Guns went off endlessly, each one claiming a new victim. Many sounds resonated in his mind: the screams of innocent families being torn apart, terrified children crying out for their parents, lifeless bodies hitting the ground one after another. The sharp scent of gunpowder and ashes was in the air. Brilliant flames surrounded him as the sky slowly darkened into a sickening shade of red. The terrified faces of each and every one of his victims would be etched into his mind forever, always reminding him of all the horrible things he had been forced to do by order of the state. Oh yes, Roy remembered the war well.
"Sir!" Roy heard Riza say his name firmly but gently as she shook him out of the flash back.
"S-sorry," He stuttered, "I haven't seen a corpse that grotesque in a while. I guess it just brought back memories of the war in Ishval."
"That's quite alright," Grant assured him. The doctor knew next to nothing about the war from a soldier's point of view, but he was sure it must have been traumatic, even for a man as strong as the Colonel.
Mustang stepped forward to take a closer look at the body now that he was once again calm and collected. It was so disfigured, you wouldn't be able to tell who it was even if you knew the person well. There was dried blood trailing from the nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. Or at least, what seemed to be those parts of the face. The head was such a mess that it was hard to tell, and the rest of the body didn't look any better. Most of the cloths were surprisingly still intact, though soaked with blood and with one noticeable tear. There was a large hole in the middle of the chest that went all the way through the body. Bigger in the front and smaller in the back with large chunks of flesh and organs missing on the inside, as if a large pointed object had been forced through the victim's torso.
Grant waited a moment for the Colonel to finish his examination before speaking. "From the name tag we have identified the victim as one one of my interns, Jason Harris," the doctor said solemnly. "He's worked under me for many years, and I can think of no reason why someone would want to kill him. I've even looked through his files and done a bit of investigating, but I couldn't find anything to suggest he had enemies. Because of this, I've concluded that whoever killed him most likely didn't have a specific person in mind to kill. Jason must have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time." The doctor paused for a moment and Mustang stiffened as he reached the same conclusion. The doctor then continued, "Whoever did this was most likely after the Fullmetal Alchemist, and we can determine from Mr. Elric's recent disappearance that they got what they were after."
"But what purpose would killing a single intern serve? Wouldn't the rest of the hospital staff notice if some strange person came and took one of the patients?" Roy asked, his expression doubtful.
"You have a point," Grant admitted. "I don't know why or how they pulled it off, but right now, all I know is that Edward Elric may be in grave danger."
XxXxXxXxX
Envy smirked as he watched his prey squirm uncomfortably under his gaze. The boy was completely helpless, and Envy was enjoying the sight immensely. "So pipsqueak, how 'bout we get started?" Ed sat himself upright and glared back at his captor defiantly. The fire in the boy's eyes was still evident. Regardless of his predicament, he still had his fighting spirit. "Still got a lot of fight in you, don't ya? Well," Envy laughed, "that'll just make breaking you all the more fun!"
"There's no way you're going to break me, bastard!" Ed shouted back at his captor. "And even if you could, I'm sure Mustang and everyone else have noticed I'm gone by now! They'll come for me soon enough!"
"Well, well, you're quite optimistic, aren't you?" And you're a lot more coherent than you were when you first woke up, the homunculus mused. It'll be much more entertaining for the runt to be completely aware for this.
With his excitement rising, Envy turned around and headed back out the way he had come. "Don't miss me too much, shrimp. I'll be right back."
XxXxXxXxX
Tears streamed down Al's face as Mustang finished telling him his brother had gone missing. He was overwhelmed with worry and could only think of the worst possible outcomes. A million questions raced through his head: Who had taken his brother? What did they want with him? Would the Colonel be able to find him in time? Would Ed be okay?
Mustang pushed aside his usual professional way of talking to Al in order to deliver the news. Instead of treating him as his subordinate, he decided to treat him as a child. After all, the boy was only 14. Mustang might not be the best father figure, but he did his best to help the boy calm down. He had been dreading this moment since he realized that he would have to inform Al, but it had already been a few days since Ed's disappearance and Mustang couldn't keep him in the dark forever.
