Disclaimer: I don't own any of FullMetal Alchemist's ideas, characters, and themes. I do, however, own Ocs, made-up characters, and my own ideas and plots.

Chapter 1

I groaned, feeling numb all over my body. My eyes refused to open, so I was left to the darkness behind my eyelids. However, my sense of hearing and touch seemed to sharpen, and I was surprised of what I was feeling. My eyes finally shot open and I sat up quickly, in what I discovered a bed.

My eyes travelled across the room, but it felt no different then it was when I had them closed; everything was drowned in complete darkness. Her hands ran across the soft fabric of the sheets in wonder, and I strained my ears to listen closely to my surroundings, paranoia screaming an alarm in my chest as my heart raced. I couldn't hear anything, which frightened me; weren't there any animals creeping in the walls or outside?

I breathed heavily. "Why do I feel so weak...?" After I talked to myself, I covered my mouth and gasped. Why do I sound so different? What happened to me?

"Lie down. You don't have the strength to be sitting, let alone be awake."

I flinched at the voice, that seemed to travel all around me. I sensed some movement, the person walking around in the room. I swallowed and tried harder to see, but the effort was pointless, because the room was then filled with a pearly light.

A window had been uncovered at that moment - with hands of an unrecognizable figure -, letting me see the sky outside; the full moon shone radiantly against the vast blackness along with galaxies of stars. The moon lent its light and offered me sight as my eyes travelled the room. It was rather plain, with only a bed, wardrobe and a bedside table. On the table was a lamp and a mysterious jar which contents were unsure. I was so absorbed of watching my surroundings that I had forgotten the voice. It spoke again to remind me.

"My, my. What a pretty little homunculus you turned out to be."

I traced the location of where the voice was, and I looked over at the window, where someone slipped out of the shadows and seated herself on the windowsill. I saw it to be a beautiful woman in a long, black dress, her skin deathly pale. Her hair flowed in black ripples, a turf hovering over half of her face. A red tatoo of a spiralling serpent nestled in the middle of her chest, a large contrast against her flesh. I looked up to her face, and she was smiling at me, a smug expression on her face.

"Who are you?" I said, my voice raspy from the drowsiness. My vision grew fuzzy as I grew weaker, and I coughed, feeling something hard trying to come up my throat. What was happening to me...? "And what did you call me?"

"A homunculus. An artificial being with no soul. How does it feel, to wake up and discover that?" She had a sort of purring voice; so soft and drained of energy, but daring at the same time. Her cold eyes half-closed, looking for my reaction in pleasure.

My eyes narrowed in anger. "No! I'm real! I have a soul!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but it's true."

"No! You're lying!" Tears cascaded down my cheeks, against my will, and I coughed again, feeling the same hard objects trying to come up. I coughed harder, hunching my shoulders as I cried. This woman is lying. How could I be what she says?

"Then what's your name?"

My eyes widened at that, and my mind raged like a storm at sea. My brain racked with pain as i searched for it, as if my own nails were scratching the insides of my skull, hoping that my prize was hidden underneath the surface. My name! I screamed. What is my name? I didn't realize that I actually screamed that last thought in my sobbing. The woman answered my question.

"Sorry, but I thought that was the only proof to convince you. No homunculi remember their former names. Or lives, for that matter. I'm one of them."

I looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "You-You're a homunculus too?"

"Sadly, yes."

I looked down at my knees, wrapping my arms around them and resting my chin in between them. Hardly registering what the woman said, I tried harder to remember my name... and even harder to remember who I was. But my mind closed everything from me, showing me only blank images and meaningless thoughts, almost pulling me away from the truth.

"We are, however, assigned names from our master," the woman continued, observing her fingernails.

"Master?" I questioned. The tears stopped, but my skin cried in irritation and emotion sent me tremors.

"Well, we have more than one," she shrugged. "Dante's one of them. But I don't really like taking orders from her... and that's our little secret," she brought a finger to her lips and winked, and I suddenly realized how much longer her fingers were than they were a few seconds before. She didn't continue to say who the second one was, and I didn't feel like I was compelled to ask... I guessed I would find out in time.

"You said...we...are assigned names," I said slowly. "Have you...gotten yours?"

