"Now Edena, you know you're not supposed to go too high. Alphonse could have gotten seriously hurt." Trisha scolded her saddened daughter as she cleaned and wrapped the cut on her youngest's head. Ed had been in her dragon form, so cute and still a little small, while Al was riding on her back. Ed had tried to fly up high to make her brother let out that happy squeal of his, but when she jumped up off the ground Al fell off her back instead and hit his head. "If you're ever going to try something like that again, you'll have to use rope to make sure your little brother stays safe. That's what big sisters are supposed to do. Keep their little brothers safe." She finished up and smiled down at Al who had tears in his eyes and was sniffling. "You'll remember that, won't you?" She asked as she turned her attention to Ed.

Ed's sad look turned into one of determination. "I'll make sure Al never gets hurt again!" She reached out and wrapped her arms around the smaller boy. "I'm sorry you got hurt, little brother."

Al cuddled into her chest and let out a few more sniffles. "It's okay, Sister. I'll make sure to hold on tight to you for now on."

Trisha smiled warmly at her two children. She really got lucky with how wonderful they were. It was too bad their father wasn't there to see them like this.

When Ed slowly faded into consciousness, she was immediately hit with the fact that every part of her ached. She let out a groan and tried to stretch, but quickly realized that she was being carried bridal style by someone. That person squeezed her close to their chest to make her stop moving.

"It's good that you're awake, but I ask that you stop wiggling around. I'm moving literally blind here." A voice scolded.

Ed blinked her eyes open and was surprised to see that it was pitch black around her. She blinked her eyes again and her pupils were slits, giving her a better night vision. She looked up at the face of the person carrying her.

"What's going on, Ling?" She asked, finally taking in her surroundings. She caught glimpses of the rubble and debris sticking out of what looked like water, but by the stench stinging at her nose, was actually blood. Ling was wading through the shin deep pool of it in a certain direction as he carried her.

"The last thing I remember before waking up here was you somehow holding off Gluttony's energy blast and Alphonse trying to push me out of the way, but us not making it in time to stop from being swallowed." He recapped, a frown marring his face. Ed frowned herself at the word 'swallowed'. "When I woke up here, I was alone and it was dark. I got up to search for a way out and ended up finding some fire to help me see. I kept wandering and eventually felt Alphonse's qi, so I ran towards him. He was sitting on a slab of rubble and calling out for you. When I got close enough to him, I realized his leg was broken and that's why he hadn't just gone to find you himself. He sent me out here to get you because you weren't responding."

Ed panicked. "His leg is broken!?" She started to wiggle out of Ling's grip. "I need to go to him! Put me down!" She spread out her senses to see what direction she needed to head in.

Ling tightened his grip again. "You wouldn't wake up no matter how much I tried when I found you, Edena. And you've only just woken up. I'll get us to Alphonse. Please just rest and gather your strength." He bounced her a bit to push her up higher in his hold. "And if you keep wiggling, I'll drop you in this blood."

Ed wanted to argue, but her aching muscles and Ling's strong grip kept her quiet. They also didn't seem to be too far, so she relented to letting herself be carried.

"Once I help Al, we'll figure out a way out of this place." She murmured to him.

It was quiet for a moment before Ling responded. "I'm sorry. The only reason you and Alphonse are even here is because you were both trying to save me. Gluttony wouldn't have even had the opportunity to swallow me if I hadn't hesitated killing Envy."

Ed shook her head and tapped her automail hand on Ling's chest. "It's not your fault, Ling. And you're not the first person Envy has pulled that dirty trick on. At least we're all here to figure a way out together instead of leaving you completely alone in whatever fucked up situation this is."

The Xingese prince smirked. "You sure are optimistic."

"Not really." Ed said with a snort. "I'm just stubborn." Ling let out a little laugh.

After a few more minutes of wading through the blood, they started to come up on some rubble and ruins that were on fire. Ed looked around and noticed some familiar things.

"That's a piece of the house we were at. And that's Lieutenant Hawkeye's car." Ed pointed out and then groaned. "We really are inside Gluttony's stomach."

"And it somehow seems vast. We're lucky we landed relatively close together." Ling mumbled.

After a few more minutes of walking, they came up on a strangely perfectly circular platform that had some rubble on fire surrounding it. The area was so well lit that she didn't even have to use her dragon eyes to see Al laying near the edge of it with his arm raised and covering his eyes. She could also see the compound fracture in his lower leg very clearly.

Ed wiggled herself out of Ling's hold and the man dropped her in surprise. She stumbled a bit trying to get her legs to fully work correctly and slipped on the wet floor, but she finally got ahold of herself and took off in the bloody pool towards her brother.

"Al!" She called out. Said teen lifted his arm to turn his head and look at her. He was far too pale for Ed's liking.

"Sister!" His voice was raspy and he winced as he tried to sit up. "I was worried about you."

Ed threw herself onto the platform and took Al's face into her hands. "Shush. I'm right here. We're going to get you fixed up, okay?" Al nodded and looked towards Ling as Ed started fretting over his leg.

"I found her unconscious not far from here. She woke up after a few minutes of me carrying her back. I'm sorry it took so long." The prince explained.

Al gave him a weak smile. "It's okay, Ling. I'm just thankful you found her and you're both okay."

Ed ignored the two of them as she worked. She transmuted a bowl out of the stone the platform was made of and went back to the flooded floor to extract water from the blood plasma. She then ripped off a piece of Al's coat that he was still wearing in order to use for a rag to clean around the wound.

The lower piece of Al's fractured tibia was sticking out of his leg by about a few centimeters with a pretty clean break. Ed would have to move the bone back into place before she could perform any alkahestry. And it would be painful. She moved back up to push Al's bangs out of his face and smile at him.

"You did really well rolling your pants leg up for me. I know that must've hurt badly." She murmured to him.

Al groaned and put his arm back over his eyes. "You're in mother hen mode again, Sister. Just do what needs to be done. I know it's going to hurt worse."