The tears slowly began to stop, and Al sniffed a couple of times, his eyes grave. There was years of experience far beyond his age in those hazel eyes, and it broke Roy's heart. This boy, both of the Elric Brothers in fact, did not deserve to go through this on top of everything else they had been through. They'd been thrown into adulthood far to early.
Roy placed a hand on Al's shoulder in a comforting gesture. The boy looked up at him and seemed to understand, returning it with a grateful smile. Lifting his arm to wipe away the remainder of his tears with his sleeve, Al's eyes hardened. "I believe in brother. I know he won't be beaten, even by this. He'll be okay, I just know it." The boy seemed confident but there was a bit of hesitance in his voice. He was finding it hard to make himself believe his own words.
Mustang gave him an assured nod; however, he had his own doubts as well. Nonetheless, he remained hopeful. At a time like this, that was really all he could do.
The somber and delicate atmosphere of the room was broken as one of the nurses walked in. "My apologies, am I interrupting something?" She asked.
"No, no, that's alright," Mustang replied, his professional demeanor returning. "What is it?"
"A phone call for Mr. Alphonse Elric."
Al's brow rose in confusion. "Who is it?"
"A girl who claims she knows you," the nurse replied. "She said her name is Winry Rockbell."
Al's heart sank.
XxXxXxXxX
After hours of long testing and research, Grant had finally figured out what poison was used on Edward. This was no time to celebrate however, the doctor's findings only made the situation reveal itself to be even more grave. The boy's condition was more critical than he thought.
"Red water… that's what was used on him," the doctor repeated to himself, his teeth clenched with worry. "Dammit!" He yelled, something very uncharacteristic of him to do. And he swore, also an unusual happening. He was usually a very professional and reserved man, even when not at work.
One of his interns poked his head into his office upon hearing his outburst. "Sir? Is everything alright?"
Grant turned to address the young man, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "Everything is fine, thank you."
The intern seemed doubtful, but decided to take the doctor's word for it. He was a man by the name of Thomas Marshall. He had worked under Dr. Grant for many years, even longer then Jason Harris, who was pronounced dead just yesterday. He'd gotten to know the doctor pretty well over the years and he could tell when something was amiss. However, if the doctor denied anything was wrong, Thomas usually just let it go, confident that whatever the crisis was, Grant would take care of it.
Thomas left without another word, leaving Grant to his thoughts.
Grant had plenty of first hand knowledge about red water. Before he moved to Central, he worked at a hospital in Xenotime. It was during the epidemic of child deaths and fatal illnesses in young children, later discovered to have been caused by red water. Grant had heard stories from many of how the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother discovered what was going on and saved the town, though he didn't witness it himself.
He lost countless lives during that epidemic. He couldn't save a single soul, however hard he tried. For many years he'd been so ashamed of himself, blaming himself for all the people who had died at his hands.
When he first heard about what the famed Fullmetal Alchemist had done, he was so grateful. That boy had really saved the town and it's people. If it weren't for him, countless more lives would have been lost. It was because of this that the doctor was outraged and pained to learn that red water was used to poison the boy. It seemed too ironic, too cruelly ironic.
The doctor squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "This world is far too bitter sweet for my liking."
XxXxXxXxX
The nurse waited patiently for Al to say something but he just stared blankly at her for a while. After a long period of silence, Al spoke. "O-okay… I'll take the call." The nurse nodded and handed him the phone. Turning, she left the room with haste, assuring the two that once Al was finished with it she would be back to take the phone after she'd tended to some of her other patients.