"Yeah, a long time ago." What is it?"

The woman made a dramatic pose and chuckled. "The name's Lust, love."

I nodded slowly, but thought differently. Lust? That's not a name... that's a sin.

"What's that tattoo for?" I asked suddenly.

"It's an Ouroboros. Every homunculus has it. Which reminds me, that's another piece of evidence to convince you. I think you're still a bit in denial."

She was right; I didn't feel completely sure she was telling the truth just yet. Who knows, I may have had some sort of accident, triggering amnesia. So what she said - about the Ouroboros -... was it true that every homunculus had one? Do I really have one? I looked down at my chest, in search of such a symbol. I heard Lust chuckle.

"No, dear, you don't have one there. I'm the only one that does."

"Then where's mine?"

"Keep looking. You'll find it eventually."

My eyes travelled down my shoulder on my left side slowly, along my arm and to my hand. Seeing that nothing was on that side, I did the same to my right. When I turned my hand to inspect the back of it, I gasped as I saw the Ouroboros nearest to my knuckle. Lust smiled with approval.

I looked down in defeat. "So I am a homunculus..." I felt fresh tears return again, but instead of crying, I started coughing violently, hard substances shooting up my throat and out of my mouth. I looked at what landed on my lap and watched solids glint red in the moon's pale light.

"Go to sleep now," Lust advised. "Before you lose all of your Red Stones and die."

As if on cue, my consciousness started blinking in and out, and I collapsed on my pillow, prevented from coughing up anymore of this 'Red Stone'. The last thing I remembered seeing was Lust reaching into that jar on the bedside table and producing the same objects that I was coughing up and that was it.

When I woke up, I didn't find Lust in there with me anymore. She must've left hours ago, because now the sun was peaking in through the window, lighting the room up. As I pushed myself up on the bed into a sitting position, I found myself to be much stronger than I was before. I thought back to what happened before I lost consciousness... what was this Stone that I had to keep inside me? Is it the only thing that's keeping me alive?

When I got out of the bed, I found myself in a black night gown. Getting up to explore the room, I walked over to the wardrobe and opened its doors. I blinked at how little there was of clothing, but took out a random combination of a grey top and long, black pants. I glimpsed a small mirror when I reached inside, and I saw long black hair and dark-grey eyes. Some stranger was looking back out at me. After inspecting every angle of this... face... I went back to the clothing. Once that was done, I walked over to the door and tried the doorknob; it was unlocked.

My bare feet tingled at the cold touch of the floor outside the door, and I looked around to see that I was in a hallway, with a dead end at one end and a continuing corridor at the other. Cautiously moving across the floor, I went down the continuing side, noticing how dimmer it got as I walked. The quality of the house was not too shabby; there were a lot of oil-painted portraits, and there was always a table with vases of flowers every few meters against the wall.

Once I came to the end of the hallway, I entered a living room, but it was empty. I looked around and nodded with approval. It too was in fine quality, with furniture, plush cushions and polished, mahogany tables. I sat down and leaned back comfortably, looking at everything with keen interest.

Only a few minutes past when a hulking figure entered the room. I noticed the movement and looked at it, to see that it was a hunched, round man sucking on his finger, looking at me. His eyes were peculiar circles and his head was bald.

"Who are you?" I asked him, but he continued to stare at me. He wobbled a bit closer, making me sit up straighter in awareness. That look he was giving me was rather freaky...

The finger he was sucking left his mouth, and returned to the ground, making him appear like a gorilla. Some drool slid down the side of his slightly gaping mouth.

"You look mighty tasty, girlie."

I stared at him wide-eyed, my fingers digging into the cushions. The man smiled and let his tongue hang over his bottom lip, and there I saw the Ouroboros sign.

"Wait!" I said, holding a hand in front of me, as if it were a means of protection. "I'm a homunculus, too!"

It was hard to admit that I was one, but I was willing to say it if it was something to prove, and save my own life. I held up my right hand and faced my knuckle to him. "See?"

He froze, then sat down again, examining the sign on my knuckle. "How does Gluttony know you're not some kind of nasty alchemist?"

"Gluttony? Alchemist?" I dropped my hand, then shook my head anxiously. "No, I not, really! I'm a homunculus!"

