Hello again! After the success of my last story, I'm now starting my next one. I hope it's as popular as the other one.

Warning: I'm going to put a warning at the beginning of every chapter. There are some spoilers for episode 40 on. I think its 40 anyway…Yes its 40. But probably nothing beyond 48 anyway. I haven't seen the entire series yet you see. Anyway, that's enough rambling. You've been warned!

Deep in the forest there lies a hidden mansion. The residents of said mansion don't like to interact much with others, hence living in the middle of nowhere. But when they did venture out, woe unto the person who crossed their paths!

"DAMMIT! Who drank the last of the orange juice?"

It was a typical morning in the manor. Envy had woken up early, as usual, and had just been about to have a nice breakfast when he found the lack of orange juice in the fridge. Unfortunately, no one else was awake this early, and his cries went unanswered.

"No good, lazy, bastards!" Envy growled, stomping upstairs.

He kicked open a door and entered Greed's room. He was fast asleep spread out over his bed the blankets flung about his form. Greed's room was a mess as usual. He never let anyone in here so when Sloth did try and clean she could never get in here. As a result there were black clothes and furry jackets spread all around the floor and hanging off of chairs. The closet was open and even more clothes were falling out of it as well as what appeared to be jewelry. Discarded bits of food were either crushed into the carpet or sticking to the clothes. Envy stalked over to Greed's bed, but before he got near it, he stepped on a jelly doughnut. The thick red jelly squished out all over his foot.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed again, hopping on one foot trying to scrape the jelly off.

Somehow, Greed was still snoring away, completely oblivious to Envy's raving. Envy soon tripped over a banana peel and was sent flying into the air, directly onto Greed's sleeping form. He gasped as Envy landed on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He pushed Envy off and gasped for breath.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Greed yelled at Envy.

Envy pointed a finger at him and said, "You drank the last of the orange juice!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't touch any of the orange juice! I was out last night, which is why I'm trying to sleep now at…" He looked at his clock. "Six o'clock in the morning?"

Envy wasn't about to give up. He grabbed Greed by the collar of his shirt and started shaking him. "Admit it! Admit you drank the last of my orange juice!"

"I didn't! Why does it matter anyway? We're not human! We don't need to eat or drink anything to live!"

Envy stopped shaking him for a second. "That's not the point!"

As they continued to fight, the other homunculi were starting to wake up. Lust looked at her clock through half lidded eyes and groaned in frustration. Her hair was disheveled and she felt slightly nauseous.

"I need to go to bed earlier." She said to herself, getting out of bed.

Across the hall, in Sloth's room, Sloth was getting up as well. She was in a slightly better mood. She would've been getting up in an hour anyway. She, unlike others in this mansion, had a job.

"I'd better make sure Pride's awake. And I still have to make breakfast for Wrath." She quickly liquefied and reformed her hair now brown and her black dress replaced with a sensible suit. She examined herself in the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't violet then started heading for the kitchen. On the way she knocked on Pride's door and said, "Are you awake?"

A voice grumbled from within and she took that as a yes. She headed downstairs.

At the end of the hall, Gluttony's room, Gluttony was whimpering and covering his head with a pillow.

"Too loud!" he muttered to himself, trying to drown out Envy and Greed.

Wrath, meanwhile, was as hard a sleeper as Greed. Through all the noise he'd just ignored it and kept on sleeping. Mornings weren't his thing anyway. He was more of a night owl.

Lust was just exiting the bathroom as she saw Envy and Greed come rolling out of Greed's room still trying to throttle each other. She held out her right hand and her fingers extended to each of their heads. They stopped fighting as they stared at her sharp blades.

"It's too early for this!" Lust said. "What are you two fighting about?"

"That bastard drank the last of my orange juice!" Envy yelled, standing up. He made sure to step on Greed as he did it.

"I was out last night! I don't even like orange juice!" Greed yelled back.

"How do you know Greed did it Envy?" Lust asked, retracting her blades now that the fight seemed to be over.

"Uh, I don't know!" Envy said sarcastically. "Maybe because his name is, uh, GREED and by that thinking he would be GREEDY and therefore drink the last of my orange juice!"

"Get over it Envy." Lust said rolling her eyes. "We don't even need to eat. We're not human after all."

Envy glared at Lust as she walked downstairs. Greed took this opportunity to go back to his room, locking the door behind him. Envy was now in foul mood. No orange juice, no beatings, nothing! He stomped downstairs and into the kitchen where Sloth was cooking. He stopped in the doorway and said, "And who are you cooking for?"

"Whoever wants it." Sloth replied not turning from the stove. "Do you want something? I was only planning on cooking for Wrath and Pride."

Being homunculi, none of them need to eat to sustain life. As long as they ate the red stones they would live forever. Wrath and Pride were the exception to this rule, having human aspects that required human nourishment. But it still was an enjoyable experience. But Envy didn't feel like eating anymore.

