Wow. Can't even remember how long it's been since I updated. Too long, anyway. I've been working on this chapter for bloody ages, and I'm actually finishing it right now watching (listening, really) to episode seven (season one) of Supernatural. I've actually watched all eleven seasons already but seeing as that I now have to wait until October for the confirmed twelfth season, I decided I might as well re-watch the whole thing, mostly just to re-live the early stuff.

Oh. That's not really relevant. Sorry.

In any case, for those of you on Wattpad, what do you think of the picture I attached? I drew it myself. I've been working a lot on my digital art skills and I'm quite happy with how it came out. Ignore the background. I suck at those.

For my FFN friends the picture should be up soon on my DeviantArt, my username is exactly the same as the one here. Feel free to check it out. ;)

Enjoy the chapter.

Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down
Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down
To break me down
To break me down

Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down

~Far From Home (Five Finger Death Punch)

"So, now that you've managed to re-capture him, what do you plant to do, Envy?" A woman's voice said over the pounding in Edward's skull.

"That's a good question." Another voice responded. Envy. Ed tried to open his eyes, but found that when he did, he still could see nothing. He became aware of a strip of fabric over his eyes. As his senses returned, he also realised that both of his arms were shackled together above his head. He pulled down slightly, and heard a chain clink. The voices stopped conversing.

"Looks like he's waking up." The woman said.

"Looks like it." Envy said. Footsteps, slapping on hard concrete. Edward stiffened. "Hey, pipsqueak! You awake?" Ed said nothing.

"Poor Envy." The woman laughed. "He's ignoring you."

"Shut up, hag." Envy snapped. "Come on, pipsqueak, don't be like that." Ed flinched as he felt cold fingers grab a hold of his chin, tilting it upwards. He tried to rip away, but the grip tightened to the point of bruising. "Don't ignore me, little one." He said, his voice soft but his tone cold. Edward shifted, and became aware that his legs weren't bound. He was standing, half suspended in the air by whatever was holding up his arms. He tensed his abdomen suddenly, throwing up his legs and his bare feet made contact with a startled Envy's stomach, and the homunculus - Ed still could hardly believe that it was true - was thrown back, and Ed heard his land on his ass. He had to hold back from grinning.

"You little runt!" Envy snarled, and he stood up and backhanded Ed across the face. Ed's head snapped to the side, and his right cheek burned from the impact. "How dare you! You think you're smart, don't you, you little bastard!" Envy punched Ed in the gut, and Ed gasped as the breath flew from him, the sheer force of the blow winding him. "But you are, aren't you? A bastard. You're father never married your mother before he fucked her, did he? He fucked her and then you were born. I'll bet he never wanted you from the start, did he pipsqueak? Why else would he have left you all-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BASTARD!" Edward screamed, tears threatening to leak from beneath the blindfold. "You don't know anything!"

Envy just laughed. "Aw, did I strike a nerve, Fullmetal Pipsqueak. Hey, Lust! Look at that! He's crying!" Edward shouted and kicked out, his foot slamming into Envy's shin. The homunculus swore, and then his fist connected with the side of Ed's head, twice, three times. Pain exploded in his skull and he sagged, gasping, the metal shackles biting harshly into his skin at the weight of his limp body.

"G-go to Hell." He grunted.

Envy laughed before wrapping a hand around Ed's neck and squeezing tightly. "Oh, don't worry, pipsqueak. I've already got a ticket. Maybe I'll lend it to you."

"Don't need one." Ed coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. "I've already got a free pass. Had it for years."

"I'd be careful there, little one-"

"-DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!"

"-You almost got you're little friend in the pink dress killed before, you know? You know how easy it would have been? To rip her tiny little head from her tiny little body." Envy taunted. Edward screamed.

"Don't you ever touch her again!"

"Or...what, exactly? You gonna love tap me again, like before?"

"I'd like to see that." The woman, Lust, piped up.

