Estrange-

Bursting through the front door wildly, allowing it to slam back on his painted wall, Roy entered into his house. He glanced quickly to a carpet decorating the entrance. The familiar heavy boots weren't there. Neither was the jacket that he had graciously lent to the blonde as his was left forgotten in a police station.

Not a good sign…

Roy came to his kitchen, appearing normal. Though the body lying completely quiet on his darkly tiled floor spoke otherwise.

"Alphonse!" He knelt down by the 'body' he discovered and checked for a pulse.

Had the bastards come already? Did they knock out Al and take Ed away with them? Or were they both dead?

A moan emitted from the seemingly dead boy, a weak pulse following beneath Roy's fingertips. He sighed in relief when Al sat up.

Blinking awkwardly Alphonse scrubbed at his sleep-logged eyes, slightly annoyed at being woken up from his eventual peaceful sleep.

"Al, where is your brother?" Mustang's worried face came to view.

Al paused and looked down to where faint water marks were on the floor. His brother had left, that much he was sure. Then he had broken down on crying for so long… He glanced outside, and with the darkening sky, assumed that he must have fallen asleep for a while.

Then, why wasn't Ed back?

"Where is Edward?"

"I don't know."

Edward was led down a series of confusing tunnels and pathways, each turn managing to make him more confused than the last.

Where had he been before? He… He fought with Al, right? Then left to cool off and let his younger brother digest all that was said, entirely intending to return. But, he had not expected a slender hand to crack the back of his neck when he wandered into a deserted alleyway.

His head was pounding furiously, a dull throbbing pulsing on one side, which he was sure would turn into a migraine with enough provocation.

It was dark enough in… wherever he was, that he could have sworn he were blindfolded and being led to some desolate location.

But then a dark figure coming out from behind him to open a door with a keypad told him otherwise.

"Hey, where the hell are we?"

The person ignored him, grabbed his wrist and pulled Ed through the threshold.

Edward struggled at the hold. "Bastard! Let go of me!" His nails bit at the other's bare wrist, hard enough to draw some blood.

"Chibi, I'd stop this pointlessness if I were you. Just because you are special, doesn't mean you're not expendable."

That voice…

Ed paused, completely halting in his dragging steps, much to the dismay and annoyance of his leader. His eyes were wide with a sign akin to horror.

That was his voice.

The voice he was forced to hear every time he was talked into taking someone else's life. A sultry tone laced through with deceit and sadism. God, how he hated that voice.

"Pride?" Edward questioned quietly, awake of how insane he must sound. He hoped to heaven that what he thought was not true. It was bad enough to have the dark voice in his head. But for that voice to actually be a real person would be pure hell.

He wouldn't be able to stand it.

Turning back around to look at his face, the other laughed. "So that idiot wasn't lying. It really did work. Well, you've got us mixed up Edo. I am Envy."

Violet flares positively glowed at the confusion on Ed's face at the declaration. "It seems you don't remember me," He commented idly. "Maybe that's for the better."

Edward grumbled at being thrown in a grungy cell like some rag doll. For someone who seemed to be necessary to these sadistic people, they sure weren't treating him too well. What was he: an animal? A pungent stink met his nostrils, burning his throat down to the delicate lung tissue. And when had someone last cleaned in here? He'd be lucky if he weren't diseased by the end of it.

That is, if he was alive in the end.

He sat down leaning against the wall; at first thinking he was alone until he heard a low groan. Granted, it had startled him initially as he could not see who the voice had originated from.

Being a young man that was cursed to hear Pride's voice in his head, he dreaded the thought of another entity appearing in his mind.

"Who's there?" The owner tiredly asked, shifting a bit in the darkness, moonlight being the only source of light in the secluded cell. The pale blue shimmer reflected off of bleak eyes.

Apparently they were sitting on opposite sides of the wall, and judging by the grunts coming from his companion; Ed guessed that he was trying to sit up.

The blonde crawled on his hands and knees over to his cellmate.

He froze.

"Hughes?"

The dark head raised in disbelief.

"… Edward?"

At the confirmation of a recognized voice, Ed braced his hands on the larger man's shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position, careful of the awkward angle his arm lay at.

Maes shook his groggy head, willing his light-headedness to subside. He stared at the youngling before him who held an eager look in his eye. And truthfully, he really couldn't blame the kid. When they had first brought him here, alone, with a severe concussion, he had been a little more than worried. But now with another head here, it might be easier to think of how to get out.

"Hughes, why are you here? Did some bastard kidnap you too?"

"Not really. I was tranquilized and brought here a while ago." He chose to keep quiet about why he was attacked. That picture of an infant Elric haunted his thoughts as the same vision sat down on his haunches in front of him.

What he had read in that file: it had to be some sick joke. This all just had to be.

Though before anymore could be said, the door creaked loudly on its hinges, and Envy entered.

"Come on Chibi," he grunted while pulling Edward along, "We're ready for you now."

Hughes watched as the boy was taken away and wondered why they were both being kept alive. The blonde was obviously essential to the plans these sick people held. But, Maes could have been killed at point blank range back at the office.

And he was hesitant to think why he had not been.

Not that he was complaining about being alive.

He had a family to get back to after all. He'd be damned if these bastards could keep him from that.

'You are no one.'

I am someone. I'm me.

'You are only whom I say you are.'

You liar! Why should I listen to you?