"Nah, I don't care." He said. "I'm going to talk to Dante. She must have something for us to do by now."

"Dante's not here." Sloth said pointing at the counter. "She left a note saying she needed to go shopping. I think she wants a new dress. That reddish purple one has been through a lot of wear lately."

"Ugh!" Envy growled. "Fine! I'm going out!"

And with that, Envy left the mansion.

Far away, in Resembool, Winry was just waking as well. Her bed was directly beneath a window and the suns first light always shined in on her. She smiled as she woke up, opening the window and breathing the fresh scents of her country home. Today was going to be a good day! She flung back her blankets and stepped into a pair of slippers. He padded over to her dresser and began selecting an outfit for the day. She hadn't decided whether she was going to stay inside and work on her latest automail project or spend the day outside, enjoying the beautiful weather. After a few minutes of thinking she decided to stay inside and work. Maybe later she'd go outside. She slipped on pair of jeans, a black top, tied a bandana around her head to keep her hair out of her eyes and pulled on her work gloves. She grabbed her trusty wrench, which she kept on her dresser at all times, and headed downstairs to grab some other tools before settling at her bench and pulling her project towards her.

Hours away, in East City, the Elrics were waking as well. Al was already up and about, making breakfast for his brother, but Ed was another story. As soon as the light hit his face, he moaned and turned over, pulling the comforter over his face to block out the invading brightness. He didn't want to get up. This was his first day back on work since his quick leave to visit Winry. She had greeted him with her usual wrench to the skull and Ed still had the bump to prove it. But afterwards she was all smiles and had willingly fixed his arm with little grumbling. Now that that was over the last thing he wanted to do was go back to East HQ and see Mustang's smirking face. Al opened the door and saw his brother was still in bed. He sighed and walked to the edge of the bed. Grabbing the edges of the blanket in both hands, he gave a huge tug and pulled it clean off Ed. Ed yelped as the cold air hit his nearly bare body. He instantly curled into a ball and glared at Al.

"What's the big idea Al?" He yelled, grabbing for the blanket.

"It's for your own good brother." Al said. "You have to go back to work."

"You can't make me! I don't want to go back yet!" He argued.

"But you have too!" Al said, yanking the blanket out of his brother's reach.

Ed jumped up but even standing on the bed he couldn't defeat his brother's superior height. He jumped on the table next to the bed and was about to jump again, when his foot slipped sending him falling directly on Al. His armor was shockingly cold on Ed's skin. He yelped again and jumped up, shivering slightly.

"Fine!" he said. "I'm up! I'm going! Are you happy now?"

"Yes, I am actually." Al said, folding the blanket. "Breakfast is almost ready by the way."

Ed wasn't listening. He was rummaging in his dresser for his pants and a change of boxers. Al left him alone to finish cooking. Al was just finishing when Ed hurried out from their shared room, throwing his red coat on.

He grabbed a piece of toast and said, "Sorry Al. I'm late enough as it is. I'll back as soon as I can."

And with that, he was gone. Al looked down at the food he'd made.

"Now what am I supposed to do with this?"

Ed ran as fast as he could towards Eastern HQ. He didn't waste any time in the outer offices where the others worked, but ran directly into Mustang's office. He panted as he tried to catch his breath. Mustang, his face hidden behind some paperwork he was flipping through, said quite calmly, "You're late Fullmetal."

"I know, I know!" Ed said. "Give me a break why don't you! I just got back from Resembool."

Mustang put the papers done and looked Ed in the eye.

"Well, now that you're all fixed it's back to work. There's a disturbance in the South. It seems HQ down there are under attack by some revolutionaries."

"What do they want me to do about it? That's not my jurisdiction."

"They sent a request for you personally. They've heard the stories about you and believe you'll be able to stop the rebellion in a few days."

"There's no way I'm going to be able to get out of this am I?" Ed asked despairingly.

"Nope, afraid not Fullmetal. I've already booked you on the train leaving at 11:00 a.m. so make sure you're ready. Now that that's taken care of, I have a ver important question to ask you."

Mustang stopped for a moment and stared at Ed. Ed stared back. A few moments of utter silence passed. Then…

"Have you hooked up with Winry yet?"

The others in the outer office all stopped what they were doing and turned towards the door leading into Mustang's office where they heard Ed screaming something. They sweatdropped as Ed stalked out of the Colonel's office and out the door. Riza walked into the office and closed the door behind her.

"You really shouldn't do that Colonel." She said.

"I can't help it. He's so easy to get to and I've got to find someway of relieving my stress."

"So the rebellion's still giving Southern HQ problems?"

