A/N: Next chapter! This is the end of the fifth lab arc. Its a reasonably long chapter and has lots more banter. Because banter is a wonderful thing, as we all know. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 25: Unexpected Saviors

I woke to a throbbing pain in my shoulder and the irritating scratching of a blood stained bandage against my skin. So they had bound my wound. Apparently they did still want me alive. Unless they were doing this out of the goodness of their hearts which I didn't find too likely.

I tried to rolled over and let out a hiss as pain spiked through my shoulder Damn you Lust! This was going to take a while to heal up. And I needed my arms for my energy alchemy. Trying to guide the flow of energy through my body would be a bitch with this kind of injury.

On the plus side, they hadn't tied me up again. I could have used that if I wasn't so exhausted and in pain. But with my shoulder the way it was, I really just wanted to fall asleep.

"Liz?" Al's weak voice reached my ears.

I turned my head to the side and saw Al lying next to me, the bottom half of his body completely gone.

"Al." I turned, ignoring my shoulder, so that I could see him better."

"Are you OK?" Al asked "That wound doesn't look to good."

I could have almost laughed. "Al, you're missing you're legs and you say I don't look good."

"It doesn't hurt me to lose parts of my body," Al said.

"True. Don't worry I'll live." I shrugged then winced. Shrugging was a bad idea.

"Be quiet armor and tasty looking girl." I heard Gluttony's voice above us. I looked up to see the fat man looming over us, his teeth barred in a wide smile. "You are not supposed to talk."

I glared up at him "Bite me!"

"Not allowed to" Gluttony said mournfully.

"People like you suck the joy out of all sarcasm." I sighed.

"I suggest you get on with the transmutation." I heard Lust's voice from the next room for the first time. "We've had a minor, unexpected set back but the ingredients are still fresh."

"You want me to use these convicts to make a philosopher's stone?" That was Ed "Was that your plan? You'd really think I'd take their lives?"

"Convicts." I shook my head. "They're trying to have Ed make a philosopher's stone using prisoners?"

"You know about the final ingredient?" Al asked.

"Yeah, the three freaks told me about it," I said. "And they—hey!" I snapped as Gluttony grabbed me by the collar and Al by the shoulder spike and started dragging us into the next room. My shoulder grated painfully against the floor and I had to expend all my energy trying to keep from screaming.

"I don't think you have much of a choice, Fullmetal," Lust was saying as Gluttony tossed us both on the floor… landing me right on my bad shoulder.

"Ow, what the hell!" I snapped. "Stop running this shoulder into things. It hurts enough already!"

"Al! Liz!" Ed was on the ground a little ways away from us. He looked like crap... I guess we all did. "Liz, you're here! What happened?"

"Long story that I'm in too much pain to explain," I muttered "Ask the psychotic palmtree over there." I nodded in Envy's direction.

I suddenly realized this probably wasn't the best time for calling names... right around the time Envy kicked me hard in the stomach.

Yay, now two parts of body hurt like hell.

"You are really getting on my last nerve, kid." Envy growled hoisting me up by the collar. It least it took my shoulder away from the ground. But it was also sort of—you know—choking me. "So I suggest you don't push your luck."

"Luck? What is this luck that you speak of?" I gasped still trying to regain my breath.

"Brother!" Al was saying "These people... they're homunculi. They captured Liz as a hostage. And then they found me."

"Homunculi?" Ed whispered in disbelief.

"That is correct," a whispery voice said. I turned to see possibly the weirdest creature I'd yet lay eyes on. Maybe I was hallucinating from blood loss, but it looked pretty solid. A seven foot tall mass of fur with the upside down face of a human being. He had a creepy smile and glasses. I didn't know he was but he wasn't a homunculus. He looked more like… a chimera. A talking a chimera.

I would seriously consider the possibility that I was dreaming if my shoulder didn't hurt so much.

"These people are indeed homunculi." The… talking chimera continued. "Perfectly created artificial humans. They've promised to give me the secrets of creating a homunculus so I can bring my precious Nina back to life."

Nina… wait I knew that name. Ed and Al had told me about her. About a girl who was turned into a chimera by her own father. Was this the man? They told me he was dead but maybe he had lived. Either way, he was with the homunculi so I decided to start hating him.

"It still won't be the real Nina!" Ed protested.

Envy, who still had me by the collar, kicked Ed, jostling me around as I tried to pry myself out of the homunculi's grasp.