Ed let out a soft chuckle and transmuted her automail index finger into a claw so that she could draw an alkahestry circle in the platform beneath Al's leg. "I can't even comfort my little brother anymore without him getting snippy about it. You're getting too old, Kid." She took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Let Ling hold your hand so you can squeeze when you feel pain. I'm going to do this on the count of three and be quick about it."

Ling knelt by Al's side to hold the teen's hand in his own. Ed did exactly as she said and on the count of three, she pulled on Al's lower leg and pushed at the bone at the same time to get it to go back inside his skin and muscle and slide back into place before she held the leg steady and activated the array as quickly as she could. Al gripped Ling's hand tight and screamed through his clenched teeth at the pain from all of it, but halfway through Ed performing the alkahestry, he eased up and eventually just laid there panting, his arm still over his eyes.

Ed sighed in relief when she was finally done. She shifted a bit so that she could rest her head on Al's chest just to hear his heart beat for a moment. "I'm sorry, Al." She whispered. "I promised I'd make sure you never got hurt again."

Al let out a weak chuckle. "I think it's safe to say that you were never going to be able to protect me forever, Sister."

Ling bopped Al on the head. "That doesn't mean she isn't going to try." He sighed. "The love and care you both have for each other is such a great thing. I wish I had that kind of relationship with any of my own siblings instead of assassination attempts and side eye glares at royal events."

The Elric siblings looked up at the dark haired man with contemplative eyes before looking at each other. They both sat up straight and threw their arms around Ling in a group hug, surprising him.

"You seem like you need a hug." Ed mumbled.

"Elric hugs make cold days seem a bit warmer." Al chirped.

Ling huffed and a small smile formed on his face. "Yes, that seems about right. Thank you." Suddenly, there was a loud noise between them and Ling let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about that. Guess I'm hungry."

Ed rolled her eyes and moved back to Al's leg to make sure there was no more pain and that everything was healed properly.

"Actually," Al said, reaching into an inner pocket on his coat and pulling out a medium sized wax and cloth pouch. He unfolded it and revealed various dried meats and fruits that he had brought for Ed to snack on earlier. "It's not much splitting between three people, but it's something to help with the hunger."

Ling looked at the food and Al with stars in his eyes like he was saved. "Have I told you that you're my favorite person, Alphonse?"

Al chuckled and held the food out for Ling to grab some. Ed finished checking over Al's leg and when she was satisfied, she rolled his pants leg back down.

"You both eat what you want and if there's any left over then I'll have some. If not, I should be fine until we get out of here." Ed told the two as she moved back to stand and take a look around.

Al frowned. "That's not fair, Sister. Who knows how long we'll be here for. You have to eat some too."

Ed waved a hand at him. "I'm fine, Al!" Even though she assured them, Al still glared at Ling as a caution to not take too much. Said man started to sweat nervously under the glare as he nibbled on some jerky.

Ed was observing some of the ruins when Al stood and tested out his leg to give his sister the leftovers. He only let Ling steal a little over his fair share because he knew Ed didn't actually mind. He approached her, limping only a little from just remembering the pain he had felt, and waved a piece of dried salmon under her nose as she looked intently at a slab of some type of partial mural. Ed took it from him, still looking at the slab.

"This is from Xerxes." She murmured.

Al blinked in surprise. "Really? How do you know?"

Ed nibbled on the meat, tilting her head to the side so look at a broken image of a lion with its mouth open and pointed in the direction of a broken red circle. It was surprisingly well preserved here. "I saw the larger piece of this mural on a stone temple near the center of the ruins. There were pieces missing. There still are, but the mural was basically an elaborate transmutation circle. It looked similar to the one used in the Fifth Lab, but also different. I wish I could find the rest of the pieces, but it looks like someone is covering up something big by hiding the pieces here inside Gluttony."

"We should try to find the other pieces." Al told her.

Ed snorted. "With how vast this place feels, I don't think that will be a simple task." She grabbed a piece of dried apple and ate it quickly. "Thank you for saving me some food, you hungry prince."

Ling stepped up behind them and looked down at the piece of rubble they were looking at. "Alphonse would have had my hands if I hadn't." He rested his chin on Ed's shoulder and it was a testament to how screwed their situation was and how much trauma bonding was a thing that she didn't even spare him her usual annoyance at his presence and shrug him off. "You say that this place is vast, does that mean you can feel how big it is?"

"My senses go very far. The fact that even in the location we are in now and where you found me I felt no edge to any of this, I would say it's far too big to be called a normal stomach. Even for a homunculus." Ed said with a sigh. "In fact—"

She cut herself off when she felt something approaching in the dark. Ling and Al tensed up when they felt it too. Ed jumped down into the bloody floor and growled, ready to attack. There was a wrongness to the area they were in already, but she knew this feeling. There was a homunculus.

"It's quite eerie how your eyes glow in the firelight." Envy's voice called from the darkness and soon the three saw the palm tree looking homunculus coming into focus as he walked closer to the light.

"It'll be the last thing you see if you try anything funny." Ed growled.

Envy held his hands up in surrender and took a seat on a small piece of rubble. "There's no need. I'm stuck here just like the three of you. Thanks for that, by the way." He sneered.

Al glared at the homunculus. "You mean you don't know a way out?"

"There is no way out. This situation you've all gotten us into is complicated. Just ask the little girl here. She knows where we are." Envy said, turning his attention back to Ed.

Al and Ling looked down at Ed in confusion. She narrowed her eyes at Envy. "When I got hit by Gluttony's blast, I knew it felt a little familiar."

Envy gave a little smirk. "So you do know. This isn't the first time you've been through something like this."

Ed sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It was like going through the portal of Truth. But it wasn't pitch black and filled with blood like this. It was more of a white void."

"The portal of Truth?" Ling asked.

Al hung his head. "It's what happens when someone performs human transmutation. They pass through a gate, or a portal, where they have to sacrifice something in exchange for knowledge."

Ling's eyes opened wide with surprise and he looked down at Ed. "You performed human transmutation? Is that why you warned me against it when we were talking about binding souls to armor?"

Ed nodded. "The sacrifice is always far too great for those who perform human transmutation. I lost my arm and leg in exchange for something that could have never come true. I just think of myself as lucky that when I passed through that gate I didn't lose anything else."

