As an interesting note, I'd like to say that this chapter is allowed to get drunk.

-----------------

Once at the hospital, Ed was given some painkillers and a very nice private room. He spent the evening staring out the window at the darkening sky. He realized he had a lot to do still, but it felt nice to relax for once, even if it wasn't much of a break. He was very tired, and he didn't even hear the door open, much less the footsteps that stopped at the side of his bed.

After a moment, Ed looked over and saw Selim standing next to him. Ed started a little, but he managed to give a wan smile. "Hey."

Selim sat down on a chair, not looking very happy. "You got to see my father before he died."

Ed's face became serious. "I did."

"What exactly happened to him?"

Ed shook his head. "I don't know. I wasn't there when it happened." After another look at Selim, Ed added, "I'm sorry."

"But… he couldn't have died. Father was so strong…"

Ed wished he could tell Selim the truth, but something stopped him. "He was. I still don't understand how it happened either. But you know…"

Selim looked up. "What?"

"Sometimes there's no good reason for things like this." He didn't have to be such a bad person, Ed thought. "Sometimes the people you love are just taken away for no good reason, and all you're left with is loneliness."

Ed saw a familiar flash of emotion in Selim's eyes, and then the young boy was crying. "But… I don't want him to be gone. I miss him."

"I know how you feel, Selim. Al and I felt the same way when we lost our mother. But you know what?"

"What?"

"You still have your mother, and I know for a fact that she loves you very much. She's probably just as sad as you are. You should do whatever you can to help her, because it's much easier to go through these times when you aren't alone."

Selim looked up at Ed with tears still in his eyes. "You had your brother, right? What about your father?"

Ed smiled sadly. "No, he left and didn't come back for around ten years."

"I wish you could come back and live with us again. I miss having you around."

"I know, but a lot has happened, so I don't know if…"

"I know. Just… come visit sometime, okay?"

Ed smiled. "Sure thing."

"So… how did you get burned so badly?"

Ed hesitated. "Ah… just an accident. Colonel Mustang had mistaken me for someone else, and… Well, you know…"

"Who did he mistake you for?"

Ed hesitated again. "Someone he didn't like very much. I don't really know the specifics."

Selim looked down. "He must not have been very happy with that person, huh?"

"No. He wasn't. So what brings you here?" Ed asked as gently as he could.

"I wanted to see you, because you got to see my father before…"

"Ah. How is your mother doing?"

"She's sad too, but she's okay. Lots of people are being really nice to her."

Ed smiled. "That's good. She's a very nice woman."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Selim's mother came in. She smiled at Ed and gestured to Selim. "Come on, Edward needs to rest."

"Okay, mother." Selim got up. "I'll see you later, Edward."

"Yeah, see you," Ed replied as the two left the room. Then he lay down and closed his eyes. Soon he was fast asleep, unaware of the shadows that soon wrapped around his feet.

---------------

The next morning, Ed got a surprise visitor. The fact that he was visiting wasn't too surprising, but the fact that he came through the window was rather shocking, especially considering who it was.

Havoc ignored the look of shock on Ed's face and sat down on the floor next to the bed. "I'd sit in a chair, but it's easier to stay hidden when I'm down here. How are you doing?"

"I guess I'm fine…" Ed replied. "But you're-"

"Yeah, Al got that little Xingese girl to heal my spine."

"That's great! So, where is Al?"

Havoc paused. "Um, well…"

Ed frowned. "Did something happen to him?"

"We… don't really know where he is, actually. I think he was arrested just before Scar went to attack the higher-ups…"

Ed's frown became more pronounced. "Then that probably means he's back under Father's control. That isn't good."

There was a knock on the door, and Havoc ducked under the bed as Olivier came into the room. Ed groaned inwardly, not quite knowing what he was in for. She sat down in a chair next to Ed's bed and scrutinized him carefully. After a moment, she decided to tell Ed why she was there.

"General Hakuro is still alive, and he is recovering in a room just down the hall from here. He wants to see you right away."

Ed frowned. "Why?"

"How should I know? I just came to get you. And to talk to Havoc, who really needs to work on being invisible."

Havoc sheepishly got out of his hiding place and sat in a chair on the other side of Ed's bed. "Whoops."