Al took a nervous breath before lifting the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Al! There you are!" Winry replied, sounding relieved but a bit miffed at the same time. "Where's Ed? I was planning to schedule an appointment for some maintenance on his automail seeing as though he always seems to break it only days after I fix it for him!" She definitely sounded angry now. In a way though, it calmed Al a bit. This was just like it had always been. His brother would always break his automail and Winry would always get upset at him for it. Al had to remind himself that a lot had happened since the last time he'd seen Winry, and now he might have no choice but to break the news to her if she insisted upon knowing Ed's whereabouts. "I wasn't sure how exactly to get in touch with you so I called the military several times but no one would tell me anything! They just kept giving me cryptic answers that weren't helpful at all!"
"L-listen, Winry," Al began, "there's something I need to tell you-"
"Then when I didn't have a clue where either of you were, I started to get really worried!"
"Winry, please listen-"
"So finally I decided to try calling the hospital since that idiot's always getting himself hurt and-"
"Winry!" Al finally yelled. The person on the other line fell silent. Winry knew Al well enough to know that if he ever raised his voice to her like that, something was seriously wrong.
"…Al?" she said after a moment. "Is everything alright?" Her voice, significantly quieter than before, was laced with worry. After another short pause, she repeated her earlier question with hesitation. "Al… where's Ed?"
"He's… brother is… missing." Al explained everything to Winry and she listened quietly, not saying a word until he was finished. After waiting for a while in silence for her reaction, Al wondered if maybe she had hung up already. "Winry? You still there?" he asked gently.
"Yes… I'm here. It's just… a lot to take in…" she replied in a soft voice.
"I understand," Al told her. "It was hard for me too when they told me brother had gone missing. I only just found out myself."
"Really?" Winry asked. "I'm so sorry Al… I… I hope Ed's okay…" Al heard a few sniffs on the other end and assumed that Winry was crying. He'd expected that though. After her sniffing slowing turned into quiet sobbing, Al decided it was time to end the phone call.
"Hey… Winry? I'm going to hang up now, okay? I'll call you if anything turns up."
"Okay… bye, Al." He hung up.
Al slouched and relaxed his arms, the phone resting in his lap above the covers. The child seemed weary and stressed, which wasn't surprising for someone in his position, but surprising for Al. He was normally so sweet and cheerful, at least that's how he normally seemed to others. Now though, his body, now once again made of flesh and bone, could no longer contain his sadness and worry.
Al and the Colonel looked up as they noticed Dr. Grant standing in the doorway. Al briefly wondered how long he had been standing there as Mustang motioned for him to come in.
"Sorry about that, Doctor. I hope you weren't waiting long," Mustang apologized.
"Not at all, no need to apologize," the doctor replied. "I came to tell you that I've finally discovered what kind of poison was used on Edward," he continued, lowering his voice to make sure only Al and the Colonel could hear him.
Al gasped. "You did?! What was it? Is brother going to be alright?"
"It was… red water. I'm sure the two of you are familiar enough with the substance to need no explanation."
Al paled at the news. "Red water… no way…"
Mustang felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face as the full impact of this new information hit him. "Red water?! That stuff is toxic! Prolonged exposure can result in serious physical damage and even death! Isn't that right?"
"You are correct," Grant confirmed gravely. "You realize what this means, I presume?"
"Unfortunately, I think I do," Mustang replied, his tone becoming dark.
Grant nodded but decided to elaborate anyway for Al's sake. "If we don't find Edward soon, he may never fully recover from this. Or, the worst case scenario, he may not live through it at all. And considering we have reason to believe he's been kidnaped by hostile enemies of the military, the latter seems most likely."
XxXxXxXxX
Ed waited apprehensively in the dark room for Envy's return. He didn't know what the homunculus had in store for him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Much to his dismay, it wasn't long until Ed heard the sound of approaching footsteps out in the hall. Envy soon came into view once again, now carrying something in his hand.
It was a whip.
It had a stiff handle with a long thong made out of tightly woven leather coiled up in Envy's grasp. Starting at the handle it looked thick and heavy, but it gradually got smaller along its length, giving it a deadly thin tip.
Ed's heartbeat quickened as Envy took a few steps closer. He kept getting closer until he was standing right in front of the blonde and Ed glared at him in response.
"Still being defiant, eh?" Envy observed.
