you hoped you didn’t understand.
“Really! You look younger, but I suppose that works to your advantage. I, however, can’t believe a nice, well-spoken girl like you would do something like this! No one should, but you surprised me by your innocent looks! Showing up, drunk, at a hotel with two soldiers and passing out before you even reach a room. Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to call the police, but who knows what they could have done to you?” Finished, he sat back, taking a deep breath. “I’ve heard of a good shelter. I have a pamphlet here; I hear they even offer schooling.”
Though you had been following the implications, you were somewhat shocked. “You think I’m a whore?”
He obviously thought that you weren’t the best of actors. “I told you, I’m not going to call the police, you don’t have to lie."
“Well sir, what they may have done would certainly be a frightening prospect if your story were true, but it’s not. I was completely sober last night, if very tired. The two I stayed with are my brothers.” You laughed. “I sincerely hope my younger brothers wouldn’t have even thought about that. Thank you for your concern, but you’re mistaken. I wasn't drunk and I am totally unscathed this morning.”
After politely saying goodbye and turning around, you fought a silent fit of giggles. It was horrible, but it was also so ridiculous, especially considering the way he had looked at Alphonse, not knowing he was still shy of fifteen and the sweetest kid you could know. What a busybody. Luckily enough, by the time you reached Ed and Al outside, you'd regained your composure.
"What was that about?" Edward asked, annoyed.
"Oh, nothing. He just thought I was a tourist and was trying to sell me some junk. He was so pushy I almost couldn't say no." Your lie was weak, but it was probably better that they didn't know, at least until you needed an excuse to embarrass them. "Let's catch our train."
On the train, you asked Edward to take off his gloves.
"Why?" he argued, but pulled them off, and you inspected the front and back of his hand.
"Good, you're too young for tattoos."
"Tattoos?" Al asked, shocked at first, then teasing: "Brother, are you secretly trying to get a tattoo?"
"What? No! You have a tattoo!" he accused, pointing at you.
"I do," you said, showing your palm, and the transmutation circle for a few common minerals. "Yesterday," you continued, "Ed repaired his coat without drawing a transmutation circle."
You reached for his automail hand, but he responded before you took it.
"Oh. No, that's something I can do, since..."
He didn't elaborate, but he didn't need to.
Leaving the station, you couldn't tell exactly where Ed was leading you. You walked down streets, heading toward the rising sun. When you began heading toward what seemed to be a forest, you noticed that there were no more side streets.
"Ed, you're sure you know where we're going?"
"Of course I do. Shut up."
Following this up, he began explaining the four homunculi he knew of to you, trying to make it apparent that they were a force to be reckoned with. He also warned you of an alchemist-killing serial murderer named Scar and to keep away from military personnel you didn't know. Apparently something odd was going on and the military was involved, or possibly even behind it. When speaking of this, Edward mentioned some strange holes and contradictions in the stories about the Ishval war but refrained from straying to far into the topic.
So you followed him. If you kept track of landmarks, you thought you probably wouldn't get too lost. He led you into the wood and along the edge of a creek, following its bank until the sky began to darken, at which point your brothers set up camp; their shelter was more than functional. You held back from pointing out your surprise at their competency, especially seeing as they were allowing you to sleep with them.
When they finished with the efforts, you having sat and watched, thoroughly sore from the hike, Alphonse turned to you.
"Sister..." he started.
"Yes?"
Edward took over for his- your- brother. "You don't have to come with us. You shouldn't. You could be captured by the enemy, you could even be killed. I'm sure you're tough and I know you're not stupid, but that doesn't mean you have any chance of avoiding them."
You glanced at your brothers but neither looked up. You swallowed, sorry for causing this worry in them when they already had so many stressors and so much to deal with. However, they needed to understand. Therefore, you couldn't get overly emotional. You took a breath.