"So the real one looks much different from this, huh?" Envy asked.

Ed and Al looked at the homunculus with narrowed eyes. "Real one?" They both asked at the same time.

"Gluttony is a failed experiment by our father to create his own portal of Truth. Despite how powerful our father is, he still couldn't create one. We're trapped inside a defective portal of Truth." Ed's eyes widened in surprise. "This place exists somewhere in between reality and Truth. And I can assure you that there's no way out of here. The only option we have is to sit here and die."

Ling and Al looked horrified while Ed looked infuriated.

"There's no way out? We're just going to die?" Ling whispered.

Ed clenched her jaw and glared at Envy. "Who in the hell is your father? Who would create something so stupid? Tell me!" Her hands trembled with anger. "Creating Philosopher's Stones with human sacrifice and infiltrating the military with that damn homunculus you've placed as our leader. Not to mention creating a nationwide human transmutation circle. Your father has been orchestrating this bullshit all along hasn't he? Liore? Ishval?"

Envy grinned. "Oh, Ishval! I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job than that." He laughed. "You remember, don't you? The incident that started the war?"

Al glared at the homunculus. "We'd always heard it was because a soldier accidentally shot and killed an Ishvalan child."

Envy's grin got even bigger. "Bingo! And the one that proudly pulled the trigger was none other than yours truly." He said as he placed a hand on his chest. Ed and Al looked at Envy with disgust and anger. "You have no idea how good that felt. I ravished their entire country with a single bullet. I mean, talk about invigorating! And the best part is that the officer I pretended to be was a moderate who always publicly opposed the military's occupation in Ishval. The poor fool couldn't even come up with a plausible defense when they court martialed him." Envy let out an amused sigh. "I don't think I'll ever get over how easily manipulated you humans are."

Ed started to approach the man slowly, wading through the blood in a confident strut. "You know, Envy, I do believe I remember telling you something about how I don't appreciate when people mess with something or someone that belonged to me. But hearing that you're responsible for the war basically being in my backyard and my childhood friend's parents being killed in Ishval, that's another strike against you. See, that's two so far." Her pupils turned into slits and her flesh hand changed into her reptilian claws. "But then to hear that you're responsible for the fact that the Ishvalans were pushed out of their land because you killed an innocent child. Well, that's strike three."

Envy huffed. "What do the Ishvalans have to do with you?"

"As a daughter of a Xerxian, they have a lot to do with me. I'd tell you to ask your father about it since you think he's so special, but you'll be far too dead for that." When she was finally in reaching distance of the homunculus, she braced herself and pulled her arm back to swing it forward and lodge her claws into the side of Envy's throat, trying to rip his head off. But her swing stopped as her hand got stuck knuckles deep into the underside of his jaw. Red alchemical sparks crackled around the wound as it closed up and she had to yank her hand away.

"Fine. If that's how you want it." More red lightning sparked around Envy.

"Edena! Get back!" Ling yelled as he and Al jumped into the blood to go help. Ed jumped back.

Envy stood up, glaring down at them. "I'm going to show you three something neat before we die. Consider it a parting gift." His body started to change and grow, looking more monstrous and his skin turned green.

Ed stepped back a few steps, bumping into Al as they all looked up at the continuously growing homunculus.

"I could tell by his footprints back in the forest that he was freakishly heavy for the size of his body and probably a lot bigger than he looks." Ling said.

"You didn't think to mention that until now?" Ed asked, gritting her teeth. As she and Al looked up at the beast Envy was turning into, it was easy to realize that if Gluttony was a failed experiment to create a portal of Truth, then Envy was obviously a fucked up and warped version of a dragon.

He had sporadic patches of scales over leathery skin, extra legs instead of wings, and his face looked more like a dog's head. It was almost like someone tried to mix animals in a chimera type of way to create a beastly dragon, but failed considerably. Not to mention, his neck and shoulders were covered in upper bodies, heads and faces of goblin-esque looking humans that wailed, cried and laughed, making a hideous jumble of sounds.

Envy's front feet slammed into the ground, creating a wave in the pool of blood, forcing the three to jump onto piles of rubble and hold on or get swept away.

"How in the hell is that a homunculus?!" Ling yelled. "I thought they were supposed to be artificially created humans!"

Ed glared at the beast. The man wasn't wrong. Al looked very done with this entire situation. "I'm starting to wish I had gotten into that car with the Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye." He grumbled.

Envy swung his tail and it slammed into Ling, sending him flying and crashing into another piece of rubble.

"Ling!" Ed yelled, running towards the man to make sure he was okay, but Envy swiped a paw at her and she couldn't duck it in time. A whine escaped her throat as she was slammed into the ground, blood rushing over her.

"Sister!" Al jumped off his piece of rubble and grabbed his steel bars to turn into blades. He swiped at Envy's paw and grabbed Ed when the beast yanked it back. "Are you okay?"

Ed swiped the blood out of her eyes and glared up at the homunculus. "He's such a pain in my ass." Ling came running over to them, gripping his side.

"I know what you mean. I'm pretty sure he broke a few of my ribs." He looked down at Ed. "Are you okay? Do you think you can create me a weapon?"

Ed snorted. "With all the iron lying around here, I think I can whip up something." She clapped her hands and placed it just over the pool of blood to transmute a meter long sword for the prince that looked similar to the last one he had. "Will that do?"

Ling nodded. "Thanks."

Al gripped his own knives tight. "Sister, I'd hate to ask this of you, but maybe it would be best if you—"

"I'm already thinking about it, Al. I just don't know if it would be best to reveal that much to him. It's one thing that he knows I'm different, but it's another if he figures out just how different." Ed turned her automail hand into claws. Fighting Envy as a dragon would give them the upper hand, but it could also backfire on them if all they make it out of here.

"What are you two rambling about? Do you have an easy way to beat this thing?" Ling asked.

Ed clenched her teeth. "Yes."

Ling glared at her. "Then do it!"

Ed sighed and looked towards her brother. He nodded his head. "We'll stall. You go strip."

"Excuse me?" Ling asked, flabbergasted.