Ed didn't say a word, he just continued to glare daggers at his captor.
"Well, it doesn't matter much, there's nothing you can do to protect yourself. No matter how strong you think you are, runt, it's not going to last."
Envy smiled sadistically as he uncoiled the whip. Taking a step back, he raised his arm and thrust it back, bringing it down on Ed's defenseless body with crushing strength. Ed let out a startled scream, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as Envy whipped him again and again. The pressure was extreme and the pain was unbearable. Ed gritted his teeth and tried as hard as he could to be strong, but it was proving much too difficult in his condition. He was short two limbs, still covered in injuries from before, and dreadfully sick. The toxic red water in his system robbed him of almost all strength and lowered his pain tolerance considerably. It was amazing he could still think coherently, let alone survive this type of torture.
The wiping went on for hours. Maybe even days, or possibly only minutes, Ed couldn't tell the damn difference. Envy seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, laughing at the poor boy's pain as he beat him down again and again.
"Be careful, Envy," said a voice that seemed to come out of no where.
Envy looked up at the sound and stopped for a moment to address their sudden visitor. Ed was now lying in a heap on the ground, but gave his best attempt at adjusting the position of his head so he could see who had just appeared in the doorway.
It was Lust and Gluttony.
Lust was leaning against the wall with her arms folded under her oversized cleavage. Her midnight black hair fell in perfect waves around her face and shoulders. Her red lips were pursed in annoyance yet her demonic eyes showed slight amusement.
"What do you want, hag?" Envy asked, clearly upset at her interrupting his fun.
"I just thought you could use a friendly reminder not to be too rough on the kid," she replied, brushing off the insult as if she was talking to an immature child. "If you damage him beyond repair, I'm sure you won't like the consequences."
"Who's gonna stop me? You?" Envy retorted.
"He's one of our valuable sacrifices, you know that. He needs to be able to use alchemy when the promised day arrives. If he's too physically or emotionally damaged by then to help us, Father will be very upset."
Envy said nothing, now understanding the logic in Lust's words.
"That's true… guess I'll just have to be more careful with him from now on," The homunculus relented.
Lust gave a devilish smile. "But do make sure to have some fun with him, I'd hate to see you waste this opportunity."
Envy smirked. He needed no reminder, he fully intended to have as much fun as he could with the little brat.
"Come on, Gluttony," Lust said as she turned and headed back out into the dark hallway. In moments they were gone, leaving Envy and Ed alone once again.
"I guess that's enough fun for now," the homunculus said as he coiled up the whip.
Ed felt unbelievably relieved, even if it was only temporary. Envy would leave soon and he could be alone again. Alone meant no more pain; alone meant safe.
However, what Envy did next was not what Ed was expecting.
Envy put down the whip and approached Ed again. Crouching down, he picked up the kid's beaten up body and positioned him so he was sitting upright with Envy supporting him. Then, much to the boy's complete and utter surprise, Envy kissed him. He forced his lips against the other's with lustful intent. Ed was frozen in shock, he didn't have any idea how to react. This was not what he was expecting at all.
With Ed unable to do anything, Envy continued to kiss him, forcing his tongue into Ed's mouth and keeping him locked tight in his grasp.
Then, just as quickly as it had happened, it ended. Envy let him go and stood up, smiling down at the disoriented boy. Ed was beyond confused. He wanted to say something, object, even scream in indignation at how he was just violated, but he couldn't form words, and no sound escaped his lips.
Envy picked up the whip and started to walk away, but before leaving, he turned back toward Ed and kicked him hard in the chest.
Another thing Ed wasn't expecting.
Falling in a heap onto the floor, Ed couldn't figure out how to organize his muddled, confused thoughts into anything coherent. He was terribly beaten up and bleeding from the earlier whipping, and now there was an unbearable ache in his chest. That kick may have broken a rib or two, but Ed had a hard time measuring the seriousness of the damage in his current state.
Laughing sadistically with a devilish grin on his face, Envy turned and disappeared into the dark hallway.
