Chapter Title: Choices
Pairings: None! I can't write romance for the life of me!
Spoilers: For the 5th Lab (obviously…), and Greed's chimeras
Warnings: Cursing, Tucker (What? He ought to have a warning…)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, but I don't. Darnit.
A/N: Wow…it's been a while. I sincerely apologize for the insanely late update, especially since I had that cliffhanger at the end of the last one. I honestly didn't mean for it to take this long; it just didn't want to be written. But, finally, here it is. The next chapter of Brothers. Hooray! Also: for some reason the divider thingies wouldn't work, so I'm going to write Break out where there is one. I will fix this later.

Break

As Barry's explosion rocked the building, deep in the bowels of the lab two things awoke. One, the one we shall focus on, slowly opened his crimson eyes to a small expanse of concrete floor, at the end of which was a wall of thick iron bars. For a moment he tensed, stomach clenching in fear; had it all been a dream? Being back with the Elrics…had it never really happened at all, and he was still locked in prison? But after a few seconds, he realized that this was not his cell, that his hands were not bound as they would have been were he still in that prison, and he was thinking far to clearly to have the drug in him. His relief was short-lived, however, as although he wasn't back in jail, he was still locked up in an unknown location. And not only that, but every inch of him ached and burned with pain. Scar had not gone down easily, and had put up quite the fight against his inhuman attackers. But even he had his limits, and the amount of punishment he'd received, coupled with the fact that his opponents had been seemingly invincible, had quickly become too much for him to stand up against. The last thing he remembered before he'd finally succumbed to unconsciousness was being smashed through a stone wall by the fat creature. The Ishbalan pushed himself up to a sitting position, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to clear it; he had to get out of this cell…no, he realized, it more of a cage than a cell. But that small detail didn't matter right now. Those things were going to try to either trick or force Edward into creating the Philosopher's Stone, and he had to stop them.

"So, you're awake," a female voice spoke from the shadows outside the cage, startling him. Was there a guard?

"Who's there?" he demanded, scowling and peering into the darkness in an attempt to see this unknown person.

"Calm down. There's no need to worry about us; we couldn't hurt you even if we wanted to."

Us? There were more than one of them? Scar squinted, trying to see; as his eyes grew more used to the darkness, he realized something about these people, "You are imprisoned in this place as well," he stated in a neutral voice. He could make out at least five of them, all behind yet another set of iron bars.

"Yeah," the shortest of the figures shrugged; Scar assumed that this was the woman who was talking, "We've been trapped down here for years."

Scar was about to ask why, but then remembered that he had to get out of here as quickly as he could; there was no time to stick around and chat with these other prisoners, "Where is this place?" he said, reaching a glowing right arm towards the bars.

"No don't touch the-!" one of them exclaimed, holding a hand up as though to stop him, but by that time it was too late.

No sooner had the tips of Scar's fingers brushed against the metal than an electric shock surged through him, and he jerked his hand back so violently that he nearly stumbled; even that instant of contact had been painful, blurring his vision and leaving an acrid tang in his mouth. He wouldn't be able to keep his hand on the bars long enough to destroy them, and even if he could have withstood the pain, the shock would reach his mind in less than instant and break his concentration. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his vision, he spoke, his speech slurred and stumbling, "Wha…wha' wass'at…?"

"I tried to tell you," one of the unknown figures spoke, shrugging, "The bars are made of a metal that conducts electricity. I don't know exactly what device they use, but it's the only reason we're still here. We can't touch the bars, and the walls are solid stone, too thick to break through without causing this entire room to collapse on us."

Scar narrowed his eyes in frustration at the bars. There had to be a way out of here…there had to be. Ishbala knew what was going on with the Elrics, and he had to get out of here and help them. He wasn't sure what he would be able to do against the creatures, seeing as how they'd already defeated him once, but he had to at least try. He addressed the other prisoners once more, "How long was I unconscious? Do you know anything about why I am being held here?"

"You've been out for about an hour," the female prisoner answered, "As for why you're here…a woman and a fat man brought you. I heard them say something about you being their 'backup plan', but I don't know what that means. They might just be keeping you here and out of the way temporarily, or you could be meant to be a…permanent resident."

Something about the way she said 'permanent resident' sent chills down Scar's spine, "What do you mean?"

