Edward's golden eyes flashed over to the huge warehouse and he gritted his teeth as he spotted two armed guards outside the main door.
Ed sighed and glanced at Roy who was knelling next to him. "So, what's the plan?" He asked.
Roy looked at him and frowned. "Well this makes things harder, that's for sure." He spoke in a hushed voice. "But the plan is still the same as before. We reach that tree over there and scale it." He said, pointing to the big tree next to the guards.
Ed nodded and smirked. "Then lets do this!" He said, pumping the air like an excited child.
Roy rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine, but be quiet!" He hissed.
They slowly crept out of the bushes and stalked along the tall grass, trying to keep low.
Roy pointed to Ed to circle around the guards.
Ed nodded and silently clapped his hands together, sending a small flash of blue light through the air as his hand turned into a sword. He smirked to himself as it glinted in the light and he jogged quietly towards the guard.
Ed knelt next to the guard and he pounced up and hooked his sword around the man's throat. He used his own body weight to bring down the taller man.
Ed cupped his hand over the man's hand. "If you want to live, you'd better not say a word. Got it?" He whispered harshly into the man's ear.
Ed could feel the man trembling in his arms. He'd almost feel bad for the guy if he wasn't one of the men who took Alphonse.
Ed narrowed his eyes at the thought and fisted his hand. He raised it up and brought it down onto the man's head, hard.
The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he stopped shaking. Ed dropped him and focused on Roy as he took out the other guy without noise.
Ed rolled his eyes as he joined up with Roy again. "Are you trying to outdo me or something?" He asked.
Roy scowled at him. "That's about the last thing I'm thinking about. Besides, I always outdo you." He said with a smirk.
Ed glared at him. "Not true, Asshole." He hissed as he shoved Roy out of the way and started to scale the tree. He was determined to show that old man he was better in every way as he made it without flaw onto the thick branch.
Ed looked down at Roy with a smug smile and crossed his arms. "Coming?" He asked.
Roy ignored him and climbed up after him, only losing his footing once. He met Ed on the branch and he pointed to the window.
"You first but be ready for anything." He said, meeting Ed's eyes. "Got it?" He asked.
Ed nodded and crawled along the branch, careful not to stab himself with his own sword. He could feel his heart rate rising at the thought of Alphonse possibly being in the room he was about to enter. He wanted to punish the men for taking him away and he intended to.
Ed slid through the open window and landed quietly on the floor. He glanced back at Roy as he dropped down beside him.
They looked around and were welcomed by used crates and dust.
Ed was about to take a step when Roy's hand stopped him. "Something's not right. Where is everyone?" He asked, looking around carefully.
Ed glanced towards an empty chair and frowned. It seemed out of place in the wide space surrounding them.
"What's that?" He pointed to the chair and pushed out of Roy's hand. He stalked over to it and examined it carefully. He could see where ropes had been and where there was a touch of blood. He felt his heart squeeze at the thought of those men harming Al.
Roy walked over to him and frowned. "That's blood." He said. "Not good." He finished. He snapped his head up when he heard footsteps.
Roy grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him behind an old crate. They watched as four men came into the light, holding a blind folded figure by the shoulder.
Ed's eyes widened at his carefully looked over the figure. He could see his coat that Al had borrowed and the shoes he had bought him the last time they went shopping.
"That's Al!" Ed whispered frantically. "We have to save him!" He insisted, looking at Roy with pleading eyes.
"Shh!" Roy hushed him. They looked back at the men.
"Dis boy is struggling to much. Why did tha boss leave us with 'em?" A big burly man spoke with a heavy accent.
He shoved Al towards the wooden chair, nearly making Al trip. He grabbed onto Al's shoulder and forced him onto the chair. He grabbed some ropes and tied them tightly around Al, making him gasp in pain.
"I don't know why the boss cares so much about this stupid kid anyways. It's not like we couldn't find someone else to do killings..." A skinny man muttered as he shifted his gun strap higher onto his shoulder.
"Yo, we're gonna go and check with Bert and Steve. They haven't checked in yet and they were supposed to by now." The other two men headed towards the door and went out.
Ed gripped the crate tightly in anger at how they were treating Al. He wanted to murder them all. He wanted to tear their guts from them and dance in their blood. He could feel his blood boiling at the sight of them. The only reason he hadn't was Roy's hand on his shoulder, holding him down.
"We need a plan." Roy whispered to him.
Ed glared at him. "Yeah, go and kill them!" He snarled. He looked back the man with seething eyes.
"We can't just charge out there!" Roy hissed, trying to keep his voice low.
Ed glanced at him and shoved his hand off. "Watch me!" He growled as he jumped from their hiding spot.
"Hey Asshole!" Ed yelled in fury, holding his sword up in the light. "Let him go now. Or else." He spat.
The burly man blinked in mild surprise. "Aren't you the bosses lap dog? Don't you have some task to do or somethin'? He asked with an amused smile.
Ed gritted his teeth. He wanted to slash that man's throat. "I'm done being your slave. I want my brother back and I am prepared to do anything to get him back. Get it?" He growled.
