A/N: Hello, kiddies! This is fullmetal angel again. I've finally decided to write an FMA fic like I talked about. But be aware, this is my third fic. I take comments, regardless if they're complementary or criticism. But no flames. I dont think I have enough fire extinguishers to put out the bad mouthing and lazy excuses for criticism. So now that we've established general guidelines and such, take a seat, make yourselves a good snack, and enjoy my first installment of Philosopher Secrets: Angels and Elixirs.

Pairing: Ed and winry

Rating: T

Setting: manga verse. No particular time. Though, its known that the Fuhrer is a homunculus and Father is the leader of homunculus.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 1: Visit in Central

The streets were bustling as usual. The sound of honking horns rang all around the corners of overly packed merchandise stores and crowded apartment buildings. The sidewalks were some what more scarce than cars on the streets, mostly those that were out window-shopping or simply having a good time walking around. There were usually a couple of men at random spots of the city polishing shoes and rounding up more people to come. It was typical of the great Central city.

Ed and Al were headed towards the Colonel's office at Central HQ. The eldest Elric was more than irritated to have the Colonel send him all around the world to do his bidding and then pulled by the leash to return to their "master". Just picturing him sitting at his desk with that ever-smug look riled the man to no ends. The youngest, on the other hand, couldn't grasp the idea of why his brother loathed the man so much. The Colonel let them get away with many things and never once told a soul about their secret. Sure, the man had a way with getting on one's bad side and exerted his authority to put them in their place. But he's helped them out in situations where aid was needed. Heck, he helped Ran Fan when she needed medical attention. He even believed them when he was told that the Fuhrer was a homunculus, something that is not to be joked in kind with the risk of being considered a threat to government. All in all, Roy Mustang was a pretty good guy in Al's better judgment.

He just couldn't say the same for his brother.

Ed continued trudging the streets, seething with uncontrollable anger and eyes that spoke of possible murder. To say he was simply pissed was an understatement. Al kept a good distance between them as they walked side-by-side, afraid he'd throw another one of his tantrums. But it never ceased to amaze him how such a title of great upbringing like Fullmetal was given to someone who acted like that of an outraged child when the subject, or mocking, of his height came up. The fact that he was the same height as their mechanic friend didn't speak volumes for him. But nonetheless, the alchemist prodigy welcomed the increased height with a sense of gratitude for being taller than last time.

It didn't take them long to reach the gates of HQ. As they were walking up to the guard at the gate, Ed swiftly pulled out his pocket watch to show the guard to let them in. He was in no mood for small talk and eagerly wanted to get the summon for his appearance done and over with. The guard, sensing the murderous aura radiating from the man, opened the gate without any hesitation and let out an almost inaudible sigh when they passed through. People around them turned silent and made a path for them to walk through when they noticed the dangerous glare in Ed's eyes. None dared to greet the man in his current state, knowing fully well what he was capable of. Ed must not have took notice of the people around him because he kept on walking forward without so much as glancing to the side.

Upon their arrival to the double doors leading to his office, Ed wasted no time pushing them in with a force equal to a herd of bulls. And just as Ed predicted, Mustang was lounging at his desk with the infamous smirk plastered on his face. At the corner of his desk lay a rather large pile of documents that needed signing. This told the younger Elric that the Lieutenant wasnt around to "persuade" him to do his duties. What they did notice, however, was Winry sitting on a chair propped up against the wall near his desk. A look of surprise came over the brothers.

"Winry?" Ed couldn't begin to think why the Rockbell girl suddenly came all the way to Central to see the Colonel. All he was capable of at the moment was staring in disbelief.

"Before I begin, let me just say that youre more than welcome to take a picture of her, Fullmetal, if you wish to just gawk at her. Or should I leave you two alone for a bit?" Mustangs comment seemed to bring Ed out of his trance because the next minute he was glaring daggers at him with a blush that rivaled his coat.

Rather than wait for another fight to ensue between them, Al turned to Winry with concern in mind. "Is everything ok, Winry? Not that I'm unhappy to see you. Just that it's too dangerous to be traveling alone." Winry didn't respond to him. Instead, she kept on looking down at her lap. Al didn't take notice of it before, but her eyes looked a little red like she'd been crying for a while. There were also tear tracks that trailed down her cheeks. Something must not have been right for her to have been crying, in Mustang's office for that matter. Ed, also, picked up on Winry's gloomy mood and figured something had been out of place. At that moment, the Colonel cleared his throat to hopefully get the attention of all the occupants in the room.

"As you can see, Miss Rockbell has paid me a visit concerning her grandmother." Pinako? What about her? It took a while for the boys to wrap their minds around the concept that something possibly happened to Pinako. But when they did, Al was the first to voice his question after what seemed like hours of stilled silence.

"Wh-what's wrong with Auntie?" Even without a human body, Winry could sense the dread that came over him. She stood up turned towards both boys, desperately trying to keep her composure and hoped that her voice didn't waver with her failing determination to hold her ground. But having seen the look on Ed's eyes and heard Al's quivering voice for the much-anticipated truth, she knew doing this was easier said than done. If anything, she wanted to revert back to those times when life was much simpler. Not when she was deemed to add more burden on the boys already heavy shoulders. She wished more than anything that she didn't have to be the bearer of bad news. But she knew they, more than anyone, had the right to know. So she swallowed her fears and hoped it was enough.

"Something...happened...while you were gone." Just trying to explain what happened proved to be a great struggle as Winry tried finding the right words to say to them. She let her hair fall over her face, already anticipating the tears to fall once more. She never liked to appear weak in front of them, Ed especially. She knew it hurt him a great deal to see her suffering. That's why he tried to keep her away from their journeys. That she understood. And even though they kept her at arms length from anything pertaining to how they got injured or who were after them, she didn't want to reciprocate such awful feelings because she felt left out. She didn't have it in her to do that to them. So she decided to continue her story. "I...was walking back ho-home after helping Nelly fix her wagon when I... when I saw the front door open. There she was, on the floor, dead." By now, she was crying heavily from the memory of her dead grandmother. "T-t-they wrote 'You're Next' on the wall... i-in h-her blood. But why. Why her. Why...Why!!" At that moment, her legs gave in and she collapsed on the floor in a heap of utter defeat.

"Winry!" the two yelled simultaneously. Each rushed to her side, kneeling before her. Winry cradled her head in her hands, keeping her face low to the ground in hopes that she'd wake up and see that it was a horrible nightmare. But she was faced with the reality that her grandmother was dead and who ever it was that killed Pinako wanted her dead as well. So for now, she'd let out all her tears and sort the rest later. Ed, for his part, didn't know how to go about comforting her. To say the least, he strayed from any forms of creature comfort to go about finding the Philosopher Stone and restoring their bodies. It never occurred to him that he'd have to comfort a crying girl along the way. He couldn't even do that when Rose was devastated from knowing the truth about Cornello. He just told her to get back on her feet and not dwell on the past. So as she lay crumbled on the ground, Ed did nothing but rub his hand on her back.

She continued on like that for some time. The Colonel instructed the brothers to take her with them as a safety measure. So around 9 pm, the three friends walked out of the building. But little did they know, a pair of eyes where watching from the dark shadows of a near by alley....

So there you have it. The first chapter of a hopefully great fanfic. I leave the rest to you. Click on the green button and let me know how I did. I'll do my part and work on chappie 2. I got finals coming up, so hang tight. Adios!