"Because you can't hurt me." Envy continued. "So, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take of that pesky blindfold you've got there, and we're gonna have some fun, okay?"

Ed wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what Envy constituted as 'fun'.

He felt Envy's hands reach behind his head and begin to untie the knot of the blindfold, and when the Homunculi's hand brushed his face he barely managed to suppress a snarl. He didn't want that...thing...touching him, much less his face. Besides, just the touch of his cold hand reminded Ed of...that place.

He blinked as light flooded into his eyes as Envy took away the dark fabric, and he quickly took in his surroundings. Not that there was much to see. It was a bare, claystone room, and based on the Transmutation marks, it had been hollowed out by alchemy.

Oh, God...

Suddenly, Ed was filled with memories of the day he had escaped the underground laboratory, the first time he had ever been able to actually see his cell, and it had looked almost identical to this. No, I can't be back there! He thought desperately. I just can't!

Envy's laughter snapped him out of his moment of panic, and he looked at the Homunculus, who was doubled over, shoulders shaking, attempting to breathe. "Oh man! Look at his face!" He gasped. "Think he recognises the place?" Ed clenched his trembling fists.

"It's possible." The woman said, and only now could Ed get a look at her and realise how...much of her there was. She wasn't overweight, not even close, but, Jesus! Her cleavage was...just...enormous, and Ed seriously hoped he didn't start blushing at the fact that her boobs were practically falling out of her tight black dress that flowed to her ankles. She wore high heeled boots that clacked on the floor every time she moved, and long black hair the bunched up and curled at the ends.

Her eyes were exactly the same as Envy's.

She also bore a tattoo right above her enormous -there really was no other word- cleavage, a snake -or was that a dragon?- eating it's own tail, its spikes jutting to the side. There were two overlapping triangles, a six pointed star, inside the dragon.

"After all, he probably got a good look of the place when he escaped, damn brat." Her voice was husky, alluring, flirtatious, and Ed decided her name was probably accurate. Lust. One of the seven deadly sins. Envy, another.

"Where am I?" He said, trying to make his voice as threatening as possible, trying to erase the ever increasing fear that coiled tighter and tighter in his gut.

"This may look the same, but it's not where you were a year ago, unfortunately. When you're military friends found you we had to scrap the entire operation, at least for the time being. It was very annoying to say the least." Lust answered, frowning at him.

"What do you know about all that?" He demanded.

"Aw, that wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun if we just told you, pipsqueak." Envy answered, grinning. "It'd be so much more fun to just let you stew here for a few months trying to figure it out!"

"Sorry, but I ain't staying here that long." Edward said, not sure if he believed himself. The fact that these, inhuman things, seemed to know about where he'd been held last year disturbed him, terrified him even.

"Aw. And here I thought you'd be my play mate." Envy pouted.

"'Fraid that doesn't sound too great, so I'll just pass."

Envy smirked at him. "You make it sound as though you've got a choice." The Homunculus leaned in close, until his lips were almost touching Ed's left ear. Ed stiffened, the proximity sending jolts of fear through him. "Well guess what, pipsqueak? You don't. You're gonna stay here for as long as I want you to. So, pipsqueak, what should we-"

Envy was cut off when Edward twisted his neck around and slammed his forehead into Envy's temple, and Envy shouted, pulling away from Ed and holding his head. The Homunculi's eyes flashed and his expression went dark, and for a few moments his entire body started to crackle, and Ed could have sworn his skin took on a green tinge, before the woman Homunculus said "Envy", in a warning tone, and Envy's body stopped crackling.

His expression, however, only got worse.

He stalked forward and punched Ed in the face with the force of twenty men, and his head snapped to the side, pain roaring in his cheek. He gasped, but Envy wasn't done. His leg snaked up and made contact with Ed's side, just below the ribs, and then without a moment's pause the Homunculi's knee slammed into Ed's stomach and his vision clouded as the breath rushed out of him, leaving him winded and gasping.

