~*Edward Elric*~

I couldn't believe it. That bastard.

I clenched my teeth, nearly blinded by my hatred for that homunculi. Not only did he look like Hohenheim, which was bad enough, but now? Now this was personal. He didn't have to kill Ling. I know I'm not some sort of vigilante, but I can't just sit there while innocent people get killed. I glared up at the metal door of my cell. Roy's was next to mine; I'd seen him get dragged off into it by that curvy lady. And Al was in the one in front of me. I would've put a nice little hole in the wall so we could bust out, but for some reason my alchemy didn't work down here.

"Bastard!" That word ripped itself out of my throat, not for the first time and probably not for the last, either, echoing oddly in the corridor. "Hey! You hear me?"

"Brother-" Al began, in the kind of voice that usually means he's going to try and calm me down. He had to know that sometimes, I can't stand for that condescending tone. I was angry, dammit, and he wasn't going to quiet me anytime soon.

"Shut up, Al," I stood up and went to the door, grabbing the bars and looking out. I could see a few dismal little cells, one through which I could see the top of Alphonse's helmet. I don't know where Envy had dragged Peyton, but I guessed it was somewhere down the hall. "Goddammit, homunculus, get your ass out here so I can kick it!"

Speak of the devil and he'll appear. Because as soon as the words left my mouth, I saw Envy strolling down the hall towards me. He threw me a stupid grin that I wanted so badly to knock off his face, and leaned towards my door.

"Hey, look, it's the Fullmetal Pipsqueak," he sneered nastily. "What's going on?"

I would have answered, but was interrupted by what looked like a shoe coming out of nowhere to smack Envy on the side of the head. He barely moved at the impact, though it made a sound that was really loud in the thick silence of this place. It looked so comical, we both were completely stunned for a moment, when he turned his head to the side where it had come from, his eyes narrowed and spelling out MURDER. Who the hell?...

"Hey, look, it's the skirt-wearing, butt-munching, angsty she-homunculus!" A familiar voice called from beyond my sight.

"Peyton?! How the hell-"

Suddenly, Envy was gone. I had to crane my neck just to see him disappear around the corner. Damn, he was fast. Which meant that Peyton was screwed.

"What the hell?! Do you have a death wish or something?!" I shouted incredulously. "He'll-"

"Stop yelling."

I looked back in front of me with even more shock than when I'd seen Envy get royally owned with a tennis shoe. Ling Yao. Old squinty-eyes was just fine, picking the lock to my door. That would've been okay, if it weren't for the fact that five minutes ago he was dead.

"Ling?! What-how?!" The door flung open, and I stepped out cautiously, staring at him. There wasn't any wound where he'd been stabbed through his brain, no indication whatsoever that there had even been a moment where he wasn't completely fine.

"I don't know," he replied sharply, turning to Al's door. He'd already released Colonel Douchenozzle, who was glaring down the hall where Envy had run. "But we've got a few minutes before that homunculus comes back this way, and we need to use that time to get to the elevator out of this place."

"Wait, what?" The thought of leaving anyone behind didn't sit right. Especially not someone who not only knew the future, but had helped their prisoners escape. They wouldn't let her live; not after this. "We can't just leave Peyton down here!"

"We're not." Al's door clicked open with finality and Ling went over to the private's door, opening it in a similar manner. "She'll meet us there."

"With an angry homunculus on her tail?" I grimaced pointedly, raising an eyebrow. "When did that sound like a good idea?"

"Do you have a better one?" Ling asked low. When I couldn't reply, he simply turned on his heel and began running down the dark hallway. The private followed, but the colonel and Al hesistated alongside me.

"You can't seriously agree with this!" I looked up at them, gesturing towards the other two.

"Not really, but…" Al paused, before continuing quietly. "We can't do anything if the homunculi catch us again. I trust her, Ed."

"I want to stay as much as you do, Fullmetal," Mustang agreed. "That green-haired one told me everything." His face twisted in intense anger. "All about Hughes. That son of a bitch killed him, and honestly, I've never wanted to set something on fire as much as right now. But your brother's right. We won't do any good stuck down here."

Dammit. I hate it when they're right. I started running after Ling, cursing under my breath. You'd better get your ass up here, Peyton. I'm not being responsible for your stupid plan not working, and I'm not dealing with Al if you die for real.

A/N: The shortness! IT BUUURNNNSS!

This is just a bridge, guys. PLOT stuff is happening, and my back hurts, and I should really be working on my NaNoWriMo schtick, and I smell popcorn and I'm hungry, but I felt obliged to finally update.

I'm sorry.

School is kicking my poor little ass across the universe. So if you see a blonde chick with glasses flying across the sky, you know why I haven't updated for a while.

And…I dunno. I've always wanted to throw my shoe at Envy. I almost broke the tv when I saw Deidara die in Naruto. Especially at the hand of that whiny, emo, pms-bitch-on-wheels, pity-me shit-faced….

At the hands of Sasuke. Yes. Just at the hands of Sasuke. (I've lost half my subs right there.)

Let's JUST BE FRIENDS so you can CALL ME MAYBE on the TELEPHONE and perhaps review. (I don't even know anymore)