It's here! This fic is a sequel to another fic of mine- Tenebrae- and I highly reccommend going to read that one before you start this. Though I'm hoping to include enough backstory so that anyone could follow it.

I was planning on writing the whole story before posting, but... I'm too excited to wait. This fic is not going to be long- three chapters, possibly four.

Warnings: A handful of OCs, blood, gore, all-around creepiness, death, angst, and cursing, but not enough for an M-rating. No pairings.

If there was one thing that he hated, it was the Central sewers.

Charlie Arborthal raised the lantern in his hand a little higher as he made his way through one of the dozens of sewage tunnels under Central. He was the newest recruit to the State Alchemist program, and the first alchemist to sign up after the fall of Bradley. He hadn't been sent out of the city yet, and this most recent mission was one of the most exciting he'd had.

Of course, meeting his commanding officer was always an exciting event.

"Arborthal, you're late."

Charlie cringed and saluted. "I'm sorry, General Mustang, sir," he replied.

Mustang scowled. "I have a new assignment for you," he said, holding out a slim file for Arborthal to take. "Some of the workers that have been repairing the sewers have complained of strange… happenings. Reports include missing tools, odd noises and other strange events." Mustang paused and pointed at his newest subordinate. "There's something down there, either some troublemakers or chimeras. Go down there tonight and see what you can find."

And now here he was, ankle deep in water and so scared he was about to soil himself.

Charlie sighed and glanced over his shoulder. There had been rumors flying around for months after the Fullmetal Alchemist had mysteriously died in the sewers. People swore his ghost still haunted the tunnels under the city.

Not that he believed in such things. He was an alchemist, and ghosts didn't exist.

Right?

Right.

He paused by the scaffolds that had been set up to repair one of the walls that had been destroyed in the fights earlier that year. Several tools had been left out by the workers for the night.

"Doesn't seem like anything's out of place here," Charlie muttered, kicking one of the ladders. The sewers were quiet and he really couldn't see anything strange.

Then the flame in his lantern flickered and Charlie felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned around, eyes darting around the room. He wasn't near any of the entrances…

"Hello?" he called, feeling rather foolish. He was alone. Who went roaming around the sewers at night? And if it was a chimera, it wasn't like it could reply or anything.

But it was quiet. Charlie frowned and pulled out his watch the check the time. It was almost three- he'd been working for almost four hours. "Okay, I'm done for tonight," he muttered. Mustang was going to be furious that he didn't have any new leads, but that man always in a sour mood.

"…You."

Charlie froze and jerked around, the lantern swinging wildly. The sound had been barely more than a whisper, so it could just have been his imagination. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, so he was probably starting to hallucinate.

He hadn't even taken a dozen steps before he heard it again. "…You." It wasn't any louder, but it seemed to be closer. Charlie scowled and squinted into the darkness beyond his small circle of light.

"Who's there? Come out, I'm a State Alchemist!" he called, grabbing the small dagger from his belt that was etched with his transmutation circles.

There was no reply and Charlie took a hesitant step back towards the scaffolds. He lifted the lantern higher to see the top level when there was a sharp gust of wind a several tools fell to the floor with a clatter.

"You!"

Charlie jumped as the wind blew by his face. The voice had practically been in his ear that time, and as the gust died down, the alchemist brandished the knife. "Show yourself! I don't know who you are, but what you're doing in the sewers is hindering the rebuilding efforts down here!" Maybe if he put up a tough show, the person would just leave. Or at least come out from wherever they were hiding.

And then he'd have something to report back to Mustang.

A snicker sounded from his right and Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Alchemist…" the voice hissed. It was obviously closer, just outside his range of vision, and Charlie took the chance to see the mysterious visitor.

He lunged forward, brandishing the lantern like a weapon.

"What?" Charlie frowned. There was nothing there, not even a ripple in the water to show that someone had been standing there a moment ago.

"ALCHEMIST!"

The roar came from behind him and Charlie yelled as he was shoved several feet across the floor and slammed into the wall. With a groan, he adjusted his grip on the dagger only to have it and the lantern knocked away by another burst of wind.

Charlie glanced around for his weapon, but it was gone, probably into the water and washed away. The lantern was a couple of feet away, knocked on its side and flickering weakly. He didn't make a move for it, though- he could feel some sort of vibe from the darkness in front of him and Charlie could have sworn something was watching him.

Slowly, he pushed himself up, eyes locked on the shadows in front of him. He really didn't care about his tough-guy act anymore- he wanted out and he wanted out now.

But before he could take a step, a hand slammed on the wall, inches away from his nose. Charlie let out an undignified squeak and froze. The hand was bony and his gaze trailed up to the arm, which was covered with torn black cloth and blood. Lots of blood.

He swallowed heavily and looked up to the face.

And screamed.

Like the hand, the face was sunken, bony, and slathered with blood. Long, shaggy blond hair stuck up in unruly patches, spotted with rusty patches. The eyes were a sharp gold and added to the crazed, feral look. Charlie cringed and looked down, only to look back up a split second later and bite his lip to keep himself from vomiting.

Was that a kidney? Don't think about it, Arborthal. Just block it out. The chest had been sliced open, spilling what Charlie could only assume were organs. There was even more blood down there, trailing down to the legs and seeping into the ripped pants.

But the strangest thing… he could see through the person. Not completely, but he could make out the shape of the wall through the chest and head.

Charlie's mind went blank before supplying him with the one possible solution: ghost.

"You… you're an alchemist?"

Charlie glanced back to the face, and gave a nod, still too occupied with wrapping his mind around his latest revelation to reply.

The eyes narrowed and the ghost leaned back a little. It scowled. "State Alchemist?" it asked, eyes raking over his body and stopping on the silver chain of his pocket watch.

"Y-yes," Charlie stuttered out.

It grunted and then Charlie found himself looking down the tip of an automail finger. The sleeve covering the arm was completely gone, and several outer plates were missing, leaving wires hanging. The fingers hand been reduced to the joints and the one pointing at him had been broken into a sharpened claw.

"Mustang."

Charlie frowned. "What?"

The ghost rolled its eyes, and Charlie shivered and tried to push himself further into the wall. The sockets were too wide, and the gesture was just… disturbing.

"Find Mustang," it repeated. When it didn't get a response it leaned closer, and bared its blood-slicked teeth. "Well?" it asked, voice testy.

Charlie licked his lips and nodded. But his legs had locked and he was pretty sure he'd never be able to move until the apparition had left.

The ghost sighed in exasperation and ran a hand down its face, muttering.

Really, Charlie didn't know what to make of the situation. Dealing with annoyed spirits in sewers wasn't something they went over in basic training.

The hand dropped and ghost fixed him with a glare. "GET ME MUSTANG!" it suddenly screeched, taking a swipe at Charlie's face. "BRING HIM TO ME!"

That was all it took. Instinct took over and the alchemist bolted, tripping over the lantern, putting the flame out, and running blindly into the darkness towards an exit with the ghost screaming after him.

Three guesses who the ghost is!

This is my first attempt at something this creepy and/or spooky, and I'm loving it. Gore is fun :D