Rating: M (some graphic imagery)

Pairing: Edwin/Edward Elric x Winry Rockbell

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Word Count: 3443

Title: Briggs Breakout

Description: Angsty Edwin One Shot

AU where Edward saves Winry from Kimblee after the escape attempt at Briggs fails.

A/N: This one has some darkness/mild graphic imagery to it, so fair warning. I hope you like it anyway, though.

Winry

Just breathe, Winry. Ed is coming. He'll save you.

I shiver against the icy air of the cell and repeat the mantra in my mind. It's dark in here. I'm not sure how long it's been since they locked me up.

God, how did this happen? It was supposed to be safe here. Ed said he would take care of Mr. Kimblee, and the Briggs soldiers would take care of us. Only he was wrong. When we got here, it was an ambush. Central soldiers were everywhere. Scar and May put up a good fight, but…they somehow got a hold of Al's torso. I surrendered before they tried to destroy the blood seal, but everyone else got away.

How could I be so stupid? Clearly, Al was trying to warn us. He only got out "Briggs," before his body pulled his soul away, but I should've been able to figure that out. I should've known.

A clanking noise makes me flinch, and I look toward it. I feel cold seep into my bones when Mr. Kimblee stops in front of my cell. No one has talked to me yet, but I already know I'm in trouble. I just hope Ed got away safely.

"Where's Edward?" I ask, my voice sounding stronger than I feel.

He raises an eyebrow, and I push off the concrete floor, standing on shaky legs, numbed from the cold.

"Funny," he murmurs. "I was going to ask you the same question."

"What are you talking about?" My voice wavers, and I wince.

"We fought, he and I," he goes on. "If you can call it a fight when it was so painfully one-sided. I was certain the collapse of the mine shaft would kill him, but…my men searched it, and his body is missing."

His b-body? Wait, he—

"How could you?" I gasp. "You tried to kill him?"

"He started the fight, Miss Rockbell," he shrugs, his lips tilting up into a sly grin. "I merely defended myself."

"You–"

"But that isn't why I'm here," he talks over me casually. "See, you've been a very bad girl, Miss Rockbell."

I feel my heart trip over itself as fear floods my chest.

"I-I was–"

"You conspired against me, a high-ranking member of the military, and a respected state alchemist."

My stomach turns, and I step away from him, my back colliding with the stone wall.

"However," he continues, "I'm feeling generous, so I'll offer you an opportunity to redeem yourself."

"How?" I whisper cautiously.

"It's quite simple, really. I need information, and you have it. All you have to do is tell me what I want to know."

"Which is what, exactly?" I ask, my voice sounding tight.

"Where is the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Come, come, Miss Rockbell. You can't truly think I'm going to believe that. You were plotting with him. Surely, he told you where he was going next."

"He didn't."

Not exactly anyway.

He tilts his head to the side, and I feel a shiver run down my spine that has nothing to do with the cold.

"Well…in that case, I guess I'll have to try a different method."

"Method of what?" I venture carefully.

"Extracting information." He grins maliciously, and I feel bile climb up my throat. "Is that fear I see in your eyes?"

I glare at him, holding my head up defiantly, even though my heart is racing, and I'm afraid I might throw up.

"You should be scared," he threatens, his eyes glinting. "What I have in mind for you will be painful. That is, unless you change your mind and decide to tell me your boyfriend's plans."

"Never," I whisper.

"Very well," he smirks, stepping back. "I hate to see your pretty skin marred, Miss Rockbell, but if you've made your choice…"

He turns to go, and I wait until I hear his footsteps fade before sinking to the floor.

Ed is coming, I remind myself. He'll save you. Just breathe.

Edward

Kimblee has Winry.

I wake with a start and sit up in bed, ignoring the dull pain in my stomach. Sweat is dripping down my back. I struggle for a second, trying to remember what woke me. It was something important. Something bad.

"Hey, kid, are you okay?"

I look over at the lion chimera guy in my doorway and feel my eyebrows pinch. What was it? I needed to do something. Someone…

I reach up to brush my hair back, and freeze, my eyes on my automail arm.

"Winry!" I remember suddenly.

Throwing off the sheets, I scramble out of bed, searching for my clothes.

"Whoa. Slow down! What are you–"

"He's got her," I cut him off. "He's got Winry, and I have to stop him."

