Greed's Charity

A/N: Hello~ and welcome to my first try at a Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic! As with all my other stories, the first chapter is short, just to see if anyone is interested. If you do like it, review and favorite! I will happily continue to update steadily afterwards. Now, without any further delay, I present the first chapter of Greed's Charity.

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist © Hiromu Arakawa

Chapter 1- The Beginning

I never really thought that my life would end up like this. My life had been that of a normal, fourteen year old girl, one who obeyed when told to do something and helped out when it was needed. I lived in a small town outside of Central, and we never had a lot of passerby's or visitors. Until they came. They were scientists of the military, stating that they'd like to take a few water samples from a major nearby river. Being a hospitable town, we let them stay. Within days, an unknown sickness had spread throughout the town, wiping out almost everyone. A few others including myself were the last remaining survivors before the scientists returned, a violent gleam in their eyes, and forced us into their vehicles. Weak from the disease that infected us, we could not fight back hours later as they threw us into separate cells in some, unknown building. Here, all I remember is the dark, pain, and fear.

I saw less and less of the people from my town as days passed into weeks, their existence now being replaced by the white-coated scientists, and eventually, alchemists, as I was put through various tests and procedures. Eventually, I woke up one day completely changed. I overheard them saying that I was a complete success, one of the finest chimera that they'd accomplished. Instantly, I knew what they had been doing, and what I had now become. My knowledge of alchemy told me that a chimera was, and the fact that I was one overwhelmed me. By all that I had learned so far, I should be dead. Yet, the tests continued. They proved that my eyesight and hearing was far greater than a human's now, which I had already figured out myself as I listened in on a conversation in the hall outside. It wasn't until the next day that they pushed me further, and I discovered that I had the ability to change my appearance into the animal that they had fused me with. After being forced to change back, I was given a new, white uniform, and then thrown back into my dark cell.

Time passed, and I waited. Waited for any chance to escape. The only time I had contact with others was when they remembered to feed me. In my spare time, which there was a lot of, I practiced my transformation abilities, learning to switch into my 'new self' by will in hopes of charging one of the guards. If only I was a violent person. With a sigh, I leaned back on the cot that had been placed long ago in my cell, my thoughts returning to the familiar questions that the scientists did not allow me to ask. Why had they done this? Were they not part of the military that should protect their citizens? I growled lightly at the thought then sighed again. This was getting me nowhere. A soft click, followed by rapid footsteps and clanging noises in the distance caught my attention. This was odd. I leaned up, moving into a sitting position and crossed my legs underneath me. Someone, somewhere in this hellish place was making a lot of noise, and the more I listened to it, the more it sounded like fighting. My body tensed as I strained my ears to locate the source, until I was practically deafened by an explosion on the other side of the building. The cells around me burst into roars of defiance and rage at the sudden disturbance. Soon, more explosions followed and I stood. This…could be bad, what the heck was happening out there? I grabbed the bars of my cell as I focused on steadily approaching footsteps, getting a strange feeling as it neared. Seconds later, the door collapsed into a pile of rubble and the locks on all the cells beeped off. Growls resonated from all sides as a tall figure stepped in.

"So, do you guys want to remain lab rats here or do you want to go out and play in hell with me? Well? Get out!" A man said as he walked along the aisle, peering along each cell. From where I was, I could tell that this person wasn't human; the weird feeling that he gave off was warning enough. Well, that and the fact that he just destroyed a concrete door. The black haired man neared the middle, and I noticed that he wasn't wearing either clothes of a chimera or scientist. He simply wore black pants, a sleeveless red shirt, and a black jacket over it. Slowly, a cell across from mine opened and a girl with blonde hair with a tattoo that ran from her face down her right arm stepped out. She was quickly followed by a rather large guy, with long gray hair and a shorter man with spiky black hair. Cautiously, I pressed against the door to my cell, watching as it swung open in ease.

"Who are you?" the woman asked the intruder, folding her arms as more doors opened and some chimera fled. The man who had busted down the door grinned.

"The names Greed." Needless to say, after another explosion went off, a few chimeras including myself, followed him out of the building. My basic reason was just to get out of the place, and seeing the chance before me, I took it. I followed the group now, sticking to the back with the plans of separating from them when I got the chance. We kept to a dark hallway, the lady chimera and large guy leading the way. Running next to me was the shorter male chimera and I noticed that somewhere along the lines of our group exiting the lab, he had picked up a sword. Already I could feel the change of the air as we turned a corner and I increased my pace.

"Easy girly," I heard the chimera with the sword say as he put a hand out. For a few seconds, I couldn't tell why until the ground beneath me rumbled and the wall before us caved in with a blast. We waited until the smoke and debris cleared and the man named Greed motioned for us to continue. I approached the huge gap in the wall, and was gladly met by fresh, night air. We ran deep into the city for a long time that night, putting as much distance that we could between us and that place. Freedom. For the first time since everything had started, I felt happy. So caught up in the happiness of fresh air and freedom that I barely realized that we had come to the outskirts of Central, slowing down before an old, abandoned building.

"Alright, we'll rest here for tonight. Anyone else who wishes to leave may do so, but I can't guarantee your safety," I heard Greed say from the front, and noticed that there were only a handful of us left. With a sigh I realized that they must've separated on the way here. Wearily, I stood where I had stopped, considering my options as two other chimera began to walk uneasily away. If I left…where would I go? My home and everyone that I had known there had all been wiped out, and was a sure trap if I tired going back. I stared back up at the remaining chimera's, noticing that the tingling sensation I felt whenever Greed was around had faded slightly as he was gone. We were all in the same boat here.

Cautiously, I approached the group. Most were men, and were busy gathering wood for a fire, while others had gone into the building. I picked out the chimera with the katana first, who seemed to be sticking with the others that had been in his cell.

"So, you kept up with us? That's pretty good," I heard him say to me without looking up. Momentarily, I wondered what he was talking about, but the slight aching in my feet told me. Though I knew that these people were all I had now, I still felt shy and nervous to reply, resolving in giving him a simple nod.

"Dorochett, don't sit there and be lazy, help us out," The woman with platinum-blonde hair said as she walked up beside me, keeping a small amount of distance. The man scoffed and moved towards the woods.

"Yeah, yeah," Dorochett grumbled as he folded his arms. The woman just nodded and turned her attention on me.

"So…what's your name girl?" She asked, staring at me inquisitively. I adjusted my weight a bit; uneasy as I knew from the look in her eye that she knew what I had been through.

"T-Talina Caroll," I told her, finding my voice light and weak from un-use.

"Martel. Why don't we head inside, that is, if you are planning on sticking with us?" She told me with a nod and headed towards the building door. With a quick nod, I obediently followed her in.