"And?" you challenged. "I could easily be taken hostage if I wasn't with you, I'd probably be captured in an instant. As for being killed? Well, in that case they couldn't use me against you, and it's not any safer away from you. I'd rather it was me than you. Besides, I'm your sister, not only do I want to look out for you, I'm just as stubborn as you are."
As they began to cook dinner in silence, you remained unproductive. After you ate, you followed them to bed. At first you noticed Edward snoring, but it didn't take long before you slept like a rock.
When you awoke they had left, exploring the forest for reasons you couldn't fathom. Sighing, you began doing your "homework," mentally reviewing the homunculi your brother had told you about. They all had superhuman strength and speed; they regenerated when harmed. What you had told Edward the previous day was the only clue toward how to hurt them.
First there was Envy, a shape shifter. He was cunning and cynical and looked like an androgynous-leaning young person. He possessed immense mass for his size and fought mainly using martial arts, from basic punches and kicks to complicated and smooth Xingese techniques. His blood lust was obvious even to your military-hardened brothers. Using his shape shifting, he could transform his arms into stabbing implements by sharpening and hardening them.
Lust, a woman, fought using her fingernails. They lengthened into javelins to stab and swords to slash. She moved gracefully and, like Envy, was not one for painless killing. She looked young, with a figure akin to her name and often fought next to Gluttony, a simple-minded creature who could (and would) devour anything.
Last, there was Wrath. Edward seemed to dislike this one, and you were assuming it had something to do with the fact that he possessed a human's right arm and left leg, the same as those Edward was missing. Wrath, rather than having a highly supernatural power, had the ability to perform alchemy without a circle and seemingly surpass the Law of Equivalent Exchange. He could even transmute his arms and legs. Wrath was the only homunculus who seemed to be able to perform alchemy and Ed had also noted that he seemed more capable of forming emotional bonds than the other homunculi.
Logically speaking, there should also have been three more homunculi: Pride, Sloth and Greed, although there was as much of a chance that less than seven homunculi. Still, someone had to be pulling the strings and if it were you, you'd want all seven.
Noticing that your clothes were dirty and sweaty, you stripped and jumped in the creek. Rinsing quickly, just enough to feel nearly clean and somewhat cool, you got right back out of the water and began to dress.
"Well..."
You spun, clutching your clothes to your chest as you searched for the sound of the voice. You saw nothing, and, when you called out, there was no response, not even your brothers were within earshot. Writing it off as simply hearing things- you were still quite tired- you quickly forgot it and finished dressing and waited for your brothers to return.
When Ed and Al got back, you happily followed them and helped take down the camp, finally remembering to ask where you were going.
"Without a car, this is the fastest way from the station to East City Headquarters. Mustang- the colonel we have to meet with- seems to be there for some reason. We'll get there today if the weather doesn't turn, we could've been there already if we hadn't stopped to sleep."
"Ed, there's a station at East City Centre.
He mumbled something.
"What?"
"I don't like that station."
Al spoke up, mischief in his tone.
"Once the stationmaster asked if I was his dad."
"Al!"
"He was so embarrassed that he walked out and we missed our train."
"Ed, there are other stations! This 'shortcut' took hours! We slept in the woods!"
You could barely hear his muttered answer:
"He could be working at any of the stations in town. Besides," he said, brightening up, "When he hears I never arrived, Mustang's going to think I'm skipping our meeting. We'll get there just late enough to keep him on his toes."
Realizing that was the best answer you were going to get, you continued, and were pleased that before going nearly as far as you had the night before, the wood opened to the outskirts of town. It didn't take long to reach the military offices either, Alphonse and yourself following as Edward arrogantly stormed up to the colonel's office. Upon reaching the room, you were left alone in the hall to wait.
"Shit, I can't hear..." you mumbled, moving closer and pressing your ear against the door.
"You're late, Fullmetal, and I heard you never arrived for your escort at the station."
"Yeah, I took a different route, is that a problem?"
"Of course you did. So, who's the girl? Don't you think that mechanic of yours will be jealous?" Roy Mustang purred. You could all but hear him smirking as he teased Ed.