I'm not making any sense, but I don't care.

"Who has her? Scar? I thought you said that was your plan–"

"No. Kimblee. That asshole has her, and–"

"Kimblee has her? How do you know that?" he interrupts.

"I—I don't know," I sputter. "But he does, and I have to save her."

I find my pants and yank them on, doubling over when a sharp pain cuts through my abdomen.

"You need to lie down."

"I can't lie down! Winry is in danger!"

"What's going on?" The gorilla chimera comes in holding food.

"He thinks Kimblee has his girlfriend."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"Okay! Calm down, Elric."

"And he does have her!" I shout over them. "I have to get to Briggs."

"Okay, well do you have a plan? What's your strategy?" Gorilla Guy asks.

"I—That's not—I'll figure it out on my way, okay? I just… I have to go!"

I hear them muttering to each other as I finish pulling my clothes on. If I could, I'd call Colonel Mustang. Actually, Lieutenant Hawkeye. She would know what to do. She could get someone up here to help. But, with the homunculi in charge…that would be next to impossible.

Well, I'll have to do this on my own.

"I really think you should lie down. At least until we get some kind of confirmation that he really does have her," Lion Man pipes up again.

I pause in the middle of putting my shirt on. I mean…he has a point, I guess. What if it was some kind of nightmare?

My stomach churns, and I clench a fist. It feels real enough. And the idea of leaving Winry at the mercy of that psychopath… But if I'm wrong, and I go storming off to Briggs which I already know is swarming with soldiers from Central, I'll give up any ground I gained when I accidentally faked my death in the mine shaft.

"Fine," I sigh, reluctantly sitting back down on the mattress. "But if you get confirmation she's there, I'm out of here."

"If she's there, we'll go with you," Gorilla Guy announces. "Can't have you charging off to Fort Briggs just to get yourself killed after we went through all this trouble to save you."

"Right."

They both leave to reach out to contacts, and I turn onto my back and cover my face. Now I have to wait, and I hate it. As much as I want it to be in my head, I can't stop my stomach from filling with dread.

Winry

"This can end any time, Miss Rockbell," Mr. Kimblee's voice burns in my ears.

I squeeze my eyes shut, my cheek pressed against the cold metal table as he has his henchman makes another gash in my back. I press my lips together, trying not to make a sound as I feel warm blood ooze down my spine. Two weeks of his "methods," and I'm already becoming accustomed to the pain.

First it was exposure—forcing me to stand in the cold until my lips were blue, and my eyelashes were frozen. I had started praying for hypothermia, but then he realized it wasn't going to work.

Next, he started coming to my cell at night, before I fell asleep, and telling me about what he did in Ishval. It made me sick, hearing him happily recalling murdering and mutilating those innocent people. People like my parents.

When I still didn't tell him what he wanted to know, he moved on to hurting me. He used alchemy to make my blood boil. He gave me high fevers, which, in turn, gave me nightmares. Fever dreams about Ed bloody and bruised, freezing to death. About Granny searching for me, not knowing where I am…

After that, he upgraded to breaking my bones. My arms. My legs. My fingers. He never left them long. Always fixing them with alchemy only to break them again later. And worse than the pain was the look of pure delight on his face. Proving what a sick sadist he is. That my pain excites him.

But I still haven't told him anything. And he's getting more impatient by the day. Now, he's having his chimera lackeys cut into my back with knives. The gashes aren't deep, or they don't feel deep, but they sting like hell, and I'm scared to find out what he's planning. He's an alchemist, like Ed, so I'm not unfamiliar with transmutation circles. I just really hope this isn't one.

"Just tell me where your boyfriend is," he growls, clearly irritated, and I take a difficult breath.

"He's not my boyfriend," I force out.

"Again," he bites out harshly, and I wince as another cut burns into my flesh.

He steps closer to the table, and I flinch, pulling at the ties at my wrists that are holding me down. I'm desperate to hide my nakedness from him. It's easy to forget I'm topless when steel blades are digging into my back, but nothing is worse than him looking at me, even if it's in that clinical way.

"Don't you want this to be over?" He slides my hair over my shoulder, and my skin breaks out in goosebumps. I want to throw up.

I don't answer him, clenching my jaw tight, trying not to gag. His fingers trail over the sliced skin of my back, and tears burn behind my eyes.