Al rolled his eyes. "Shut up and help me hold Envy off." He took off towards the homunculus. Ling hesitated, looking back at Ed for a moment before nodding to her and going to help Al.

Ed looked kind of grumpy as she moved over towards the back side of the platform to start taking her clothes off. "Why do I have this stupid problem? I'm a fucking dragon. Practically fucking magic. But I can't shift without losing my damn clothes." She huffed, placing a pile of her stuff, along with Hawkeye's forgotten gun onto the round platform before she started to change. Her body morphed and grew in size and she shook herself off at the quicker than normal change before taking flight and getting high enough to nose bomb Envy away from Al and Ling.

The homunculus was stunned by what happened and so was Ling.

"I-Is that a dragon? E-Edena is a Pure Blood like in the legends?" He whispered in awe as he watched the agile golden beast rip into Envy's underbelly with sharp claws.

"Legends? There are legends of the Pure Bloods in Xing? We thought that it was a long lost story only the Xerxians knew." Al asked as he started to pull the man away from the fight.

"It's all part of the story of the Western Sage. When he came to Xing and taught alkahestry, he was known to take the form of a great serpent and called himself a Pure Blood when the people asked. I never thought it was actually true though." Ling kept staring, observing the woman in this new form.

The dragon Ed was obviously shorter than the monster that was Envy, but she was just as long as him though. Her gold and red scales reflected the firelight like they were made of the flames themselves and her golden mane of hair looked just as soft now as it did in her human form. He watched as her sharp claws and teeth sunk into the monster's neck and back as she got above him and tried to, what looked like, sever his spine. She was obviously extremely dangerous, yet graceful, with her movements.

It was all quite the sight to see.

Al bent to draw a transmutation circle into a low sitting piece of rubble with his knife and pressed a hand to it to activate the array. The pool of blood trembled around it before sharp spikes made out of the iron in the blood started to make its way towards the two fighting giants and pierce Envy's underbelly, making him roar in pain. He slapped at the spikes and pushed off the ground to jump away from them, causing Ed to take to the air again, her wings creating powerful gusts of wind that Al and Ling had to brace themselves to stand upright against.

Envy growled as he looked up. He couldn't jump high enough to swipe at the dragon above his head, so he turned his attention towards the two humans that were watching from afar.

Ling and Al's eyes got wide as they saw the homunculus barreling towards them. They were just about to turn and run when Ed landed right in front of them, her wings shielding them from attack. They watched as she took a deep breath, her chest expanding, and her scales suddenly started to glow. Al took a few steps away from her and Ling followed suit seeing the teen from the corner of his eye.

Ed's eyes narrowed on the homunculus as he got closer and her mouth opened slightly, the light just under her scales growing. When she felt he was close enough, a white fire started to build up in her mouth, causing Envy to slow down a bit as he wasn't sure what she was capable of. But suddenly his slowing down turned into trying to skid to a halt as the fire in Ed's mouth grew before she opened her mouth wider and a stream of the white hot flames shot out towards Envy with a release of the air she'd sucked in.

Al stared over Ed's wing in shock. He could feel the heat of the flames from this far behind the stream of it. He's seen Ed spew fire before to start small campfires or to light the stove when the the igniter stopped working, but he's never seen this much and this hot of a flame come out of his sister. In dragon or human form. He watched in horror and fascination alongside Ling as Envy screamed when the flames hit him and the front half his body was effectively charred. Part of his head was even missing.

Ed released the stream of flames and only lowered her wings when the homunculus fell over in the pool of blood, unmoving. She was breathing quite heavily and her body was trembling a bit. She sent an image to Al of her curled up asleep and the teen let out a breathless chuckle at his sister.

"I bet you are tired. You just roasted a giant homunculus." He placed a hand on her side. "I didn't know you could do that, Sister."

Ling stared at the both of them with a look of confusion and horror on his face. "That's what you're surprised about? The fact that your dragon sister can breathe fire? Not the part where she's a dragon to begin with?"

Al shrugged. "I've come to terms with the fact that my sister is a dragon. I mean, I've known her all my life." He said flatly.

Ed let out a loud chortle and circled around Al for a moment to see that he was okay before slowly shifting back into her human form. Al quickly shrugged off his jacket and flung it around his naked sister when he noticed Ling's horror turned into one of surprise and then interest as he looked her up and down. Ed was quite the shapely young woman with a well proportioned everything that he had only vaguely taken an interest in before. It was different seeing all of her like this.

"Sister may not be modest, but shouldn't you at least have the decency to not stare, you pervert." Al hissed at the man.

Ling held up his hands in a motion of surrender. "You're right. I apologize."

Al glared at him, closing the coat's front. "You're still staring!"

"You said I should have decency! I agreed, but that doesn't mean I do!" Ling shouted in his defense.

Ed snorted at the both of them and looked over towards Envy's body. "That should keep him down." She narrowed her eyes as she saw a few red sparks of alchemical lightning. "For a moment at least. That should give us enough time to regroup and maybe get the hell out of dodge." She moved to go back to the round platform that was a bit of a distance away now. But she should have realized that the pain from her ports would be too much of a hassle. As soon as she took a step, her leg crumpled under her and she fell to the bloody floor.

Al cursed and bent to help her up, an arm around her waist. Ling was also concerned, hovering next to them. "Are you okay, Sister?" He asked.

Ed was sweating a bit. "Yeah. The pain is just a bit worse than normal this time around." She leaned into Al heavily. "Get me to the platform so I can get dressed and I'll deal with it after." Her little brother nodded and tightened his grip around her and basically half carried her towards the platform.

"It hurts to transform?" Ling asked as he followed behind them, holding his right side.

"Because of my automail limbs it hurts to transform back. I just have to take some time to massage the muscles around my ports and it gets better." Ed explained with a groan. She blearily paid attention to where they were going, glancing back towards Envy every once in a while to check on if he was regenerating. It was dark where his monstrous body lay, but she could see more sparks of red alchemy in the distance. She turned her head back around and brushed it gently against Al's to send him the image of what she just saw. He nodded his head.