"Envy, that's enough." Ed barely heard Lust say, and Envy grumbled in response. "We don't want him in too bad a condition when Father comes to meet him later on. Let's go, before you kill him."

"Oh, alright." Envy whined. "Just a sec."

Ed's vision cleared just enough for him to see Envy's right arm crackle with red lightning, watched as his arm morphed into a blade with the resemblance of a scythe before out of nowhere, agony exploded in his lower half, and Ed barely registered the fact that Envy had sliced him, from the right side of his abdomen and halfway across his stomach, and he shouted in pain as the unexpected action left him no time to prepare. He took in shallow breaths as blood began to trickle from the wound, and over the roaring in his ears he heard Envy and Lust arguing, unable to make out what they were saying.

He was barely conscious of them leaving the room, slamming the iron door behind them.

Time trickled by agonisingly slowly as Ed steadily managed to regain awareness through the searing pain in his side. Eventually he realised that the wound wasn't really very deep; it wasn't bleeding as much as he would have expected. That was good.

At some point, he managed to reclaim a steady flow of breath. Closing his eyes, he slumped under the shackles, hanging from his wrists, trying to take some weight off of his feet, and, more importantly, his side. Every now and then, a nerve or two would shoot off a random spark of pain, catching him by surprise and forcing him to suck in huge lungfuls of air that pained him even more. Moving so much as an inch hurt, and it didn't leave much room for thinking.

So he hung there, waiting for this 'Father' person to stop by for a visit.

He frowned, doing his best to scrape together a train of thought. Father? These creatures had a father? It took far longer than it should have for his mind to realise they most likely meant the alchemist that had created them. But that was Human Transmutation. Any alchemist skilled enough to do something like that he should already know about. He tried to scrape together a list of powerful alchemists that he knew of, but only a few people came to mind, the first one being his Teacher. A pang of guilt struck him at the thought, for two reasons. Izumi Curtis would never do something so...wrong. Had she not spent years trying to drill into his head that Human Transmutation was a boundary that no alchemist should ever overstep? No, it couldn't have been her.

He remembered that he hadn't seen his teacher in years, and made a mental note to go visit her the next time he got the chance.

If he got the chance. He had to get out of this first.

He did his best to summon as much of his energy as he could. He had to get out of here. He didn't know who the alchemist that the Homunculi called 'Father' was, but he had the feeling he didn't want to wait around and find out. That it wouldn't end well for him if he did.

But he could think of nothing, and he clenched his fists in anger. His knuckles brushed.

And then it occurred to him.

Oh, those Homunculi were clever, alright, but not clever enough. Not clever enough to keep his hands separated to prevent him from using his alchemy.

He clapped his hands quietly, and felt the familiar surge of power circle through him, and he could practically feel it crackling it his fingertips, ready and waiting at his disposal. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his hands around the chains that held his arms up and they crumbled away to nothing. His arms fell down in exhaustion and pain shredded through his side at the movement. He gasped and fell to his knees, his wrists still shackled together. He pressed his palms together again and curled his fingertips around, trying to reach the metal. After a moment, he felt his skin touch the cold steel and the shackled broke from his wrists and fell to the ground, blue lightning crackling as they reformed into a small butter knife, the handle intricately designed with two demonic horses rearing at each other.

He may be in pain, but that couldn't quell his sense of style.

Gently, he picked up the knife and stuck the handle in his mouth, grunting as he slowly stood up. Pain flared and he growled, biting down hard on the knife handle. He pushed through the pain and managed to stand up, and, slowly, so, so slowly, he shuffled to the door. Each step he took sent another jolt of pain through him, and he could still feel blood trailing it's way down his exposed skin. Eventually, he made it to the door, and, after a moment's hesitation, clapped his hands and pressed them to the iron surface.