"Where is he?" he asks darkly, his gentle touch making me shiver in disgust. "Where is the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"I don't know," I repeat, weakly, saying the same thing I've said for weeks.

"Where is Edward Elric?"

God. I wish I knew.

He says something else, but suddenly he sounds muffled. I try to open my eyes to look at him, but my eyelids won't budge.

"Boss, she's fading again."

"Shit," he hisses faintly. "Fine. Clean her up. Put her back in her room. Let me know when she wakes up."

I hear him walking away, and I relax a little, giving into the agony that pulls me under. Into darkness.

Edward

Fuck, I hate the cold.

And I hate this stupid waiting. I need to be inside the damn fort already, getting Winry away from that fucking psycho. Instead, I'm disguised as a villager with my hair all stuffed into a hat, sitting in the back of a supply truck, waiting until Lion Man gets past the guards.

We've been sitting here forever. What if this doesn't work? What if they don't let us in?

The truck moves forward, and I let out a sigh of relief. We slowly pull through the gates and around into an alley, where I jump out and run into the side door.

"Ah. You made it."

I jump at the voice.

"Major Miles," I ask quickly.

"You really shouldn't have come here, Edward Elric," he goes on, pushing me into a dark room. "However, I can understand your motives."

"Where's Winry?" I bite out, ignoring how hard I'm shivering.

"I couldn't be too nosy without drawing suspicion, but one of the men learned she's in cell 523, unless she's in the infirmary."

"The infirmary?" I gasp. "Why would she–"

"Captain Buccaneer will cause a diversion which should draw Kimblee away. That will be your chance."

"Wait! I–"

"The way things stand, I won't be able to be much help to you on this particular mission," he continues over me. "If I'm seen with you from this point on, you are my enemy. I can't risk the safety of Briggs men or the integrity of this fort. Especially while the general is away. That said, I hope you are successful, and…I truly regret what that bastard has done to your friend."

"What? What are you talking–"

A loud banging sound cuts me off followed by a sound series of alarms.

"That's your signal," the major says quietly. "Good luck, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Uh, thanks."

"I'll give you two minutes before I have to follow you." He opens the door, and I'm temporarily blinded by the light. "Go!" He forces me out with a hand in my back, and I almost fall.

I catch my balance and take off in the opposite direction of the uproar. Since I was held in the Briggs prison cells, I'm familiar with where they are, though I never thought that knowledge would come in handy before now. When I reach cell block 500, I pause to listen.

"Winry?" I whisper.

Nothing.

"Winry!"

My voice echoes down the passage. I run after it until I get to 523 just in case, but it's empty.

"Dammit!"

I turn around and head for the infirmary when a familiar pile of metal catches my eye. I slow to a stop and walk over to it.

"Al?"

"Wha…"

"Alphonse?"

I reach around and start pulling out pieces of his armor.

"Brother?"

"What the hell, Al? How did you get like this?"

"It's a long story," he mutters. "Could you fix me?"

"Yeah. Give me a second. Then I have to find Winry."

Once I have all of the armor arranged, I perform a quick transmutation to bind it together.

"Thanks, Ed. I was wondering if I was ever going to move again."

"Al, where's Winry?"

"She's not in her cell?" He turns toward where I just came from.

"No. I checked."

"Well, then…" He pauses and looks down at me.

"Come on, Al! I need to hurry! I don't have much time!"

"She's this way." He starts down the corridor. "But, Ed, she's… I think I should warn you. Kimblee has been–"

"I don't care," I grind out between my teeth, picking up to a run. "I just need her out of here."

"Right."

When we reach the infirmary, Al pushes the door open, and I freeze.

"See, Miss Winry. I told you he was coming."

Warrant Officer Falman is helping her stand because it looks like she can't on her own. Her face is pale and twisted with pain, until she looks up and sees me.

"Ed," she gasps, moving toward me. "I knew you'd come."

Winry

My legs won't hold me, but I try to walk anyway, pulling out of Mr. Falman's supportive hold. I want to run, but I only get half a step before my ankle gives out, and I start to fall. I reach out to catch myself before my face hits the floor when I'm caught around the waist by an automail arm.

"Winry," Ed whispers brokenly, pulling me into him.

His arms slide around my back, and I cry out.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I was trying to tell you," Al speaks up. "Kimblee and his men…they hurt her."