'You are blank; your mind knows nothing of memories or of your past.'

Memories?

'You do as I tell you.'

Fuck you, bastard. Bastard? Isn't that supposed to mean something? I thought it was someone important, someone I cared about… But I don't care about you. So it can't be.

'Your name is not Edward Elric. It is Pride, and you are one of us.'

Pride? That sounds familiar… But I like Edward better. I wish I could be him instead.

'You obey our Master just like you do me.'

I have another Master? I thought people each were their own Master. But I have another one?

'I am Envy and you are my servant. You do not question what I say.'

But I don't understand. You seem- like I should know you.

'You are a killer; you feel nothing from doing it.'

A killer! You've got to be joking!

'You are an empty shell. You have no soul.'

Don't humans have souls? Am I not human?

'You remember none of your friends, family or lovers.'

That makes me alone, though. And I don't want to be alone.

'You are a slave of this man. Do you understand?'

Yes, I understand. I still don't like you.

The blonde head inclined slightly before returning to normal.

'Good.'

'He has the same authority over you that I do. Whatever he does, you allow.'

I hate him. Why?

'He is your everything and you must not allow any harm to come to him. You are his protector. You will not hesitate to kill those who would try to hurt him. You fell no sorrow, regret nor pain. You are invincible. No one can touch you. You will be obsolete if he says so. He is your Master.'

Protector. How can a protector be a killer too? Doesn't a hero do that? I have no emotions…. Maybe that's why I don't hate you so much now.

'Do you understand, Pride?'

I want to be free.

Golden eyes, overtaken entirely by the dull color, refused to blink or move.

"Yes," He whispered.

Roy sighed and cradled his head in his hands.

"So he told you about his… profession?"

Alphonse nodded lightly, tears notably present in his eyes. If Mustang knew what Ed had already told him, then he must have been admitting the truth. But, his brother couldn't really kill people.

Could he?

No. Al decided determinedly. Edward wouldn't do things like that.

His brother was the one who had begged their father to let them keep a stray cat because it would have died if left alone.

"That stupid brat," Roy murmured tiredly. "I should have known he would be so stupid as to run away afterwards. Who knows where he could have gone…"

"Sir, you don't actually believe that Brother would do that, do you?"

Mustang nodded lightly. He recalled having a gun pressed onto him twice from that same blonde. He knew that at the time, no remorse for his actions had even crossed the boy's mind. It was as if he were trained to kill. Like a soldier.

But that was ridiculous.

"Yes, I do. I've seen his anguish when he talks about it, and that convinces me enough." Roy stood up. "That's why I've got to find him before someone else does." Someone like whoever got Hughes.

"Then… I'll come too! It's my fault that he ran away in the first place." Al followed the older man's actions and was prepared to help, for Ed's sake. Considering all that his big brother sacrificed for him, surely he could put a halt on his feelings on the subject and console his brother. They could sort it out later.

"No. I need you to stay here. There's a gun upstairs in my room, keep all of the doors locked and use the weapon if need be. That last thing we need is for you to be kidnapped." Roy negotiated quietly, and the youth had no time to protest further, as the door closed heavily.

"… and the last thing I would need is for your protective sibling to dismantle me if you did." He mumbled.

Mustang quickly rounded the corner to a place he knew from long ago. Had he not travelled this same road many times before? When he was still a Sergeant in training, seeking advice from the popular bachelor Captain Haruko. That was before he had surpassed in ranks and came to be level with the man. And, the man had begun to grow hostile towards him. Whether from jealousy or envy, Roy caught him staring when he and Ed would walk past hand in hand, his glare all the more menacing.

It was as if he wanted what Mustang now had.

Roy snorted at the thought. It was absurd, really.

He had questions for Haruko, and they came before finding Ed. Because he had a feeling that the man had a large part to do with their arising troubles lately.

The large mansion came into his view. He quickly dove into a decorative bush and spied at the front door, waiting for the moment to spring up and demand the bastard for answers.

The door opened, and Haruko stepped out. But so did someone else.

Roy gasped sharply, hardly able to believe what his eyes were trying to tell him. Blinking sharply, he hoped to remove the delusion and continue to elude himself. But the two people remained.

Edward, his Ed, was walking down the front stairs calmly with Haruko, following obediently like a puppy.

He slammed back against the wall, breathing heavily, and emotions nearly taking over him. Betrayal was what he first felt. A raw pain emanated from just below his breastbone. How could Edward do this to him? Simply walk the streets of the city with Mustang's long time rival, without any care on his feelings.

Desperately searching for an outlet to exert his anguish upon, Roy peeked around the leaves again.

It appeared Haruko ('and his new pet' Roy added snidely) were leisurely entering a car. He waited holding the door open and pushed the traitor inside, hand lingering meaningfully on the blonde's ass before climbing in himself.

Suddenly, the world seemed to be crashing in around him.

It was bad enough when Ed had left him for his own safety. But to lose him to an old fart like Haruko, as if their time together had meant nothing…

It wasn't just a blow to his pride.

It was a blow to his heart.

AN: Not much to say. Other than this chapter was a bugger to write. I know it was pretty choppy, short and likely made little sense to you readers. -.-

Blegh. I hope it was alright though and would love more happy reviews! Also, before I forget: as Roy said, Haruko is not married, nor does he have children. Just thought I'd point that out so no issues on adultery arise. That would just be wrong.