Hello again! I have returned with another chapter! It makes my heart so happy to see that you all enjoyed the first one! The response from you all is incredible and encourages me more than you all could ever understand! Anyways, on with the story!

Warnings: Vincent will be…well…Vincent. Enough said.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its awesome characters. I just own a few OCs.

"Let go, bastard!"

Vincent rolled his eyes as he tightened his grip on Ed's flesh arm. The muscle relaxant was mostly out of the kid's system due to the meeting with the other generals running a bit long. The second those two were alone, Ed had squirmed out of Vincent's arms, determining that he would not be carried.

He was starting to regret that decision.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Vincent twisted his flesh arm behind his back. The harsh yank that followed nearly sent him to his knees, but the man kept him upright and forced him roughly down the hall. His entire body screamed in protest.

Vincent smirked as he watched the young alchemist's face contort in agony.

"Edward, I know I've told you that you shouldn't struggle." He twisted Ed's arm even more, and Ed was surprised his shoulder wasn't pulled out of its socket. "You're only going to irritate your injuries. We don't want that, now do we?"

The hairs on the back of Ed's neck stood up. He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see the demonic smile he knew possessed Vincent's face at that moment.

He might have been under orders to do whatever it took to get Mustang to cooperate, but Ed couldn't forget the pleasure that danced in the man's eyes as he forced the Colonel to whip him…as he broke every one of Ed's fingers…as he carved into Ed's stomach….

It was sickening.

As they made their way down the corridor, he noticed two Drachmans standing in front of one of the many doors that lined the long hallway. Once they reached the door, the two soldiers stepped aside, allowing Vincent to shove Ed into the cell.

Ed's eyes widened upon entering, instantly recognizing the array that decorated every inch of the room. The array that prevented him from performing alchemy.

He couldn't help but notice how much smaller this cell was compared to the one the Drachmans kept him in back in Kanon. His heart sank.

They're keeping me away from the Colonel.

Vincent let him go. He collapsed to his knees. His voice caught in his throat.

"Why…wh-why are you keeping me away from him?"

Vincent knelt in front of him, taking his face in his hands. Running his thumbs under the kid's eyes, Ed's tormentor tilted his head to the side, as if expecting tears to start falling. He didn't answer his captive's question, causing the despair within Ed to slowly start boiling into anger.

Ed tried to get out of Vincent's grasp.

"I know he's here!" His voice was getting stronger. "I want to see him! I want to see him now!"

Suddenly, the hands on his face moved to grip his throat. Vincent stood up and held him out as far and as high as he could. He desperately reached out with his automail arm, trying to land a blow that would cause Vincent to let go. Unfortunately, his arms weren't long enough. He tried digging his nails into the hands wrapped around his throat, momentarily forgetting that his fingernails had been cruelly ripped off and his fingers had been broken. He let out a agonized scream from the pain that erupted throughout his hand, or he would have if it could have manifested beyond the hands crushing his throat.

His captor's eyes gleamed as his face slowly turned red from the lack of oxygen. He made one last effort to escape by kicking out his legs, but he could barely lift them.

Vincent's chuckle echoed in the small room.

"Edward, I told you earlier, our generals are in the process of interrogating your superior. As difficult as he's being, it's going to be awhile before I even consider the idea of letting him see you. That aside, you are not in any position to be making demands. Even when Mustang starts cooperating, you will only see him when I allow it. Do you understand?" He gave Ed a rough shake when the kid failed to give any sort of response. "Do you understand, Edward?"

Despite the black spots starting to cloud his vision, Ed managed a slight nod.

Vincent dropped him. The young alchemist coughed as he tried to take in large gulps of air. The Drachman joined him on the ground, positioning Ed to sit up and lean back against his chest. It made it easier for the boy to catch his breath. He could feel the tension in Ed as his breathing slowly evened out, only interrupted by an occasional wheeze.

He leaned in until his lips were right next to Ed's ear.

"You're in Drachma now." He tucked a piece of Ed's hair that had fallen in front of his face behind his ear. "My commanding officer has left you in my care. What you want doesn't matter. What matters is what I want and what actions I see fit."