"Why would she be jealous, not like I'm with her anyway," Edward muttered as Roy and Al exchanged a glance.
"She's our sister, sir," Alphonse added, humble as usual.
"Oh yes. She's adopted, right? I saw her mentioned in your records. In fact, I think I've heard of her. How old is she now?"
"Six years older than me. Twenty-one. Why?" Edward replied uneasily, and you remembered that the Flame Colonel was rather known for being a womanizer.
"That's plenty old..." Mustang mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Alphonse asked, also nervous.
"Oh, nothing! No reason at all!" Roy chirped. His acting was even worse than yours.
"That aside, why'd you call us? We've been walking all day just because you said you couldn't tell us over 'possibly insecure' phone lines. I'm assuming you have a lead on the stone?"
You held your breath. Of course, they were looking for the Philosopher's Stone. For a moment your head swam with the weight of such a quest, and knowing that you had eavesdropped something so personal from Edward, but you couldn't stop now; your brothers could be in more danger than they'd let on.
"Yes, and a lead on a group who have been calling themselves 'homunculi,' whether or not you are correct in believing that name. Someone- now deceased- told me of an ‘Envy’ who tried to get alchemical information from him. He saw them in western Central."
"Envy! Wait, now deceased? Don't tell me he was murdered!" There was a pause. "Why would they let him get as far as you?"
"I'm not sure, Fullmetal. Pay close attention; watch your back," the colonel advised, now entirely serious. "We don't need to lose any more alchemists."
"It's so likely to be a trap... but we have to check it out!" Edward thought for a moment. "You said Central right? West Central? As to say, where we came from, except farther away?" Ed's eye twitched involuntarily.
"I'm sure it will be worth it. Besides, if you were taller maybe you'd walk a little faster."
"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' SO SHORT THEY COULD BEFRIEND AN AMOEBA?" Edward yelled, and you could hear him flailing in protest, and Al desperately trying to calm him down.
"Anyway, that's all I know. Come one, I'll walk you out."
You sat back down, looking up as your brothers walked out of the office with someone else, presumably the colonel. The colonel scanned his eyes up and down your body, making your brow furrow in disgust. Then, as if having come to a conclusion, he spoke.
"Call me if you want to try me. The offer's good for one night only."
Eww. Even if he was tall, dark, and handsome- the opposite of Ed, you thought and snickered, losing your train of thought.
Even if he was tall, dark, and handsome, and rather young looking, he was old enough to be a colonel and your brother's boss.
He handed you a folded paper, probably containing his phone number.
You took a deep breath and plastered an extremely fake smile on your face. "I'd love to, but I need to be home for five. The kids can't be left alone for a minute and we don't have a babysitter planned. Edward and Alphonse are already busy, so unless you want to take it up with my husband..." You trailed off as all three of those in your company stared, struck dumb by your easily delivered lie. Seeing as you hadn't made up any names, let alone who'd been watching your children for the last couple days, you decided to quit while you were ahead.
"C'mon Ed; Al. That cab's waiting for us!" Oops, another hole, why hadn't you gotten a cab out? Oh well. You grabbed each brother's arm and dragged them around the corner, down the stairs and out of the building before collapsing into laughter.
"Did you see his face? I honestly didn't think he would believe me!" You broke off into gasps, nearly hyperventilating from holding back your laughter for so long before quite literally emptying your lungs all at once.
"So... you're not married and don't have kids?" Ed asked. Though he could sniff out a lie like no other, he never had been entirely able to tell when you were kidding.
"Of course not! How old do you think I am, anyway? But I couldn't resist seeing what he'd do!" You broke off into a stream of giggles. It wasn't even that good of a joke, but having to hold the laughter in had escalated it.
Ed sighed. You always had had a twisted sense of humour, although you knew he had to admit that he liked to see the colonel stuck like that. A certain glee came with the suffering of superiors.
