Chapter three:
Pain
"It shouldn't be too much longer before we find the other brother," Archer explained to one of his men. He didn't bother looking up as he addressed his subordinate as he read over some of his paperwork. There was no emotion in his voice indicating that he was pleased with their success so far.
"Are you going to question Fullmetal in the mean time?"
"I have a hard time believing he's going to tell us anything. We might get something out of him once we have the younger one in custody. But even then, I doubt we'll get any cooperation from either of them."
"Well until we do manage to catch the other one, what are you planning to do to Fullmetal? Are we just going to lock him up for now?" The faintest hint of a smile pulled at the corner of Archer's mouth as he contemplated his plans.
"No one said we had to make him too comfortable."
...
Ed could have sworn he heard someone calling to him. He wasn't sure but he thought it was Alphonse. He sounded worried although that was pretty normal for Al. There was a pain in his arm port which caused him to let out a quiet moan. As the pain became more intense the more it seemed Al's voice got further and further away. Eventually it got to the point that he couldn't take it anymore and opened his eyes to see what was causing the throbbing ache in his shoulder.
What he woke up to was not what he was expecting. He tried to move only to find he was bond at the wrist and both ankles, flat on his back. Three individuals were standing over him, dismantling his automail in the slowest, most painful way possible. At least that was how it seemed to him. It should never take this long to disconnect it, but for whatever reason, they seemed more interested in taking it apart piece by piece. They had special instruments they were using that made high pitched noises and seemed to be motorized. Tools he had never seen Winry use and he could only guess it was because they were extremely expensive but very efficient for the task. But they only seemed to cause the process to be excruciating for him as he bit back a whine that wanted to come out. One of the three must have scraped a nerve or something as a sharp twinge worked it's way up his neck. He couldn't hold back his complaints and just when he opened his mouth to voice his discomfort, something was shoved between his jaws in order to keep him quiet.
He immediately tried to bite through whatever it was, but it was too solid of an item to just chomp through. Before he could respond any further, there was another sharp pain, followed by several more. He slammed his eyes shut and let out a muffled scream that didn't really get very far. This whole experience felt worse then automail surgery which had been the worst thing he'd ever experienced. At least back then, he knew the pain would eventually stop and it was for his benefit. Currently he had no idea what they were doing to him or how long it would last. He thought he heard a door nearby squeak open and the attack on his nerves ceased. He sucked in a deep breath in relief, not really caring who came in.
"Oh you don't have to stop on my behalf. I was just enjoying the sounds from out in the hallway." Edward did not recognize this voice and dared to open his eyes to see who it was. He was not expecting for the person to be hovering so close to his face though as he turned away as best he could. "Well that's just rude." Even though he didn't recognize the voice, Ed certainly remembered Kimbley from Dante's house when they were attacked by Greed. His mind couldn't help but race, wondering why he was here now though, of course the uniform was a dead give away that he was working with the military. "Obviously he doesn't want to talk to me, which is fine. You can go back to what you were doing."
Almost instantly the discomfort returned and became a sharp agonizing pain before he could even brace himself. A pathetic sound managed to escape him as he closed his eyes and hoped this wouldn't last too long. He had to endure this. He had to be strong for Al. Even if it meant he was seen as a traitor or whatever it was they did to him, he wasn't going to let them have Al. He didn't remember when it was that he passed out from the pain but at some point he started to come around again, his vision blurry and his port still sore. It was difficult to make anything out around him and the only thing he was sure of was that he was sitting up now. That brought a small amount of relief, knowing that he was no longer being restrained to a table. But that same relief was quickly gone when he realized his arm was missing.
"So you're awake now." Archer's tone had no concern in it which didn't really surprise Ed. He replied with a weak groan as he didn't bother to bring his head up. "I would recommend you just tell me what I want to know. Otherwise it'll just make things worse for you and your brother." Ed snickered quietly to himself.
"What are you going to do? Torture me? Somehow I think the military wouldn't do that to a state alchemist."
"Anything you think we can't do to you, we can always do to your brother. Especially if we don't deem him human." Edward swallowed the lump in his throat.
"What makes you think either one of us know anything. What if this whole thing is just some fluke that happened. There's no way to prove we did anything on purpose." Archer took several steps towards Ed, now hovering over him.
"I don't care if it was an accident or not. Something in that head of yours knew how to transmute a soul into an inanimate object, and I am going to find out how you did it. And I'll use whatever means necessary to get that information out of your head." A chill ran across Ed's skin as he pushed further back into his seat. He was trying not to show how worried he was, but it was difficult. He had no doubt that the Lieutenant Colonel meant what he said.