The hand in his hair trailed down to his shoulder then slowly down to his waist, briefly touching the scarred skin beneath his shirt.

"No…."

Ed fell back on the ground with a thud when Vincent moved out from behind him. He clenched his eyes shut when Vincent's face hovered mere inches over own. His captor pushed his shirt up, running his fingers over the carving he'd made just days ago.

Ed started to tremble.

"I don't want this…I never wanted this…."

Vincent's lips found their way back to Ed's ear.

"Weren't you listening, Edward? What you want doesn't matter anymore."

Suddenly, the hands were gone. A chuckle rumbled throughout the Drachman. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Ed's head.

"Get some rest, kid. You're going to need it."

The second Vincent got off him, Ed curled up on his side and wrapped his arms as tight as he could around himself. He heard the door slam shut and lock, but he didn't move from his position on the floor.

His shaking didn't stop either.

*break*

"I'll do it."

He didn't think his response had even been audible, but Vincent had obviously heard it because he giggled in absolute glee.

"Get him down!"

Two of the black-clad men sprang into action, one lowering him to the ground and the other freeing him of his wrist and ankle restraints. He looked around, briefly considering the notion of attacking their captor, but they were greatly outnumbered. Besides, Ed would likely get punished for his actions.

Another Drachman lowered his subordinate until he was on his knees.

He was led over to Corin, who held out a whip for him to take. He sighed deeply and stared at it, trying to mentally prepare himself. His efforts were interrupted by Vincent chuckling.

"Any day now, Colonel."

He glared at their captor and begrudgingly took the whip. Fire burned in his eyes as he watched Vincent walk over to Ed and stroke his braid, moving it over his shoulder.

How dare the bastard even think he had the right to act like he was trying to comfort the kid?

"I should let you know that if I see you holding back, I'll have Corin continue from where you left off, but the count will increase to forty lashes," Vincent said with a malicious smirk as he moved away from Ed.

He nodded and walked behind his youngest subordinate. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. Should he say something to comfort the kid? Should he at least apologize for what he was about to do?

But that would be showing weakness in front of the Drachmans…he couldn't do that…he couldn't let them see how much this truly disturbed him….

Ed knew he didn't want to do this, right?

Watching the kid get tortured was emotionally and psychologically scarring enough. Vincent certainly knows this.

This was the man's next step of breaking him.

He raised the whip, barely able to believe that he was actually doing it. Taking a deep breath, he brought it down, slightly flinching when he heard the crack it made when it hit Ed's flesh. This only elicited a grunt of pain from his subordinate.

One down…only nineteen more to go.

Whoosh. Crack. Whoosh. Crack.

The kid was tough, even tougher than he expected. Most grown men probably would have cried at this point. He had to keep going. The faster he delivered the lashes, the sooner this would end.

But then a butcher knife slashed through his heart.

Ed actually cried out in pain, causing him to hesitate with his arm poised to bring the whip down again.

"Keep going, Mustang."

He brought the whip down again. And again. And again.

He was so close to finishing. Only four more lashes. He nearly gasped when he brought the whip back for the seventeenth lash. He knew it the second he extended his arm. The whip hit too far to Ed's right. He could only stare in horror as the whip wrapped around Ed's stomach.

He didn't even want to think about how deep it cut into the skin.

The agonized scream echoed in his ears as he delivered the last three lashes. He'd made it to twenty.

He was done….

He looked down at his shirt, noting how Ed's blood was splattered across it. He dropped the bloody whip and rushed forward, sliding to his knees in front of the kid and taking his face into his hands.

Ed's eyes were open, but showed no signs of life.

"Ed?" He felt along Ed's neck for a pulse…but found none. "Ed!"

"Roy!" a voice hissed.

The Colonel jolted awake, causing Maes to stumble back in the seat across from him. He blinked a few times, slowly recognizing the clacking of train wheels against railroad tracks. He briefly glanced out the window, noticing that it was now completely dark.

The sun had just started to set the last that he remembered.

He slowly started to sit up, but it was with much difficulty considering how stiff his muscles still were. Four days in a hospital bed would do that to a man. Having to get on a train the second he was cleared by a doctor to leave didn't help the matter.

