Ok... so it's been awhile because I've been super lazy. I've been working on an Original story and I had school up until a month ago then i had vacations and other stuff. Also this is the last of the stories insurance so i'll have to kick myself in the butt to get stuff done. The next chapter I have to write is very hard.

Cara: But regardless enjoy this action packed chapter!

Chloe: REVIEW!

Chloe was almost amazed that Wrath had managed to get her the shoes. She had expected something to go wrong with her luck. But it hadn't. He had gotten her both her shoes and her gloves.

"I still can't believe you talked me into this." He whined.

"I'll say I escaped myself, don't worry." Chloe said as she pulled on her shoes. "You should probably get out of here in the mean time and go to where the others are so that you can say that you weren't in the same place as me when I escaped.

"Oh… alright." Wrath nodded. Chloe was so glad to be able to feel movement again. "So I guess I'll see you later Chloe."

"Yeah." She smiled and straightened as she pulled on her gloves.

Wrath scurried from the room.

Sighing Chloe brushed her hair from her face and behind her ears. She closed her eyes and felt out the room. The entire city was a hotbed of vibrations, strong and vibrant. Wrath had told her this city had disappeared to make the philosopher's stone. That was probably why. She could feel everything around her like a map when she extended her focus.

The highest point of vibrations was in a large, open room a few buildings over. That was where she felt the master of the homunculi along with the others. Lust, whose vibrations she had felt in the fifth lab, Envy, who's vibrations were also very easy to pick up, Gluttony, another fifth lab homunculus, and… her brow furrowed. What was the Fuehrer doing here?

The thought that he might be a homunculus made Chloe's blood run cold. But then again, it made since how the homunculi's master would find out about her. But still… how could the leader of the nation be a homunculus?

Chloe decided not to think of it. Because she felt Ed and Al too, approaching the room very quickly.

"I've got to get to them first." She decided, hurrying from the room.

But in her rush she hadn't felt the other pair of vibrations coming towards her. She didn't even acknowledge them until she heard the voice behind her.

"How'd you get your shoes back, shrimp?"

Chloe skidded to a stop, frozen on the spot. "You."

"Brilliant deduction." Cara said.

"No." Chloe thought. "Apathy. This isn't my friend. She's Apathy right now. Cara's not here. She's Apathy."

Chloe turned slowly "I escaped. What are you going to do about it?"

"Well you know exactly what I'm going to do about it." Apathy said. "I'm going to let Dante go on with her merry plans that involve the Elrics, whatever they are, and I'm going to keep you from getting in the way."

"Really?" Chloe said. "Does that mean you're going to kill me?"

"It's very possible." Apathy said. "That depends. Are you going to try and fight me shrimp?"

"That's her nickname!" Chloe wanted to scream. "Not yours. You can't use that!" But she didn't say this out loud. "Yeah, if that's what I have to do to get past you."

Apathy smirked. It wasn't like Cara's smirk though. It felt more hollow. Less energetic and playful. Everything about Apathy seemed hollow despite how many vibrations came from her. "You think that's a good idea? You could never beat me in a fight unless I got an attack. And those appear much less frequently now."

"It's a better idea than doing nothing." Chloe growled though she knew this was true.

"Fine." Apathy drew two knives from her belt. "I'm not going easy on you."

In response Chloe stamped her foot on the ground sending a pillar of rock flying towards Apathy. She jumped back out of the way and skidded back in a crouch.

"Alright then." Apathy smirked before shooting forward, knives at the ready. Chloe's eyes narrowed in concentration. No time to freeze up now.

"She could be anywhere down here." Ed growled. "This underground city… its massive!

"Yeah." Al agreed.

"And how the hell did Hoenheim know about it?" Ed snapped.

"Who knows?" Al said. Most of his answers to his brother when he was ranting were short and clipped and meant not to anger him any further than he already was.

"Unless…" Ed's eyes narrowed. "He knew about it because he was involved…"

"Ed."

"And maybe he is close with the master of the homunculi…"

"Ed!"

"Unless he is there master."

"Don't say that Ed!" Al snapped. "We don't know that! Just because you hate him, doesn't mean he did this! He could have come across it in his research or something. I don't know. But he wouldn't do this!"

"You don't even remember him Al, how can you really have an opinion?" Ed asked.

"You don't really remember him well either." Al reminded him.

"Well-"

"Quiet!" Al said suddenly. "Do you… hear music?"

Ed listened. He did hear music. Like that that would play at a waltz. "I think they're trying to direct us there."

"It's definitely a trap." Al sighed hopelessly.

"Yep." Ed continued forward. "Let's go spring it and get Chloe out of there."

Cara had to admire the fact that Chloe had managed to push all previous relations to the Cara she knew and completely focus her rage on Apathy. She didn't think the kid would be able to make that distinction. It made the fight more interesting.

But at the same time the human in her was going back to everything else. Going back to Chloe saving her neck as much as she had saved hers. All the other fights that she had been in when Chloe had her back. But she pushed them from her mind. That was a lifetime ago; at least it felt like it. Cara couldn't think about those thoughts or memories anymore. Because she didn't care.