"Alchemists are tricky rats," he said, eyeing me hungrily. "Gluttony bets they could use that icky alchemy to create an Ouroboros fake."

"I'm not an alchemist!" I cried in frustration.

"Do you know that meanie Elric boy, FullMetal Alchemist?"

"No! I don't!" I had never heard the name in my entire life. Well, of what I could remember, anyway...

"Prove it to Gluttony."

I looked at him, and figured by now that he was referring to himself; he was a homunculus, and since meeting Lust, I guessed that they were all assigned the seven sins, and therefore there were seven homuculi. Unless there were some short... I looked at him again.

"How am I supposed to prove it?"

"What's Gluttony's mistresses' name?"

Feeling awkward with his third-person point of view, I thought about what to say. I only met one homunculus besides Gluttony, and that was Lust. Lust had mentioned the leaders Pride and Dante, but Pride was male, and I wasn't sure if Dante would fit in with this picture...

Hesitantly, I said softly, "Is it Lust?"

He stuffed the finger back into his mouth, making him appear as an oversized toddler.

"Lucky guess," he said. It truly was. "What do we eat to stay alive?"

"Red stones," I said absent-mindedly, remembering the night before. He said nothing, then got up and wobbled away.

"Hey!" I got up and watched him go. "You're just gonna leave me here? I proved who I was!"

Without stopping, he said, "Follow."

Fearing that I would lose him, I walked forward and got behind him, letting him lead me. I felt the floor slanting a bit and going more underground, and the light seemed to get dimmer and dimmer. The only light present after a few minutes were from the torches perched on the walls.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, straining my eyes to adjust.

"Others."

I thought about what the others would be. There would be Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride and Greed left to meet, if they were all taken. There was also Dante, the so-called leader. Was she a homunculus, too?

Finally a door came into view, and Gluttony didn't even stop before it and wrapped his huge hand around the doorknob. The door opened with ease, and the room within was even darker than the hall.

A figure rose to greet them. She was young, had straight, ebony hair and pale skin. She smiled softly at me.

"Ah, the young homunculus," she said calmly. "Welcome. I'm Dante, and it will be a pleasure to answer any of your questions."

Dante looked at me calmly, and I looked back curiously. Neither of us spoke. Gluttony wobbled further up I saw that he was approaching Lust, who was leaning on the wall, playing with her fingers. I watched in awe as they lengthened and shortened to her will.

"Did Gluttony do well?" Gluttony said, stopping and standing by Lust like an obedient dog. "For not eating girl?"

"Yes, you did well, darling," Lust said smoothly. She patted his head and he immediately sat down and put his finger to his mouth.

"My, it's very good to see you well already," Dante said, causing my eyes to drift back to her. She smiled. "We didn't recover as fast as you did."

"Recover from what?" I asked suspiciously. "Was there some kind of accident?"

The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was possible; perhaps I got into an accident and didn't remember who I was? Amnesia? Maybe my family was looking for me right at this second...

Dante closed her eyes. "I suppose you could say that. But not in the manner in which you speak."

I tilted my head and listened.

Dante opened her eyes and motioned behind her. "You'll need to take a seat. And I'll introduce you to your fellow homunculi."

As she lead me, I looked around the stone walls. Four different parts of the wall were occupied with a figure, Lust and Gluttony at one. There was a green-haired boy that looked at me enviously, and jealously, as if he wanted my body... I shuddered at the idea. Furthermore stood a woman in a black dress with a motherly-look to her, and a kid with messy black hair stood beside her, looking at me wonderingly. Then, the last person I saw was a man with his back straight like a general, his uniform I identified as of the military. The Ouroboros was on his left eye; actually on the eye, acting as its pupil.

Dante pulled out a chair for me, and I took the back of it and sat down. I felt eerie being watched from all directions.

"I believe you've already met Lust and Gluttony?" Dante said, gesturing to their direction. I nodded. "Then I must introduce the remaining four."

"Isn't there another one?" I asked, still going with my theory. "There should be five..."

"Well, isn't she a smart one," said the green-haired boy sarcastically. "And a nosy one at that."