"I wouldn't cross da boss. You don't want to see him when he's upset. Just leave kid." The man said, rolling his eyes. "I don't have time for dis." He muttered under his breath.
Ed felt something inside him snap and he charged towards the man. He brought his sword down, slicing the man's arm.
Ed jumped back and smirked as blood dripped down the man's arm and onto the floor in a steady stream.
The man looked down at his arm and frowned. "Not a good move kid." He said, pulling out a pistol. He aimed it at Ed. "Bye now." He said as he pulled the trigger.
Ed closed his eyes, prepared for the pain. He opened them when the pain didn't come. He saw the man sprawled out on the floor with Roy over him.
Roy was aiming the pistol at the skinny guy. "Drop the gun!" He demanded. He kept his finger on the trigger, showing just how serious he was about shooting the guy.
The guy was shaking and he frantically nodded, dropping the gun at his feet. He held up his hands.
"Good choice." Roy said. "Now kick the gun over here." He said, gesturing with the pistol.
The guy nodded and kicked it over. Roy picked it up and smirked. "Now go over there behind those crates and don't make any sound." He said.
The guy nodded and did what he was told.
Roy glanced over at Ed who was cutting through the tight ropes around Al. He finally sawed through them and removed the blind fold.
Al rapidly blinked his eyes. "Brother?..." He said with a scratchy voice. "Is that really you?" He asked.
Ed gave him a gentle smile and he nodded. "It's really me." He said softly.
Al latched onto Ed with a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again Brother!" He said happily but then let go. "But then that means you violated your contract?" He said with concern. "That puts you in danger."
Ed smiled. "Five seconds and you're already worried about me. I was done being a slave to murderers." He explained.
Roy's head snapped over to the sound of footsteps running towards them. He raised his gun and prepared himself.
The two guards were running at him. They froze at the sudden change of events. "What the hell?" They mumbled before snapping out of it and raising their guns.
Roy jumped behind a crate as they started firing rounds at him. He could only hope Ed and Al were behind cover as well.
He braced his back against the thick crate and waited for a pause in the shots before firing his own at the guys.
He heard one of the bullets hit as the guy fell to the floor with a loud grunt.
Roy smirked. He could see why Hawkeye liked these things. He took aim once more and shot, sending the bullet right towards his target, dropping it quickly.
He froze when he heard another shot nearby. He looked towards his right and saw Ed holding his hands up in surrender.
A big man had Al in his arms with a gun to his temple. "Don't tempt me, boy! You stay back." The man yelled. "And you! You drop that gun or I'll blow his brains out!" He demanded to Roy.
Roy narrowed his eyes and couldn't see a way out of it. He dropped his gun and kicked it over to the man.
He wanted to smirk as he felt his glove on his hand. The man hadn't a clue of who he was. He was about to find out.
Roy raised his hand and was about to send a fire ball towards the man as another sound grabbed his attention.
He looked towards the main door in shock as Maes and the rest of the crew came running in with guns aimed.
He glanced back at the man who had Al and watched in horror as he slipped back into the shadows with Al.
Ed looked back and forth between Maes and Al with wide eyes.
Maes aimed his gun and Ed. "Hold it! Don't move or I will kill you!" He yelled. "We finally got you!" He laughed.
Ed stared at him in shock.
Roy watched that shock turn into molten anger as Ed's golden eyes turned dark. Roy felt his heart drop and he felt time slow as Ed raised his hands and clapped.
Ed slammed his hands down on the ground, sending waves of blue light through it.
Maes fired his gun just as the floor spit in two and Maes fell with a yelp into the wide hole.
Roy watch in muted horror as his best friend fell down the empty chasm and disappear into the glanced up at Ed who was holding his shoulder. He watched as Ed ran off after Al.
Roy gritted his teeth and ran to the hole. "Maes! Are you okay?" He called, only to be answered by his echo. "Shit." He muttered.
He looked over at the stunned team. "Get ropes! Now!" He demanded. He felt anger spark inside of him. If Maes was hurt it was because of him. He went behind his back and helped a wanted man. It was all his fault.
He was handed a rope and he attached it to a stable ground point and threw the rope into the hole. "Be ready to pull us up!" He said as he started scaling down the rope, ignoring the slight burning in his hands at his rapid descent down the chasm.
He landed at the bottom and he snapped his fingers, lighting up a small torch on his finger. He frantically looked around. "Maes? Answer me!" He called.
He felt his heart drop as he spotted Maes laying on the broken rocks. He wasn't moving. Roy ran over to him and noticed the blood dripping from his mouth.
His eyes widened and he shook his head in horror. "No. No!" He yelled as he dropped to his knees. He lifted Maes up gently and shook him. "Wake up. Please wake up!" He begged. He gritted his teeth and dropped his head.
It was all his fault. He should never have trusted The Shadow. Never. He should have listened to Maes.
If it was the last thing he did, he would avenge Maes and put a stop to the manipulative child.
He would catch The Shadow, once and for all.
No matter what.
