Ling couldn't bear to watch it anymore. Ed hadn't got out of the way and now... Now Envy was laughing as Ed fell apart. Al was shaking, Ed looked like he was crying but Ling couldn't hear anything.

Apparently, Lan Fan was feeling something similar, because a second later, a blur of silver flashed past his face, and Envy's laughter stopped.

That one moment of stunned silence was enough to jolt Ling out of his shock. He drew his sword and charged forwards, distantly aware that Lan Fan was shadowing him. He hit Envy hard and fast, while Lan Fan leapt at the blonde man. Never had he been more grateful for his bodyguard, his best friend.

Ling kept on swinging his sword, mostly aiming to keep Envy distracted, so Ed and Al could pull themselves together. As soon as Envy had recovered from the suprise of his attack, things got so much harder for Ling.

As much as he hated to admit it, Envy was good at fighting and slippery enough that Ling, who had fought off assassination attempts for nearly all his life, had trouble keeping up. Envy's fist narrowly missed his face, and his other arm flashed out and grabbed Ling's sword, and inch away from his chest.

Envy smirked as blood dripped from his hand, running along the blade and splashing to the floor. "Nice try."

Ling tried to move his sword, but Envy's grip was strong. Ling watched in horrified fascination as Envy's hand grew bigger, the flesh slowly turning green...

Ling nearly didn't jump away as the sword exploded into thousands of deadly shards of metal. Envy's horrible true form towered over him.

"What now, you're defenceless, and I could kill you at any minute." Envy snickered, sounding sickeningly smug.

"Wait, Envy. Leave him alive. I have an idea, but feel free to kill the girl. Leave her alive to watch. Gluttony, come and help." The man ordered, and Ling felt dread creep through his veins. He opened his mouth to argue, say anything, but something heavy slammed into him from behind, forcing him to the floor.

What... was that? Gluttony? How did he move so fast? Wait... Ling desperately thought back to when he had last seen the homunculus since he got out its stomach... He couldn't remember seeing him at all! Had it been lurking in the shadows all this time? Just waiting?

He heard Lan Fan cry out, and looked around wildly, trying to see her, only for his heart to finally stop when he met her eye. She was pinned down under one of Envy's massive claws. She was shaking her head, struggling with all her might, but she couldn't get free.

Ling wondered what Envy would look like without an arm.

Gluttony wouldn't budge, no matter how much Ling fought against him, he couldn't break free. All he could do was watch as the man with eyes like molten gold stepped forwad, something red in his hand.

Red. It was neither liquid nor solid. It was glowing slightly, and never before had Ling seen such a vibrant red.

Realisation hit him all of a sudden, and he struggled to breathe as he realised exactly what that was. A Philosopher's Stone.

Something that gave immortality. It was what he wanted... What he needed. It would solve everything...

But look what happened to Ed. Ed, who had everyone see him as a monster, Ed who saw himself as a monster .

He didn't want that. Lan Fan lost an eye... But he wouldn't get immortality. Not like this. There had to be another way.

But he couldn't see another way out and every step that man took made his heart beat faster. Lan Fan's eye was brimming with tears and she was screaming his name.

He was close... Too close. This was it. Ling was going to be turned into one of them. There wasn't a way out. He was going to-

A sharp, loud sound rang out. Ling recognised it as a gunshot, but for one horrible second thought he imagined it, as nobody with him had a gun.

Wait... Hawkeye had given Ed a gun, before they left to fight Gluttony, but Ed had never mentioned it, and Ling had just guessed it was lost in Gluttony's stomach. Now, he was proven wrong as Ed carefully adjusted his aim, as Ling realised that his first shot missed by miles, and through what he suspected was pure chance, managed to shoot Envy in the eye.

That breif moment of distraction was all Lan Fan needed, and she tore free of Envy's weakened grip, and was running towards him, shoving the blonde man aside. He had clearly been expecting a more violent attack, maybe something with weapons, as he stumbled slightly, and the stone slipped through his fingers and fell in front of Ling's nose.

Lan Fan threw herself at Gluttony, landing a powerful kick in the homunculus' face. His grip loosened and that was all Ling needed in order to squirm his way out. After hesitating for less than a second, he snatched up the stone, and, seeing nothing else to do with it, slipped it in his pocket.

Lan Fan was busy dealing with Gluttony, and Ed had run up to Envy, and was fighting the homunculus again, and seemed to be asking about something, and whatever it was, it was amusing the sin greatly.

Ling's concern was only growing. Ed had been broken. There was no way he could just get up from that. Something had changed. He couldn't tell what, but if he had to guess, he'd say his friend was a very, very, long way away from 'okay'.

Then, Ling noticed the two new people enter the room, and the blonde man was also looking at them, seeming more curious than annoyed that more people had found his base.

"Hah! Ishval was so much fun, best thing I've ever done. Pretending to be that soldier was one of the best things I've ever done!" Envy's laugh was so loud that it drowned out all the other noise.

"What. Did. He. Just. Say?" The man with the scar snarled, and the little girl, who looked very out of place next to him flinched from the sheer anger boiling in his tone.

"Oh shit." Envy realised what he had just said a little too late.

"I think you heard that right, didn't you, Scar?" Ed asked, and Ling's eyes narrowed at his tone. It was too cold, too harsh to be Ed. Then again, people changed all the time, and often from life changing events. Ed had probably just gone through so many of those changes that it was practically expected that he'd change. For God's sake, it was like he'd just broken.

Who was Edward Elric now?

Ling knew that he owed it to the alchemist to find out.

A throwing knife flashed by, seemingly out of nowhere, and if Ling hadn't flinched away, he would've been seriously injured. That knife... it sure as hell wasn't one of Lan Fan's, but it had definitely come from Xing.

He looked back at the girl, and he recognised her, suddenly, as one of his rivals. The princess of the Chang clan. Did she know that she was already losing, that the key to immortality, however sinister, was sitting in his pocket?

Then, Gluttony seemed to perk up, yelling something about her being tasty and ran towards the girl, who barely had time to jump out the way, she was so suprised. Ling shuddered as her small form was flung away from Gluttony's clumsy attempt to grab her.

She hit one of the metal pipes with a horrible smacking noise and Ling felt sick as she slid to the ground. Rival or not, she was still a little girl, and she shouldn't have to go through that.

Gluttony had earnt himself a knife to the face for that one, as a furious Lan Fan charged towards him. Ling was about to run over to May, but Alphonse beat him to it, and checked her forehead before slipping the girl into his armour. Good, at least she'd be safe.

"My Lord, we need to get out of here soon!" Lan Fan called out anxiously.

"Yeah, but how?" He wondered.

Ed, having broken away from the fight with Envy, leaving Scar to it, and gone to fight the blonde man he seemed to recognise, turned away, and called, with a grin that would make anyone sane run for cover, said;

"I have a plan to get us out of here!"