You couldn't help but feel a little sad as you walked toward the same forest you'd been through in the morning. The scenery was beautiful, the water clear, but it felt like a waste to have come this far for your brothers to have a five minute talk and leave again. You wished that you wouldn't have to sleep outside this night, but it couldn't be helped, could it?
As you walked down the trail and deeper into the forest, you realized that you didn't recognize much, although a lot of the scenery was identical throughout the forest. That was, save for certain landmarks. Landmarks you weren't seeing.
When you reached a fork you were sure hadn't been there before, you glanced at Edward. Frustration was etching deeper into his face, his fists clenched at his sides.
Fighting a severe urge to smash your face into a tree, you smiled at your brother. "Edward, are we lost? This doesn't look familiar."
He turned to you, extremely pissed. "That's because it isn't familiar! This trail's clearer and better marked than the other so we came this way! I just don't know which fork takes us to the train and which fork out of town!"
"Brother..." Al groaned, obviously siding with you.
"You didn't bring a compass either, did you Edward?" you asked, receiving only a glare to answer your question.
You looked at him, genuinely annoyed. Until now, you'd been playing, kidding. Now you couldn't believe it. "So you mean to say," you continued. "We're stuck in the forest with barely any supplies and no idea how to get where we're going?
Ed remained silent and continued to glare. Then, decidedly, he turned down the left fork. He didn't so much as glance back, forcing you and Alphonse to follow.
"Brother, stop this, it's crazy! Let's just go back to East City and restart! Or get a car!" Al whined. Nevertheless, he followed his brother.
"Ed, logically speaking, this path is more likely to take us north. I can even hear the creek in the other direction!"
He finally stopped plowing ahead, muttering "fine." He turned turning and headed straight through the forest toward the sound of the water, right through the bushes and branches.
"Crap." You hurried to catch up with your brother, following both of them through the trees.
Luckily, the sound of the creek aided Edward's less-than-perfect directional skills. You were extremely pleased to finally see familiar scenery and arrive at 'your' creek. Although you didn't mention it to your brothers, you were relieved to recognize a gnarled stump on the bank.
After walking alongside it awhile, you again settled next to the creek, setting up camp identical to that of the morning. This time you helped set up, then filled a kettle to boil for lunch as they started the fire.
It was hard to believe it was already a day since the last time you'd done this. It wasn't even dark yet.
Your brothers had left to scout for any threats, whatever that meant, leaving you alone. You sighed, realizing that your clothes were, yet again, sweat stained. They were also sticky with the sap of all the trees you had scraped by when Edward led you off trail. This realization made you feel gross overall and, remembering that your brothers wouldn't return for a while, you walked into a deeper part of the creek, clothes and all. Once cool, you removed your clothes, rinsing them and attempting to clean yourself, despite the lack of soap. Upon coming out of the water, you dried off quickly and pulled on your underclothes and pants, glad to have brought more than one extra pair after going through two changes in a day. You had just grabbed your shirt when you heard a familiar voice chuckling.
"Well..."
Clutching your shirt to your chest, you yelped, "Who's there?!" Regretting the second of blindness, you whipped your top on.
The voice laughed as you wracked your mind, trying to fathom whose voice this was and why it sounded so familiar. You brain was screaming deja vu but you couldn't pinpoint when this could have happened. It felt like a lost dream.
Again the voice- it was completely androgynous, which was comforting in that it could be a woman who'd seen you- laughed, then spoke. "I don't think my name's important." The voice had become more feminine and, in a way, familiar. Continuing, the voice edged closer. "I suppose that, if you want, you could call me Winry." As the sentence finished, a young teenage girl stepped out of the thicket, her long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.
Your jaw dropped. Winry Rockbell was here in the woods, taunting you? She was a former neighbour, a close friend and potential love interest to your brothers, no matter what Ed said to his commanding officer. It was her mother who had brought you to Trisha, why would she attack you? You never been the best of friends, but of course you hadn't disliked each other, let alone to the point of hate, let alone killing.
