Well…hello! I honestly can't explain it, but I suddenly had the passion to write a companion fic to "In His Own Hell" and "War Rages On." This will explore what happened during those four months Ed was held prisoner in Drachma. Only "In His Own Hell" needs to be read to understand this story.

As of right now, I'm planning on this story being primarily focused on Ed, but there will definitely be some Roy in there! Maybe some Parental!RoyAl….

Warnings: Overall, this story will be dark. There will be some torture and gore. Some mature themes may be implied later on, but absolutely nothing explicit.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

He smiled as he heard the snow crunching as they drove along the road. He glanced down to the crate underneath him, eyeing the holes he personally drilled. His smile widened.

"It can't be much longer, sir."

He looked to the man sitting on the other side of the truck and ran a hand through his long, black hair.

"We almost didn't make it," he couldn't help but say aloud.

It had been a quiet few days. They hadn't stopped moving. They couldn't afford not to.

All that time they spent awaiting the order…all that time spent planning for this attack….

And they had to leave the Flame Alchemist behind.

"Do you think General Lebedev—"

"I don't know!" he unintentionally snapped. He buried his face in his hands when he realized how harsh he sounded to his comrade. "I'm sorry, Corin. Given the circumstances, I'm just relieved we got the kid and made it out. However," he shifted his gaze to the hatch at the back of the truck, "I honestly don't what Raulf is going to think. We followed his orders, but…."

The truck came to a stop. He rose up from the crate and Corin got to his feet. The lantern Corin lit for them in the back of the truck did nothing to prepare him for the sunlight that flooded in the second the hatch was lifted. Both men saluted instantly.

A lone man stepped up into the back of the truck and returned their salute. It had been years since either soldier had actually seen the man, yet he didn't seem to change at all. He wore his usual gruff expression, and it added to the already building tension between them; however, it didn't last long as the gruff features split into a massive grin.

"Vincent…it's been far too long!" He walked forward and grabbed the younger man in a tight embrace. After a moment, he stepped back. "You have him?"

Vincent nodded, turning back to the crate he had previously been sitting on and opening it up. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

The two stared at the young boy curled up inside the crate. Vincent knelt down and removed the blanket covering the kid, the sunlight now reflecting off the automail limbs.

General Lebedev's eyes widened at the amount of blood covering the boy. He reached out and stroked the reddish-brown mess that was his hair. He laughed and shook his head.

"I can't believe Colonel Mustang was willing to let his subordinate go through everything you put him through and finally caved in at the very end. Didn't he realize that meant the kid suffered for nothing?"

Vincent's eyebrows rose. He opened his mouth, but the General was already speaking.

"Corin contacted me once you obtained Colonel Mustang's cooperation. The events that transpired after that were rather unfortunate, but I suppose that was out of our control." He glanced down at the boy in the crate. "We need to get him inside. Any idea when he's supposed to wake up?"

Vincent nodded.

"He should be waking up fairly soon. I gave him all of the remaining sedative we had left from the explosion. I thought he would have woken up a few hours ago…." he trailed off and tilted his head to the side.

General Lebedev chuckled.

"I think you may have been a little too rough on him, Vincent." He clapped a hand on his subordinate's shoulder. "That's why he's going to be your responsibility. I would much rather have him willingly cooperate instead of forcing it, but I will do so if we have no other options. You were able to break the Flame Alchemist, so I hope you could manage to do the same with his subordinate."

Vincent's demonic grin mirrored his superior's.

Without needing to be asked, he wrapped the blanket back around the kid, scooping him up into his arms. The General walked with him inside the base.

Vincent swallowed thickly before breaking the silence between him and his superior.

"Sir, are we going to address the fact that we don't have Colonel Mustang?"

Raulf's eyes darkened, making Vincent's blood run cold.

Luka's betrayal may have been unexpected and out of his control, but there still had to be consequences for not bringing back the Flame Alchemist; if not from Raulf, then the other generals.

"While the other generals are not exactly pleased with the Amestrians invading our base in Kanon," his superior began, "they did admit that you reacted well and made the right decision by leaving Mustang behind. I'm almost certain that's the reason you made it out with the kid. They were honestly surprised we didn't lose more men than we did. There shouldn't be any repercussions. They wanted a human weapon, and we can force the Fullmetal Alchemist to cooperate so they have one."

Vincent nodded, smiling to himself.

They didn't have the Flame Alchemist; however, they could as far Edward was concerned.

*break*

Ed could hear voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. It was like hearing someone speak underwater. He willed his eyes to open, but they wouldn't obey him. He groaned and shifted around slightly, causing someone to stroke his hair in an attempt to calm him down; however, it was having the complete opposite effect.

Just the mere touch of this person's fingers in his hair was making his skin crawl.

That's..that's not Mustang….

The voices were becoming clearer.

"I think he's finally starting to come around."

It took a couple of tries, but he managed to pry his eyes open.

And he wanted to shut them again immediately.

Vincent and someone else he didn't recognize were looming over him. The man had black hair like Vincent, but it was shorter and had streaks of gray in it as well.

This must be Vincent's superior.

Ed blinked, trying to break through the cloudiness of the sedative. He wanted to get away, but his limbs were like lead. He couldn't get himself to move. He risked a glance back to Vincent, having to suppress a shudder when he realized it was Vincent who was stroking his hair.

Where am I?

As if Vincent could read his mind, spoke up.

"Welcome to Drachma, Edward Elric."

Drachma…I can't be in Drachma...

"N-No…." he rasped out.

Vincent's clown-like grin spread even further across his face.