"I'm afraid so." Mustang said, suddenly serious. "Apparently there are some skilled alchemists down there leading the rebels. With any luck Ed will be able to take care of it and we won't have to worry. Because if he can't do it, they'll be sending for me next…"

Riza opened the door to leave and a male soldier suddenly fell into the office. A drinking glass was clutched in his hand. Riza raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. The soldier jumped up and apologized to Mustang before leaving for the bathroom. Once there, he opened the window and jumped outside. No one saw him go in, and no one saw him go out.

"So they're planning on sending Edward out there to take care of the rebellion eh?" He thought to himself. "Well I'll just have to do something about that."

The man shimmered as he transformed back into Envy.

"After all, Pride worked hard to start that rebellion and I wouldn't want it to end prematurely."

Envy quickly rushed off, out of East City and towards Resembool…

Back in the Elric's Eastern home, Ed was irritably packing for his trip to the South. Al thought it would be a good idea to leave him alone, since he was in such a bad mood. It didn't take long for Ed to finish and a quick glance at the clock told him he had another hour before his train left. He sighed and flopped onto his bed, thinking of this new mission. He pulled out some papers on the rebellion and flipped through them, trying to get an idea of what he was going to be dealing with. It seemed pretty standard fair, except for the leading force was a group of alchemists. Still, it probably wouldn't be much trouble. Ed put the papers away and stared at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of East City outside his window. As he lay, his thoughts strayed to Winry. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing right now…

Winry had decided to take a break. She wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled at her progress. With any luck she could have this done by the end of the week! She removed her oil stained gloves and tossed them into her hamper. She'd put them through the wash before getting back to work. She opened the fridge and tried to decide what to eat. There wasn't much to choose from as her grandmother hadn't gone to town in a while. She sighed and pulled out the ingredients to make a small sandwich. As she prepared her meal, she didn't hear the door open slowly behind her. She also didn't hear the intruder walk stealthily up behind her, a burlap sack gripped tightly in one hand. The last thing she saw was her half made sandwich as the sack was brought over her head. She yelled in surprise and started kicking and punching and fighting, trying anything to free herself. But her assailant was too strong and she was whisked away. Phase Two was complete.

Back in East City, had was about to head for the station when a mailman gave him a letter. Ed thanked him and opened it.

"Dear Edward Elric,

I've kidnapped your beloved girlfriend Winry Rockbell. If you ever want to see her again, come to the deep forest outside of Dublith, ALONE. She will not be harmed if you come within the week! Don't even think about sending anyone else to help you! If you do, I'll kill her!

Signed,

Anonymous

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ed yelled out, crumpling the letter in his hand. "Wait a minute. I've got more important things to worry about!"

Ed ran back inside, past a startled Al and to the phone. He quickly dialed HQ.

"Brother, what's going on?" Al asked.

Ed didn't answer. The operator had come on.

"Thank you for calling the Eastern HQ. How may I help you?"

"I need to speak with Colonel Mustang. It's an emergency!"

"You are aware you're using an unprotected line, correct? I'm going to need the password before I patch you through."

Ed quickly rattled off the password.

"One moment please."

Ed drummed his fingers impatiently against the counter as he waited for a response.

"Brother, what's going on?" Al asked again.

Ed handed him the letter as the Colonel's voice appeared on the line.

"Hello, this is Mustang. Go ahead."

"Colonel!" Ed said. "I can't go to the Southern HQ right now! Something more important came up!"

"What? You can't shirk your duty like this Fullmetal! I won't allow it!"

"You don't have a choice!" Ed yelled, throwing down the receiver.

"Who do you think did this?" Al asked.

"I don't know. But judging by where they want us to go, I can guess! Come on Al! We don't have much time! When's the next train to Dublith?"

Al quickly scanned the train schedule and said, "The soonest we can leave is in half an hour."

"Fine. Let's go buy tickets."

As Ed and Al prepared to go to Dublith, Winry had arrived at her destination. She felt the bag rustling against her skin as she was released. The most she saw was a ornate tiled floor before a blindfold was roughly tied around her head. She was then lifted onto a chair and tied down.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Winry asked.

"That's not important." Someone said back. "What is important is whether or not your friend will come find you!"

"You won't get away with this, whoever you are!" Winry yelled out, wriggling in her bonds.

"We'll just see about that!" the voice said back.

Suddenly, Winry heard a door slam open and someone else enter the room.

"What do you want?"

"Where's Lust?"

"How the hell should I know? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Can I eat her?"

Winry heard what sounded like somehow getting hit.

"Of course not you dolt! Not get out of here!"

Winry heard the second person leave and the door shut.

"Who was that?"

"No one! Forget what you heard!"

"You're not very good at this are you?"

"Shut up! No one asked you!"

Winry suddenly let out an ear piercing screech.

"Ow! What the hell are you doing?"

Winry stopped and said, "If you're making me stay here, I'm going to make your time with me absolutely miserable!"

She continued to scream as soon as she was finished saying this.

Envy grabbed his head in pain and quickly left the room. It was going to be a long week.

Ending Note: I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please remember to review and no flaming.