"Get going, Fullmetal. You wouldn't want to keep the General waiting."

Ed got up and slowly made his way out of the room. Once in the hallway, someone politely led him down the hall to Hakuro's room, ushered him in and closed the door behind him. Ed stood quietly by the door for a minute before the General noticed him.

"Come here."

Ed quietly walked forward and stopped three feet away from Hakuro's bed.

"Sit in that chair."

Ed slowly sat down, trying not to cause the burn wounds to send pain coursing through his body. He sat and waited for Hakuro to speak again. The older man had his arms crossed on his chest, and his eyes were shut.

"That was unexpected, sending Scar to attack us. I have to admit, I'm impressed."

Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

"Of course you wouldn't know what happened. You were under Envy's control at the time, correct?"

Ed shook his head, partially because he refused to believe that Envy had had any control over him, and partially because he didn't want to think about what all had happened in the north.

"You're being officially forgiven by the state. You know why?"

Ed shook his head again. He honestly didn't know.

"Because it would be a shame to hold such an impressive creation of Father's in a prison cell. Besides, it wouldn't look good in the eyes of the public."

Ed was quiet. He could feel the general's eyes on him, and he felt a strong sense of unease. What is this? he thought as he waited for Hakuro to speak again.

"You will have someone watching you from now on. Do not attempt to go against us again, or else we will be forced to act. We are holding Mustang responsible for the death of Envy, and Mustang is also the one who attacked the Fuhrer, is he not?"

"I don't know."

Hakuro scoffed at this statement. "You were there, weren't you?"

"Not for when the Fuhrer was attacked."

"Well, it seems I have no choice but to ask him myself." Hakuro looked Ed over once again before saying, "You're dismissed."

Ed stood and made a half-hearted salute before turning to walk to the door. He paused as he was about to open it and turned around. "Where's my brother?"

"He is with Father. Now leave."

Ed left the room and practically slammed the door behind him. When he got to his room, Ed went straight to his bed and lay down. Havoc had left the room, but Olivier was still inside, standing by the window and looking at the city. She spoke to Ed after a few minutes.

"It's been a while since I've been to Central," she said, not turning away from the window. "It's definitely changed a lot."

Ed was silent. His sixth sense told him it was safe in the room, but he didn't know what to do or say. It felt like they had lost.

"What did the General want?"

"They're blaming Mustang for the Fuhrer's death. I was also given a warning," Ed replied in an almost robotic tone. "My brother is under their control as well."

"How annoying."

Ed closed his eyes and attempted once again to fold his arms. He managed it, but after a moment it became painful so he placed them at his sides again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"You're supposed to heal. The underground circle is incomplete, and the enemy has been significantly weakened. At the very least, your ridiculous stunts bought us some time, so let the adults handle it from here. You wouldn't be of any use anyway."

Ed frowned and leaned his head back against the pillow. "One of the homunculi is somewhere in this hospital," he muttered, opening his eyes again.

Olivier turned to face him. "Is that so? Where?"

Ed concentrated on the presence he felt before replying. "Speaking with General Hakuro."

"Good to know. I have work to do now. Don't try to do anything right now. There isn't anything you can do."

"I won't."

---------------

Ed was silent as the nurse changed his bandages. His sense told him that this woman was the homunculus known as Pride, but he didn't understand why Pride would be doing something as trivial as taking care of a patient. At least, not until his voice told him that Pride was, for the most part, a shadow that could take over another person's body. Once the nurse had finished, Ed closed his eyes and felt himself begin to fall asleep.

"Don't move around too much," the nurse said. "And as of now, you are forbidden to leave your bed. It's too much strain for your body."

"Whatever." Ed didn't much feel like getting up anyway.

"Tonight and tomorrow are going to be very difficult for you," the nurse concluded as she left the room. Ed didn't think too much about the comment and fell asleep within moments.

He woke up in the middle of the night as someone, or something, lifted him out of his bed. He opened his eyes and saw that his lower body had been engulfed in shadow. This was the other part of Pride's power, he supposed. He was silent as the shadow covered the rest of his body, holding onto him tightly. He looked down and saw an eye staring at his face. Ed struggled to get away, but Pride's grip was much too strong, and Ed was still not doing so well.

