Red Water
By Lady Ava
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters.
Author's note: This is my first time writing an FMA fanfic. This takes place near the beginning of the series when East City became Central's temp base because of Scar. It doesn't follow the actual story line, and there are implications of Ed/Winry.
Enjoy.
Chapter One
The Plan
East City was indeed a beautiful city to behold so early in the morning. From the tallest building to the smallest street shop, everything about it felt calming. The people of this fine city were beginning to open up shop for the first time of the day, placing out their items and sweeping the entranceways to their stores. The birds chirped happily in the light blue sky as the sun slowly began to light the heavens above. And, just like every other place in East City, the military base was no exception to the early morning hours.
Winry sat on the stairs overlooking the parade grounds. She had her blond hair pulled back into a low-slung ponytail while dressed in her normal clothes (black pleated skit, white shirt, and blue coat) for whenever she traveled to the city to visit Ed and Al. She sat quietly, watching the new recruits be drilled in their early morning exercises by the drill sergeants. A few others sat on the steps as well, eating their breakfasts while reading the paper, trying to catch up on the current events of the city and the latest news from Central.
Letting out a sigh, Winry looked up into the sky, "Their late," she grumbled softly. "They are always late whenever I come to visit. I got here early for a reason and I told them that I was gonna be here…So, why aren't they up?!"
Suddenly, the loud thud of metal footsteps made the girl's thoughts break and look up. Glancing over her shoulder, Winry smiled slightly. There, towering a good 6 feet above her, stood the youngest of the Elric brothers. Al, though his expressions could not be seen through his metal shell, gave a sigh as if he was smiling at the blond girl.
"Morning Winry," his voice echoed through the empty armor. Putting out a large metal hand, he offered it to the girl, "Sorry I'm late. But Brother and I just got back from a mission late last night."
But Winry just smiled, taking the hand. She rose to her feet, smiling as if nothing were amiss. "It's alright Al. That's completely understandable. But," she paused, looking past her large friend and into the darkened corridors of the military headquarters, "Where's Ed? Isn't he going to come out and see me too?"
Al placed his hand behind his head, a slight nervous laugh escaping him, "Brother? He's um…." He started, glancing over his shoulder towards the windows above.
Edward Elric rolled over in his bed. He yawned slightly as he shifted his weight about, trying to regain a comfortable position. It had been weeks since he had been able to sleep in a nice soft bed. With all the missions and investigations that Mustang had been sending him on, he had become exhausted. Sure, he was used to the travel, but wherever he went, there was always some kind of psycho that was out to get him. Of course they were after him. After all, he was THE Edward Elric aka the "Full Metal Alchemist". His and his brother were famous across the land as the dog of the military that helped the people.
Yawning slightly, he let his long blond hair fall into his face as he finally halted in his bed. The sun's rays of light flooded into the room as he lay there, drifting in and out of a comforting sleep. 'I wish I could be comfortable like this every morning,' he thought to himself happily, drawing the blankets up closer to his chin. The sounds of the sheets rustling about as he curled into a ball was all that was heard, making him smile.
'Peace and quiet….just what I've been needing…' he grinned.
Just as all seemed well and perfect….
CRASH!
Ed shot up in bed, his eyes darting about quickly, "What? What the—" he shouted franticly, though his words slightly slurred. Glancing over towards the window, he felt his eyes widen. There sat a massive hole in his window. Tiny pieces of the glass hung onto the broken edges as the larger pieces lay on the floor and his bed covers.
"Who the hell did this?!" he shouted angrily, throwing his feet out of bed. As his normal foot graced the ground, something cold met it, sending shivers up his spine. Looking down at the floor, Ed felt the blood drain from his face. There sat a massive wrench with the initials 'W.R' engraved into the handle.
"Edward Elric!" A shrill cry echoed from outside the window.
'Oh dear god no….' he thought to himself as he emptied his boots of any and all glass. Placing them onto his feet he walked carefully across the glass to the window. Glancing down, he felt his eyes widen.
"ED! Where do you get off sleeping in?!" Winry's voice screamed loudly.
The people on the stairs watched the girl in shock as the smoke seemed to be billowing out of her ears due to her rage. They sat quietly, glancing over their cups of coffee or newspapers, waiting to see what would happen next.