"Now, Envy, that isn't very polite to say when in the presence of the person you speak ill of," the general said. "Wouldn't you agree, Sloth?"

"Oh, I'd agree indeed, Pride," the motherly homunculus said softly, looking at me with gentle eyes. "What about you, Wrath?"

The kid nodded, continuing to look at me. It was weird, seeing a relatively timid child, named Wrath.

"Well, I guess you know everyone, now that I was rudely interrupted by Envy," Dante mused.

"Where is Greed?" I questioned. I wanted everything they had to offer. Dante looked at me, then to all those homunculi around her.

"He's been sealed away, because of... well, being Greed," Lust answered. "He wanted money, women, power... he wanted all those things more than helping us toward our goal. So we shut him up."

"Oh, I see," I nodded, with nothing else to do. I turned back to Dante. "So what about this 'accident'?"

Dante stood and folded her hands. "Well, let's just say that you weren't actually meant to be created by the person who did."

My mouth curved down in a frown at her blunt summary. Funny thing was, I didn't feel like crying. I didn't feel like I could cry. I felt more different than I did last night.

"Truth is a bitch, I always say," Envy smirked.

"So... what, my parents didn't want a baby or something? It's their fault for having sex-"

"Not in that sense," Dante smiled. "I mean, that you're a failed-attempt at human transmutation."

"Human transmutation? What's that?"

"Human transmutation is alchemy that involves skill, strong-will, and a great deal of equivalent exchange. It is an attempt of resurrecting the dead."

"Oh, so I was dead?" I said. Dante blinked at me, and I was surprised at myself, too. I was taking all of this seriously now, and taking in the things that didn't seem real. I definitely changed from how I was from the night before. Those thoughts of surprise then disappeared and were replaced by thoughts of depression. It just came out of no where...

"Yes," Dante continued, recovered. "Someone really wanted you back, so they used alchemy to bring you back.

"Although, we all know what the result always is," she smirked as she looked around at the other homunculi. "No matter how good the alchemist is, his or her fate is the same as the ones before them. Instead, they created a body and mind, without a soul."

"Homunculi," Sloth said softly.

"I see." No tears came again. Knowing that one has no soul should rip their sanity apart. But not me. I sat there, watching the room intently. However, the depression I felt deep within myself grew darker...

"Do you know who made me?"

She said nothing for a few moments, simply smiling. "We found you dragging yourself through the forest and you lost consciousness. You were under someone's care for a long time, but I suppose they lost their hope in your health, and left you to die."

"Really?"

"Yes. We've been giving you red stones to help you recover."

"These Red Stones," I said slowly. "What are they exactly?"

"They're like the minor stage of the Philosopher's Stone."

"Philosopher's Stone?"

"Talk about brain-dead," Envy laughed nastily. "I'm hearing too many questions for my liking."

Dante glared at him, and spoke again.

"The Philosopher's Stone is probably the most powerful and legendary weapon in this world. It can turn lead to gold, and give the user immortality. It is the greatest form of alchemy there is, and, of course, such a treasure has to come with a price; millions of human lives sacrificed."

I nodded and stayed silent.

"Red stones are somewhat similar, except it doesn't last long and it doesn't have the treasured properties as the Philosopher's Stone. Made from a toxic substance called Red Water, they can give us energy and power. Hence their value to us homunculi."

"Enough of the Science lesson!" Envy grinned. "I'd say we should name the brat!"

The depression grew even darker... Brat...

"Manners, Envy," Sloth said. "Where is her Ouroboros?"

"Right here," I answered, lifting up my right arm like a marionette doll controlled by strings. My tongue was determining the sharpness of my canines under the shelter of my lips. I clenched my right fist and faced my knuckle to Dante. She nodded with approval.

"Yes, I think it's about time to start this."

"Wait a minute," the small boy Wrath spoke up from beside Sloth. "How are we supposed to name her when there are only Seven Deadly Sins? We can't call her Greed, when the old one's still around..."

"Well, we'll just have to think up another," Pride smiled. "How about... Spite?"

"It doesn't really fit," Wrath wrinkled his nose. "What do you think, mom?"