"I see you have awoken. You are being 'transferred' to Father's lair. The rest of the military will be told that you were transferred to a classified location due to recent events." The voice was the same as the nurse from before.

"Why?" Ed asked.

"You need to be punished. Father is very unhappy that four of his servants have been destroyed because of you and the Flame Alchemist."

"What about Mustang?"

"He is being dealt with by the military. General Hakuro is in charge of that side of things."

"…What is my punishment?"

"You shall soon find out."

Ed tried to struggle again, but Pride dumped him unceremoniously into the back seat of a waiting vehicle. The driver appeared to be asleep, but he woke up as soon as Pride's form entered his body, leaving the nurse to pass out on the street.

"We are going to take you to Father. If you struggle again…" Ed felt something cutting into his lower leg and saw a shadow covering it. The shadows were all over his body, and one was curling around his neck. Ed could feel it tightening its grip. "I will disable you. Perhaps permanently."

Ed got the point. He moved into a decently comfortable position and waited for the car ride to be over. Eventually, the car stopped, and Ed felt himself lifted into the air once again. As Pride carried him downstairs, Ed became increasingly aware of a new feeling. This one was much more intense than the unease he felt whenever a homunculus was near. He cringed and squeezed his eyes shut. This feeling was terrifying, but he didn't know why it was so different…

It's a sign that you're in a much worse position than you were in up north. Here, nobody will be able to do much for you. You're pretty much on your own, his voice told him as they came close to the underground lair. Ed squirmed in Pride's grip, not in an attempt to escape but in an attempt to ease the pain he was feeling. After a while, they came to a room and Pride dumped Ed on the ground. Ed looked up to see the shadowy homunculus standing in the doorway, still grasping Ed as Father came into the room.

Father walked up to Ed and looked him over once before using alchemy to make a very tight cage. Ed found himself being forced to curl up in a ball, and he immediately hated this new position he was in. Father leaned down so that he could easily look into Ed's eyes. "You will spend the night here. This is the beginning of your punishment. Do not attempt to use alchemy, because Pride will be watching you."

Ed watched as Father left the room, and groaned as the shadow of Pride began to curl around his ankle. The shadow went all the way up to just above his knee, where his automail had been attached.

"So, this is where your false limb used to be. It's impressive that you managed to retrieve it from the doors. Your arm as well, correct?"

Ed vaguely nodded, and Pride let go of Ed's leg before moving up to his shoulder. "And now that you've been burned, your scars will be hidden by other scars. How tragic."

Ed cringed. Pride's shadow was putting pressure on his shoulder, and it was driving him insane. He couldn't take the pain.

"This hurts, doesn't it? If only you were a true homunculus instead of some pathetic fake. Ah well, Father has another weapon now, once we rid you of those foolish feelings for your old companions." Pride's grip tightened. "We won't let you forget about your brother, though. It never hurts to have something like that to keep you under control."

Ed glared at Pride, but grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut as Pride put pressure on his entire body. He bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain, and soon it overwhelmed him, and he drifted out of consciousness.

-------------

Ed woke up and immediately wished he hadn't. His entire body was in pain, and he could barely breathe without causing even more pain. Ed looked around and saw that Pride was sitting on the top of his small little cage, his legs resting just in front of Ed's face.

"Why do you hate humans so much?" Ed asked. "It's not like you could be here without humans in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"The philosopher's stone. It's made of human souls."

"You're demanding information you don't deserve to have. Do not test me."

Ed frowned, and was about to respond when he felt something cut through the skin on his leg. He gasped at the pain, and Pride moved to his face, holding it in his hands and staring into his eyes.

"I suppose you're ready to continue for today?" Before Ed could answer, Pride allowed the shadows to cover Ed's neck and began to choke him. "Get rid of the cage." Ed did so, and soon found himself being yanked to his feet. Immediately, Ed was relieved, because his chest no longer burned the way it had when he was in the cage.

However, this relief only lasted for a moment before Pride once again covered his body in shadow. Ed let out a gasp when he was thrown against the wall. He weakly opened his right eye to see Pride inches away from his face.