Alchemy crackled as the iron began to melt down and reform, until he held in his hand a spear with a wicked double-edged blade, another demonic horse screaming at him from the centre. Knowing that the Homunculi had to have heard such a large Transmutation, he took a tentative step forward, decided, screw it, and started running.

Agony screamed through him but he pushed it aside, focusing on where he was going. He had absolutely no idea where he was or where he was going or how to get out, but he knew that if he just kept pressing forward he would find and exit somewhere.

He turned countless corners, but didn't come across anyone at all, and, finally, he slowed to a walk. His bare feet were bleeding and his skin was cold despite. His chest was heaving and his head was pounding, but he couldn't stop. He had to press forward. Had to keep moving.

Eventually he came across some sort of river, and he realised it was sewerage. He stopped for a moment to listen, and he heard the steady stream of filth off to his left crash against itself, and he knew he had to go right. If he could just follow the stream of disgusting-ness to where it came from, he could find a way out.

The river wound and twisted and he hoped he didn't have to remember any directions, because he knew there was just no chance of it.

He made too many turns to count, and his side throbbed like a bitch, but he did his best to ignore it and press forward, as quietly as he could on his bare, burning feet. A cool breeze brushed by him and he shivered, hugged himself. Then he paused. Breeze?

Excitement filled him and he started to move a little bit faster. If there was a breeze then that meant he was reaching the end of this endless maze of sewers, and, finally, he would be free. His excitement was quickly dashed.

"Oh, Edward!" A faint voice called from behind him. Envy. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" He wasn't close, he had to be at least five or six corners behind him, and there were lots of possible tunnels he could have taken, but Envy wasn't stupid, unfortunately. It wouldn't take him long to figure out that Ed was following the sewerage stream, and once he did...well, Ed could only hope that wouldn't happen.

He picked up his pace, straining to see where he was going; it wasn't exactly bright down here, and he didn't dare make a torch.

He turned three more corners, and the breeze picked up slightly, and he could see light coming from around the next bend. He picked up his pace even more.

His mistake.

He tripped on something on the ground, a bone, and it clattered across the ground, coming to rest a few seconds later. He didn't move a muscle. A few seconds later, he heard Envy laugh, and he bolted. He didn't bother looking where he was going anymore; Envy already knew where he was.

He sprinted for his life around the next corner and could have cried when he saw the iron ladder running up the wall to a drainage lid, and he didn't take the time to acknowledge that he was definitely underneath a road, most likely near the center of Central City, because Envy burst into the room and without thinking, he spun around and threw his spear, not bothering to wait and see if he hit his mark. He must have, because a moment later Envy roared as the spear pissed his flesh, and he leaped for the ladder and started to climb, reaching the top quickly despite the pain and throwing open the lid.

Light flooded in and he went to jump out, but then he felt a hand grab his foot, and he twisted around as Envy began to pull him down the ladder. In the space of two seconds, Ed grabbed the knife hilt from his mouth, and stabbed the blade right through the Homunculi's eye.

Envy screamed and let go, falling to the ground with a harsh thump, and Ed didn't bother grabbing the knife back. He scrambled up the small hole, grasping for the lid. He could hear people around him, gasping and likely pointing, but he ignored them. Envy was getting up, his eye already healing, and he was looking at Edward with a glare that could have killed him. Hastily, he grabbed the lid and slammed it back where it belonged, slapping his hands together and permanently sealing the grated lid back into the ground for good.

He could hear Envy shouting in rage below him, and he allowed himself a moment of rest. If his theory was correct, which he hoped it was, then Envy hopefully wouldn't attack him in public. He took in a deep breath and winced. Now that his adrenaline was starting to fade, he could feel his wound even more than he could before. It was a sharp, constant pain that jabbed into his side like a sword. He made a noise in his throat halfway between a gasp and a grunt as he tried to stand. He swayed on his feet and his head spun, but he took one step forward, and then another, and his legs collapsed from underneath him. He fell to his knees and bit his lip so hard to avoid crying out that he split it. Blood dribbled slowly down his chin and he wiped it away.