"I'm not really sure," said Sloth thoughtfully, and I now knew why the kid kept close to her so much. She was really peaceful and caring, for a homunculus. "There's Hatred to consider..."

"We all have hatred," Lust reminded them. "Homunculi always do. Scorn?"

Envy smirked. "I'd say we call her Bitch! It's evil."

Depression turned to fury... Bitch...

I stood up slowly and turned to face Envy, feeling my eyesight narrow into a tight tunnel, walls on either side of me. My eyes felt weird, and I realized that my pupils turned to slits. I bared my teeth, digging my nails into my palms and drawing blood. My behaviour was beyond my control.

"Rage!" Gluttony cackled, clapping his hands like a child. "Rage!"

"Oh, did I insult you?" Envy asked in mock-concern, pushing himself away from the wall and the counsel. "Short tempers are very stupid, and I'm surprised that you got angry with probably my easiest cheap shot!"

My breathing turned rapid and raspy like a person out of their mind, my eyes wide and pupils shrunken. I hunched my back and lifted my arms, my hands growing rigid. My Ouroboros glowed slightly, and as if something clicked inside, I lost all common sense. I ran with quick agility, reaching Envy in only a millisecond.

"Her first stage has begun," Dante confirmed. "Loss of Control."

"Hey, what're y-!" Envy managed to say before I closed my fingers together and cutter-struck him in the neck, the tops of my fingers digging into his throat. He stumbled back, stunned and gasping, and I leapt forward and kicked him in the stomach with my heel. He tripped backwards, holding his stomach. I walked up to him and felt a malicious smile dance on my lips. I reached down and coiled my fingers around his arm, pulled him up, and pushed him against the wall. I didn't notice, but he was smirking.

"Heh, I'll have to give you credit," his voice was muffled against the wall. "You know how to fight."

"I'm not done yet," I giggled, wiping Envy's smirk off his face. My voice was high and filled with sadistic amusement and hysteria, and the pupils of my eyes refused to return back to normal. I cackled psychotically, "I'm not done yet! I'm not done yet!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled it back, then I put my other hand on his upper arm. Slowly I began applying pressure by pushing his arm as I brought his wrist to me, and his cries of discomfort encouraged me to continue. Finally bored with it, I pushed my hand on his arm and pulled my hand on his wrist, snapping his arm. He screamed in agony and struggled to get away. I grabbed his head and smashed it into the wall, making him cough on his own blood. I then pulled him back and threw him at the opposite wall with force and power that I didn't believe I possessed; nor did I hate it. He crumpled to the ground and tried to get up, but I reached him before he could succeed. I started kicking him mercilessly, making him curl up to protect himself.

"Malice," I giggled again, watching Envy's blood make a pool next to his mouth. "Malice, that's my name! Watching pain... hurting things... destroying... killing... torturing... that is my life! My name is Malice!"

"Malice..." the other homunculi whispered, the soft c creating a snake-like hiss throughout the room. They all smiled and nodded in agreement.

Dante came up and placed her hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her with animal-like eyes and was tempted to swipe at her. She nodded at me.

"That's enough. You've proven your place among us... Malice."

"My, what should we really do with Malice...?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she destroyed Envy for one thing. He'll be fine with a boost in Red Stone dosage, since we all came back from the struggle and our Stones need more sustenance... So Malice is more... important than the small stuff."

"True, true."

"We'll think of something."

I sat on a chair outside the meeting door, rubbing my Ouroboros mark. Dante had ordered me outside so the others could 'discuss', and Envy's now-unconscious body was taken upstairs. I looked down at my blood-red tattoo. One slide of my thumb over it, and I felt a sudden urge to hurt. On the second stroke, I was back to normal. Touching it must effect me somehow, I thought, looking at it in the dim light. But the first time was just an explosion of emotion. So now, whenever someone touches it, they are no longer safe in my reach.

The voices of the other homunculi continued.

"She won't be sent to do errands, that's for sure."

"Why not?"

"Too trivial. I've got a feeling that's she's capable of a bigger mission."

I wondered if they realized that their voices were too loud to be unheard.

"How old do you think she is, anyway?"

"Young... 15, 16?"

"Yeah, that is pretty young!"

"Indeed."