"I don't see why we have to force you into this. You should have given up when Envy had his hands on you, and yet here you are." There was an eerie smile on the homunculus's face. "You should have let Envy beat you. It's nothing compared to what I'm going to do with you."

Pride let go, and Ed collapsed on the ground. He tried to pick himself up, but to no avail. Pride left him on his stomach and retrieved something from the nearby table. Ed looked up to see a bottle in the homunculus's grip. Ed groaned.

Pride pulled Ed up by his hair and forced him into a sitting position. Then Pride poured a couple of pills from the bottle and stuffed them into Ed's mouth.

"Swallow."

Ed glared at Pride and tried to spit out the drugs, but Pride covered his mouth and roughly shoved him against the wall once again.

"That wasn't a request."

Ed tried to swallow, but his throat refused to work. Pride waited for a moment before punching Ed in the stomach. Ed gasped in surprise, and gagged when he felt something enter his mouth and slide down his throat. When Ed regained his senses, he was lying on the floor, and he realized that Pride had resorted to shoving whatever it was down his throat. Ed began coughing uncontrollably, and when he felt blood dribbling down his chin, Ed wished he would die.

"I see you're already feeling the effects."

Ed was still coughing, but it soon slowed, and eventually it stopped. He took a few deep breaths and looked up. Pride was watching without emotion.

"This is only the beginning. Soon it will be much, much worse." Pride took Ed by the arm and dragged him to a corner of the room. "Lie down."

Ed did as he was told, and carefully lay on his back on the cold floor.

"On your side."

Ed glared at Pride and refused to move, until a shadow wrapped around Ed's throat and squeezed. After a moment, it was too much for Ed, and he winced as he pushed himself up in order to lie on his side.

"Now transmute a cage."

Ed brought his hands together and placed them on the ground, making a decent-sized cage for himself.

"Smaller."

Ed hesitated before doing what he was told, leaving a couple of inches of space so that he had at least a little room to move around.

"I suppose that will do."

Ed tried to shift to a more comfortable position, but he couldn't find one. He sighed and resigned himself to a miserable night. Or day. He wasn't quite sure what time of day it was.

The next time Ed awoke, it was about the same. He was trapped, he was tortured, and the effects of whatever Pride had shoved down his throat were still making him wish he could die without anyone caring.

But they would care. Everyone cared. He had to get through this and defeat the enemy, for their sakes. Ed was resolved to do so. This ridiculous fight would end. He would make sure of it.

-------------

"He's still resisting?" Father asked Pride.

"He is. I've ordered him over and over again, but he doesn't seem to care about the cost to himself."

Ed saw a foot right next to his face, and could tell it belonged to Father. "Don't stop. He will break eventually."

Ed shivered. It was unnaturally cold underground, but he couldn't curl up to keep himself warm. It was too painful. He had attempted to shift so that he was lying on his back at some point in the night, but he didn't have enough room.

Father leaned down to look Ed in the eyes, and Ed returned the look with a steady glare. "You're as stubborn as your father. Of course, it's only been a day since I had you brought down here. You'll soon see it's useless to struggle."

"I need to go to the bathroom," Ed muttered, ignoring Father's statement.

Father looked at Ed in surprise before getting rid of the cage. "Very well. Pride will take you there."

Ed sat up, and felt immense relief at not having to be stuck in such an uncomfortable position. He pushed himself to his feet and followed Pride through the immense underground lair to a small room, in which there was a small room with a toilet and a sink. He quickly relieved himself and spent as much time as he could washing his hands and face. He looked at his face in the mirror and groaned. He looked miserable and exhausted, which Ed realized was really how he felt. He took a step back and sat on the toilet seat for a moment, not wanting to go back to how he had been before.

Once he finally left the little bathroom, Ed saw that he was in another prisoner's room. Al was sleeping in a nearby bed, and Ed felt sick when he saw what had been done to him. Pride watched his reaction quietly and waited for a minute before speaking.

"He's no worse off than you are. He feels about the same amount of pain, and he will heal more quickly than you will. He has already gone through his punishment for resisting us, but yours will be worse. Much worse."

Ed stared at Al for a minute before Pride dragged him out of the room. "You've seen him. It's time to go back now."