On their way to the platform, Ed tried her best to tune out the pain and focus on where they were and keeping her senses on Envy, but something caught her attention. A large piece of rubble that looked similar to the one she'd seen earlier from Xerxes. She read what she could from the stone, before they passed it by, but then she saw another… And then the pieces fell together.

"It's different." She murmured.

Ling and Al paused, looking at her. "What's different, Sister?"

"I thought it was like the transmutation circle from the Fifth Lab that they used to create Philosopher's Stones when I first saw it, but it's different. I can see that now, looking at the remaining pieces." She sent the image of the mural front he ruins to Al's mind, brushing her head against his. He tilted his head in a bit of confusion.

"It does look like that transmutation circle. What's different about it?" Al asked. Ling looked confused, not sure what the two were talking about.

Ed sent him the images of the missing pieces of the mural she just saw. "The sun represents the soul, while the moon represents the mind." She said as she limped towards the piece of the mural that was not too far ahead of them. She leaned into it and ran her hand over the Xerxian words that were carved into it. "And the stone mural itself represents the body."

Ling frowned and moved closer to her. "Slow down. What are you talking about? What are you trying to say?"

"Basically, the mural was a summoning circle for human transmutation." She mumbled as she read the words.

"Isn't that used to bring back dead people?" Ling asked.

Al shook his head. "Not quite. Alchemy is based on the law of equivalent exchange. You can't transmute a life form from a soul that no longer exists in this realm." He clenched his fists as memories came to the surface of his mind.

"Exactly." Ed said. "You can't transmute the dead…" She stood up straight, using the stone to help push herself up. "But I just had an idea about how to get us out of here. I can use this circle to transmute myself." Al's eyes widened in surprise and understanding.

"So, you would transmute the living?" Ling asked.

Ed nodded. "If I transmute myself, something simple like breaking my body down and then putting myself back together again, then I can open the portal and put us back into our world."

"Not without a price!" Al shouted at her! "You can't do that without paying a price! I won't let you, Sister!" Ling jumped in surprise at Al raising his voice.

"I would do anything for you, Alphonse. I would do anything to make sure you were able to keep on living. Whatever price he wants to take from me this time, I am willing to pay it." Ed whispered as she looked down at the stone in front of her.

Al stomped up to her and grabbed Ed by the shoulder to yank her around to face him. Ed winced from the pain. "And what if the price is your life this time? You've already sacrificed too much because of me! Please don't make me have to continue on without you!" There were tears in his eyes.

Ed had a soft and sad look on her face. She reached up to cup his face gently between her hands. "We had this talk a long time ago, Al. You are brave and strong and always so ready to take on the world. Hell, you joined the military at twelve years old with no problem. I need you more than you need me. You can keep on moving if I'm gone."

"Just because I can doesn't mean I want to!" Al screamed at her, grabbing her hands and pulling her tight against him to Ed's surprise. "Please don't make me have to! Please!"

It was quiet between the three of them for a moment before Ed sighed and smoothed her flesh hand up and down Al's back. "I will try to think of another way. But this is the only one that comes to mind, Al. I can't promise that I won't do it in order for the both of you to live."

Ling snorted from his awkward spot a meter away from them and waved a dismissive hand. "We'll think of something else. There's no need for us to try anything that doesn't get all three of us out of here."

Ed peeked at him from over Al's shoulder and raised a brow. "What happens when that bottomless pit you call a stomach starts growling again?"

Ling hung his head. "Don't remind me. I'm still a little hungry as is."

After a few quiet moments of Al trying to calm himself down a bit and Ling deciding to just carry Ed because she was moving too slow for his taste, they made it to the platform and Al glared at Ling's back the entire time Ed was getting dressed to make sure he didn't peep at his sister. When Ed got done, she sat for a moment in order to massage her aching muscles around her ports with Al's help.

"You have to do this every time you transform? Why not just stay human then?" Ling asked as he watched Al dig his fingers into Ed's shoulder blades.

Ed sighed and stretched her muscles once the pain started to fade. "The longer I go without transforming, the more it feels like I'm trapped in my own skin and the dragon part of me wants to claw its way out. It actually starts to show in my personality."

Al chuckled "She actually spent an entire month mostly communicating in growls once. Colonel Mustang begged me to know what he had done wrong to deserve such an attitude."

"I hope you told him that the fact that he exists is what he did wrong." Ed grumbled.

"I actually told him that you'd had a string of really rough dates lately. He said he was half tempted to order you to stay single until you were no longer under his command, but I told him that that wouldn't work out in his favor." Al commented thoughtfully.

Ling laughed and Ed shot him a glare, but said nothing. Silence fell between them again.

Ed and Ling shot a look towards Envy as they could feel the homunculus's aura stirring back to life.

"We should get out of here before that thing is back at full strength. I don't know about you two, but my ribs are aching." Ling mumbled as he pressed a hand against his side with a wince.

Al gaped at the man. "Why didn't you say anything? You carried Sister like it was no problem!"

The Xingese man gave Al a sheepish smile and Ed reached over to smack the back of his head. "Stop being an idiot." She shifted closer to him and clapped her hands together before placing them against his side and healing what was probably bruised or sprained ribs.

"I apologize for my oversight. I may have forgotten that you knew alkahestry for a moment there." Ling mumbled with a gracious bow. Ed just rolled her eyes. "Why don't you use alkahestry to heal the pain that you have after your transformations?" Ling asked as they stood to leave the platform.

Ed sighed. "Because it's all muscle and nerve pain and it's so close to my ports that I don't really want to cause any unwanted damage to whatever is going on between metal and skin." She looked down at her automail. "Winry and Granny warned me about it the first time after I transformed and the pain was too much."

Al nodded. "I was going to do it myself even though I'm not as good as Sister is with alkahestry, but Granny made me promise not to ever try. Sister's limbs are the reason we're looking for the Philosopher's Stone, actually. I want to be able to restore them for her without consequence."

