A/N: First of all, it's been a while, I know. I've been away to my grandma's and didn't have the inspiration to write more. Now I did... And, to be honest, I feel like this is my most successful piece of writing so far. I just like the way words and events flowed. I am proud of this chapter and I hope you will enjoy it, too. Secondly, I have to let you know that you need to expect later on a slightly darker Ed, because this is the way Ed is in this chapter and I like writing him this way. Last, but not least, I want to publicly thank LeFay Strent - whose story I love - for reviewing and leaving some constructive criticism. I'll be more careful with the setting and the way action events happen from now on, thus I'll just leave out confusing details.

OK, I'm done... On with the show!

:xx- CHAPTER VII -xx:

[ bonfire ]

Ed could have sworn that he had just been woken up from a nightmare. He sat down on the bed from the motel that he and Al crashed at for the time being. He didn't remember anything. Not a single detail. But his chest was bursting with ragged breathing and his fingers were dug into his sheets tightly. His shaky orbs rolled down towards his own hands and swallowed what felt like a cobble that scratched against his throat. Puzzled he blinked several times and closed his eyes halfway as he glanced at his moving fingers.

"What was that about…?" he whispered to himself and looked up towards Al's bed. It was empty. And it was… a bit too well lit up. Blinking swiftly, Ed glanced at the window. The glass was covered in flickers of dancing lights.

"Huh? Al?" Ed mused and brushed aside his condition as he made his way out of the bed. He exhaled a breeze of air and arched a brow at the neatly arranged bed. And then his attention dropped on the window again. Some sort of light reflected into it and it was moving, flickering…

With a frown, Ed approached the window and tilted his head. Behind the building facing the motel, he could see the smoke and the dancing flames of a fire. His teeth pressed together and his head jerked towards the door. A fire?! There was a fire in the town?!

It wasn't his business, but the thought was disturbing indeed. And where did Al run off to? Ed numbly approached his bed again and narrowed his eyes at the clock. It was midnight. He shuddered and realized that he wasn't really willing to go back to sleep again, not after something woke him up in silent screams.

Quickly – since he was used to fast preparation since the time he had been in army – he dressed himself up with some black pants and a black, long sleeved blouse which left some bare space around his shoulders. Lastly, he slipped his feet into a pair of boots and covered himself up with a dark red coat. It wasn't the same coat, obviously. Especially since it wasn't hooded.

Midnight? He flicked his hair up in a ponytail. Seemed like an opportune moment for a walk around the town.

After a slow paced walk of about five minutes, Ed reached the source of the flame-light. He stopped abruptly near the building and his mouth opened, hanging like that.

A controlled fire of about 2-3 meters stood in the middle of a little square, with a handful of people gathered around it. It wasn't a party, since they weren't exactly moving. They simply sat down. Ed blinked quickly at the base of the fire, noticing what seemed like the objects that were lit for a flame to ignite.

"Edward?" a voice startled the boy from behind.

Ed twirled around and his face cringed instantly with displease. "You… You're that guy."

Cedric was still waving towards the blond, a silly grin written on his face. "I suppose I deserve that, huh?"

"Actually, you deserve more," Ed remarked spitefully.

"You're so harsh, yet you don't even know what living with Madam feels like…"

Ed crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "Madam? She's your mother."

"Well, let's just say that the term 'mother' is a bit too… intimate to be used with her," Cedric commented as he sipped from a bottle some sort of red drink; most likely wine.

"Not having a good relation with her?" Ed questioned, intrigued. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to have a bad relationship with his mother. It was surreal.

Cedric was frozen for a second, focusing on something else in distance. His response was muffled as he rose a hand and started waving, "Euphemistically speaking."

Ed opened his mouth when he felt several people bump into him and pound on him. He cringed and flailed his arms around, jumping away in a defensive stance. And now he faced a group of about four people who were giggling at nothing in particular.

Ed frowned, "'The hell are you trying to do?!"

"Oh, calm down…" a girl purred.

Some boy nudged Cedric, wiggling his eyebrows, "Did you bring this guy over? He's so stoic and sober."

"Excuse me?" Ed raised his arms and blinked bewildered, "Did you just say that I'm too serious?"

"Yes," another girl said and frowned deeply, puckering her lips out, "Look at this face of yours, looking so grim. And the way you jumped all 'aaah!'"