"Do you know where you are?" Maes asked quietly.

He looked around. Lieutenants Hawkeye, Havoc, and Breda were asleep in the aisle across from them. He gazed around the train car. Falman and Fuery were just a few rows behind them and a few other soldiers from South City that were escorting them home at the very back. Everyone was asleep. After a few deep breaths, he faced his best friend again.

"Yeah…yeah I know where I am."

Ed should be here…he should be the one heading back to Central.

He slowly sat up, moving his feet from the seat next to him. Maes quickly took their place and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Roy ran a hand through his hair that was slightly damp. He cleared his throat.

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

He rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He sighed.

"Okay…you're right…but I don't want to talk about it."

"Roy, you're going to have to—"

"I don't want to talk about it with you!" he hissed, grimacing instantly, as if the acid in his tone was tangible on his tongue. "Maes, I'm sorry. It's just…I can't…not right now, okay?"

His best friend nodded and tried his best to give him a reassuring grin. The two sat in silence until they heard the car door open and a third person joined them.

"General Raven," they greeted in a simultaneous whisper, trying to be courteous to those sleeping in their car.

They both started to get to their feet and salute, but it took Roy a bit longer to stand up. Raven quickly dismissed it.

"There's no reason for that."

Noticing the Colonel's struggles, he and Maes lowered him back down into his seat.

"Now that you're awake," he began, "I thought I should tell you that I've spoken with Fuhrer Bradley. He wants a report of the events that happened in Kanon."

Roy felt his best friend tense next to him. The General didn't seem to be too happy about having to tell him this.

"When?" Maes quietly snapped.

Raven sighed.

"He said he'd be willing to give you a couple of days to rest if you need it, but that's the most he can do. He's calling all of the generals to Central for this meeting. He feels that it's best for everyone to hear all the information you have at once."

The Lieutenant Colonel's eyebrows rose.

"All of them? Even General Armstrong?"

Raven nodded. Honestly, Roy was surprised about that one. Of all of the generals he would've thought Fuhrer Bradley would exempt from this meeting, he would've thought it'd be Olivier.

Although, the Drachmans had infiltrated the country. No one knew how many bases they had in Amestris. Some might be as big as the one in Kanon, others might be smaller. He supposed it didn't matter if Olivier was gone from Fort Briggs for a few days.

There were already hundreds, if not thousands, of Drachmans already here.

"Tell him I'll be in tomorrow."

Both men turned to him in surprise when he spoke up.

"A-Are you sure, Colonel? I mean we're due to arrive in Central in a few hours, but shouldn't you take a little bit of time…." the General trailed off.

"No. This information needs to be reported as soon as possible."

Raven glanced to Maes, looking very concerned. He sighed before standing up.

"I suppose I can't change your mind. I'll let Fuhrer Bradley know you'll be in tomorrow afternoon. In that case, I suggest that you get some rest. I can assure you that it will be a very long day tomorrow." He made to leave the two friends, but paused and put a hand on Roy's shoulder, causing the Colonel to look up at him. "Although, if you change your mind, just tell me."

The Colonel nodded. Raven left the car, leaving a tense silence in his wake.

"Roy," Maes said after a couple of minutes, "I don't have to tell you that I don't approve of you giving your report tomorrow. We've known each other long enough that you're already aware of that, and I know you're going to do it anyway. As your friend, I am asking you that you at least rest. General Raven is right. Tomorrow will be a long day. You're going to need all the sleep you can get."

Roy nodded, but didn't say anything. The Lieutenant Colonel moved back to the seat across from his friend. With the seat next to him unoccupied, he stretched out across it on his side with his back to Maes. He heard someone shifting. Next thing he knew, Maes' jacket was draped over him.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

A boy with reddish-brown hair stood before him, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Why didn't you help me, Colonel?"

Roy's eyes flung open, and they remained that way for the rest of the train ride.

And there's the second chapter! I hope you all enjoyed seeing a little bit of Roy's perspective. The next chapter will be mostly Roy-centric, so that will be a joy to write. Anyways, let me know what you think! Summer class is winding down and will be over next week, so I should be able to update that weekend. That's the plan!

Until next time!