"I'm not even sure I want them back anymore, Al. Considering how the Philosopher's Stone is made." Ed grumbled and Al sighed as he moved to help Ed down from the platform. But she paused as a thought popped into her head. "The Philosopher's Stone!" She glanced back towards Envy who was almost done reforming. "If we use the Philosopher's Stone then we have our price to pay!" She clapped her hands together and pressed them to a random piece of rubble and turning it into a bowl that she used to scoop some blood out of the lake they were standing in and put it up onto the platform. "If he doesn't wake up by the time I get done, then I'll just turn back into a dragon and drag him over." She pulled herself back up onto the platform and started on a circle.

Ling just stared at her. "What's going on here?" He asked Al.

Al was worried as well, but as he watched his sister work on a transmutation circle the size of the circular platform he began to understand. "She's recreating the summoning circle from Xerxes, but instead of paying the price herself, she's going to use Envy's Philosopher's Stone to do it!" He started to get excited. "We're getting out of here, Ling!" He jumped up and went to go help Ed.

Ling stared at the both of them before shaking his head with an amused huff. "I can't tell if it's good or terrible luck that I found you two." He pulled himself onto the platform as well with his new sword in order to keep an eye on Envy for the two alchemists.

It wasn't too long after they got started that he had to warn them of the monster's waking.

Envy's head finished regenerating with the red sparks of alchemy from the Philosopher's Stone and he stood with a loud growl, shaking his head. He looked around and noticed the three on the platform, the little girl human again, and he roared and took off after them.

Ling cursed and readied himself while Al looked over in panic, but Ed just stood and walked over to the edge of the platform to stand next to the Xingese man with her arms crossed and her eyes glowing.

When Envy was too close for comfort, smoke started to billow out of the corners of Ed's mouth, making Ling take a step back from her and Envy kind of hesitated in his steps.

"You can do that while you're not a dragon?" Ling asked, stunned.

Ed ignored him and continued to stare down the monster that was rushing them, small flames now starting to lick out of her slightly open lips.

Envy all but slid to a stop barely a meter away from them, twitching in annoyance and a bit of fear.

"Don't want to take another hit like that to your stone, huh? Did it take more than you were expecting to regenerate? How many years did I take off of your life?" Ed asked the homunculus with a smirk on her face.

Envy growled down at her. "I do not fear you! You just caught me by surprise last time. We're the same, but I'm bigger than you."

Ed's glare turned deadly. "We are not the same! You are but a cheap imitation of the real thing. And not even a good one. So get those thoughts out of your mind right now." She growled out. Envy just glared down at her. "Now that you're finished with your time out, we can get to work. I've found us a way out of here." She turned away from him. "Find me the pieces of the stone mural from Xerxes that you homunculi put so much effort into hiding from the world. And don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." She went back to working on the part of the circle that she knew for sure she could complete without mistake.

Ling and Al looked between each other and the glaring Envy, stiff with tension, as the homunculus stared down Ed before letting out a huff and getting to work. They both let out exasperated, but relieved breaths and clutched their chests.

"Only you, Sister!" Al whisper-hissed at her. "How did you know he was even going to listen to you?"

Ed shrugged and continued to work on the circle. "Simple. He wants to get out of here as much as we do."

Ling chuckled at her logic and watched as Envy collected the pieces of the stone mural in order for Ed to continue on with the array.

About half an hour later Ed was mostly done and they had explained what they were trying to accomplish to the homunculus. Envy spoke up again. "How do you know this is going to work? What happens if the transmutation backfires?"

Ed sighed and sat back a bit to inspect her work. "It will work because we need it to work. And if it backfires, then that is only of consequence to the person who activates the array. Namely me. You said that Gluttony was a failed attempt by someone to create a portal of Truth. I'm willing to bet that by trying to open the real portal we can go through it and get back to our own reality. I'll transmute myself and open the portal so you all can jump through it." She wiped some sweat off her brow. "Either it works and we all get out of here, or it doesn't and I face the consequences and we're all still stuck."

Al frowned at this bit of information. He didn't want his sister to have to deal with the consequences of another failed transmutation on the behalf of others, but he knew if he offered himself to activate the array then she would deny it. It kind of grated on his nerves at times how self-sacrificing she was.

"How about you answer me some questions, Envy." Ed said loudly to draw the homunculus's attention. The beast tilted its head to the side like a curious dog. "The incomplete mural in Xerxes struck me as odd. On it was the symbol for God written upside down and beneath it was the image of a two headed dragon, the alchemical symbol for a complete life form. In other words, the drawing was trying to say 'I will strike God to Earth and become a perfect being'."

Ling frowned. "That's quite an arrogant concept."

"It's not much when you're just talking about it, but now that I see the rest of the mural, I see there's more to it that I like to know." She pointed at one of the pieces. "That piece of the mural over there contains the image of a lion swallowing the sun, symbolizing the Philosopher's Stone. And the Philosopher's Stone is made with living humans… Correct?"

Envy huffed. "Yeah. That's right. But you knew that already."

Ed turned to glare at the homunculus. "How could a nation as advanced as Xerxes fall? Let alone in a single night. Where did all of its people go?" She growled out. "These pieces of the mural, you put them here to hide what your creator did, didn't you? Your creator killed all of those people, my people, and turned them into a Philosopher's Stone. So who is he?" Ed's eyes started to glow and the pupils turned into slits. "Who is the man who destroyed a nation and created all of you? Who is the man who is trying to make himself surpass God? Who is that father you spoke of? He's been using you homunculi to try and recreate the destruction of Xerxes here in Amestris, hasn't he?"

Envy grinned down at her. "You get us out of here and I'll gladly tell you everything. You've spent enough time beating around the bush, little girl. Why don't you just say what you want to, huh? I'm tired of waiting for you to ask. You need to pay a toll to open the portal, right? You need my Philosopher's Stone in order to perform this transmutation."

Ed glared up at the beast and could hear the voices of the heads and upper bodies coming off of his neck. "They're all the citizens of Xerxes aren't they?" She asked with a hiss as the voices cried out for help.

"At one point they were." Envy said with a chuckle. "But their minds and bodies crumbled long ago. All that's left is energy to be consumed. They don't even remember what they looked like when they were alive."

Al placed a hand on Ed's shoulder and squeezed. He could feel Ed's anger rising. "I'm upset about this all as well, Sister, but we need to keep it together long enough to get out of there."