As Winry laughed maniacally, gleefully, something in your head clicked. It was Envy. He could shift to look like anyone, why not make you falter by assuming the form of someone you knew? Ducking to the ground, you transmuted a dagger from the combined metals of stones in the creek. Instinctively, your body jerked as though to pounce at the homunculus, but you hesitated. What if there were more?
"So you've figured me out so fast?" he asked, shifting to a different form, his voice changing mid-sentence. His form was now that of a feminine young man with long black hair, separated into downward, rather arboreal looking spikes, particularly due to his black hair's greenish tinge. His voice matched his physique, deeper then it had been but still containing an effeminate quality. He smirked. "You can call me Envy. No, I don't need an introduction, I know who you are. You're the reason we're here, or perhaps I'm the reason you're here. I mean, someone had to send that lure to Mustang. And Edward bringing his sister? Brilliant!" Envy grinned lewdly before continuing with an obviously sexual undertone, "So, was the colonel good? I mean, they say he'll go for most women and most women for him. And you..." he trailed off, thin eyebrows raised.
You blushed a deep crimson. After years of living with your mentor who wasn't even a blood relation of the Elrics, let alone you, and staying up nights attending to people in need, regardless of age or gender, even being assigned to bathe long-term patients, rumours of you being, most crudely put, the town whore, an easy fuck, and so on, had spread around the small town like wild fire, even as you rejected most advances. Leaving was the one thing that made searching for the Elrics seem pleasant. "I'll fucking kill you!" you growled upon regaining your self; you jumped at him, dagger extended.
In an easy motion, Envy twisted and pinned you to the ground, holding closed the palm of your tattooed hand. As you struggled in vain, he lowered his mouth to your ear. "Well, isn't this nice?" he whispered, lips grazing your skin.
It had become anyone's nightmare, whether or not they believed in monsters and homunculi. It was unlikely that he would do anything, you told yourself, but it brought your mind flashing to every lecture you'd ever been given on why not to walk alone and every horror story on why you shouldn't speak to strangers. You remembered your attempts to disarm your teachers, but how was any of that useful when facing against a monster with infinite strength? All you could do was scream.
"EDWARD! Get the fuck back here!" Luckily enough, you brother happened to be getting close and, despite what sounded like anger coating it, he heard the urgency in your voice and came racing through the brambles to return to you.
When he saw Envy over you, Edward froze. He looked so shocked and lost; his blank face was almost comical. Then, as if having come out of a trance, he snapped.
"Get your dirty hands off my sister, you bastard!" he roared, knocking Envy off you whilst transmuting his forearm into a blade.
"Hey," Envy said affably, "It's not as if I particularly like your family either." His tone changed, now more dark and, ultimately, serious, but now in a low enough tones that you could barely make out what he was saying. "Especially her, not even a relative, but so very welcome to him..."
You had no idea what he was talking about, but before you had time to dwell on it, a dart whizzed by your face. Spinning around, you saw a woman- a pale, voluptuous, brunette- standing a distance away. This time, you comprehended it right away. Lust
You turned to attack her but Alphonse was already there, dodging surprisingly well with his bulky body. Edward wasn't fairing as well against Envy, not able to quite meet his graceful martial arts. You hurried over to attempt at helping but really couldn't do much.
Without warning, Envy changed his path, charging toward you, and you saw that he was aiming not to kill but to injure, to disarm, to- your mind froze- to capture. His stance finally made you see the motif for attacking: to take the alchemist's sister hostage. It was exactly what Edward had feared. Somehow you managed to dodge his lunge; he turned back to Edward, who already was spattered with various cuts and beginning to fair worse.
Feeling utterly useless, you did naught but watch, until finally Envy propelled at Edward, arm extended as if to stab clean through his chest.
"Slow down, Envy," Lust scolded as you screamed.
"No! EDWARD!" You ran forward, throwing yourself between Envy and your brother.