She shouldn't care.

A stone fist shot past Cara's left shoulder, barely grazing her before it crashed down the hall behind her. She was off focus. She had to focus.

Chloe had gotten better since she remembered. She was a state alchemist now, of course. Maybe they actually did try to get their alchemists better at fighting. Maybe Chloe had always been this good and Cara didn't know it.

But that didn't matter. Because Cara was still better.

She managed to get into close quarters with Chloe and knock her feet out from under her. Chloe rolled out of the way as Cara stabbed downward and pressed her hand to the wall. A stone spear shot into Chloe's hand and she stood, wielding it in front of her.

Cara grinned and stabbed out experimentally. Chloe twirled the spear and knocked the blade away with the shaft. So she at least knew how to use it. That made things more interesting. Cara lunged again, attacking more viciously with her knives. It was clear Chloe was struggling to keep up with her though she did manage to dodge and block every attack. She was still very human and her stamina was less than Cara's. But she was putting up a good fight.

Chloe stabbed forward with the spear. Cara side stepped and sun around, angling her blade towards Chloe's back. Chloe swung the spear around her body and blocked it before she turned and aimed the shaft of her spear down at Cara's head. Cara blocked it by crossing her blades together over her head. The force of the blow knocked the blades from her hand and onto the floor and she had to hold back the spear with her hands instead.

"How long you going to keep this up?" she asked, smirking at Chloe. She knew Chloe would know she was smirking. She always had.

"Until I beat you." Chloe said. "And then I'll go help Ed and Al."

"Until you beat me? Don't you think there's an option that I'll beat you?" Cara raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I do." Chloe said grimly. "But I'm choosing not to think about that right now."

"Smart, but you might want to consider it right about now." Cara swung her knee up, ramming Chloe in the stomach. The blind girl stumbled back, gasping for breath. That was all of the gap Cara needed.

She pulled the spear from Chloe's hand as her grip loosened and swung it at the girl. The shaft caught her in the stomach again and sent her flying into the wall. She slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Sighing, Cara dropped the spear and bent down to pick up her knives. "Now that the brothers are here, Dante was probably going to kill you anyway." She strode over to Chloe and looked down at her. "I should probably do the same thing.

Cara raised her knife slightly, ready to plunge it into the girl who used to be her friend.

The music was coming from what looked like a giant ballroom. Maybe it was for dancing and courts. Ed wasn't sure. It was a magnificent building. But all he saw were the people standing there, waiting for them.

One of them was Lyra, but Ed deduced almost immediately that it could not be Lyra, but someone who looked like her. Lyra wasn't evil material. Envy was also there, smirking at him, but at the same time glaring like all he wanted to do was choke Ed to death.

"Let him try." Ed thought.

Lust and Gluttony stood there as well, Gluttony with a finger in his mouth, looking hungry and Lust looking all together uninterested. Next to her was –

"The fuehrer?" Al whispered.

Ed felt cold shoot through him at the word. It couldn't be the fuehrer. The leader of the country? It couldn't be! But the Fuehrer's secretary was there too and Wrath was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet next to her.

Apathy wasn't there. Ed looked around to see if she might be hiding but he didn't see a flash of red hair anywhere. Maybe she was just waiting for the worst moment to show up.

"Hello Edward Elric." It was Lyra… or whoever she was… who stepped forward.

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? You're definitely not Lyra."

"Figured that out pretty quick, didn't he?" Envy smirked.

"Well who do you think I am?" 'Lyra' blinked innocently.

"Someone who's bad news if they're anywhere near those guys." Ed nodded towards the homunculi. "So what… why are you in Lyra's body? And who are you?"

"Are you the one the homunculi have called master?" Al asked.

"That is correct, Alphonse Elric." The woman said before turning her eyes on Ed again. "My name is Dante." She cocked her head to the side. "You look very much like your father Edward."

Ed gritted his teeth. "Cut the damn formalities. Where's Chloe?"

"Here." Dante mused. "Somewhere nice and safe so you two don't have a chance to grab her and take her with you before we have a nice little talk.

Ed resisted the urge to dive right into a fight. "Fine" he growled. "Let's talk."

"Just do it." Cara thought. "Just stab the stupid girl! We don't need her anymore… Dante doesn't need her anymore."

But memories and emotions were probing at her conscious. She clenched the knife in her hand where it was poised to stab the unconscious girl in the back. "I…" she closed her eyes. "God damn it. Why can't I do it? I don't care about her anymore!"

But the kid looked so defenseless. There had been a time when that had bothered her, she knew. A time when she felt like she had to protect Chloe instead of kill her. But it was different now. Why could she just do the damn job?

Cara hovered indecisively for a moment. "Damn it!" she finally snapped, sliding the knife violently back into her belt. She spun around, heading towards the ballroom.

"Stupid brat."

Onto the next chapter... oh this should be interesting.

Cara: We'll pray for you

Chloe: And ourselves.

Envy: Because we don't trust you one bit.

Thanks guys...

Ed: REVIEW!