I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, softly sighing. If all they're doing is talking about my age, then why the hell did Dante send me out here?

"Maybe..."

I tilted my head to hear Wrath's voice better.

"Maybe... she could kill somebody. Somebody we hate."

Silence went on for a little while. I put my head upright again and looked up at the ceiling. Do I have such experience? I put my Ouroboros knuckle up at eye-level, then dropped it again. ...well, I might.

"...that is tempting," Lust said thoughtfully.

"The question's who, though," Pride said. "It can't be lieutenant Mustang; if he dies, the military will be shaken up. After Hughes went, they were pretty shaken up, too. if Mustang goes, then I'll find myself with many resigning soldiers."

"Scar's somewhere out there still, but he's essential to our plan," Sloth put in.

Gluttony giggled.

"What about Fullmetal boy?"

That title again. The same person Gluttony suspected me in terms with. With hooded eyes I watched a spider work its web. Why is this guy so important? This... alchemist...?

"We can't strictly kill him," Dante said slowly and clearly. "He's as much value as Scar is, leading us ever closer to the Philosopher's Stone. He and his armour-cladded brother. They're still up for our use."

"Yes, but what if they come to stop us?" Sloth said softly. "They'll be on our trail soon, and they can have the opportunity to stop us before or after we obtain the Stone. What then?"

"Well, we'll just have to think about that, too."

Suddenly, I heard Wrath say, making me blink.

"Malice's pretty, though."

"What does that have to do with anything, Wrath?" Pride said, not unkindly.

Silence then took their voices briefly. Then I heard Pride laugh.

"What a smart child!"

"What? I just said that—"

"Wrath, you clever boy!" Dante said in lowered delight, laughing softly.

"Wait, what exactly did I?"

"How very thoughtful, Wrath," Sloth praised, and after that, Wrath was quiet, probably smiling from his 'mother''s words.

Footsteps came louder and the door opened, making my head turn. Dante smiled.

"You can come back in now. We've finally thought of your assignment."

I stood up and followed back into the even darker room, where every homunculi had a face of triumph. I sat in the same chair I did before and put my hands in my lap, keeping my Ouroboros away from anything that could brush against it.

"Now, let's get to it," Dante said, a little enthusiastic. She walked around my chair, put her hands on the back of it, and leaned forward, half-over me, half-beside me. "You know what an alchemist is, of course?"

"Not very clear on that term, only the fact that they fail human transmutations and create Philosopher Stones," I said bluntly.

Dante laughed. "True, but you must know what they actually do. Alchemy is the way of breaking matter down and recreating them. Alchemist can form what already exists into something else, to bend it to their use and will."

"Alright."

"Now, the point of this explanation is to explain another. There is this one alchemist out there, and he is known as the FullMetal Alchemist. The amusing part is that he's the same age as you."

I stared ahead at the wall. "Go on."

"He's an alchemist who can do alchemy without transmutation circles - which normal alchemists must have. He's... special. He can be very dangerous when someone opposes him. He can be very... malicious, when he's angered."

"Oh, really?" The word malicious was what got me.

"Yes. However, as all humans, he should have a weak heart."

I stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

"What we want you to do... is to search out this boy and earn his trust. We want you to distract him, befriend him, whatever you want and choose. When we gain the Philosopher's Stone, you will then kill him. But before you do, you could do as much torture as your... homunculus heart desires."

"Hm," I sighed, looking up at the ceiling. I smiled. "Sounds interesting."

"I knew you'd think that," Dante clasped her hands together, and some homunculi laughed softly in triumph.

"One thing, though," I said, and Dante looked at me. "I'd need to know the name of my target. The real name."

Dante smiled again. "His name, is Edward Elric."

End of Chapter

A/N: Hello! I'm happy to introduce you to my FMA story, I Was Sent to Kill You. Originally, this chapter was actually four chapters, but my new page-count is around 14 pages, and I thought that the first few were too short. Actually, ThankfulMemories suggested it to me, and it makes sense.

As you can probably tell, this is an Oc-Canon pairing. I know, there is a much more fitting pairing that doesn't need an OC, but I thought it would be interesting to write about. It's fun to watch a character of your own grow. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and that you'll stay with us to the end ^^

~Vixen