Ed took a deep breath to calm herself and nodded. "You're right. Let me finish the circle." She moved to get back to work while Envy looked down at them in amusement.

Al sighed and moved over to stand next to Ling. "Hey," he whispered to the prince. "I need a favor."

"Alright. I'm all done." Ed mumbled as she stood from her kneeling position to look over the circle one last time. Ling stepped up next to her, placing an arm on her shoulder. She glanced up at him and gave a weak smile. "You ready to get out of here?"

Ling smirked. "Yeah. Can I talk to you for a second, first?"

Ed frowned, but nodded and followed the Xingese man over to the edge of the platform while Al and Envy inspected the circle and then Envy moved to position himself inside of it.

"If I don't make it out of this alright, can you promise me that you'll warn the others about these idiots' plans and take care of Al?" Ed asked in a bit of a whisper, cutting off the prince when he opened his mouth to speak.

Ling snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not that concerned about Amestris. It's not my country." Ed turned a glare on him. "And your brother is a big boy. He can take care of himself. How about you just make it out of this alive and you can help your people yourself, hmm?"

Ed rolled her eyes at him, but gave a small smile. "Yeah, alright. What did you want to talk with me about?"

Ling hesitated, looking into her eyes for a moment before taking a step forward. "Well, it's not so much that I wanted to talk to you, but more of how I've been wanting to do something since the day in Rush Valley where you and your brother found me on the street." He reached up and brushed a stray hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. A faint blush appeared on Ed's confused face and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're being weird." She mumbled.

Ling chuckled and moved his hand down to cup her cheek. "Did you know that you are absolutely beautiful? That you are the personification of gold itself?" Ed's heart started to beat faster as he brushed a thumb over her bottom lip. "And just getting to be around you and learning more about you. You're fierce and brave and smart." He leaned in a little closer to her. "If this doesn't work out, I wanted to be able to say I at least got a taste of gold before I let it slip through my fingers."

Ed was stunned as the man leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, his other hand moving down so that he could circle his arm around her waist. When he kissed her it felt like fire. Ed couldn't stop herself from bringing her hands up to cup his head and deepen the kiss. It was quite an intense experience. Nothing like what she felt kissing anyone else. Not even her ex.

But the moment was short lived as he pulled away and Ed opened her eyes that she hadn't even realized she closed, and saw sparks of alchemy rising from the array on the ground. She jerked away from Ling and watched in shock and panic as Al slowly stood up from where he had placed his hands on the transmutation circle in order to activate it.

"Alphonse… What?" She said breathlessly as she stared with wide eyes.

Al just gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Sister. I wasn't going to let you sacrifice yourself again for the sake of others. Not while I'm completely capable." He then turned a glare at Ling. "I told you to distract her, not make out with my sister."

The man just shrugged with a smirk on his face, not looking ashamed at all.

Ed lowered her eyes to the ground in horror as many black shadowy hands started to rise from the edge of the circle and an eye opened up in the center. A shiver came over her body as it brought up memories.

"Oh, Alphonse." She said sadly as she looked him in his eyes. He smiled at her a little bigger.

"I know what to do, Sister. Let me handle it. You and Ling go ahead and jump in." Al said reassuringly.

Ling grabbed Ed by her arm and pulled her along into the circle, but not before yelling. "You better make it out of this, Alphonse! I don't want to face the wrath of the dragon if you don't!" Their bodies slowly started to break down until they were all gone, Ed keeping teary eyes on Al the entire time.

Al sighed when they were finally gone and he looked down at the shadowy hands that reached out for him, breaking him down as well as Envy at his side. He clenched his fists. He could do this.

There were so many images and so much information trying to fit itself inside his brain. It hurt so much. But he had to focus as well. He needed to keep his goal in mind. Deconstruction and reconstruction. That was it.

"Are you sure that's all you want, young alchemist?" A voice said to him.

Al blinked in confusion when the pain suddenly faded and he found himself standing in a void of white with two doors. One was in front of him, a little distance away, and the other was behind him. There was the outline of a smiling figure in the middle of the room, sitting on the floor with a fleshy right arm and left leg being the only features he could see of it besides its wide grin.

"Who are you?" Al asked. "Where am I?"

The figure chuckled. "You mean to tell me your sister told you nothing about me? About this place? I find that hard to believe." It waved the flesh hand around and Al's eyes widened. "I think you already know who and where, but I shall tell you anyway. I am the World. Some call me God. But basically I am the Truth. And where you are is the gate to the portal. And lucky you have already paid your toll, so you're free to go any time, but I'm not sure you want to."

Al frowned. "And why wouldn't I want to?"

Truth's grin got impossibly bigger. "Don't you see, young alchemist? I have something you want. And I want to know what you would give for them." It waved its flesh hand and patted the knee of the leg. "Or have you forgotten already why you dragged your sister into the military in order to find the Philosopher's Stone?"

Al's eyes widened as he looked at the limbs. "Those… Those are Edena's limbs?" He just barely stopped himself from yelling at the Truth to give them back to his sister, but he remembered. In order to get something from the Truth, you had to give something in return. "Envy's Philosopher's Stone!" He yelled out.

The Truth tossed its head back and laughed loud. "That is not yours to give anymore, young alchemist! I've already taken all I want from it. So no, I won't let you pawn that. Try again."

A pained look came across Al's face. If he couldn't offer Envy's stone then he would have to offer something of himself. And as much as he was willing to give, he knew his sister would never forgive him or herself if he tried to bargain with the Truth with something of his own. He let out a deep sigh.

"I can't then. I'm willing to trade anything, but I can't. Not right now. I will just have to leave." He said quietly.

Truth's grin dimmed down. "Sorry to hear that, young alchemist. I had a feeling it was going to be a fun trade."

Al just glared down at the floor. He could hear the doors behind him start to open. But then a thought struck him. "C-could you tell me one thing? Why does it hurt my sister so much? Having automail and transforming? How does it even work and why is she in pain?"