The tallest figure rumbled, "She means that you would be a test subject."

Another continued, "Maybe you'd wind up like the guards, with your soul ripped out and attached to a suit of armor…maybe they'd turn you into a chimera like us…who knows?"

Scar's blood ran cold at these words, and he could have sworn that his heart skipped a beat. Icy tendrils of fear and dread began creeping into his mind, and for nearly a minute he found himself unable to move or even speak, so consumed was he by the horror these thoughts instilled. For that to happen…it would be a fate worse than death.

"Loa! Dorochette!" the woman's voice scolded loudly, "Now look what you've done, you idiots! That's probably not going to happen to him; they were talking like he was important, and they put him in a separate cage," she turned to Scar, "Calm down, don't listen to them…"

Slowly, Scar forced himself to calm down; he needed his wits about him if he was going to get out of here. It was then that what one of them had said actually sunk in, "You are…chimeras?"

"Yeah," one of the ones who had spoken before replied, his voice bitter, "We were betrayed by the damned military. All we did was follow their orders, and then they locked us down here and used us as test subjects to cover up what they'd done."

Scar was about to ask them what exactly their orders had been, but before he could even voice the first word one of the far walls of the room burst open, sending chunks of cement flying everywhere. One of the chunks smashed against the lock of Scar's cage, and the small red light on it went out; barely believing his luck, the Ishbalan hesitantly reached a hand forward to lightly brush against the bars, finding that they were no longer electrified. But before he could destroy them, a voice called into the room from the new hole in the wall.

"This is where they keep the animals for experimentation, huh?" as the smoke cleared, Scar could make out the form of a spiky-haired man, "You can all stay in here and be lab rats, or you can come out and play in hell with me," he looked around the room expectantly before shouting, "Choose!"

The response from the chimeras across from Scar were almost immediate, the woman speaking amongst murmurs of assent, "If you can get us out of here, we'll gladly follow you anywhere."

The man grinned, seemingly satisfied, "Great, then that works just fine. You can call me Greed," he walked over and swung the door to the chimeras' cell open.

They filed out quickly, and under the dim overhead lights Scar was able to see them clearly for the first time. There were quite a few of them, and if they hadn't already told him what they were, he wouldn't have guessed most of them to be anything other than human. 'Greed' nodded to them and walked out of Scar's range of vision, the creaking and squealing of long unused hinges telling him that more cages were being opened. But the crowd that left these and joined the rest was anything but human; over a dozen dangerous-looking animal chimeras now paced in the narrow strip of space between the two walls of cages. A doglike reptile sniffed in his direction and growled, baring a mouthful of dagger-like teeth; Scar's right hand twitched instinctively, but other than that he showed none of the unease he felt at the present situation.

"And what about you?" Greed stopped in front of the Ishbalan's cage, looking at him curiously.

"He isn't one of us," the woman from before answered for him, which was fortunate since Scar hadn't been entirely sure how to reply.

"Oh?" Greed looked back over at her, "Then what's he doing here?"

"I was being held captive here by two creatures. I do not know why they were holding me here, but I must go; I believe my companions to be in danger," Scar answered, growing more impatient with each passing moment. Without waiting for a reply from Greed, he demolished the bars of his cage in a flash of crimson light, startling the room's other occupants.

"That's some arm you've got there, huh?" before Scar could walk another step, Greed had stepped over in front of him, his grin revealing unnaturally pointed teeth, "Now, what were you saying about creatures?"

Not only were his teeth sharpened into fangs, but Scar saw that Greed's eyes were violet with the slit pupils of a cat; he recognized them to be the same as that woman's had been. He stated tonelessly, frown deepening with realization, "You are one of them."

Greed shrugged, grin widening, "Sharp, aren't you? Yeah, I'm a homunculus like them, but don't even think about lumping us together. I split off from the rest of them quite some time ago."

"Homunculus?" Scar repeated the strange word, knowing he'd heard it somewhere before. Then he remembered its meaning, and scowled in disgust, "A created human…an abomination."

"Well, you know your stuff, I'll give you that," Greed held up his left hand, upon which was a blood-red tattoo of a winged serpent eating its own tail, "See this? It's our mark. You see someone with this on their body, and you'll know exactly what they are."

"Why are you telling me this?" Scar was wary now, not trusting the homunculus at all.

