A/N: I'm BACK! And better than ever too. Be proud of me. This chappie is ALL mine, without Nao Roberts, or GoatMuffin (although I do thank Nao for letting me continually borrow Naomi.) Remember, reviewers are worshipped!

Disclaimer: Does Envy turn into a likeness of the Colonel, purely for the entertainment of the now cough gay cough Eddy Elric? I think not. I still don't own them. (Rei and Kai mine, bitch. Naomi Nao Roberts')

'Rei, she's gone!' The hysteria and anger in Russell's voice shook the hallway dangerously. His face, flushed red, fixed all assembled with an accusatory glance. 'We've been here for hours ... how could you not have noticed?' He rounded on Kai. 'Your own sister?' He shot the group a look of deep disgust. Kai's face reflected something like mingled shock, and resentment at being yelled at for something like this. Naomi looked drained, scared and hurt, her gaze reproachful. Fletcher had never seen Russell so enraged, and so looked up at his metal doppleganger, who displayed no emotion. Russ sensed that he was getting nowhere, and retired to one of the unmarked rooms -- one place where the fighting had not ensued.

Kai stayed by Naomi. She was still bleary-eyed, too tired to do anything. They all were. They needed to rest, and yet the pressing issue of Ed's abandonment and Rei's disappearance loomed over the group like the blade of a guillotine, poised to fall. Fletcher got up weakly and went to Alphonse, trying to alchemically bandage the extensive damage done to the armour. At least the blood seal had not been scratched in the pandemonium. Naomi lay there for what felt like days, regaining her strength.

Eventually, Naomi rose to her feet. Russell still hadn't returned since his outburst. Kai tried to call her back, but she was able to shake him off in the tense silence that had claimed the manor. She climbed up the stairs and entered once again into the blood spattered room. The flecks on the wall had dried a deep crimson, playing a twisted pattern on the plain wallpaper. It could have been decorative, if it wasn't so cruelly administered. She could see, on the carpet, a noticeable blank spot -- a spot where the blood had not tainted the finishings. This must have been where Rei had lain, lifeless, at the mercy of the Homunculus Lust. She stepped into the room, engulfed in the negative energies pulsing from floor to ceiling. There was a draft from the hole in the roof -- night had fallen, bring the crisp autumn night air into the house. At least it isn't raining.

Naomi looked around the room once again. There was a small bottle on the floor, with a trace of pinkish liquid inside. She sniffed the top of the bottle -- it was not poison. Curious, that it should be here. She needed to know what it was. It didn't look particularly dangerous. In her weakened state, her mind could not function properly, and she tipped the bottle into her mouth, letting the minute amount drop onto her tongue. The spot where the liquid had made contact with the skin burned like a thousand suns. The cool, fiery liquid burned as it ran into her throat. It wasn't necessarily painful -- not at first. The Red Water began to coarse through her system. Then came the pain. The blinding, white-hot pain that made her knees buckle. She bit back tears, trying to fight off the pain that she knew would overtake her. From across the hall, all that could be heard was the faint tinkle of breaking glass, and the distant thud of Naomi as she crashed to the floor. From below, the sounds were stifled, not heard at all.

Russ looked up at the sound of breaking glass. He didn't think much of it until he heard the dull thud of a human body hitting the floor. In a flash, he was darting towards the room.

He stopped dead in the doorway. The walls of the room were spattered with dried, crimson blood. Lying in the center of the room was the shaking figure of Naomi, a broken glass bottle lying next to her. He knelt down beside her. She hadn't passed out, but the pain was enough to subdue her, restricting her movement. He picked up the remains of the bottle, eyeing the last trace of the substance within before crushing the remains of the bottle in a tight fist. 'Red Water...' Naomi had stopped struggling, already the pain was subsiding. She heard these two words as she stopped wriggling and looked up at Russ' guarded silver-blue eyes quizically. He noticed her expression. 'Red Water. Unclean water that taints the body and poisons the mind. In large doses, it's toxic. Even just breathing it in.' He looked around the room, and Naomi was able to prop herself up on her left elbow.

'The bottle was empty, and this is where they had Rei.' His eyes snapped to her at this point. 'They must have made her drink it. All of it.' Russell looked more worried than Naomi felt. He stood up unexpectedly, his hand raining crimson droplets of blood onto the carpet. 'Russ!' Naomi cried out when she saw the tide of red. 'You're bleeding.' He looked down at his hand. He hadn't noticed. The pain paled in comparison to the discovery before them. He opened his hand, carefully removing every shard of glass and wrapping it roughly with a bandage from the corner of the room. A bandage from the kit Ed had used to help Rei.

Russ and Naomi came down the stairs to join the other three teens. They both sat on the steps, facing their companions. Russ spoke first. 'We have to go. As soon as we possibly can.'

'Do we even know where they are?' Kai looked skeptical. He was never one to hope, and the immediate loss of his step-sister had done nothing to change that. He remained as pessimistic and impassive as ever. 'What's the point in going on a wild goose chase?'

Naomi and Russ exchanged glances. Ultimately, it was Naomi who answered. 'The point? The point is to save your sister, or have you forgotten about her?' Her voice was filled with contempt. She had only known Rei a short while, but a short while was enough. 'Not only that, but we have to save Ed.' Kai was about to protest, to reiterate the point that it was Ed who had betrayed them, not the other way around. It seemed as if Naomi had read his mind, however, for she quickly interrupted. 'We have to save Ed from himself.' She looked around at the four boys, expecting one of them to challenge her, but none did. 'Next problem. We're all weak and tired. If we go now, it's suicide.' The boys nodded their heads in agreement. She held up her right arm. 'And I'm no use to you with broken automail. I have no control over it.' The arm waved limply, swinging at the dodgy elbow.

Fletcher and Alphonse remained pensive on the floor. They would agree with whatever Russell decided. Kai remained speechless on the floor. He was too tired to be irritable. Russ broke the silence after carefully scrutinizing the automail. 'I think I can help you. It would be a quick fix, nothing permanent... but it might be enough.'

'And as for where to find them?' Kai spoke.

Russ stared off into space again. 'Red Water ...' Fletcher looked up quickly. 'We'll just go where there's Red Water.'