"Son of a bitch!" he bellows. "What did they do? I'll make them pay–"

"We need to get out of here, Ed," I remind him. "Before he comes back."

"Right." He nods, exhaling. "Right."

Somehow, I end up on Ed's back, my arms looped around his neck, as he sneaks us down the halls and out a secret back entrance. Two chimeras who seem to know Ed are waiting in a getaway truck with the engine already running. Al gets in first, and Ed passes me off. As soon as we're all inside, the truck starts moving.

Someone spots us pulling away, and I start to panic.

"Ed–"

"It's okay," he assures me. "They won't catch us."

"But they're–"

"Major Miles has men helping us. We're okay."

At his assurance, I start to relax. When the sound of shouting voices fades, and falling snow distorts the view of the fort as we drive away, I feel exhaustion take over me.

"Lie down, Winry," Ed coaxes softy. "It's okay. They can't hurt you anymore."

I curl up on my side, resting my head on his thigh. His fingers bury themselves in my hair, and for the first time in weeks, I don't feel the cold.

"Thank you, Ed," I whisper.

"Yeah," he mutters. "Now let's get the fuck away from Briggs."

Edward

"You're sure this is the right way, Al?" I ask quietly, trying not to disturb Winry, who I'm carrying in my arms. We had to leave the truck when the roads became impassible. Both the chimeras and Al offered to help with Winry, but I declined. I can take care of her on my own.

Mostly.

"Yes," he answers firmly. "Scar said there was a mountain village called Asbeck. He was going to take May and Dr. Marcoh there with the others to hide in the Ishvalan refugee camp."

"I hope they're still there," I mutter.

"Alphonse!"

The high-pitched voice catches me off guard. I turn to find the little Xingese girl with the strange panda-cat.

"May?"

"You found us! How did you escape?"

"Brother showed up, but May, Winry needs help."

"Oh!" She looks past him at me, cradling Winry, and immediately comes over. "What happened to her?" she whispers.

"Nothing good," I grunt. "Can you help her?"

"I think so." She looks up at me and nods. "And Dr. Marcoh can help too. Come on."

She turns and grabs Al's hand and starts pulling him down an alley.

"We're this way. I'm so glad you found us, Alphonse," she tells him enthusiastically. "We were just getting ready to leave tomorrow or the next day, but now that you're here–"

"We can't stay long either," I interrupt. "But Winry…"

"Don't worry, Edward," she cuts me off. "We'll take care of your girlfriend."

"She's not my–"

"Ed?" Winry murmurs, and I look down, shifting my arms to readjust her against my chest.

"Hey. I'm sorry about this. We're almost there, though."

"Where?" She blinks, wincing.

"Here," May announces. "Come in."

I follow her inside and over to a cot where I set Winry down. She immediately rolls onto her stomach and rests her cheek on her hands.

"It's her back," I tell May quietly. "He…cut her."

I peeked at the damage while she was sleeping, and immediately regretted it. Most of the cuts are starting to heal, but some of them are still pink and raw looking. If I ever see that slimy bastard again…

Dr. Marcoh comes over, and I get pushed back while he and May take care of her. I wait on the other side of the room with Al, who's playing with Xiao Mei, the panda-cat. For the next few hours, we wait. Every once in a while, I hear Winry whimper, and I start to stand, but May waves me back. Finally, she comes over to me.

"We did everything we know to do," she tells me quietly. "There might be some scarring, but she's not in pain anymore, and there's no risk of infection."

I exhale slowly and rise to my feet, ignoring the growing ache in my abdomen where my own wound is still healing.

"She's sleeping right now," May goes on, "but you can go sit with her."

"Thanks."

She nods and takes my seat by Alphonse as I cross to where Winry is resting on her side. For the first time since I found her at Briggs, she looks peaceful. I let out a long breath and sit down on the edge of her cot.

"Ed," she mumbles over her shoulder at me.

"I'm right here, Winry."

"Don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Shifting my weight, I pull my legs onto the cot and fold my body into the space behind hers, careful not to touch her back. She reaches behind her with one hand, and I quickly take it in mine, tucking it down between our bodies.

"Get some rest, Winry."

"You too, Ed."

I lean forward and kiss her neck lightly before burying my face in her hair and succumbing to sleep.