Greed just shrugged, "If you're important enough for them to actually imprison you instead of killing you outright, then you could use some information. Besides, the more you know the better you'll be able to fight back, and messing up their plans will give me a good laugh."

Scar was quickly growing impatient again, and frustrated with himself for wasting time asking questions when he should be trying to find the Elrics, "I do not have time for this; I must find my companions as quickly as possible," he stepped past Greed towards the door, then realized that he had a small problem. He had no idea where in the lab he was, and from what he'd seen the place was a maze. Alphonse should still be outside, but Edward could be anywhere. By the time Scar found either of them, it could be too late. He needed a guide, someone who might know where Edward could be if he were with the other homunculi…and there was only one choice. Gritting his teeth, he looked back at Greed, "You found us here, do you know your way around?"

"Somewhat. Why?" Greed smirked, "Need a guide? I don't give favors for free, you know…you'll owe me."

Scar glared, becoming more and more frustrated with the homunculus, "I don't care if I owe you. Can you lead me to my companion? The homunculi wish to use him to create the Philosopher's Stone here…do you know where he would be?"

"Yeah, I know where he is. But I'll only take you halfway; I'm not getting any closer to the others than that, not when I'm outnumbered."

Scar nodded solemnly; he could tell from Greed's tone that he was lucky to even be led that far, "Very well."

Greed gave another toothy grin, gesturing to both Scar and the group of chimeras whom had been listening silently, "Well then, let's get moving."

Break

Envy had easily stepped to the side of Ed's haphazard attack, swinging a foot around to kick the alchemist in the ribs and followed up with several more harsh blows that sent Ed sprawling to the ground. He smirked, "Don't you have ears, pipsqueak? We already told you that we took care of him."

"I don't…believe you…" Ed gasped out as he tried to push himself back up, "You can't have…"

"Oh, we can have, pipsqueak. He wasn't any kind of match," Envy shrugged and kicked Ed several feet across the floor, "Now, are you gonna finish what you started or what?"

Ed glared defiantly, "Why…should I?"

The still-nameless woman sighed, "So difficult," she turned and called out, "Gluttony."

Ed followed her gaze, eyes widening when yet another person, this one a monstrously fat man who seemed to be dragging something along the ground behind him, walked through the steel doors. Then he realized just what was being dragged, eyes narrowing in worry and anger, "Al!"

"Niisan…" the battered form of Alphonse, his arms and legs gone as though they'd been melted away, was tossed a short distance to rest in front of the woman, "Niisan, these people…they're not human…"

"What…?" Ed's eyes got even bigger, and he slowly pushed himself back to his feet, his facial expression making him looking less like himself and more like Scar at the Ishbalan's most furious, "What are you? What are you going to do with Al?"

"So many questions from someone in your position, pipsqueak," Envy grinned, shrugging. Then he was right in front of Ed, holding him in the air by the front of his shirt; it had been so fast that the startled alchemist had barely seen him move, "I suppose we could tell you, but I doubt you'd believe us," smirking cruelly, he prepared to deal another harsh blow, but was stopped by the woman's voice.

"Now, Envy, we can't have him so injured that he won't be able to create the Stone for us."

"Tch, fine," Envy dropped the alchemist to the floor, "But once it's done, I want him. The son of that bastard…" his eyes narrowed dangerously, "I want to see him suffer."

"Very well, but be patient a while longer. Boy, you will continue. It is not a request," she leaned over and picked up Slicer's helmet from the floor, shaking it so that the blood seal was exposed, "You know what happens when one of these is destroyed, correct?" to Ed's shock, one of her fingernails extended into a deadly sharp claw, which she moved to scrape lightly against the seal.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ed shouted from the floor, unable to get up and stop what was happening right in front of his eyes.

"Ed…ward…Elric…I…" Slicer's last words were abruptly cut off when the woman's claws sliced the helmet into pieces.

It had barely sunk in what had just happened when Al's helmet had clattered to the floor, and the woman's claws were brushing up against the his now exposed blood seal, "It would be easy to do the same to him."

"No!" Ed shouted desperately, "You can't…"

"Oh, we can," Envy smirked, "And then his death would be on your hands, just like the scarred man's already is."

"What…?" Al's voice shook with fear and disbelief, "What do you mean…?"