All broke into a fit of laughter as Ed stood there, puzzled. Suddenly, he snorted, his chin rising. "I just may have other methods of 'having fun', with don't involve getting drunk and eventually sleeping on a sideway."

"Ouch, hey Edward!" Cedric puffed a snicker, "We're not doing that. It's just an innocent party."

"Party?" Ed looked suspicious at the very least, "This looks a bit too static for a party."

And then silence engulfed the group. It made Ed feel rather awkward for a reason or another. And he even wanted to somehow pull at Cedric for a few more details regarding this whole 'human transmutation' suspicion.

"Ah! Hey!" one of the girls squealed. Ed jolted, his eyes landing on her right when she was snatched away by a strange man. Obviously, she didn't seem to like it and – both out of instinct and actual wish to show off, Ed leaped towards the man, grabbed his upper arm and twisted it away from the girl who jumped off, rubbing at her arm.

"You did not receive an invitation, I suppose?" Ed muttered darkly, keeping a tight grip on the man who struggled to get out of the situation. Among the many things that Ed disliked, perverts held a high spot on his list since forever.

"H-hey, what's wrong with you?! I was just having some fun, heh… heh…" he gulped and the girl pouted, "It wasn't fun! You'll leave a bruise on my hand!"

Just as the man was pulling harder, a devious smirk stretched on Ed's face. And poof! He let go of his arm and the man crashed on the ground with a thud.

Ed cleared his throat, pretending to wipe off nonexistent dust from his shoulder. "You're welcome, my lady…" he said in a smooth voice. It seemed to work on the drunk girls, who started cheering up for his success, but the sober ones were simply crept out by his attempt at coolness.

Cedric leaped forward and grabbed Ed's shoulders tightly, looking him in the eye with seriousness. "You have to go back now, alright?"

Ed blinked, drawing his head backwards, "Huh? What are you talking abo-"

"Just go, Edward. We're the group of young bastards who do all kinds of illegal things, including this party. The Intern Corpse is coming."

Ed gulped, the light of the flames disappearing under the sound of a fire dried out by water. The streets were once more engulfed in nothing but the dim light of the moon and, once in a while, by flickering poles of light. Numbly, Ed retreated and with every step he took towards the motel, he left behind the scenery of the bonfire.

...

"Where have you been, Brother?!"

"Where I have been?!" Ed huffed, "Your bed was neatly arranged in the middle of the night!"

"I just left to get a cup of milk! I couldn't sleep, okay."

Ed cringed, "Ugh, that is so not worth getting out of the bed…"

The two Elric brothers stared at each other with suspicion. Just communicating through looks, they decided to leave the topic aside. It was already noon, since Ed had overslept. When he had returned to the motel, apparently Al was back in his room, but Ed collapsed on his bed the moment he entered through the door.

"Has any notification from the army come?" Al asked as he arranged the collar of his white shirt.

Ed huffed, "No, apparently they need to look over our applications and whatnot… It might take a week or two." He shrugged and exited the room, followed by Al, and headed in the breakfast lounge downstairs. On his way towards the table, he snatched a newspaper from the counter.

And he froze.

Al was already near his chair. He stopped and stammered upon seeing the paleness from Ed's cheeks. "Brother? What is it? Are you alright?" He quickly walked over and pulled the newspaper towards himself.

'Four Teenagers Murdered At Bonfire Party, Last Night'

Al cringed, his jaw hanging open, "Oh, gosh…"

"Al…" Ed mused absently and hurtled the newspaper on the ground, "I've been at this 'party' last night."

"What? How did you…" Al cut himself off, realizing that it probably wasn't a vital information. He gulped, "You've met these people?"

"I have…" Ed had a harsh look fixed upon the ground, "And I've met this asshole as well…" And then, both of their eyes fell on the photograph of the main suspect. A suspect, with a bandaged shoulder.

...

"I should have just ripped his damn arm off," Ed hissed through his teeth, getting a look of half disapproval from Al. After some time of pondering about, they've decided to go to the Capitol and have Ed make some declarations about last night. Due to Ed's fast pace, they've reached the steps of the Capitol in basically no time. But Ed couldn't proceed any further, when Al slid in front of him, with a grim look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Al inquired.

