The warehouse district was too silent for Edward's liking. He knew that the guy he'd been sent after was hiding out in here somewhere but he just couldn't seem to find him. Al was silent, and Ed had to keep checking that his little brother was still there at his side. Ever since getting Al's body back, Ed had tried to keep him away from missions now – it was too easy for him to get hurt, the risks were too high – but Al was stubborn. A family trait Ed thought. A whimper from his left caught his ears, and brought him back from his wandering thoughts. The man he was hunting for Mustang was involved with slavery, and that made Ed feel sick. People weren't property, and the thought that someone, somewhere, was happy to own another person pissed him off. Ed glanced over his shoulder at his brother before heading towards the noise, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
The door to the warehouse was slightly ajar and Ed reached out a metal hand and let out a breath of satisfaction when the door swung open on silent hinges. The building was dark, leaving shapes of boxes that he couldn't quite make out, and Ed moved in silently, hearing the whimper louder this time. Someone was in here with him, and they were crying. He was so focused on finding whoever it was that he didn't check on Al, and was unaware of the brute of a man who came up behind them and grabbed his little brother. The startled gasp made him spin on his heel just as the stranger wrapped a beefy hand around Al's throat. A light was turned on, and Ed blinked at the brightness, before forcing himself to recover.
"Get your hands off of him!" Ed snarled, clapping and bringing his automail blade into existence, but he didn't dare move closer. He had no doubt that the man could easily end his brother's life, and Ed's own fear mirrored his brothers, but he didn't let it show. Footsteps behind made him turn his head, still poised and ready for an attack. His gaze widened at the sight behind him and suddenly he felt very nauseous. Behind him sat six other civilians, their hands bound and each had a metal band around their necks. They varied in age, some were easily in their forties, others were just kids. A redheaded woman of about Ed's age was the one that was crying, and Ed didn't miss the trail of blood that ran down the side of her pretty face. He turned to glare at the owner of the footsteps, a man greying with age with a large scar running down over his left, dead eye.
His snarl was drowned out by his clap which rang out, echoing around the large and mostly empty room. His fingers were mere inches above the ground, his alchemy roaring through him when the sound of a gun's safety clicking off stopped him. He watched the scarred man in front of him point the weapon at Al and Edward's blood ran cold in his veins. He let his alchemy fizzle out to nothing as he stared at the gun fearfully, shuddering at the low laugh that he was met with. The scarred man lowered the gun and moved closer to Ed, throwing a metal collar at him, which hit the ground heavily. "Put that on, State Alchemist, or I'll shot him." The gun was raised again, aiming at Al's chest and Ed tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. He looked up at his little brother and met frightened eyes, but he knew that Al was frightened for Ed and not his own safety. A hand covered his brother's mouth when Al tried to protest. Ed pulled his eyes away and looked down at the metal that lay on the floor by his right hand. Metal clanged on metal as he reached out and picked it up, standing up from his crouch. Their was an array etched into the metal, and suddenly the scarred man's request made sense. If Ed put on his collar then he wouldn't be able to use his alchemy, the array would make sure of that, but if he didn't put it on then these bastards would kill his brother.
"Come on, we don't have all day." The scarred man growled, his finger moving around the trigger. It was all the encouragement that Ed needed as he shot a panicked look at his brother.
"Promise me you won't hurt him!" Ed knew that he was close to begging, and he knew that he wouldn't hesitate if he needed to in order for his brother to get out of this safely. All he got in reply was a nod, and when Ed sensed that he wasn't going to get any more of a reply he sighed, not able to meet Al's terrified gaze as he slipped the collar around his neck. As the two metal ends touched each other a shock ran through him, forcing him to his knees with a cry on pain. It felt like every nerve was on fire and his blurred around the pain as he tried to force himself to not pass out. The pain passed, leaving him panting and sweating from the pain. His hands were splayed out in front of him, mismatched on the concrete floor, and all he could do was whine when strong hands pulled him to his feet.
He saw a woman herding out the civilians and if Ed listened hard enough he was able to hear the rumbling of truck outside. He couldn't watch those people being marched out to their sick fate and he tore his gaze to his brother, knowing in the pit of his stomach that he would be joining them. "Al, get out of here. Go home and stay safe, okay?" Ed said softly, watching as the man holding him let go and moved closer to Ed, grabbing his flesh arm hard enough to bruise. The one who had picked him up held onto his automail, but if Edward was honest, then he didn't know if he had the energy to fight. The shock and pain from his collar had so easily drained him. "I'll be back for you, Al. Just stay safe. Don't do anything stupid."
Al was crying and despite being free of the man that held him he didn't try to move, he was just standing there, shaking his head and it broke Ed's heart to see. He looked so helpless and lost and he knew that this was all his fault. How many times was he going to keep causing his little brother so much pain. "I love you Al. Now go!" Al's cry hitched on his breath and Ed desperated wanted to go to him, to hug him and force him out the building. He wanted to comfort him, he wanted...
The bark of the gun was deafening, and left a ringing in his ears so loud that he didn't hear his scream as he watched Al slump to the ground, blood quickly staining his white top and dripping onto the floor. He was wrong, he did have the energy to fight and Edward struggled against the men that help him, screaming for his brother, ignoring the sting of tears as they slipped past his lashes. It couldn't end like this. He had to get to Al, he couldn't leave his little brother here to die, alone in a dank warehouse. The shock from the collar tore a cry of pain from him as he was lifted up and thrown over a shoulder. He punched his automail fist into the broad back but only got a grunt of discomfort in reply. "Al! Let me go! You bastard, you promised you weren't going to hurt him!" The ringing in his ears had died down now, and he could hear the wretched scrape of his own voice. "Al! Alphonse!" Ed screamed again, sobbing now and doing everything he could to try and get to his brother's side. They shocked him again and his vision blurred around the edges. The last thing he could see before unconsciousness claimed him was his little brother, lying on his side, blood staining the his clothes and pooling beneath him. The blackness took him just as he was thrown into the back of the truck.