When Ed was brought back to his room, Pride had him lie on his stomach on a bed, his arms out in front of him, before securing his hands and feet with leather straps. Ed hated the pain that came from the contact with the material, but it was better than the floor. Especially when Pride covered him with a blanket.

"You won't be released from this except for when you need to relieve yourself. For the next few days, you will be restrained, and we will do what needs to be done to break you. You will be fed once a day, and part of your meal will be milk. If you don't drink it, you won't get to eat any of your other food. You are also expected to be silent. I'm not in the mood to deal with your questions and demands. Now go to sleep."

Ed tried to ignore the pain in his chest and closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep. It was too painful. Pride seemed to realize this, but he did nothing to get Ed to sleep. He simply watched Ed's vain attempts to sleep from the other side of the room. When Ed did get to sleep, his dreams were nightmarish, and he wished he'd never left the north.

--------------

Ed's first thought when he woke up was that he really wished he could just regenerate and get rid of the burns, but he didn't want to lose the voice that had given him so much advice in the past few weeks. After a while, Ed picked up his head and looked up. Pride was sitting less than two feet away from Ed. The homunculus noticed that he was awake and wrapped a shadow around Ed's chest.

"Are you giving up yet?"

Ed glared at Pride. "No."

"Then we're going to continue your punishment." Ed cringed as the shadow began tightening around his chest. Then, all of a sudden, Pride stopped.

"Envy said he had broken several of your ribs."

"H-he did," Ed replied. He hated how unsteady his voice was.

"How did they heal so quickly?" The shadow began feeling Ed's ribs, putting pressure on Ed's chest and causing Ed to cry out in pain. After a moment, Pride stopped. "Ah, of course, you had a small part of the stone in your body. But I wonder, why are you still covered in burns?"

Ed bit his lip, not wanting to reveal anything to Pride. The homunculus studied Ed's face for a moment before getting up and leaving the room. "Father will be interested to hear about this."

Ed used his time alone to shift his weight and get some of the pressure off of his chest and arms. It worked, but it was a very awkward position to be stuck in. Ed held it until his strength gave out, and went back to dealing with the pain.

Damn, he's better at torturing people than Envy is, Ed thought bleakly as he heard the door open. Ed closed his eyes as Father and Pride walked up to the bed. To Ed's surprise, they undid the restraints on his hands and feet, and Pride forcefully flipped Ed onto his back. Ed kept his eyes closed as Father placed a hand on his forehead. After a moment, the hand moved down to his chest, and Ed felt a pressure on his left side. He bit his lip to keep himself from crying out.

"So, you've been able to regenerate at particular times, but not right now?" Father leaned over Ed. "Why?"

Ed opened his eyes a little bit and looked down at his chest. "I don't know." Part of him honestly didn't. He didn't understand why his voice was able to delay the process of regeneration if the homunculi couldn't do that.

Father gestured for Ed to follow him and began walking toward the door. Ed somehow got to his feet and trudged down the hallway to another room, where Ed was strapped to a bed. Ed watched as Father grabbed something from a nearby table, and his eyes widened when he saw that it was a knife.

"What-" Ed was going to ask what the knife was for, but he quickly found out. Ed let out a cry of pain as the metal dug into his skin. What the hell are they doing to me? Ed thought frantically as Father pulled the blade out and inspected the hole in Ed's shoulder.

"As I thought, he isn't capable of healing non-fatal wounds," Father muttered. "This is a very interesting development. I wonder… Pride, bring his brother in here."

"Of course, Father," Pride replied before leaving the room. Ed felt a hand push his chin up, and Ed found himself staring straight into Father's eyes.

"This is your last chance. If you surrender your will to me now, I will allow your brother to live. If you don't, then I will get rid of him. After all, it may be difficult, but he can be replaced."

Ed squeezed his eyes shut, and two or three tears fell down his face. "Fine. You can have it."

"I expect you to follow through on that statement."

"I will…"

The door opened, and Pride came in, leading Al into the room. Al stared at Ed in shock for a moment, and screamed in horror when Father brought the blade down again, this time straight into Ed's heart.

Al struggled to get out of Pride's grasp, so that he could beat the crap out of Father for killing his brother, but when he saw a light coming from Ed's body, he went limp and watched in awe as his brother regenerated.