"No," Ed retorted dryly.

"I'm not talking about this situation, but about how you generally feel," Al sighed.

Sighing, Ed lowered his forehead into his palm and, a bit more helpless, gave the same answer, "No."

"You look like a train, fuming around. You have to calm down."

Was it really like that? Ed stared at his brother, awed. He'd been rather anxious since the previous night, when he woke up from a nightmare he couldn't remember. Even so, there was this feeling that haunted him and gave him the urge to constantly run away. Should he tell Al about it?

"I had a nightmare," Ed gave in.

"What about?"

"I don't know," Ed frowned, "Can't remember."

"But it's following you around, right?" Al tilted his head and Ed's lips moved, stammering slightly. He just nodded afterwards and, with a smile, Al patted his back a few times, making him swing back and forth for a few moments. "It'll be gone, just calm down. You're agitated by nature, if this nightmare fuels to it, we're all doomed."

"Aw, is this what you think about me?" Ed protested with a snort and finally proceeded to climb the stairs up after Al allowed him to. But then, he stopped again.

"Move out of the way! It's an emergency!"

Steps rushed from behind them and as soon as Ed flicked his head around, he was bumped out of the way by a large group of Intern Department armed soldiers who rushed towards the entrance. Ed looked at Al and they both blinked confused.

"You'd better want to step aside, Elric brothers," it was Lichbein's voice and it gave an instant impulse to Ed's muscles which made his eyebrow twitch.

"What's happening?" Al questioned, furrowing his brows.

With a hail, the officers knocked the door down, which apparently had been locked, and immediately stormed inside. At the same time, groups of panicked civil people rushed out, pushing and bumping and tripping.

Lichbein's phone rang and he answered it, "We got inside. Make sure you've escorted- What?! He has a hostage?!"

Ed twitched, "Oi! What are you talking about?"

"Stay aside, I told you."

"Who the hell ever said that we'd want to burst inside?!"

"It is absolutely predictable."

Ed bit his bottom lip furiously. However, Lichbein's reply was surprising, "This morning we have arrested the suspect for the four murders which I know you're aware of. He currently managed to escape his escorts and he is inside, holding a hostage. Now, if you excuse me, I have to proceed with the evacuation."

"That…!" Al jolted, but Lichbein walked off, continuing his phone conversation.

"Hey, Al…" Ed muttered. Al blinked. "Do you feel like playing the hero?" Al's mouth hung open, while Ed's was covered with a glistening grin. It couldn't keep Al from snorting a snicker.

They have agreed to enter the building through a window, so they could avoid knocking into the officers who tried to locate the culprit. First Al, and then Ed, they slid inside, into an empty hallway with nothing but a broken door swinging numbly along the movements of the air currents.

"Brother… Did this guy really seem so dangerous that it required an entire troop of armed soldiers to search for him?" Al questioned silently.

"Or to be able to escape those escorts…" Ed continued, slowly shaking his head, "He was a moron. I couldn't imagine him being capable of running along the pavement without tripping, let alone murder four people."

Al pressed his lips together, forming a line on his face.

Ed frowned, "Where the heck did we end up in?"

Al skewed his head and approached a billboard. "Apparently we are in the Mail Services section…"

"Mail Services?" Ed lifted a brow and shrugged, rotating his head, "It looks like someone's delivered a blow to the door, huh?" He walked towards the room the broken door barely hung on to, but was startled by an alarmed voice which started echoing in the whole building.

'Attention! Retreat your troops! I repeat, retreat your troops! Please, retreat, stand by and await the arrival of the Defense Department! The building will be shut down until further notice! Do not stay inside, we have been informed that the suspect is armed and has allies!'

Ed took a rushed step forward. "Say what?"

Al twitched, "Brother, we'll be locked in!"

The two turned around on their toes, but it was too late. As alarms started ringing, shaking the walls, they helplessly watched as the window they'd just come through was being sealed, with a strong creaking noise. The same noise, together will the sound of iron slamming against concrete, was through the whole building. When everything went silent, everything went dark as well.

A/N: Now is your turn. Do you share my opinion? Did I improve something this chapter? I'd really like to know, so I can focus contently on the plot. Leave a review and Ed with shirtless hug you!

Ed: Oh, man! *facepalm*