Rubbing his head, Ed sighed, "What the hell, Winry?! Didn't Al tell you that we just got back from a mission?! I wanna sleep!"
But the girl stomped her foot down, "That's no excuse Ed! You promised me that we would go shopping when I came to visit and I'm gonna hold that to you! Now, get dressed and get your lazy butt down here!"
Cursing himself and his stupid promises, the teen sighed, "Fine!" Stepping back from the window, Ed clapped his hands together and placed them onto the window. The familiar blue light emitted from him as the shards of glass began to replace themselves into place. Within a mere few seconds, his window was back and looking brand new. Admiring his work for a moment, he turned and headed over to the desk where he had placed his shirts and coat. Grabbing this first black shirt, he proceeded to dress, cursing Winry while doing so.
'Where does she get off screaming at me to get up?' he thought, anger on the edge of his thoughts, 'I've running all over the place and the one day that I can somewhat relax, I have her naggin' me to get up. Honestly, I'll never understand women.' He tossed the messed strands of hair over his shoulder and quickly braided it. Taking the hair tie from his wrist, he finished it off within a mere minute.
Placing his coat on, he grabbed his gloves and pocket watch off the nightstand and headed for the door. "Man…I really wish I could go back to bed…"
Even on the brightest of days, the warehouse district of East City always had a sense of eeriness to it. Long since abandoned since the war, the area had fallen far beyond repair. The roads had gone unpaved and the roofs to almost every building were leaking. Rats and other creatures found this place to become a very homely place to live, surviving off of scraps of garbage or other smaller animals. Crows made shrill noises as they circled, looking to steal some food from a rat below. Indeed, this place was not meant for humans anymore. And yet, within the offbeat silence of the area, faint footsteps started to become clear.
A man walked at a steady stride through the streets of this area. He was clocked all in black, concealing his face from the sun. He paid no attention to the surrounding creatures as he turned towards one of the large warehouses. Upon the front of its door, it read in old faded paint 'Sector 17.' Glancing at the number, he made his way to the doors. Carefully, he slid them open.
The interior of the place was indeed no better than its outside. In fact, it was ten times worse. Vines and other types of plants grew all over the boxes unmarked materials. The cement floor was cracked and uneven as he walked upon it, heading for the center of the room. Stopping, he remained still, his hooded head acting as if he was glancing about slightly.
"You're late," a seductive voice muttered from the darkness of the corners.
Scoffing at the woman's voice, the man smirked, "It really shouldn't matter. I have what you want…"
Just then, another voice, sounding somewhat more masculine piped in, "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah…. Don't give us pretty talk. Do you have what we asked you to bring?"
Reaching into his clock, the man smirked slightly, "Of course. Would I lie to you?"
"Perhaps," the lust filled voice chimed back, "All depending on what the stakes were for the goods you have…"
Withdrawing a small box from his coat, the man placed it onto the floor. He placed his hand upon the lid and opened it slowly. There, tucked safely within a black velvet lining were three bottles filled with a familiar red liquid. Even within the low light of the room, it seemed to glow a faint crimson color.
"There you have it. Red water, just as you requested," Reaching into the box, he withdrew one of the small vials and held it up in front of him. "And, as to your request as well, it is filled the drug you requested as well."
A clicking of heels slowly moving across the ground towards him echoed through the room as he told of the details. "This drug will be able to take down a full grown elephant, if you really wanted to. It will knock whomever you give it to out cold," he pause as the heels' volume grew louder, "And will give them very unpleasant dreams."
Reaching out, five long slender fingers grasped the vial carefully. The woman's black eyes became seen from the glow of the red water. Her long black hair covered her face slightly as the ends of her hair fell onto her bare shoulders. Her low-cut dress flaunted her chest immensely, grabbing more attention to her strange tattoo.
"Thank you. You have done a very good job," she muttered darkly, her eyes glittering at the sight of the red water in her hands. Turning, she looked back into the darkness, "Envy….you know what you have to do with this, correct?" she questioned.
The voice from the shadows snickered slightly, "Of course Lust…just leave everything to me."
Lust felt her smile grow upon her face even more so than before, "This time, the Full Metal Alchemist will not be able to say no to us…that is if he values his life…."
Author Notes: Whatcha think? Please Read and Review.