"Brother…"

"He is no longer your brother. He is my willing servant, and as such he has no room in his life for family," Father interrupted. "You should be grateful for that. If he had resisted any more, I would have killed you myself, right in front of his eyes."

Al took a step back and hit the wall. He stared in shock and dismay at the scene in front of him. Then he noticed that his brother was moving. Al watched him carefully, looking into his brother's eyes. Once he saw a familiar look in the gold, Al decided to make sure Ed would have a decent chance of doing some damage, or at least escaping. He brought his hands together and placed one on the wall behind him.

Ed used the distraction to use alchemy, and he somehow managed to get Al and himself out of the room. They ran like hell down the hallway, only stopping when they ran into Gluttony.

"Why are you running?" Gluttony asked as he stood in the brothers' way.

"Ah… um…" Al began.

"They're trying to help Father, Gluttony. Get out of their way," came a voice from behind. Ed and Al turned to see Greed standing behind them. Gluttony gave Greed a confused look before stepping aside. Ed and Al were about to go when Greed grabbed Ed by the wrist and looked straight into his eyes. "Get your father freed and stay away from the shadows," he muttered so that only the brothers could hear him. "That's the only way…" Greed trailed off and suddenly slammed Ed against the wall. "Gluttony, grab the other one! Now!"

Ed stared at Greed in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked as Gluttony quickly tackled Al and held him in an awkward position.

"Saving my ass," Greed replied, just as Pride arrived on the scene.

"Well now, Greed, I was sure that you'd be trying to help these two escape, and yet…"

Greed glared at Pride. "I know who I'm supposed to be loyal to."

"You said they were trying to help Father," Gluttony remarked.

"To catch them off guard," Greed replied. "And obviously, it worked," Greed continued, smirking at Ed. Ed stared back at Greed with a mix of anger and fear on his face.

"I see," Pride said. "Then I'm sure you won't mind handing them over, correct?"

Ed thought he saw a look of hesitation on Greed's face, but it was soon gone. "Take 'em."

Pride looked from Greed to Ed, and then at Al, who was still pinned to the ground. "On second thought, I'll just take this one," Pride said, wrapping the shadows around Ed. "Kill the younger one."

Ed's eyes widened, and he struggled to break free of Pride's grasp. "No! Please, don't hurt him!"

In an instant, Pride was inches away from Ed's face. "It's too late for that. You shouldn't have resisted, and this is your punishment."

"I'm sorry! I swear I'll never do anything like that again! Please!"

"It's too late. You should have behaved, Fullmetal Alchemist. Now you're paying the price."

Ed felt tears slide down his face, and he shook his head. "If you kill him, then you might as well kill me too. Otherwise, I'll just do it myself."

"You think that will change Father's mind? No, you'll have to do better than that."

Ed looked at his younger brother. Al looked just as terrified as he felt, which didn't help him any. "W-what about my father? Both of us are his children."

Pride paused. "Your point being?"

"I know there's something about us that makes us different. Father mentioned it when he first learned about our father. He wasn't supposed to be able to have kids, was he?"

"This is true," Father said as he approached. He nudged Pride aside and pushed Ed's chin up with his hand. "The children of Hohenheim, I never thought I'd see something like this."

Ed was quiet, hoping that Father would let Al live.

"However," Father continued. "The younger is expendable. Dispose of him, you two. Also, make it a punishment for him as well as for his brother. Don't rush it."

Ed felt numb at those words, and it took him a minute to realize that he was being taken away from his brother. He began to struggle and try to get away from Pride's grasp, but Pride soon got a hold of his arms, and Ed found himself being pulled back against his will. A strangled cry of despair made its way out of Ed's mouth, and he found himself calling desperately for his brother.

"Al! Alphonse! ALPHONSE!"

----------------

Nyahahahaha cliffhanger. XD

Anyway, we're so close to the end here that if I don't finish it before my trip then I'll definitely write it down and type it up when I get back, or… I dunno, but I'm hoping to be done with it before I leave for college.

Anyway, that's it for now. :D Hopefully I'll get the chance to update again before I leave on the twelfth.