"Oh! You want to know about that, huh?" Truth asked, tilting its head to the side. "In order for the little alchemist to be able to transform into the pure beast, she needs to be able to have her limbs. So I made a decision. I would let her limbs cross the portal when she transformed and I would get her metal ones in return. But when she inevitably turned back into a human form, we would trade them back and it would be like she was getting her metal limbs for the first time all over again." Al looked at the Truth in horror. "Quite a fair trade, I think. Considering I didn't have to give her the use of her limbs during transformation to begin with." It just continued to grin.

"She feels the pain of having her ports installed every time she transforms back from being a dragon?" Al said breathlessly. He knew his sister felt pain because of the transformation, but he's been there and heard the screams from grown men when Granny and Winry performed automail port surgery. He knew his sister didn't scream at all during hers, but he had written that off as her being a dragon and being tougher than most. Later he realized how wrong that thought was. Ed hadn't sugar coated it to him at all. She told him it was one of the worst pains she'd ever experienced and didn't wish it on anyone despite her being glad that people had the option to be mobile and self-sufficient with automail.

Al found himself more than upset. At his sister and himself. Ed had been severely undercutting the pain she felt after her transformations, probably to keep him from worrying about it. And he was upset at himself because he was the reason his sister was in this mess to begin with.

But most of all he was upset with this being in front of him.

"That is anything but a fair trade!" He growled out.

Truth laughed. "Well, young alchemist, give me something else to trade it for and it will all be over."

Al grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He couldn't do that. Not right now. "You know I can't. I already told you I can't."

The gate behind Al started to open up again and the shadowy hands from before reached out to pull him back through.

"Then this is goodbye, young alchemist. Tell your sister the Truth says hello." The being said with a grin as he watched the angry Alphonse get pulled away and the gate closed…

But it seems this Elric was just as stubborn as the other one.

The gate burst back open with a fist from Al and the shadowy hands kept pulling him back. He pointed an angry finger at the Truth and glared.

"This isn't over! I can't help her right now, but I will make it so that you never hurt my sister ever again! Mark my words!" Al yelled just before the gate closed again.

Truth's grin got so much bigger.

"Such an interesting family."

It was dark in the underground tunnels as Gluttony led Al's armor down into the bowels of Central City.

The armor was thankfully still moving even though the real Al had been swallowed by the homunculus and there was no connection between the two of them anymore. At first he was angry about the whole ordeal and demanded Gluttony do something about it, but the fat creature was a bit like a child in his behavior and had no clue what to do. So the armored Al got depressed.

But then Gluttony brought up his father after a moment of contemplation and things seemed to be looking up. He agreed to lead Al to the man in hopes that he would know what to do to get the siblings and Ling out of Gluttony's stomach.

Being led through the woods to Central City was both surprising and not at the same time. They knew something was wrong with the city, and this just proves it even more, but to be so obviously hidden with no one discovering the homunculi so far… Things seemed a bit more fishy.

Al put a hand up to the trembling baby panda on his shoulder. "Don't worry, little one. Everything is going to be okay." He said to comfort her. He'd forgotten that the poor creature had stowed itself away inside his armor when they left the hotel and probably got knocked around quite a bit when all the fighting had happened. He was just glad she was okay now even though she was terribly spooked.

They walked down the long staircase and when they got to the bottom, Al's armor looked around in fascination. It was all still very dark, but he could make out that they were basically in an underground tunnel system that had a small stream of water going through it.

"I didn't know there were tunnels like this under Central," he whispered to himself as he looked around. But when he turned to continue to follow Gluttony through the dark passage, he noticed something terrifying. Human bones. Bloodied and broken human skeletal remains littered the floor. "H-Hey! What's going on here!?" He called out to the homunculus.

Gluttony turned and gave him a confused look. "Huh?" He tilted his head down to the floor. "Oh. The gatekeepers did all that." He shrugged and kept going.

"Gatekeepers?" Al asked.

"They won't rip you up as long as you're with me," Gluttony called out.

Al would have frowned at the nonchalant answer if his human body was there. The little panda made a scared squeak and Al looked over at her, seeing she was looking up. Tilting his head, he noticed glowing red eyes and started to hear the growls. Those must be the gatekeepers. With a frustrated sigh, the armor turned his head forward and continued following after Gluttony.

"Just pretend they aren't there," he murmured to the panda.

Al stared at Gluttony's back, trying to keep his thoughts in check. He decided he should probably try to get some answers.

"Do we have much further?"

Gluttony had a smile on his face. "Not too far. It's just ahead now."

Al put his hand up to comfort the panda again. "You said your father made you. Does he know what happens to the people you swallow?"

Gluttony turned his head towards him with that wide toothy grin. "I'm sure he does. Father knows everything."

Al got quiet and continued to follow the homunculus.

"I know Sister and I are still alive. I feel like the reaction with my energy and the circle inside my armor would have been worse if it were grounded to nothing. I probably wouldn't be able to move and think right now. They've just gotta hang on a little bit longer… I'll get them out of there."

The homunculus led Al's armor to a large door and pushed it open without a knock or a care in the world. On the other side was a large, slightly more well lit room that was just as oppressing, if not more, as the tunnels Al just dubiously followed Gluttony through. The walls were covered in all sorts of piping and gears that moved to the floors and some of them ran to a small stone throne in the center of the room that had some furniture and a platform with stairs near it that led into the darkness at the back of the room. It all gave off the vibe of Shou Tucker's lab the day he and Ed discovered what he'd done to his daughter.

Ominous and slimy.

Al was too busy looking around that he didn't notice Gluttony's overall demeanor change into a happier one.

"Father~!" The large homunculus called out in a childishly excited tone as he threw his hands into the air. "I brought you a human sacrifice~!"

The armor and the small panda jumped in fear and surprise. "Father!? Where?" This was all happening a little too fast for the young alchemist's liking.

Out of the darkness where the platform was sitting, a large man in a white robe stepped out a little into the light. The armor tensed up and looked towards the man.

"And who is this?" A deep and slightly familiar voice asked.

If the armor had a heart, he was sure it would be racing right now. Especially from the anxiety he was sure his real body would have felt as he slowly recognized the man who stepped more into the light.

"Dad!?"