"He wouldn't cooperate with us, and since we had no further use for him…" Envy trailed off, grinning and swiftly running a finger across his throat.

"No…no, you can't have…" if he'd been capable of it, Al would have been crying.

"Get over it kid," Envy flipped his hand nonchalantly, "He was just a serial killer that you got assigned to drag around with you," his eyes glinted, "Oh, don't tell me…don't tell me you two actually got attached to him? Did you think he was your friend?"

"We didn't think," Ed's eyes were narrowed dangerously, "He was our friend. He is our friend."

"Oh really?" Envy raised an eyebrow, "Then if you're such great pals, surely you know what his real name is?" after a few moments of hearing nothing but stunned silence from the Elrics, he laughed, "You never even thought to ask, did you? I'll bet that you barely know anything about him. Am I right, Fullmetal pipsqueak? You didn't trust his judgment when he warned you about this place. You kept using alchemy around him, even after what happened to him on the train to East City."

Ed was shaking by then with rage towards Envy, guilt because he knew that the accusations were true, and a heavy grief that was slowly overwhelming him. When the train was mentioned, confusion was added to the mix, "What are you talking about? What happened to him?"

Envy's smirk widened, "You mean you don't know? I suppose I should tell you, then, since it's not like you'll be able to ask him anymore," Envy knelt down in front of Ed, still grinning, "The guards tortured him. Drew an array on his face and transmuted a stone on it, over and over. It went on for hours before anyone found out and stopped it…"

At this statement, Ed's eyes grew wide and he murmured numbly, "Why…why didn't he tell us…?" he trailed off, feeling sick at even the thought of what had happened. If he'd been told this any other time, he'd have probably exploded and run off to find the people behind it so that he could beat the shit out of them, but at the moment he was still rather overwhelmed at everything that was happening.

"Isn't it obvious, pipsqueak?" in a flash of white light, Envy transformed into Scar, eliciting a startled gasp from Al, "He doesn't really trust either of you."

The wide smirk and the cruel glint in the red eyes looked so out of place on the Ishbalan's face that Ed did a surprised double-take before narrowing his eyes even further and growling out, "Get out of that form, you bastard."

Envy ignored him, "And why would he? A State Alchemist and his younger brother whose very existence goes against everything he believes…why would he trust you, after barely even a week?"

Ed didn't have an answer for that right away; even though he knew otherwise, he wasn't about to go revealing that they'd known each other before, especially not to Envy. After a few seconds he muttered through clenched teeth, "He did trust us…he said he trusted us…" Ed's voice was certain. Hadn't he? Surely at some point he'd told them…but even if he hadn't put it into words, there was no doubt of it.

"Oh really?" Envy's voice was mocking, "And how much of that declaration was simple desperation for some kind of ally from a man trapped in the midst of his enemies? Or was it when he was drugged out of his senses? Really, don't kid yourself."

Before Ed could come up with a retort, the woman interrupted, sounding faintly annoyed, "Really, Envy, you're wasting time. Stop playing with him and let him finish what he started," she turned back to Ed, "Go on, boy," she allowed the tips of her claws to just barely brush against Al's bloodseal, "Will you lose him as well, just because you were a little squeamish?"

Ed's eyes widened, "No! Don't…" he swallowed grimly. If Scar was dead…it was his fault. He hadn't listened to the Ishbalan's warnings, and now Scar had been the one to pay for his bad temper. He wouldn't be responsible for Al's death as well…and if he created the Stone, they could finally reach their goal…not saying a word, staring at the floor so he wouldn't see the faces of the prisoners, he stood and walked over to the tanks of red liquid, beginning to arrange them around the circle.

Break

A/N: Oh the dramatic irony, it burns, it burns. Not really. Dramatic irony is the win. Y'know, this chapter was going to keep going, but by the time I got both parts to a reasonable stopping point, I was just like "Screw it, I'm updating." Yay Greed. Greed is fun, especially when interacting with Scar. That's right, Ed, you'd better feel guilty for being a jerk! Speaking of which, did I get too off course with that bit? I might rewrite it later, because I think I could do a lot better with it. At any rate, thanks to all of you reviewers, because without you guys I might not have finished this chapter at all.

PS: I am in college now, and since it just started and I'm not really sure how much of a workload I'm going to be dealing with, I don't know when the next chapter will be. I'm praying it won't take half as long as this one did.