"Damn it." He muttered. He could feel people's eyes on him, the Fullmetal Alchemist, practically naked in the streets of Central with a bleeding wound in his side, too weak to even stand. "Damn it!" He forced himself to his feet, swaying again, but this time he didn't fall. He slowly made his way to the phone booth at the end of the street, noticing the street sign as he passed it. Half dead on his feet, he slid into the phone booth and dialed a number. It only rang twice before Gracia's cheerful voice answered, but something was off.

"Hughes residence." She said, and Ed could hear the strain in her voice.

"Gracia." He managed, and he heard her gasp on the other end of the line.

"Ed! Where are you? Are you okay?!" He heard voices in the background and figured it was probably Al and Elicia. Ed gave her the name of the street he was in, and asked her to send Hughes.

"Oh, and...can you please ask him to bring me some clothes?" He added, embarrassed.

"Of course." She said sceptically.

"I'm still in my underwear." He clarified. He heard her giggle slightly over the phone.

"Sure dear. I'll let Al know where you are."

"No!" Ed said a little too quickly. Gracia paused. "I...just tell Hughes to get down here with some clothes, please?" She hesitated.

"Sure, Ed." She said at last. "Ed, just tell me, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Alright Edward."

"Thanks, Gracia." He breathed, and hung up. Exhausted, he leaned against the glass wall of the phone booth, and slid down. His eyelids drooped and he pulled in a deep breath through his lips. He could hear people around him, talking about him. probably laughing at him. But he didn't care. He was too tired to care. He pressed his hand to his injured side and felt warm, sticky blood cake his already caked hand. He exhaled, and his eyes closed and everything went black.

"-dward! Edward!" The voice cut through the hazy fog, and Ed slowly pulled his head back into reality. A blaring noise pierced his ears and he couldn't make out what it was. He sucked in a deep breath and blinked his eyes open, and he heard Hughes breath in relief.

"Thank God, Ed! I thought you weren't going to wake up!" He saw Hughes face practically phasing through his, and he saw the worry in those mossy green eyes.

"Hey, Maes." He croaked. His eyes flickered around and he saw that he was still in the phone booth, and his wound was seeping blood onto the floor. "Dammit." He groaned.

"Jesus, Ed! What happened to you?" Maes fretted, his eyes frantic.

"Long story." Ed croaked. "Don't s'pose you feel like...getting me outta here?"

"Shit! Sorry Ed, c'mon, let's go." He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Ed's shoulders, and Ed hissed when the fabric brushed his wound. "Sorry." Hughes muttered. Ed grumbled in response. Grunting, Ed began to stand. "Woah, hey! Whaddya think you're doing?"

"Getting off my ass." Ed said.

"Language." Maes scolded, but it was only half hearted. "Come on, if you have to get up, at least let me help you." Edward was about to snap - I don't need help! - but then he remembered who he was talking to. Maes Hughes, the one person in the entire world who understood him, really understood him, more than his own brother did even, and the one person who seemed to be able to make Ed see reason when normally he wouldn't. He took a moment to breathe, and nodded. He grabbed Maes' now outstretched hand and let himself be pulled to his feet, ignoring the sharp sting in his side. His vision went fuzzy for a few moments and he paused until it cleared. He stepped out of the booth behind Maes and realised what the blaring noise was that had been annoying him. A siren.

An ambulance siren.

"No." He said.

"No...?"

"I'm not going in an ambulance." Ed said. "It's not happening."

"Edward Elric." Maes said sternly, and his tone made Ed look up to his face. His fingers curled. He couldn't remember a time where Maes had spoken to him like that before, and that blossomed a strange feeling in his chest that he couldn't identify. "You are injured. I don't care what you say, you will be getting in the ambulance and you will be going to the hospital. Do you understand?"

Edward gulped. "Y-yeah."