"This pointless chit chat stops here" Envy ordered "So pipsqueak, why don't you get on with the transmutation. You can start by fixing the ceiling."

Lust sighed "I'm embarrassed to admit but our group cannot perform alchemy on our own. We have to rely on others to do it for us."

"If you can't use alchemy what's the point? What could you possibly do with a philosopher's stone?" Ed growled, clutching his stomach.

"I want to become human," Lust murmured, a sad note creeping into her voice. "Nothing more."

"Well if you guys are really homunculi like you say there must be an alchemist who created you why don't you get him to do your dirty work!" Ed protested.

"We weren't created by anyone" Envy said coldly. "We were born."

"All we could do was leave a trail of bread crumbs pointing toward the stone and advise some other alchemist on how to construct the stone themselves." Lust said.

"Other alchemists?" my eyes widened. "So you were behind Cornello and Mugiar. And…" My breath caught. "Raiven. His granddaughter once drew that tattoo on your chest. She saw that she was a woman with the same tattoo. You're the one who encouraged his research."

"That's correct," Lust said.

"We leave the fake bait," Envy smirked (Oh how I hated that smirk) "And sure enough every alchemist interested in the stone came flocking."

"And that's how we found you three. You found us" Lust concluded.

"This was your plan all along" Ed whispered.

"My hate for you three has just… exponentially increased." I said.

"No. Al and I started this journey for our own reasons of our own free will!" Ed protested. "You didn't start that. You didn't control it! And you didn't mean for Liz to join with us either."

"She was a bit of an anomaly, but nothing that upset the plan," Lust said.

"We aren't pawns in your game!"

"I hate to disappoint you, but you are."

I tried to keep listening as they argued but it was difficult with the blood loss and the difficulty breathing. Envy was still half strangling me after all.

"Hey Envy can you put me down now?" I asked.

"What is this irritating you" Envy smirked shaking me.

"Yes."

"Then no."

"Just kidding I love being strangled by the collar."

"Nice try kid."

I heard Al's helmet clatter off and I saw Lust reaching inside of the armor with a long, pointy finger of death. A gasp from Al told us she found his blood seal.

"This won't take long" Lust smirked "And your fragile human friend won't be hard to dispose of either."

Envy spun me around, releasing my collar but holding his blade-morphed arm to my throat. I struggled but he was a lot stronger than I was. A disadvantage of being small.

And, you know, not a super human.

"No!" Ed cried "He's my little brother. She's my friend. You can't kill them."

"Ed it's ok..." Al whispered "What am I after all."

"You're his little brother. Don't give yourself up, Al." I snapped. "Look, Ed, don't do this. You can still get him out. Just leave me."

"Don't give up on me now! Neither of you!" Ed clapped his hands together and the ceiling reconstructed.

Envy whistled and dropped me... on my bad shoulder... again.

Al was protesting wildly as Ed moved containers of what looked like philosopher's stone ingredients. I wanted to protest too... I didn't want Al to die but maybe it the brothers could get out it would be okay. Ed didn't know what it was like to take lives in mass. It would hurt him and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"This is crazy!" Al cried. "Those people, they're human!"

"Yeah, and soon you and I will be, so what's your problem?" Envy glanced over at him.

"I don't want to get my body back if it means having to take someone else's life!"

"Oh really?" Envy laughed mirthlessly "I thought you two would've gotten the message after your pathetic attempt to bring back mommy."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"They didn't tell you?" Envy looked down at me. "There bodies are this way because of their own mistakes. They tried to create life and that has a price. This is basic alchemy here. Don't kid yourself into thinking there's a way around it because there's not" He shrugged. "As they say... death is the high cost of living."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Of course I had wondered what had happened to the brother's bodies. But I didn't want to pry because then they might ask about my own history. But they had lost someone. They had tried to bring them back with the ultimate taboo. Even I hadn't been brave enough-or stupid enough- to try that.

""In order to achieve anything in life you inevitably have to take it from someone else. Any honest adult knows that" Lust said.

"We're not adults!" Al protested.

"Edward and Liz gave up all aspects of childhood when they became dogs of the military," Lust said coldly.

"So this is really the truth behind all truths." Ed murmured, he clapped his hands together and knelt down in front of the circle, his face blank.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see this. I didn't want to witness death.