Time passed in slow motion as you sprinted at your brother. A piercing, fiery pain went through your neck as the outer flesh was impaled, then pulled out sideways, a puncture wound tearing into a gaping slit. It was an odd sensation, a painful type of tickling, when your flesh was stretched, this time off your leg. The pain hardly deterred you, adrenaline carried you forward. Warm blood- your blood- ran down the cold skin of you neck; at least Lust had now turned back to Alphonse. Maybe she had been aiming to stop, not kill. And if she wouldn't kill you, then Envy-
You reached Edward and time flew forward. Your legs didn't stop running, you would have ran right past if something hadn't snagged your stomach, jerking you to a stop. A pain in your gut flared, burning, then faded to nonexistence. You turned, glad to see your brother standing nearby, safe. Of course they wouldn't kill the hostage to get to him; that fact had just saved Edward, although you ached a little now.
"Sister!" Alphonse yelped, his brother's jaw gaping. Both of them looked terrified.
You must have surprised them, but why couldn't they see something so obvious? The homunculi hadn't planned to kill you. You started to reply, but the words caught in your throat. You coughed, bringing up salty red blood. "What?" You looked down at your stomach; your brothers seemed to be looking at it.
When your gaze reached your stomach, you fought nausea. An open hole seemed to reach all the way through; you could see light on the other side, obstructed by torn tissue and throbbing organs. You could see that your spine was still intact and, in a way, you were lucky about the blood loss. It would keep you from panic, at least for a while, and save you from the pains of a longer death caused by the ruptured innards.
You coughed, more blood rising to your lips. The thick metallic flavour was beginning to taste worse and worse by excess. After a hacking fit, your throat becoming raw enough that the blood seemed to sting, you again tried to speak. "Fuck... oh man." Your words were separated by chokes that wracked your whole body, your spine burning every time you shook. Mentally, you were beyond scolding yourself. You had not once used alchemy in that fight and had barely helped. Not only had you killed yourself, but you could have- and perhaps had- killed your brothers.
"Envy. Let's go. There's nothing left for us here. The others won't be happy." Lust turned and left, not glancing back. "I told you to slow down."
"Too bad, I don't regret it! I hated her; I wanted her dead! Let her rot." Envy had vicious emotions playing on his face. He took a last look at Edward's face before following Lust, a toothy, violent smile on his lips when he saw the alchemist's stricken look and you laying there, dying.
You shuddered, but not because of your wounds. Envy's feelings were obvious; he wanted to hurt you more.
Edward had fallen by your side. "No... it's not true! My sister now... mom was already taken away, now you too? It's not fair!" Tears streamed down his face. "I can't save anyone." He shook you. "It's not real... tell me it's not real!"
"It is real, brother." Fading from blood loss, you smiled." Goodbye, Edward... Alphonse."
Edward grabbed you, hugging you to his chest. You were still losing blood fast, although your heartbeat had slowed. Coughing, you sprayed blood on Edward's back. He shook his head at your attempted apology. You were getting paler and paler, pain and blood loss making you struggle for consciousness and fight for speech.
"Edward... I loved you. Trisha... Alpho-" Your body again shook with coughs, but this time you were more intent on finishing than apologizing. "I love you... family. Take care of Alphonse... yourself." Exhausted, you closed your eyes, struggling for breath as you leaned to your brother.
Barely able to whisper, you made one more attempt. "I'll... miss..." Another spasm ripped through your body as your lungs attempted to eject the blood.
You relaxed against Edward, no longer struggling. At last, Al screamed.
Several hours had passed. Alphonse wasn't able to cry his nonexistent tears longer; Edward had held back all that was possible, although he had no way of refraining while he'd washed the blood away. Now his hands and face were clean, if that meant anything.
"Al. Let's go." He hoisted his sister's dead weight to his shoulders, biting his lip. "You know what we have to do."
"Yes... Even if we're all she had, she still needs a proper burial and a funeral."
Edward didn't reply. Alphonse could think that. It was better he didn't know- that way, he wouldn't be hurt.
This time, Edward knew he would do it right.