"Now, Edward, don't be like that. You and the Colonel just got here! You haven't even seen your new home yet!"

Ed's eyes widened the second he mentioned Mustang, and Vincent certainly noticed.

"Where…is he?"

Vincent reached out to stroke Ed's cheek, causing the teen to shut his eyes and turn his head away from the contact.

"Our generals are interrogating him as we speak. He promised to cooperate, but your military invading our base and nearly finding you two sparked a little rebellion in him. For your sake, I hope he remembers his place soon."

"This can't be…this can't be happening."

Mustang promised he would get me out. This has to be a dream.

The fingers stroking his cheek ran over his dry, bloody lips. He couldn't stop the shiver that tremored throughout his body.

"Why don't you take him to get cleaned up?" the stranger suggested. "He hasn't even gotten the chance to see the base yet. He should be a bit more awake and cooperative after that. Then he can meet the other generals. I know they're wanting to see him."

Ed's eyes shot back open when he felt Vincent's arms under his back and legs, lifting him with ease.

"N-No. Put me down!"

He tried squirming out of Vincent's hold, but that only resulting in pain shooting throughout his broken ribs and his mutilated back. Much against his will, he let out a strangled cry at the agony. He could feel the rumble from Vincent's chest as he chuckled.

"I wouldn't advise struggling, Edward. You know you're in absolutely no condition to do such a thing."

Ed didn't even have the strength to respond. The drug still in his system and his futile struggling drained what little energy he had in him. He had no choice but to let Vincent carry him.

Vincent let out a content sigh when he entered the bedroom.

"It's been over ten years since I've returned to the base. It certainly feels good to be home!"

He carried Ed into the bathroom, setting him on the sink. He let go of Ed just long enough to reach over to the bath tub and turn on the water. Grabbing a washcloth, he started washing some of the blood off Ed's face. The teen winced at the cold water.

"Let's get some of this blood off you," Vincent muttered to himself.

"Don't touch me!" Ed hissed, trying to lean away from the Drachman.

Vincent shook his head.

"So ungrateful."

He glanced at the tub. Determining that it was full enough, he picked Ed up and set him down in the water, not even bothering to take off his blood soaked pants. A pit formed in Ed's stomach when he saw the smirk on Vincent's face. It grew when the man put a hand on his head and pushed him down.

"Wait—"

Ed barely got a breath before he was shoved under the water. Two strong hands on his shoulders kept him submerged until his lungs screamed for oxygen. Just when he thought they were about to burst, Vincent pulled him up.

He just gulped in a lungful of precious air before Vincent shoved him back down.

He wanted to fight back. He tried to, but it took herculean effort to even raise his arms. Vincent yanked him up again by his hair, but kept him above the water.

"Edward," he said in a creepily calm manner, "I'm trying to clean you up and redress your wounds, and you repay me by trying to fight me off? That kind of behavior can't go unpunished."

He pushed Ed back under the water, but held him down longer than before. Panic flared through the young alchemist. Vincent had drowned him once before. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind the sadistic man would do it again.

Suddenly, he was pulled up out of the water. He coughed and opened his eyes, noticing that the water was already turning red. He flinched when Vincent leaned in close to him, but the grip on his hair kept him in place.

"I hope you learned your lesson, Edward," Vincent whispered in his ear. "You need to remember that the Colonel is just as much a bargaining chip for your good behavior as you are for his." He grinned when fear glazed over Ed's eyes. "I know you're thinking about all the fun we had in Kanon. I have no problems with doing the same to Mustang. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you stop resisting me."

Relief flooded through Ed as Vincent drained the bloody water. He didn't dare move when Vincent refilled the tub. He clenched his eyes shut as the Drachman scrubbed the blood and grime off his skin. Much to his surprise, Vincent was actually careful when he was cleaning around Ed's wounds. It took a while, but Vincent managed to get all of the dirt and blood washed out of his hair.

Even though Ed kept his eyes closed, he could feel Vincent's smile, as if the man knew how hard it was for him not to flinch or move away from his touch. Suddenly, Vincent was pulling him up and out of the tub, setting him on his feet.

Wrapping his captive in a towel, Vincent shoved Ed back to his room. He smiled when he saw the items he requested on his dresser. With Ed regaining enough of his strength to at least stand on his own two feet, Vincent grabbed a syringe and plunged it into Ed's neck, relishing in the surprised cry he elicited from the kid.

"What are you…."

Vincent chuckled.

"It's only a muscle relaxant. Nothing to be afraid of, Edward."

Threatening the Colonel would only work for a while, especially with Ed not actually seeing him. He couldn't take any chances. Ed practically fell back into his arms. He dragged the kid over to his bed, yanking the soaked pants off his body.

After making sure he was thoroughly dry, he grabbed a pair of black pants and a black shirt from his dresser. As he finished dressing the kid, there was a knock on his door. Raulf entered.

"The generals would like to see Major Elric now. Is he ready?"

Vincent nodded. Picking up the kid and following his superior, they left his room and made their way through the base. He looked down at the boy in his arms, whose head involuntarily was resting on his chest. He briefly met those golden eyes.

Much like he saw in Mustang's eyes in Kanon, there was hope and defiance.

He couldn't wait to absolutely destroy it.

Well, there's the first chapter! It felt so good to write Vincent again! I kind of missed him….

Anyways, I hope you all liked it! This chapter will probably be the shortest in this fic. It just felt like the best place to stop. Next chapter will explore a little into how Roy is doing when he returns to Central. For anyone reading "The Sun Still Rises," I apologize for the delay but I am working on the third chapter! Until then!