But I didn't hear the sound of transmutation. Instead I heard Ed whisper, "I'm sorry Al." My eyes snapped open and I saw Ed dropped his hand "I just can't do it."

Everyone stood silent for a moment. Envy took a step toward Ed, looking ready to punch him. But a huge explosion stopped him in his tracks.

"Fullmetal alchemist!" A familiar voice boomed. "Take your brother and Lightning and get out of here."

"Hey... Scar lived." I said. "Never thought that would be a bright side."

"I don't need your help!" Ed yelled.

"Maybe not but your younger brother needs you."

Good point their Scar.

Ed hovered a moment in indecision then shouted, "Liz go! Don't stop. We'll meet you outside!"

I jumped to my feet adrenalin giving back some energy and sprinted out the door, one hand clutching my shoulder and the other pumping at my side.

"Envy!" Lust called from somewhere behind me.

"On it!" I knew that Envy was pursuing me in that moment so I quickened my pace. The pain in my shoulder was slowing me down.

I needed something to fight with. Anything. I didn't have my gloves and my body was in no state to conduct any energy. I needed another conductor. I needed…

"Metal!" I said out loud, right before I tripped over a long steel pole and went sprawling (landing on my bad shoulder again… of course). I was stunned momentarily before I rolled over and snatched up the rod. It was long and only a couple inches in diameter. The perfect lightning rod. Quickly I scratched out a circle with my nail.

Envy came into view. "Don't even think about it kid."

I jumped to my feet, swaying slightly, but gripping the pole in my hand. "Back off."

"Plan on fighting me with just that?" He raised an eyebrow. "You are a persistent one."

"It's one of my things," I said, swinging the pole at him. He caught it in one hand.

"I don't think so," He smirked.

"I do." I mirrored his smirk and activated the transmutation circle. Energy shot through the poll coursing through Envy's body and sending him flying back into a crumbling wall. My eyes widened and I let the poll drop a bit.

"Damn… that was really awesome."

I turned, planning on running, only to see Scar coming my way. We both stopped for a moment, staring at each other. I didn't know whether or not he was on my side right now. I didn't have time to think of it when I saw a part of the ceiling crumbling over him.

"Watch it!" I warned shooting out another blast of energy from the rod. It hit the pieces, blasting them into smaller bits and sending them flying. One of the tiny missals caught me in the head, hard and I fell to my knees clutching at my forehead.

To make matters worse, Envy had gotten back up, recovered from the shock (pun intended) of the hit.

He didn't look too happy with me and though my instincts screamed for me to move, my body wasn't cooperating.

"You have a death wish kid?" Envy asked approaching me.

"It's entirely possible," I said weakly.

Envy stopped suddenly and glared at some one behind me "Back away Scarred man. She could still be valuable to us and I don't need you killing her."

I twisted myself around to look at Scar standing just behind me, his red eyes glancing down. He would probably kill me if Envy left. Envy would probably kill me if Scar left. But I didn't want to give the homunculus the pleasure. Nor did I want to be the pawn in their game. I would rather die here than risk that.

"Why don't you back off, Envy?" I glared up at him. "If you're trying to catch me to use as your hostage in this stupid game, I'm not interested. I'd rather die."

"Well, you'll get your wish." Envy glanced from me to Scar who hadn't said a word. "If you make that stupid decision."

"The only stupid decision here is going with you." The power of my glare faltered a bit as my vision blurred. I was getting woozy. Too much blood loss and a blow to the head could do that.

"Envy!" Lust called "The military is coming it's time to get out!"

Envy glanced at me again then rolled his eyes "Your call kid." Then he was gone.

"Thank you," I whispered at the floor. I meant the words for Scar though I didn't know why.

"For what?" Scar asked.

"I'm not really sure. I'm a little woozy so I'm bad at the thinking thing right now." I closed my eyes. "Just get it over with. If you don't hurry the building will kill us both instead."

I felt his hand over my head for a minute and I braced myself to die but nothing ever came. The hand left my head and I heard a sigh.

"Scar?" I said weakly my voice barely audible. Was he... not going to kill me?

That was the last thought that crossed my mind before I blacked out.

Maybe if I came to I would actually stay awake for more than hour.

A girl can dream.

A/N: And thus the fifth lab arc ends. Next chapter, Liz gets her famous knives *grins*. Hope you enjoyed this one. REVIEW!